Greg McElroy: Georgia has issues that 'can’t get fixed' this season

Georgia had all kinds of issues on Saturday in a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss. According to ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy, the Bulldogs have some problems that can’t get fixed this season.

McElroy shared his take about the Bulldogs on the Always College Football podcast on Monday.

McElroy acknowledged that Georgia quarterback Carson Beck struggled against Ole Miss, but he believes the Bulldogs have a lot more problems than just that.

“They have a lot of things right now that they’ve gotta clean up. And they’ve got a few things that they have that can’t get fixed,” McElroy said. “I’ve been critical of Carson Beck. His decision making has left something to be desired. I feel like he’s forced the ball a bunch in the last four or give games. But that is a singular issue amongst a whole host of problems.”

Georgia finished with only 246 yards of offense against Ole Miss, struggling to get anything going through the air or on the ground. Georgia averaged only 3.8 yards per play against the Rebels, and poor receiver play is a big concern, per McElroy.

“It’d be easy to say, ‘Well, it’s just Carson Beck’s fault.’ I’m telling you, it’s not. As someone who’s watched every single offensive snap of Georgia this year, their problems extend far beyond Carson Beck. They don’t have a true No. 1 wide receiver. They lead the nation in drops. Their two best true wide receivers were kicked off the team earlier this year,” McElroy said. “This group of wide receivers, they can’t separate, they can’t explode down field.

“Their routes are terrible. I see on several occasions they don’t stem routes, they’re not setting up defenders. It’s just a lack of attention to details at wide receiver. … The drops have been back breaking.”

McElroy added that the Georgia offensive line and running game, which was supposed to be a strength, has also been a weakness at times.

“if you look at their running backs… Trevor Etienne, he had six carries for 24 yards. Most of the game he was on the sideline because of the rib injury he suffered against Florida, so Nate Frazier had to go in. He averaged less than 4 yards a carry. I mean that’s not going to get it done,” McElroy said. “The offensive line, when they’re calling screens to their wide receivers, you would hope that those offensive linemen would get out on screens. Well, Carson Beck threw 12 screens or throws at the line of scrimmage. He completed just nine for 53 yards.

“Then you look at the five sacks given up – and their left tackle, Earnest Greene, has struggled. Their right guard Tate Ratledge, he was out of the game early because he gave up a couple of early pressures and one early sack. They’re mixing and matching pieces, and frankly I think the offensive line is what lost them the game, as much as anything. The offensive line was just flat out not good.”

In addition to the problems on offense, the defense has also been far from dominant. Ole Miss finished with nearly 400 yards of offense and averaged 6.2 yards per play.

Despite all of this, McElroy believes Georgia can still win the national title. However, if the Dogs do, they will do so as a team that is flawed.

“In defense… if they can’t rush the passer, the defensive secondary has had some challenges this year. So they have to be able to rush the passer and they couldn’t apply pressure in this game. So I am a little bit worried about this Georgia team,” McElroy said. “The pressure is now at an all-time high for a Kirby Smart-coached football team heading into this game against Tennessee next week.

“They need to have a good, long, hard look in the mirror about how they’re attacking opposing defenses and how they’re attacking opposing quarterbacks.”