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Georgia’s Bye Week Priorities: Fixing The Cracks Before Florida

Georgia went into the Auburn game undefeated, sitting at No. 1 in the rankings, and looking like a team with another championship run in its sights. Three turnovers, some poorly timed penalties, and a 27-24 loss later, and now Kirby Smart has a different set of questions to answer as the bye week arrives.

The upside is that Georgia gets two weeks to sort things out. The downside is that Florida is not the same team it was a month ago. The Gators’ 27-24 win over seventh-ranked Texas should be enough to remind everyone that showing up in Atlanta and expecting talent alone to win the day is not a safe bet.

Job one is finding some consistency on offense, especially up front. Georgia’s offensive line has shown it can take over games, but that hasn’t always meant the run game is there when everyone in the stadium knows it’s coming. Injuries to Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens have not helped, but the Bulldogs still need to get better at moving people when it matters most, particularly in short-yardage spots.

Just as important, the offensive line has to give Gunner Stockton a cleaner pocket to work with. Stockton’s three turnovers against Auburn were costly, but quarterback mistakes rarely happen in a vacuum. Protection, route timing, and decision-making all have to line up. Georgia needs Stockton to make quick decisions, not play hero ball every time things get messy.

Defensively, the questions start with controlling the line of scrimmage and stretch all the way out to the edges. Georgia has the talent to make life tough for just about any offensive line, but talent and execution are not the same thing. The defensive linemen have to win their battles without giving up their gaps, and the edge guys need to keep things inside instead of letting quarterbacks and running backs bounce outside for easy yards. Running back Jadan Baugh presents a legitimate challenge, and freshman quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has given the Gators additional reason for optimism following his first start against Texas. Georgia cannot afford to allow either player comfortable running lanes or opportunities created by missed assignments.

The Bulldogs also need to get back to playing disciplined defense. Auburn showed how quickly missed tackles, penalties, and mental lapses can wipe out a lot of good work. Georgia probably doesn’t need to get fancy with new defensive looks. What it needs is eleven guys doing their jobs at the same time. The Auburn loss exposed a team that sometimes let mistakes become distractions.

This year, the Georgia-Florida rivalry moves from Jacksonville to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the venue change doesn’t really change the challenge. Florida comes in thinking it can knock off a better team. Georgia needs to remember that having more talent only matters if it comes with better execution.

The bye week is a chance to fix what needs fixing. How well Georgia uses it might tell us more about their championship chances than anything we saw in the first six wins.

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