Pound for Pound: UGA questions and answers

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Here we sit at the midpoint of Georgia football’s 2024 campaign with the Bulldogs 5-1 and ranked No. 5. They have the second-best loss this season according to Associated Press voters and are well within the College Football Playoff picture.

No matter the facts, this fanbase always seems to have its fair share of doom-and-gloom preachers. I choose to look at things a different way. Below are a couple of common refrains I keep hearing this season, and my measured response to them as I try to spread a message of moderation.

‘What on earth was Georgia doing giving up 31 points at home to a team that lost to Toledo?’ is a question I’ve heard a few times since the Bulldogs’ recent win over Mississippi State.

Reminder: this UGA defense is probably the least talented the team has had since before the pandemic. Three members of last year’s secondary – Baldwin County’s own Javon Bullard, Kamari Lassiter and Tykee Smith – are all real difference-makers on Sunday now. There is no Roquan Smith- or Nakobe Dean-style linebacker that anyone could argue is the best in the country. And the defensive line just hasn’t been very intimidating.

We’ve been incredibly spoiled these last few years on the defensive side of the ball. Time to come back down to earth.

‘I don’t like the play-calling. Run the dang football, Bobo!’ Not a question as much as it is an exclamation, but I’ll address it anyway.

Carson Beck completed 75% of his throws Saturday for 459 yards. Yes, there were two more interceptions added to his season total, but his TD-to-INT ratio is still 3-1. Those are numbers I will accept from a guy who benefited from throwing to Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey his first year as a starter.

Like the defensive backfield, the Dawgs’ talent pool at pass-catcher has diminished. Also, while the postgame box score tells us Georgia averaged 5 yards per rush, 52 of the team’s 146 net yardage total came on an Anthony Evans reverse. Take that attempt away and the conventional run game was garnering only 3.2 yards per tote.

The air was the way to go. Bobo made the right call in leaning on the pass.

It’s not like Georgia has been awful with the football in 2024. Minus the Kentucky floundering, UGA has surpassed 30 points every time out. That’s usually enough to win a football game.

Let’s also remember that the offense wasn’t all shining, shimmering, splendid early on last season either. The unit found itself more and more as the weeks rolled along.

The time for worry may very well come, but it ain’t right now. Right now Georgia is the fifth-ranked team in the country and well-positioned to earn a spot in the biggest playoff field major college football has ever seen. Let’s remember that.