Georgia is going to need its offense clicking on all cylinders over the next month.
The Bulldogs' SEC gauntlet has arrived, with Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Kentucky looming to close out the conference schedule. Unlike some opponents thus far on the schedule, those foes can challenge Georgia by putting some points up on the board.
After the bye week, the Bulldogs feel they're ready to attack the home stretch offensively.
Georgia's offense had its issues earlier in the season. The Bulldogs stumbled at times against Kent State, Missouri, and Auburn, before finding their footing in a 55-0 win over Vanderbilt before the bye.
Over the off week, the team worked on many of the scenarios they'll be presented with over the next few games.
"Probably 90 percent of our work was good on good against each other, situational football," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. Third down, two-minute, red area, second-and-10, third down, team run. There’s no area that we practice that we didn’t work on."
Quarterback Stetson Bennett said the team attacked those situations in practice. He noticed accountability from his teammates that he feels will be vital in the weeks ahead.
"It’s always been said that a player-led team versus a coach-led team is better. I think that’s because you keep guys accountable," Bennett said. "It’s not just the coaches telling us that we need to fix things. It’s us going in the film room after practice, before practice, looking up script, knowing what we have to do, and then when we don’t do it, we go fix it. I think that’s a sign of maturity. I think we did a good job of it over the bye week."
Schematics and execution are vital for the offense's success. So too is health, as the Bulldogs used the off week to heal up.
Bennett has been dealing with a nagging injury to his throwing shoulder. He sustained the injury against Missouri, but the shoulder has been feeling better week by week. He told reporters on Monday he feels better now, heading into this weekend's contest against Florida.
The biggest absence has been receiver AD Mitchell. He suffered a high ankle sprain against Samford and has seen extremely limited action since.
Smart said Monday that Mitchell hasn't been practicing much with the team, but they're still hopeful he will play against Florida.
"AD is a really good wideout," Smart said. "He has twitch, he has explosive quickness. You watch, just across the country, you watch all these teams play, there are dynamic receivers. I think AD’s a dynamic receiver. He’s hard to cover one-on-one. I get to see him every day at practice when he’s been healthy. You know you’ve got a guy that can go compete, do some things. He’s got toughness, he’s got quicks."
The Bulldogs have adapted with Mitchell on the sidelines. Whether he's on the field or not, the offense will have its work cut out over the next few weeks.
Tennessee is first in the SEC in scoring at 50.14 points per game. Mississippi State is eighth (31.75), Florida is ninth (31.43), and Kentucky is 11th (26.43).
Those aren't eye-popping stats on their own. But when you factor in that Georgia has played the 10th, 12th, and 13th-best scoring offenses (as well as No. 6 South Carolina) already in the 14-team SEC, it shows that the biggest tests are still ahead.
The Georgia defense of course will be tasked with stopping these foes. But if the Bulldogs hope to complete another undefeated regular season, the offense will also have to be able to put its own points up on the board.
