After scuffling with turnovers, quarterback Carson Beck appears to be back on track.
Or so it seems.
After throwing for 347 yards and accounting for three touchdowns against Tennessee, Beck posted more impressive numbers in Georgia’s 59-21 win Saturday over UMass.
The senior completed 21 of 30 passes for 297 yards with four touchdowns and played his second consecutive game without throwing an interception.
“I haven't really seen anything different in Carson,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “I mean, you guys read into the stats. You just look at the stats and say, oh, clean game. And there are probably some throws there that could have been picked. But there are also some plays in the other games that shouldn't have been picked. So, I look at decision-making and process. And he processes information really well. And he executes the offense really well.”
Beck avoided an injury in the process.
On his last play before giving way to Gunner Stockton, Beck to a hard hit on a sack and was slow to get up.
Fortunately, he said he’s OK.
“I was hurting a little bit. My body's hurting for sure. But that’s football,” Beck said. “I don't have a black jersey on out there like I do in practice. But no, I'm good. I was just hurting a little bit. It is what it is. It's football, so you keep pushing.”
With Georgia’s defense struggling initially to slow down the Minutemen, Georgia needed its offense and have a good day.
Fortunately, both did.
All four of Beck’s touchdowns came in the first half alone, one each to Oscar Delp, Cash Jones, Dominic Lovett, and Arian Smith, who finished with three catches for 115 yards.
“I think first and foremost, it was just the execution,” Beck said. “We were just taking it one play at a time, first down, second down, third down. Once we get to the red zone, it's kind of different. Being able to punch it in and score touchdowns is something that we've been able to do the past two games.”
A strong run game also helped his cause.
After rushing for 57 yards in the first half, Georgia ran for 208 in the game, thanks to a big day by freshman Nate Frazier, who became the first Bulldogs to go for over 100 yards this year by rushing 21 times for 136 and three scores.
“Nate's had a great season, and being able to step up with (Trevor) Etienne being down and just kind of getting mixed into the rotation,” Beck said. “I thought he had a great game today. Just being able to make guys miss on the second level and have explosive runs, and then obviously once you get down to the red zone, you really want to be able to run the ball.”
