Georgia Must Settle at Quarterback in order for Offense to Grow
(Photo by Skylar Lien)
Suppose there is one thing that we’ve learned over the last four weeks. It is the fact that this Georgia offense is young and continues to learn and grow.
The youth and inexperience were never more evident than Saturday against the Crimson Tide. Georgia put up 24 points in the first half of play on the road against Alabama. These 24 points were good enough to have Georgia leading the Tide 24-20 at halftime.
The momentum swing in the final seconds of the first half was just what the Tide needed as they trouted out their field goal unit to knock through a 52-yard field goal to put them down four instead of 7.
The partying and dancing as Georgia walked to the locker room right as Alabama was attempting the field goal was the last celebration of the Georgia offense that night. Alabama dominated Georgia in the second half as the defense pitched a shutout, and the offense added 21 points in the second half.
Two turnovers in the second half off the arm of Stetson Bennett would furthermore solidify the Tide’s dominance. Georgia went away from an effective run game and instead put their fate in the hands of a former walk-on starting the first road game of his career.
Nick Saban and his staff outcoached Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff. The Tide’s gameplan was simple as they took away Georgia’s best options at receiver and forced Stetson to make them pay for it or run the football.
Georgia’s roster is filled with some of the best running back talent in the country. Three of those running backs averaged over 5 yards a carry on Saturday. But no back got more than ten carries against a weakened Alabama defense.
Alabama did a fantastic job scheming out George Pickens and Kearis Jackson out of the game. Neither receiver would catch a touchdown and be blanketed by the Alabama secondary for most of the game.
Freshman receiver Jermaine Burton and junior tailback James Cook would both step up with big performances. Burton would contribute 58 yards receiving on four receptions, one of which was a touchdown. At the same time, James Cook would record 101 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.
Alabama proved once again why you need a good offense to win in College Football these days. A good offense with good receivers and a good quarterback will be an elite defense loaded with talent at every position.
The three NFL talented receivers for Alabama were instrumental in their victory. Devonta Smith racked up 167 yards and two touchdowns on 11 receptions with Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell lining up opposite of him.
Jaylen Waddle’s 90-yard touchdown reception was the explosive play the Tide needed to gas the Georgia defense.
The difference between Georgia’s offense and Alabama’s is explosive plays and a balanced gameplan. Steve Sarkisian is well on his way to redeeming his image as a head coach at a Power Five program.
Mac Jones carved up the elite Georgia secondary for 417 yards passing while Najee Harris pounded the Dawgs with 147 yards on the ground.
Alabama did all this while playing against the best defense in the nation. Alabama also did this without three key NFL first-round picks from a year ago.
Youth can no longer be an excuse for Georgia offensively. The only way that young players ever get experience is from playing in games, which is why it is so vital that Jermaine Burton was able to step up.
Georgia has the talent at receiver to be an explosive offense with an explosive running game. Georgia still hosts a top 10 offensive line unit in the country.
One loss does not make a season, like one win does not make a season. But Georgia cannot run the risk of turning one loss into two losses because of the same mistakes.
Georgia has a lot of questions to be answered on offense, going forward. One of those questions lie at the doorstep of Kirby Smart and Todd Monken, have they picked the right guy to lead the offense at quarterback?
I believe Stetson Bennett can win the next six games for you with the way he played in the first three games. Whether or not he can beat Alabama is unknown. Either way, Georgia needs to find a quarterback that they trust and develop them.
The most significant criticism of Kirby Smart through his first four seasons is that he has not developed a quarterback properly. Jacob Eason showed many upsides but ultimately lost the job to a high football intelligence quarterback Jake Fromm.
Jake Fromm showed a lot of great qualities that you want in a starting quarterback. Jake was good enough to win a lot of games for Georgia. But Jake’s biggest critique is that he didn’t have what it takes to win you a game in the biggest moment.
This offensive unit’s growth will start with Kirby Smart and Todd Monken, who will rely on a quarterback, which is why Georgia must be firm in their decision and stick with a guy at quarterback so that this offense can grow.