Rowe: Reasons why Georgia will three-peat, reasons why it won’t
We’ve got a chance to see the 2023 Georgia football team in action five times now and we should have a lot of answers. We’ve got some — good and bad — but there’s a ton that we still don’t know. The Bulldogs have looked dreadful in small spurts, average in larger spurts, and they have looked like a team with a championship pedigree when their backs have been against the wall.
This season, more so than many that came before it, feels like one where multiple flawed teams will make the College Football Playoff. Georgia falls into that category and has its sight set on getting there. Based on what I’ve seen thus far, I believe there are reasons to be concerned and reasons to be confident. Let’s break those down.
Why Georgia won’t three-peat…
Sluggish starts: You’ll see soon enough that most of these elements are intertwined to an extent. I’m not just talking about the lack of points in the first quarter. That’s certainly part of this whole thing but it’s not really possible for the Bulldogs to get much worse in that area. They have got to find a way to move the ball better and turn successful drives into fruitful ones in the early part of the game.
The defense has to raise its hand here, too. We’ve seen Georgia let teams into the end zone early when that was almost unheard of the past two years. South Carolina converted a third-and-long for a score. Auburn converted a fourth down to get its first touchdown. The Bulldogs are giving up explosives that allow teams to easily get into scoring position. Starting faster would inspire much more confidence in this team.
Red zone: The ven diagram shows some overlap with this and the previous point. Right now I’ve got much bigger concerns with Georgia’s red zone defense than its offense. The two National Championship teams made a living by turning teams away once they get inside the red zone. It was extremely difficult to get touchdowns inside the 20 and putting up points wasn’t a given seeing as how that’s when UGA seemed to produce negative plays.
The offense is still a concern, though. The Bulldogs have been better, especially in the lower-red area, the past couple of weeks but overall it could be labeled inconsistent. Getting Daijun Edwards back has been a big boost, no doubt. Carson Beck has also grown up quite a bit. The previous two Georgia offenses weren’t great in the red zone either but they were stronger and more consistent in other areas.
Nothing will come easy: I knew this coming into the season and you did too. Georgia has winning streaks all over the place and back-to-back National Championships. Every team on the schedule wants that pelt. They want to hold it up in front of their fans and the media and put their name on the map. Signature wins are real.
No one is going to just roll over and let it happen. This is one of the several reasons why winning three straight National Championships is extremely difficult. When you don’t start fast and take a team’s will early, you can go ahead and plan on having to deal with one attempted haymaker after another until it’s over.
Why the Bulldogs will three-peat…
Unfazed by the moment or the deficit: Say what you want about this team not being as talented or experienced as the ones previous to it but one trait that has carried over is the composure. We saw it in the halftime video vs. South Carolina and we saw it inside Jordan-Hare Stadium a few days ago. Georgia is getting the other team’s best shot but the Bulldogs aren’t going to fold up even when a few punches get landed.
The best versions of this team we have seen thus far have been in the most adverse situations. Down 14-3 to South Carolina at the half, Georgia scored 21 unanswered points and dominated the final two periods. After gifting Auburn the ball at the UGA 32-yard line and then allowing a touchdown, Georgia went on a 17-3 run to end that game. We are seeing flashes of dominance. It’s in there somewhere.
Beck’s arrow is pointing up: The slow starts probably apply to Beck more so than any other specific player. Georgia has scored a touchdown on its opening drive just once this season and we’ve seen Beck look unsettled to start multiple games. We’ve seen him miss throws and force throws and struggle.
With that said, the first-year Georgia starter has shown that he knows how to finish. He has been a second half machine in the Bulldogs’ two SEC wins. He got it going a little sooner against Auburn than South Carolina and helped the Bulldogs tie that one up going into the break. Beck is gaining a lot of confidence and showing that he has what it takes to elevate this offense when times are tough.
Improving health: Georgia got Ladd McConkey back vs. Auburn and we saw how big that was. He had four catches on the day and three of those converted third-down situations of six or more yards. While it didn’t appear as if either was 100 percent, Javon Bullard and Mykel Williams were also back last week.
Kendall Milton is on the mend and working his way back into shape. The Bulldogs also have some young guys making their way back and we’re now two games into the layoff for star right tackle Amarius Mims, who had tight rope surgery to accelerate his recovery from a high-ankle sprain. UGA has weathered an early-season injury storm and it’s knocking on every piece of wood it can find so as to avoid another.
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