Winning matters, even if those wins are unimpressive.
Let’s start there when discussing Georgia’s uneven start to the season.
The Bulldogs have now won 22 straight games, and this team has five of those victories.
That can’t be forgotten or dismissed.
But, through five games, this isn’t the same Georgia. Not even close. It isn’t as talented. It isn’t as experienced. And it certainly isn’t performing up to the standard of the previous two championship seasons.
Kirby Smart’s group has played two teams of note – mediocre-at-best SEC foes South Carolina and Auburn – and struggled in both games. It was flat both times, needing to rally to avoid what would’ve been disastrous losses.
It blew out the other three outclassed opponents, UT Martin, Ball State and UAB, games that certainly seem to be a detriment to Georgia’s development.
Aside from SEC punching bag Vanderbilt, the cupcake portion of the schedule is now over. If Georgia doesn’t get better soon, that winning streak is going to end, starting Saturday in Athens, Ga. against undefeated Kentucky. The surprising Wildcats are coming off a 33-14 blitzing of Florida.
It would’ve been silly to expect Georgia to just pick up where last year’s team left off. It lost 10 players to the NFL Draft, a group that included quarterback Stetson Bennett, defensive tackle Jalen Carter and offensive tackle Broderick Jones. The year before, 15 Bulldogs were selected.
The belief was that Smart’s recruiting has been so good that in time the four-and-five-star prospects would emerge. That has yet to happen.
The rushing attack, a Georgia staple, has been underwhelming. The Bulldogs ran for just 107 yards against Auburn and are 79th in the country, averaging 148.6 yards per game. It notched more than 205 yards per game last year and 190 the year before.
The vaunted defense is a shell of its former self. It has yielded 34 points in the two SEC games. It allowed 42 in its first five games last year against power five opponents. It gave up 219 yards on the ground to Auburn – the most Georgia has allowed since yielding 275 yards to LSU in 2018 – and is giving up 113.4 rushing yards every Saturday. That’s abnormally high for this defense, which led the country last year in that category at 77.
If anything, Carson Beck saved them Saturday. The new starting quarterback threw for 313 yards – 157 to All-American tight end Brock Bowers – and a touchdown, and appears to be headed in the right direction after some early jitters.
Perhaps these close calls will get Georgia going. Smart can certainly use them as motivation, as evidence that this team isn’t as good as its predecessors. It will sure be interesting to see how the Bulldogs perform at home next Saturday, against their toughest opponent to date.
One thing is clear, at least so far: It would be foolish to expect dominance from Georgia. This isn’t the same team.
It’s the same old issue. The same one as last year and for almost all of his good Oklahoma teams. Lincoln Riley doesn’t have a defense.
USC may be undefeated, but it’s hard to take this team seriously as a true playoff contender when it is so woeful on that side of the ball.
The problem continued in Saturday’s win at Colorado, the Trojans gashed for 564 yards of offense by the Buffaloes, turning what should’ve been a blowout into a seven-point win.
Riley may have another Heisman Trophy winner on his hands – Caleb Williams is in position to repeat and make history – but his defense has shown no indications it is capable of doing enough to get USC over the hump. It is allowing 404.4 yards per game, and hasn’t entered the challenging part of its schedule yet.
We’re so close to uttering that three-word statement everyone loves to hear.
Just one more win, next Saturday in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma, and it will be impossible not to proclaim it everywhere we go.
Texas is undefeated. It has one of the most impressive wins of the season, at Alabama. It has a defense allowing just 12.8 points per game and a robust, explosive offense led by Heisman Trophy contender Quinn Ewers that puts up points in bunches.
Beat Oklahoma — the only other Big 12 team without a loss — Saturday in Dallas, and we’ll be ready to say that, yes, Texas is back.