Is Georgia Football Truly Vulnerable or Just Bored?

Following Georgia Football’s dominant 49-3 win against No. 11 Oregon in week one, the Bulldogs looked to be the same terrifying behemoth they were last season.

Any doubts about losing boatloads of talent to the NFL Draft were instantly rectified and Georgia looked like it would cruise all the way to Atlanta and the College Football Playoff yet again.

This carried over into much of the first month of the season as the Bulldogs defense didn’t even give up their first touchdown until late in the second half against South Carolina in week three. The team outscored its first three opponents 130-10.

Everything was perfect in Athens.

That was until the first signs of a championship hangover occurred when the Kent State Golden Flashes came to town on September 24.

Georgia ended up winning 39-22 but the Flashes seemed to give them fits all day. The Bulldogs didn’t even come close to covering the hefty 42.5 point spread as Kent State’s offense moved the ball well with scoring drives of 70 and 75 yards against the vaunted Bulldog defense.

Georgia also turned it over three times to keep the Flashes in it including two uncharacteristic fumbles. However, it was only a minimal concern. Teams usually have one dud per year and the Dawgs were just getting it out of the way early.

The problem was, it happened again.

A Missouri team picked to finish 6th in the SEC East gave the Bulldogs all they could handle and it took a late fourth quarter drive to avert disaster. If the defense didn’t step up and force Missouri to kick five field goals, Georgia very easily could’ve lost and this would be a much different article about the biggest upset to date of the ’22 season.

Missouri seemed to control the trenches for many parts of the game and had success running the ball with 102 team rushing yards and 4.9 yards per carry. On the other side, Georgia struggled mightily at times to run block and hold up in pass protection. The offensive line gave up two sacks and nine tackles for loss. They also lost two fumbles for the second straight week.

“When you’re not running the ball, you’re usually getting your butt-whipped [on the line of scrimmage],” said head coach Kirby Smart when asked about it after the game.

For a time, Georgia truly was getting their butt-whipped. How often do you see that against a team not named Alabama?

So what’s the issue with Georgia? Are their recent struggles a sign of something larger or is it simply an unwillingness to get up for opponents they deem inferior?

Is Georgia Football truly vulnerable?

It’s no secret that besides Oregon (who happens to be much improved now), the Bulldogs have played a fairly weak schedule up to this point. Their opponents post Oregon have a combined 11-9 record and a good chunk of those wins come from Samford whose only FBS opponent this season has been Georgia.

Georgia Football hasn’t played a team ranked in the AP Poll since week one and they likely won’t again until No. 8 Tennessee comes to town on November 5 (the only other hope is Florida on October 29 but that seems unlikely).

Players notice this and the lack of the “big game” can affect their play. Fans notice this and it affects whether they (a) want to take the drive out to Sanford Stadium and scream until they’re hoarse or (b) lounge on their couch.

Much of Georgia’s issues the past two weeks are fixable. Fumbles can be corrected with constant ball security drills. Line of scrimmage struggles (when you have as much talent as Georgia) can be fixed with scheme and effort. Getting the ball out of Stetson Bennett’s hands faster with quick throws can alleviate sack issues.

If anyone can fix these problems, it’s Georgia. The defending national champions house more talent than 95% of college football and have one of the best head coaches and coaching staffs in the country.

But it’s going to come down to effort and respecting their opponent regardless of whether they have a number next to their name or a losing record.

The Bulldogs’ current issues can more than likely still lead to wins against Auburn and Vanderbilt. But if these issues aren’t corrected by November, Georgia Football could be in danger because No. 8 Tennessee (who happens to run the same offense as Kent State), No. 23 Mississippi State, and No. 13 Kentucky will make the Dawgs pay for their mistakes.

If Georgia is bored they better wake up quick. All the pieces are there for a potential repeat national title, but if the Bulldogs continue to sleepwalk, their championship dreams (both SEC and National) could crash and burn in a heartbeat. They almost did in CoMo.

If Georgia comes out and beats the brakes off Auburn this week, all will be forgiven and any  doubts about the Bulldogs will go away.

But if they struggle again, the murmurs are only going to get louder.