Georgia football took a very disappointing loss on Saturday against Ole Miss in one of the marquee games of the weekend. Carson Beck and the offense couldn't get much of anything going in this one, and the Rebels controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball on their way to a season-changing 28-10 win.
Georgia mustered just 245 total yards of offense as it struggled in all departments. The elite Ole Miss defensive line got pressure on Beck and also slowed down Trevor Etienne and the running game all day, leaving the Bulldogs without many answers.
After the game, Smart came to the defense of Beck despite a subpar day for the team, according to the Associated Press via ESPN.
“I thought Carson played good. We put a lot on him,” Smart said. “He’s playing on the road with crowd noise, but he stood in the pocket, made some nice plays. I’m not here to be critical of him.”
Beck's woes continued in this one, especially when it comes to taking care of the football. He finished 20-for-31 with 186 yards and an interception with a fumble lost as well. Georgia's only touchdown drive of the game was a 21-yard drive set up by a Jaxson Dart interception, and they were never able to threaten the Ole Miss defense again.
Why Georgia's offense is concerning after loss to Ole Miss
Georgia's offense has sputtered at times this season, leaving major cause for concern for Kirby Smart and company moving forward. Georgia has a huge game next weekend against No. 7 Tennessee, and it has a lot of things to get fixed if it wants to stay in the hunt for the SEC Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The first thing that needs to turn around is the turnovers. Beck has been far too sloppy with the football this season, and he seems to be struggling to find open men consistently after the departures of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey from last year's team. He gave the ball away two more times in Saturday's loss, which is a trend that just cannot continue.
Beck didn't get much help from the pieces around him in this one either. Georgia managed just 59 rushing yards on 33 attempts on Saturday, good for 1.8 yards per carry. That is a basically nonexistent running game, which makes Beck's job even more difficult in the bad weather in Oxford. He was also sacked five times as the Rebels' defensive line dominated the game from start to finish.
There is some good news here. Unless they play Ole Miss again, Georgia won't face the kind of buzzsaw up front that it did on Saturday. Tennessee has a very good defense, but the talent up front on that unit doesn't quite compare to what Lane Kiffin has at Ole Miss. A lighter opponent should allow Georgia to establish the run and play on its own terms a little bit more, which will make Beck's life easier.
Despite all of that, this kind of performance on offense has become too common for the Bulldogs in conference play this season. That doesn't bode well for their championship dreams down the stretch of the season.
Follow Us
Subscribe
