With multiple key players out, the Dawgs still managed to put up 7 touchdowns and 582 yards against an admirably high-spirited UAB team besting the Blazers to the tune of 49 to 21 in what was Kirby Smart’s 100th game as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Continuing to look at the offensive side of things, this appeared to be a better night for Carson Beck and the Georgia offense in general which is good for the pundits that have criticized his ability to get it done at the quarterback position and the fans who were concerned about it.
It wasn’t perfect, and yes there may have been a couple of questions inspired from yesterday’s outing, but what’s different with the job they did against UAB is now we can see that Beck may just be coming into his own with this offense.
Throwing 22 for 32 and not having to play the whole game isn’t bad. Of course the people are going to say, “It was just UAB.” But if it’s just UAB, those are the type of numbers he should be throwing. And quite frankly, Beck’s numbers could have been fluffed up more if Arian Smith hadn’t dropped a touchdown pass in the first half. So what, he hasn’t proven himself to be elite yet, but it’s just his fourth game as a starter.
And to his credit, Beck did all that while missing his star receiver in Ladd McConkey, starting right tackle Amarius Mims, and being down three running backs in Branson Robinson, Kendall Milton, and Roderick Robinson. The injury list just keeps getting longer and longer and the ground game just gets more and more interesting as Dillon Bell took more reps at running back than receiver last night.
Speaking of injuries, the defensive side of the ball was also missing some big names in Javon Bullard– which was expected given his situation last week— and Mykel Williams which surprised some folks. We didn’t realize Williams was out until he literally wasn’t in the game or on the sidelines. Smart said he was “sick. The defense definitely felt these absences. They let up an uncharacteristic 21 points. It’s not to their standard, but it’s something they’ll “go to the doctor” about it soon enough as Nazir Stackhouse mentioned postgame.
Overall the team didn’t do bad. They won the game. But Georgia fans have been spoiled the past two years, so expectations were a bit higher going into this game– and this season as whole quite frankly, and admittedly there were some opportunities left on the field. Stackhouse even mentioned it, referring to it
as “a lot of money left out on the field.”
But on the brighter side of things, Coach Smart said his team “got better this week,” and that’s the goal every week. Offensively, the team definitely did get better. They looked a bit smoother against UAB. Now, the defense may have slipped up a bit, but they’ll recover.
We’re still learning what this team is, and we’re all still thinking about what this team is destined to be. The injuries definitely make things a little blurry, but now a real test is coming next week. The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry against Auburn in Auburn should definitely teach Kirby a thing or two about his team. And we just get to sit back and watch.