It was a win, but Georgia missed opportunity to try and spark offense with QB change

On a drive where Georgia had a chance to separate itself, quarterback Stetson Bennett threw a deep pass at midfield. An errant throw entirely missed freshman receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who broke his route and deserved some blame for the miscue.

Nonetheless, Bennett stood on the large Kentucky logo and looked over to the sideline with a blank stare. He trudged toward his teammates as another Georgia offensive drive was squashed.

Georgia walked out of Kroger Field with its fourth victory of the season Saturday, a 14-3 win over the Wildcats. But the narrative remained the same as previous games: Georgia’s offense lacks a needed element and hasn’t played to the elite level that matches the talent on its roster.

It starts at quarterback, where Bennett might not be the answer. On Saturday, Georgia wasn’t trying anything different.

“There was no discussion about it. A batted ball on a pass he has to get around a guy is not a real struggle,” Smart said after the game, speaking of Bennett’s first interception. “I know you can say, ‘If it happens once, shame on me, but if it happens twice, shame on you.’ But he also did a lot of good things in the run game.”

He’s thrown five interceptions over the last two games. Some of them are not entirely his fault, but multiple passes have been deflected by the defensive line and those plays have spooked the offense. A pair of interceptions Saturday cost Georgia some valuable points.

Bennett hasn’t shown the arm strength to consistently throw deep passes. The desired “explosives” by offensive coordinator Todd Monken have come by way of quick or intermediate passes and a handful of yards after the catch.

Georgia’s offense has looked stagnant throughout the season. At best, the Bulldogs have strung together one half of offensive football while the other has been a dud. This game was no different — well, kind of. Georgia scored seven points in each half, but had plenty of head-scratching moments where the passing attack couldn’t find traction.

“I feel great about Stetson,” Smart said on Oct. 20 as the off week began. “He’s done a great job of managing the situations we’ve put him in.”

The sense of confidence is obvious with Smart. He has played his cards in similar fashion in each of his seasons that involved a quarterback controversy. And that’s most of them, believe it or not. Once Smart finds his answer, the sixth-year coach hasn’t hesitated to stick with it.

The Bennett story is great. The former walk-on worked his way up the depth chart and earned his role after entering in an emergency situation at Arkansas. He led the team to victory that afternoon, and followed it with two more at home against Auburn and Tennessee. But the last two games have been different, and Smart has refused to budge.

A lot of chatter centers around JT Daniels, the former five-star prospect and transfer from Southern Cal. Each week, Daniels is discussed and the chances of him receiving playing time are continuously shot down. He traveled and ran with the third-team offense in warmups ahead of Saturday’s game. It seems evident, at least at this point, that Daniels is not healthy and fully recovered from the torn ACL suffered at the beginning of 2019.

It’s logical to believe that Daniels would be a legitimate option if healthy. Georgia would not have fought for an immediate eligibility waiver and lured Daniels to transfer if he didn’t have a shot. Once Jamie Newman opted out, Daniels seemed like the obvious go-to option. But if not healthy, Daniels can’t be counted on to save Georgia’s offense.

Quite frankly, Georgia’s offense doesn’t need a savior. It showed a strong running game by leaning on Zamir White against Kentucky. To score more points, however, the passing dimension is needed. Georgia called 15 consecutive run plays to open the game, a sign of Smart wanting to lean on his team’s strengths.

Why not go back to who Georgia started with? Yes, D’Wan Mathis — the former four-star prospect who was yanked after four drives at Arkansas and never given another chance.

Mathis played poorly in Fayetteville. But he had flashes with his running abilities (which Smart attributed as a reason for playing Bennett) and took a full year off due to a brain injury. Mathis was the guy Georgia decided on after weeks of fall practice, so why did it give up on him so quickly?

Maybe Mathis isn’t the answer. Bennett hasn’t been the answer. Maybe there is no answer. But, at this point, there’d be no harm in Georgia trying something.

The Bulldogs are good, but not an elite level of good. Much of that has to do with a stagnant offense. This current method won’t bode well through future games against Florida and potentially a rematch with Alabama.

It might be unlikely for Smart to look anywhere other than Bennett. He might need to experiment.

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 3:07 PM with the headline "It was a win, but Georgia missed opportunity to try and spark offense with QB change."