Georgia confidence in Mike Bobo paying off for Bulldog offense

ATHENS, Ga. — Mike Bobo was named a nominee for the 2023 Broyles Award on Tuesday in the first season of his second stint as the Georgia offensive coordinator. A finalist for the same award back in 2012 during his first stint before leaving Athens to be the head coach at Colorado State, Bobo sort of comes full circle in a season that’s oftentimes seen him, whether fair or not, at the center of fans’ attention.

Kirby Smart was confident the move would work in the preseason. When Todd Monken, who was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season, was hired away by the Baltimore Ravens, it took less than an hour for the head coach to announce Bobo as the next man up. He had coordinated some of the school’s best offenses before from 2007 to 2014, was on staff at Georgia as an analyst in 2022 and allowed for the least amount of change. Needless to say, Smart’s confidence has been proven correct.

Georgia has scored at least 30 points in each of the last five games, and all but two on the season. In terms of total offense, UGA has topped 350 each time out with just two before 400. The Bulldogs rank fifth in the country for total offense and sixth for scoring, averaging 504.8 yards and 40.6 points per game through 10 games.

This past Saturday’s showing against Ole Miss was the best Bobo and the Bulldogs have had to offer to date. Scoring 52 points and putting up 611 yards including at least 300 both through the air and on the ground, it was just another example of what has impressed Smart the most.

“His ability to adapt to the personnel we have. I mean, he’s had a very rotating lineup. I mean, he’s had this guy in, that guy out; this guy in, that guy. He did have two tight ends; he didn’t have two tight ends. Pearce’s been injured twice, Lawson’s been hurt, Brock’s been hurt. I mean, he’s had backs in and out, in and out. Wideouts in and out, in and out, so the ability to teach concepts and have plug-and-play players [stands out],” Smart said. “His development of the quarterback, his leadership and messaging to the offense is critical ’cause I’m not over there all the time. So he has to be the leader and voice of reason.”

Bobo’s players have responded to that leadership and voice of reason. While it absolutely took some time to get everything to gel, the Bulldogs seem to have found their identity. First-year starter at quarterback Carson Beck is surrounded by weapons like Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, Dominic Lovett, Daijun Edwards, Kendall Milton and many more. He’s been asked to distribute to them accordingly, all with the protection of an offensive line that stays fresh with a rotation of four and five stars.

“He’s done a great job through the whole transition,” Bowers said. “I think we started to finally build an identity after a couple of games. It took us a little bit to get rolling and get some of the kinks worked out, but I feel like we found an identity as an offense and have been rolling.”

“When he first got taken over, he did a lot to help us, keeping a lot of the lingo around, same words for stuff,” offensive lineman Tate Ratledge added. “His process through 10 games, I don’t think he’s cooled off since. He’s gotten hotter and hotter, and I just love having him around.”

After his hiring and early-season play calling was met with plenty of pushback, even Bobo’s biggest critics have warmed up to him as the games have gone on. Of course that can change with Georgia’s season-defining outings still ahead, but Bobo won’t be found one way or the other worrying about that. Instead, Ratledge and a fellow offensive lineman feel confident that the offensive coordinator has bigger concerns on his hands than what fans think.

“Not really sure how he’s thinking about that now. He never really talks about it,” Ratledge, asked what Bobo would tell critics, said of the heat oftentimes directed at his coach. “I know he works hard and I know he’s always up there game-planning, getting stuff in, meeting with us, trying to get the best game plan for us to be successful.”

“Coach Bobo, I mean, he came in and really said he’s got a point to prove, you know?,” Dylan Fairchild added. “He’s got a mission that he wants to do and he wants to fulfill. That was really his main message to us in that first team meeting.”

Bobo and the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville this Saturday for a matchup against Tennessee. While Georgia, who was won 27 games in a row, has the SEC East clinched and its date with Alabama in the conference championship game set already for December 2nd, a win would tie UGA with the two longest win streaks in SEC history (Alabama 1978-1980, Alabama 1991-1993). Kickoff time from Neyland Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.