ATLANTA – David Pollack and Tim Tebow agreed on one thing Friday. Both have huge concerns as it pertains to Georgia in Saturday’s SEC Championship against LSU (4 p.m., CBS).
Pollack, a three-time All-American for the Bulldogs and current analyst on ESPN's College Gameday, simply isn’t sure what can be done to slow down an LSU offense that’s averaging over 48 points per game—even for a defense as good as he believes Georgia’s is.
“It used to be defense wins championships. I don’t think defense wins championships anymore,” Pollack told reporters. “You have to have a great offense to win the college football championship, so we’ll get to see. We’ll get to see if old school defense can still reign supreme.
“Listen, this is a Big 12 offense. This isn’t an offense that does something that no one else does. This is an offense that spreads you out. They’re going to get theirs; you just have to find a way to somehow adjust.”
Pollack said LSU’s ability to adjust is a large part of what makes the Tigers so dangerous.
“It’s not a trick; they know what they’re doing. If you blitz them, they have the answers. If you want to play Cover 1, they’re going to hit deep-overs; they’re going to hit fades and gos,” Pollack said. “If you play Dime and Nickel, they’re going to run duos all day and run the football at you. They just do a really good job of knowing where to attack every level of a defense.”
So, is there anything the Bulldogs can do?
“Kirby, as brilliant as he is defensively, can come up with something to make a few plays. Tua (Tagovailoa) last year was rolling coming into the game, and cooled off big-time,” Pollack said. “It’s just what can you find to slow them down for a possession or two. Auburn tried the Tower approach, three down and bring in a lot of speed; it of worked. It’s just what can you bring down to slow them down a little bit, hold the rope so your offense can make plays, hold the ball for a little bit, and hope everybody works together.”
But can they?
When it comes to Georgia’s offense, Pollack and Tebow aren’t very sure.
“When you look at the film, they’re really not winning a lot of one on match-ups like some of these other teams are,” said Tebow, an analyst for the SEC Network. “They’re not schemed up to do as well as Alabama or LSU or some of the other offenses. All of that plays into it.”
Both also have questions regarding quarterback Jake Fromm, whose inconsistency has been well-documented.
“He’s definitely culpable. He’s missed a lot of throws that were wide open. The system and the scheme are getting to know each other, but still they hasn’t really clicked together yet, and they need to do that this week,” Pollack said. “It’s done well at times, but they’ve yet to put together a complete game, and they need to do that.”
Tebow said it would behoove Georgia’s offensive coaches to go back to the game plan the Bulldogs used in their 24-17 win over Florida.
“I loved their approach against Florida in Jacksonville,” he said. “I thought (James) Coley had some real good plays where they got people open, and Jake was very efficient and effective. They will have to play this game very similar to that.”
If not, Tebow said it may be time for Georgia to start evaluating what they do.
“I think you always need to be constantly evaluating, and I think that Georgia wants to play a certain style of football that’s good for Georgia. It’s good for their personality, because there aren’t many teams in the SEC who are playing that style of football,” he said. “Everyone is going to the hurry-up and spread, so when you can change it up, it’s different; teams aren’t used to it. They’re kind of like the odd man a little, but there are times when you have to be effective with the drop-back passing game, and that’s something that constantly needs to be looked at.”