Joel Klatt reacts to performance by Carson Beck, Georgia offense vs. Tennessee

After Georgia quarterback Carson Beck had several lackluster performances in a row, fans were questioning if he was hurting the Bulldogs more than helping them. In Georgia’s 31-17 win over Tennessee on Saturday, Beck provided an answer.

The standout QB completed 25-of-his-40 pass attempts for 347 yards and two touchdowns in the win without throwing an interception. On Monday, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt weighed in on Beck’s bounce-back performance.

“I didn’t think that Georgia had a Carson Beck issue. That was kind of the narrative swirling around Georgia. I didn’t think it was Beck,” Klatt said. “When I watched the tape, Beck wasn’t getting much help at all. For instance, the Ole Miss game, the offensive line played terrible. He’s under duress. The wide receivers are dropping passes. So Beck’s not getting really any help.

“It was this talking point, ‘Carson Beck, Carson Beck, what happened to Carson Beck?’ Carson Beck’s fine. He’s fine. And when his team decided to play to his level, they were pretty dominant. So you look up and their offensive line, way better in this game, way better.”

In the win, Georgia’s offensive line only allowed two tackles for loss and didn’t give up a single sack. The showing was a stark contrast from Georgia’s previous three outings, in which Georgia’s line gave up eight total sacks.

In no coincidence, Beck threw seven total interceptions across those three games. Klatt pointed out that the offensive line wasn’t Georgia’s only unit that played better on Saturday.

“The wide receivers played way better. I liked the game plan a lot more. They got him on the move. There was things moving,” Klatt said. “He was accurate. The offense for Georgia finally looked like the offense we’ve seen over the last couple of years.

“Remember, coming into this last week, Georgia was 50th in total offense in college football. The last two years they were in the top five, and what we saw against Tennessee Saturday night was more along the lines of a top-five offense than a 50th offense.”

In the win, Georgia’s offense amassed 453 yards. That’s no easy feat against a tough Tennessee defense. For reference, the Volunteers’ defense only gives up 289.7 yards per game, the ninth-least in the country.

Klatt believes if Georgia can replicate its stellar offensive outing against Tennessee, it has a chance to do something special in the postseason.

“What we saw against Tennessee was finally that ceiling, the top level this is what they can be,” Klatt said. “That’s definitely a team that can go win a national championship.”