OXFORD, Miss. — After Georgia’s 28-10 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday night, one message from the players stood out. Safety Malaki Starks shared what head coach Kirby Smart had told the team:
“Don’t point fingers. We don’t need to be pointing fingers. Just look in the mirror and figure out what you need to do better.”
Next up to speak was nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse.
“We’re not a team that points fingers,” Stackhouse said. “We know some guys have struggled, but that’s why we’re a team. We lift each other up, and we’ve got each other’s back.”
Well, here’s the reality: Right now, nobody on this Georgia team is playing at a level where they could point fingers at anyone else.
So, what is this team good at? What’s the one thing you can reliably count on from Georgia, no matter the game? Well, outside of the punter and placekicker—who are performing admirably—the fact that special teams are the brightest spot on this team says a lot.
If you want to assign blame, the offense is an easy target, and many Georgia fans are doing just that, for good reason: the stagnant run game, the lack of explosive plays, an offensive line that hasn’t improved, and a quarterback who seems to have regressed.
But the defense deserves some criticism too. Despite Ole Miss being pinned deep thanks to a punt from team MVP Brett Thorson, the Bulldogs let the Rebels complete a 16-yard slant pass that everyone in the stadium saw coming. And after the offense showed signs of life early in the second half, the defense allowed Ole Miss to march right back down the field, pushing the game back to a two-possession lead.
This wasn’t complementary football—it was compliment-less football.
That’s been Georgia’s story all season. The closest the team has come to a complete performance was the October 19 win at Texas, with the season opener against Clemson coming in as a close second (though it featured a sluggish start on offense). Beyond that, it’s been a mixed bag—flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball, followed by stretches of frustration. Heading into the weekend, Georgia ranked seventh in the SEC in offensive yards per play and sixth in defensive yards per play—not exactly impressive numbers on either side.
Some of Georgia's struggles can be attributed to the tough schedule they’ve faced. The Bulldogs have now played four teams ranked in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s initial Top 25, with all of those teams securing victories on Saturday. Georgia has also played four road games, including three night games and one (at Ole Miss) where the second half was played under the lights. A schedule like that only magnifies any flaws.
And those flaws are certainly being exposed.
The offensive line, which was expected to be a strength, has become a liability. The unit is dealing with injuries, particularly at guard, but the tackles have been struggling too.
The wide receivers and tight ends are steady but not game-changers. They’re good enough to win with, but lately, they’ve been prone to key drops at the worst moments.
Quarterback Carson Beck has been inconsistent, though it’s hard to judge him fully given the lack of a reliable run game. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo certainly has room for improvement in his play-calling as well.
One thing that stood out was how much pre-snap motion the offense employed on Saturday. There were multiple instances where players were pointing at each other, trying to get aligned correctly. Take the sequence at the end of the first half, when the offense should have been rushing to get points but ended up taking too much time between plays before punting it away.
It might be time to simplify things. Kirby Smart often talks about how much responsibility is placed on Beck to make checks at the line—calling plays, setting protections, motions, etc. Maybe now is the time to let the offense play more freely. Quit trying to outthink the defense and just outplay them. Georgia still has the talent to do that.
The defense should adopt a similar mindset. There is far too much talent on that side of the ball to look as helpless as it did at times, particularly against Ole Miss. It’s time to find a way to play with more swagger.
That said, the season isn’t as bleak as it might seem. While this team doesn’t measure up to the standards of past Georgia squads, it's not completely out of contention. The Bulldogs are still in the hunt for the College Football Playoff and have a chance to win the SEC championship. Yes, they’ve lost two games, but this is only the third time in Smart’s nine years at Georgia that the team has dropped two regular-season games. In the previous two instances (2016 and 2020), a second loss effectively ended the playoff hopes. This year, Georgia is still playoff-viable and very much in the race.
“It’s a different world,” Smart said. “We’re not riding this roller coaster wave of emotion. We’re on a long journey. You’ve got to play the next play, the next game, because that’s the goal. Our future’s in front of us. We’ve got to figure out how to get better.”
The challenge now is figuring that out late in the season. It’s possible this team simply isn’t good enough, with too many flaws on both sides of the ball. But there’s also potential for improvement. Georgia has been consistently bringing in top-three recruiting classes and supplementing them through the portal. With Smart’s two national championships, there’s always the possibility this team could hit its stride. If they make the playoff (which still seems likely, with a 69 percent chance according to Austin Mock’s projections), they’ll be a team no one wants to face.
But at this point in the season, after nine games, it’s fair to wonder if we should just accept what this team has shown so far: a flawed offense, an inconsistent defense, and a squad that simply hasn’t played at a championship level.
Maybe it’s time to adjust expectations and be ready for a surprise.
“Man, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Starks said. “I guess it is a different world, college football the way it’s set up. The teams that handle that the best will move on, and at the end of the day, we’re just trying to be one of those.”
0 Comments