Greg McElroy reveals his main concerns about Georgia ahead of 2024

There’s has been very little if anything wrong with Georgia over the past three seasons. Still, going into 2024, Greg McElroy has two main questions for these Bulldogs coming in.

McElroy shared those issues during the latest episode of ‘Always College Football’ on Monday.

For him, that began with their run defense from last fall. Georgia allowed 113.6 yards per game at 3.8 yards per carry. For reference, that was up 35.6 total yards and one yard a carry from their combined rushing defense averages from the pair of seasons prior when they won consecutive national titles.

It may seem like a small aspect, especially since he thinks a few of their games shifted those statistics. Still, it is something that McElroy says they have to handle for this season to maintain their standard on defense.

“Here’s the problem – 2023 rushing defense statistics. Remember, we are not comparing Georgia to your average football team. I am comparing Georgia to Georgia, to the best versions of Georgia, okay? If you can’t stop the run in the SEC, you’re going to have some issues. In 2023, they were 20th in the sport against the run. They gave up 114 yards per game,” McElroy noted. “That was probably inflated with a couple performances – the ‘Bama game, the Georgia Tech game, the Missouri game. They got gashed on the ground. Were 37th in yards per carry given up. They also had eight percent negative play rate – that was 66th in the country. So they weren’t creating a lot of disruption, they weren’t having as many tackles for loss as maybe they’ve had in the past. They also gave up a decent amount of explosive runs.”

“When I think Georgia and I think front seven defensively, where they were when they were winning national championships just a couple years ago? I never saw them allowing 115 yards a game on the ground. It was probably closer to 70 than it was 120,” said McElroy. “That has to be an area that gets addressed. If there was one thing that would keep me up at night if I were Kirby Smart, it would be the front seven defensively. I do think they should improve at that spot.”

Beyond that, McElroy also dove into the Bulldogs’ schedule as a potential problem. They have had little to no issue the last three seasons with them having gone 42-2. However, 2024 provides some significant challenges throughout, especially with their half that they’ll have away from Athens.

“You have six home games, you got two neutral sites. Then you have four true road games. How about these road games? Kentucky – perennial bowl team. Alabama – perennial playoff contender. At Texas – playoff team last year, likely a playoff contender for the foreseeable future. At Ole Miss,” McElroy said. “Four very difficult road games. Then you’ve got two neutral sites. Clemson – Top-15 team, Top-10 program. Florida – not a Top-15 team but, traditionally, probably a Top-15 program and some years better than that.”

“It’s a very, very difficult schedule,” said McElroy. “Extremely difficult schedule – one that I think they can navigate but I’m not sure they’ll be able to navigate unscathed.”

If there’s one team to have essentially no worries about at this point in time, even with these from McElroy, Georgia is certainly an option. That’s why, while he mentioned both of these this week, they still remain right among the best in the sport in his opinion.

“They’re still, by far and away, tier-one status in the SEC,” said McElroy.