Overreactions: Georgia can't win title with this version of Carson Beck, why it's ok to expect more from James Franklin

With so many shakeups in the Top 25 rankings and various conference standings, Week 10 is ripe for overreactions. 

After spooky Saturday, here’s what I’m overreacting to. 

The Week 10 overreactions:

Georgia can’t win the national championship with this version of Carson Beck

Coming into the 2024 season, no one had Carson Beck on their “REASONS WHY GEORGIA WON’T WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP” bingo card. 

Can't remember a player sinking his NFL Draft stock worse than Carson Beck.

He's gone from being a guy talked about as a Top 5 pick to someone who might be fortunate to go in Round 3.

— Jesse Simonton (@JesseReSimonton) November 2, 2024

He was coming off a season where he went 13-1 as a starter with 28 total touchdowns, nearly 4,000 passing, and crucially — just six interceptions. Beck was a preseason All-American and talked about among real NFL Draft gurus as a Top 5 overall pick. And yet, 10 weeks through the 2024 season, No. 2 Georgia is winning in spite of its redshirt senior quarterback. 

Beck has been mostly a disaster over the last month. He has six interceptions and just two touchdowns in the wins over Texas and Florida, and while he’s come up with clutch throws in both games, he looks nothing like the QB that was atop Heisman Trophy odds at the start of the season. 

For a guy who can reportedly solve a Rubix code in 30 seconds, he’s not seeing anything right, right now. Beck’s inability to make smart decisions, avoid throwing into double-teams and reading a defense’s keys has gone from a strength, to a worrisome showing against Alabama, to flaws outright detrimental to Georgia’s ultimate goals this season. 

For all the talk about no Brock Bowers or Ladd McConkey, the Bulldogs don’t lack skill talent. They have guys making plays. There’s been too many drops, yes, but Dillion Bell, Arian Smith, Dom Lovett and Nate Frazier are all capable playmakers. Trevor Etienne will be a factor once he returns from his rib injury. 

Georgia’s defense remains loaded with freakazoids, too. 

But Carson Beck drives a Lamborghini because the expectation was he’d be the extra horsepower that would get Georgia back on top. A third title in four years. 

Not anymore, though. Not unless he dramatically improves his play. Smart isn’t going to bench Beck for Gunner Stockton, so this is what UGA has — and all evidence right now is that Beck is simply a panicky, turnover-prone quarterback capable of making a few impressive throws intermittently.

If that’s what UGA has at QB, then the Bulldogs might make the CFP but they won’t win the national title this season. 

Penn State gets Charlie Brown’d again, but should Nittany Lions fans expect more from James Franklin?

For five minutes, it looked promising. Different, even?

Drew Allar was making plays. Nick Singleton was churning out yards as a runner and receiver. The Nittany Lions’ defense came up with a monster pick-six on Ohio State’s opening drive. Some 111,000 PSU-faithful were white-hot with hope.   

Penn State 10. Ohio State 0. 

But then Lucy took the football home again, and James Franklin’s team went full Charlie Brown in a big game again. 

Ohio State 20, Penn State 13. 

Saturday was a complete missed opportunity by James Franklin and Penn State’s entire program, and it’s fair to admit the Nittany Lions should expect more.

Ohio State was there to be got.

The Buckeyes had lost to Oregon and were coming off a very concerning showing against Nebraska. They were down to their third-string left tackle. Meanwhile, Penn State was undefeated, at home, with every college football pregame show in town. James Franklin’s crown-jewel recruiting class are now all upperclassmen, ready to be coronated on a national stage. Instead, they looked like kitties at the most inopportune times against their biggest rivals.

Again. 

The Buckeyes proved to be the tougher team Saturday, but for all the talk about Ohio State’s $20 million roster, they were not more otherworldly talented than Penn State. The differences at receiver were stark for sure, but PSU’s front seven is arguably more dynamic and ferocious. 

The difference is that Franklin’s teams always get out-classed and out-coached in the key moments of these big games. You know who else faced all sorts or pressure with something to prove Saturday? Ryan Day, Chip Kelly and Ohio State. And they did. 

And Penn State did what it does under Franklin — fail to meet the moment time and again — no matter who is at QB or OC.  

After seeing Will Howard fumble at the goal line and then surviving their own turnover from the 1-yard line, the Nittany Lions still had 1st-and-goal with a chance to the game with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Yet after riding star tight end Tyler Warren (who had their team’s longest run and catch on the afternoon) all the way down the field, they willingly chose not to give their best player a single touch again.

Four plays later. Zero points. 

Only the game still wasn’t over. Ohio State was backed up, with the shadows of the goal post reflecting off the Buckeyes’ silver helmets. But as was the case last year against Ohio State and Michigan, Penn State’s awesome defense suddenly folded late, allowing Ohio State to bleed out the clock to win the game.

That’s all on the coaching staff. The play-calling at the goal line. The clock management at the end of the first half. And the inability to get a stop late falls on James Franklin and his staff. 

For all of Franklin’s gripes about PSU’s lackluster NIL, Penn State brought in several starters from the transfer portal. Just like Ohio State, they made a significant investment at offensive coordinator this offseason.

This isn’t about a lack of investments or resources. This is a get-it-done business, and in the biggest games, the Nittany Lions always find a way to come up short.

Some have argued that Franklin’s 3-18 record against Top 10 teams is an unfair stat because he was an underdog in so many of those games. Maybe three years ago, but now? Miss me with that. 

James Franklin famously said himself that he would take Penn State from “good to great to elite” and yet he’s 13-27 against Top 25 teams with the Nittany Lions. 

That’s why I don’t buy the “optimistic, all our title hopes remain intact” narrative that some (including Franklin) were selling after the game. 

“The reality of college football is everything is still ahead of us,” Franklin said.

He’s technically right, but how much will simply making the College Football Playoff and losing another marquee matchup change the perception of the program? What does a game in December that has a fancy playoff tag attached mean for most Nittany Lions fans if the results never change?

I’m not a believer that just because you haven’t, doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t. But it’s not just a trend at this point with James Franklin’s team. It’s an annual sing-along of “Hello darkness, my old friend.”

Williams-Brice Stadium is a Top 5 night environment

I’ve covered many games at South Carolina, and even when the Gamecocks are bad, Williams-Brice Stadium can buzz with the best of them. This preseason, EA Sports College Football 25 ranked Williams-Bryce as the No. 15-toughest road environment, and that’s a fair ranking on a typical Saturday afternoon. 

But this past Saturday was not that. What we saw this weekend was a prime example of why Williams-Brice Stadium is right up there with Tiger Stadium, Ben Hill Griffin or Autzen at night. 

It’s electric. 

Sandstorm on repeat. The rooster crowing blasting. The seats swaying. 

When it gets dark in Columbia, that place becomes a house of horrors with Houdini powers — especially if South Carolina is decent (or better). 

On Saturday, No. 10 Texas A&M learned that lesson the hard way. 

Coming off their emotional comeback win over LSU, the Aggies went on the road and got immediately ambushed by a frenzied Gamecocks’ team and crowd. They were down 17-0 in a blink, and while they would right the ship to take a 20-17 lead, Williams-Brice never quieted. 

And it only got louder and more delirious as South Carolina gashed Texas A&M for 24-unanswered points en route to a blowout win. The Gamecocks, which entered the day near the bottom of the SEC in offense, had 530 yards against Texas A&M’s Top 10 defense. The last time the ‘Cocks had that sort of offensive output at home against a FBS team? When it stunned No. 5 Tennessee at night in 2022.

MOOD. pic.twitter.com/eb2gr3Thrm

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 3, 2024

The Aggies were uncharacteristically sloppy (seven flags for 70 yards) and had two costly turnovers. Just like how LSU caved to crowd pressure last weekend in College Stadium, Texas A&M got a taste of that medicine Saturday night. 

Shane Beamer is just 25-21 as the head coach at South Carolina, but he’s 13-3 in night games at Williams-Brice Stadium — with multiple Top 25 upsets including wins now over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 10 Texas A&M.