The Sugar Bowl kicks off January 1st at 8:45 PM EDT in New Orleans as the Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Baylor Bears.
It will be a great matchup of the two highest-ranked non-playoff teams. Georgia is coming off the blowout loss to LSU in the SEC Championship while Baylor is coming off the thrilling overtime loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. A lot of questions surround the Georgia team just like last season. This time people aren’t questioning if the team wants to play, rather who will play? Georgia will be without 20 scholarship players for the game in New Orleans. It is a far contrast from the one player that was supposed to holdout in hopes of securing his NFL future. This year Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson will both holdout for preparation for the upcoming NFL Draft. There is a long list of players that either didn’t make the trip to New Orleans or won’t play in the game for Georgia for many different reasons. These significant absences have provided more questions for Georgia to go out and answer on New Years Day. One of the biggest and long-lasting questions about this Georgia team is, how will the offense produce? Georgia has struggled offensively this year as they have been too one dimensional and predictable on offense. It has been a war of attrition out wide at receiver and in the trenches among the offensive line for Georgia. The Georgia passing game has regressed at an alarming rate this season and has many questioning the ability of Jake Fromm and the Georgia coaching staff. Young, inexperienced receivers haven’t helped Georgia’s cause on offense. Georgia has had to rely on the running game and an active offensive line. But it hasn’t always been fruitful for the Dawgs as they have faced steeper competition this season. With Lawrence Cager and Dominick Blaylock now both out for the upcoming Sugar Bowl, Georgia will have an even more difficult task getting the passing game going. It will be up to James Coley to draw up plays that give Jake Fromm a chance to get the ball to his playmakers. Georgia will have a less than 100 percent D’Andre Swift at running back who is available to take snaps for the Dawgs as he is still dealing with a bruised shoulder. Many aren’t expecting to see much from him in New Orleans as it is the staff will look to James Cook and Zamir White to take some of the load off, Swift. Georgia will still have Tyler Simmons, Demetrius Robertson, and George Pickens at the receiver position. Those three have the talent and potential to win games for Georgia, but it will come down to execution. Georgia offense has suffered from a lot of dropped passes and miscommunication between the receivers and Jake Fromm. The dropped passes and miscommunications killed Georgia’s first offensive drive against LSU in the SECCG. Fromm is known to play well on the big stage, but he has struggled at times this season when it has mattered most. Georgia will be playing indoors, which will be a big help to the Georgia offense as they don’t have to deal with any inclement weather. If Fromm can get in sync with his guys early and develop a rhythm right after the opening kick, then the Georgia offense could overcome the missing players and the three missing starters along the offensive line. Fromm and the offense will have three new starters along the offensive line for the Sugar Bowl. Both tackles have declared for the NFL Draft, and right guard Ben Cleveland is out due to academic ineligibility. Cade Mays is most likely replacing Thomas at left tackle as he has played that position before. Jamaree Salyer could play at guard or tackle if they need him too. If Salyer goes to guard, then it is likely we’ll see true freshman Xavier Truss start at right tackle. Georgia needs to master the short to medium yardage passing game. Teams like Auburn and LSU have created explosive plays through plays like slants and other shorter yardage routes. Georgia hasn’t used those short to medium yardage routes. The offense hasn’t always been on the same page, which has prevented the Georgia offense from coming together. There is no need to go out on the first drive and throw deep bombs praying that they come down with a catch. When you give Fromm a few completions with his receivers before going for the big play, that big play turns into a significant gain for the Dawgs. Nothing is wrong with making a profit. That is a motto that this UGA offense needs to adapt for not only the Sugar Bowl but next season as well. Using the short-yardage passing game to set up the deep game could spark the Georgia offense to go out and win the Sugar Bowl.
1 Comment
Edward Reno
12/30/2019 10:41:38 pm
I think Georgia will roll Wednesday!!
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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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