Behind enemy lines: Georgia

It’s Georgia week, and GamecockCentral went to the best source of Bulldogs football to get a look at South Carolina’s next opponent.

On3 and DawgsHQ’s Palmer Thombs spoke with GamecockCentral to preview Georgia, and here’s what he had to say.

GC: Georgia lost a lot from last year’s defense. How have you seen that unit play and has there been much of a dropoff?

PT: The expected drop off for Georgia defensively was a storyline all offseason. How could it not be with eight players picked in the 2022 NFL Draft? But so far this season, we haven’t seen that dropoff. Georgia’s only allowed three points through two games. Kirby Smart has said he’s waiting to see how his defense will respond to facing adversity, which they very easily could be dealt with against South Carolina.

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I said all offseason that this was a game to circle for Georgia with an experienced defensive group going up against a quarterback that can make plays. But, I said the same thing about Oregon and Bo Nix, and we saw how that one turned out for the Dawgs. So, to summarize, the unit has more than lived up to the hopes of every Georgia fan so far.

I’m not sure anybody could have expected to see the dominance continue like this on defense. Can they keep it up? That’s the question.

GC: What’s different about Georgia offensively this year compared to last year?

PT: The biggest difference in this Georgia offense compared to last year’s is the comfort level of Stetson Bennett. You can tell that he feels good out there, and he’s playing with a little bit of swagger we saw at times last season.

That’s a direct result of the time he was able to spend this offseason working with Georgia’s wide receivers as the starting quarterback. There was no looking over his shoulder. He was the guy all along.

And as a result, we’re seeing a Georgia passing game that’s ranked among the best in the country through two weeks and Bennett having had back to back weeks with 300 yards or more passing, including an Oregon game that he called the best of his career.

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GC: South Carolina’s struggled stopping the run this season, what have you seen from UGA’s offensive line and running backs so far? 

PT: I looked ahead a little bit and saw your question about an area where Georgia has struggled so far this season. This would be the area of concern. Georgia’s run game hasn’t quite been the same. Now, that’s not to say that the offensive line and the running backs have struggled. In fact, you’re seeing one of those running backs – Kenny McIntosh – lead the team in receiving so far this season.

And to me, that is Georgia’s offense in a nutshell. We aren’t seeing the ground and pound physical football that everybody has become accustomed to seeing from Georgia because the Bulldogs don’t have the backs to do that. McIntosh is a threat as a pass catcher, and instead of trying to give him the ball on a handoff, they are instead opting to get him out in space and throw it to him on a swing pass.

Kendall Milton is the more physical of the two top backs, but we haven’t seen a breakthrough game for him quite yet. He dealt with hamstring issues during fall camp that could have slowed him down. Don’t be surprised to see Georgia this week try and attack that South Carolina defense with the run game to move the ball and gain confidence in themselves and their ability to do it on the ground.

GC: How do injuries to Mitchell and Green affect what Georgia can do?

PT: Another reason why we might see Georgia run the ball more would be the absence of AD Mitchell. He is Georgia’s No. 1 wide receiver. The Bulldogs have spread the ball around well so far this season, but if the game was on the line and the ball was going to a wide receiver, Mitchell would be that guy.

Still, there are threats in the passing game. Ladd McConkey has been a dynamic weapon. Kearis Jackson is a crafty veteran. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint feels ready for a breakout, especially without a big-bodied receiver in Mitchell.

And speaking of big-bodied receivers, don’t forget the tight ends either. Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington are more than capable of making plays in the passing game, and to this point, it still feels like they haven’t been fully unleashed. That could happen this week without Mitchell.

Nyland Green’s absence isn’t as big of a concern because he’s a backup cornerback. He lost an offseason position battle to Kamari Lassiter, the starter opposite of Kelee Ringo, and those two haven’t come off of the field much at all. But, if Georgia does have to go to the bench at corner for any reason, its No. 1 backup isn’t an option more than likely.

GC: A lot is made of how dominant Georgia’s been to start the year. What areas have Georgia struggled in early?

PT: Like I said before, the biggest struggle so far this season for Georgia would be running the ball. Going hand in hand with that, the Bulldogs dealt with redzone woes this past Saturday against Samford. When space is limited, being able to get a push up front and run the ball between the tackles is important.

So those two areas of concern absolutely align. The defense has also been a little bit ‘bend but don’t break’ish early in the season, especially against Oregon. They got two turnovers that masked some of those problems and a fourth-quarter stop in the red zone kept Oregon out of the end zone, but they haven’t been unbeatable.

So, for all the dominance that Georgia has had so far this season, there absolutely are still areas where they could improve. They know that too. It just seems a little bit nitpickish to the outside world.

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