It is no secret that many Georgia fans are still getting over the shock that was handed to its football team, Saturday in between the hedges. A game that will go down in history as the worst performance inside of Sanford Stadium by a Georgia team.
In fact, this was the first Georgia team to be ranked in the top 3 and lose to an unranked opponent at home since 1936. What started out as a slow start for the Georgia offense turned into a nightmare. Will Georgia be in consideration for the College Football Playoffs at the end of the season? Obviously many Georgia fans have expressed their outrage on social media, and some even believe that the Bulldogs shouldn’t even be ranked in the Top 15 after this loss. So does Georgia even deserve to be in consideration for the Playoffs at the end of the season? Yes, if Georgia can finish the season out unbeaten and prove dominance in all of those performances then it would be pretty hard to keep Georgia away from that Top 4. Georgia dropped in the rankings after losing to South Carolina, from 3rd in the polls to 10th. The top seven teams in the country are still undefeated but, there have never been four undefeated teams in the playoffs. Now here’s the thing, Georgia will need the loser of the Alabama-LSU game to lose two games if they want even a chance of making it in the Top 4. Not only that but Georgia will then need to win the SEC Championship and do it in good fashion that shows the committee that they are deserving of a spot. How good is the Offensive Line? Injuries have already started to hurt the Georgia offensive line as left guard Solomon Kindley did play against South Carolina but not at 100 percent after he suffered an injury against Notre Dame. Georgia just got back its right tackle, Isaiah Wilson just a few weeks ago as well. But questions are already being asked about the offensive as they’ve shown to struggle in pass protection. Many are beginning to worry about the lack of pass protection, and what it could mean for Georgia’s season. Jake Fromm took a lot of hits in the loss to South Carolina and with Auburn and Florida both still to come on the schedule, who both have a good front seven it is a concern for those games. Could injuries be catching up to the “Great Wall of Georgia?" Will the Dawgs be able to replace Lawrence Cager? Kirby Smart made it known after the game in his press conference that Cager has been dealing with a separated shoulder for the past few weeks. He has been able to go up to this point as South Carolina was able to deal some blows that kept him out of returning. Cager has shown to be a valuable weapon and a favorite target for Jake Fromm. Cager gives Georgia a height advantage out wide which makes it very hard for defenses to make up for and cover. Cager has been a playmaker at the receiver position that proved difficult to replace when he didn’t return from his injury against the Gamecocks. Is the coaching staff too one-dimensional? Fans have been worried for some time now that the current staff under Coach Smart is too one-dimensional, which makes it easy for teams to out-plan Georgia. We’ve seen it too many times, Georgia teams come so close but so far from winning a National Championship but were a few adjustments and plays away from winning it. Back in the BCS era, there were multiple teams that were just one game away from going to the National Championship. Under Coach Smart, we have seen the likes of Auburn, LSU, Alabama, and Texas key in on the weaknesses of a Georgia team and develop a game plan to exploit those weaknesses. Texas keyed in on the passing game of the Georgia offense in the Sugar Bowl, as they took away the run and forced Fromm to make plays. Texas brought multiple pressures and complex looks that made it hard for Fromm to recognize the coverages and put Georgia in the right plays. Was Jim Chaney the problem? The playcalling these past few weeks have been very reminiscent of the style of play that former Georgia Offensive Coordinator Jim Chaney used to use in his time in Athens. Chaney was criticized for being too conservative and too predictable. The same thing can be said about the offense on Saturday. Even fans knew what was coming on first and second down. The Georgia offense has been getting off to these slow starts in the first half of games until they finally come out to play football. I will give Georgia credit for finding the right plays in the first half on the third downs. James Coley and Fromm both knew that Cager was the best option to go to on third downs, and it worked very well as Cager was able to convert on many third downs. Once Cager left the game Georgia resorted to running the ball on first and second down, which would leave Jake Fromm with the responsibility of picking up a third down. South Carolina knew it was a pass on third downs, so they sent pressure and it made it hard for Georgia to convert without Cager. Georgia’s offensive identity isn’t a problem, it is the coaches that they are putting in place to call plays on offense. James Coley has declined to sit in the box this season which isn’t very unordinary for an offensive coordinator these days. If the playcalling and game-planning don’t change then the results won’t change. Georgia will continue to come so close, but so far from winning a National Championship.
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Harrison Reno
Is the founder and author of Top Dawg Blogging. Harrison has been blogging for the past 4 years Archives
April 2020
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