When TCU coach Sonny Dykes looks at Georgia, he sees a more versatile offense than the one his Horned Frogs saw in the Fiesta Bowl against Michigan.
Considering the two teams meet in Monday’s National Championship (7:30 p.m., ESPN), that comes as little surprise.
“I'll say this, I think Georgia's got probably a little bit more varied scheme than Michigan did,” Dykes said. “I thought Michigan's obviously very well-coached to have a great scheme, but Georgia does a really nice job.”
Dykes knows of what he speaks.
His background as an offensive coach includes sitting under the learning tree of both Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, along with the simple fact his dad – Spike Dykes – was the second-winningest coach in Texas Tech history.
“They're going to show you different looks. They've got great answers for things when people make adjustments in the game,” Dykes said. “It seems like Coach (Todd) Monken does a nice job of staying ahead of people as they adjust, he adjusts. They do a really good job getting their best players the ball.”
Dykes says Georgia’s offensive depth is as good as his team has seen.
From running backs like Kenny McIntosh, Daijun Edwards, and Kendall Milton, tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington, to a corps of receivers he feels does not get the credit it deserves, Dykes said Georgia’s offensive depth is one of its main strengths.
“They have a ton of playmakers. That's the thing that's unique about this team. Most of the time you play against a good team and there's two or three guys you say, look, we've got a really take this guy away. But Georgia has just so many good players and guys that are really exceptional talents,” he said. “You can't go into a game and just say, okay, look, we're going to -- if we take this guy away then they're going to have problems. That's not the case with their offense.”
Dykes said having a quarterback like Stetson Bennett at the controls doesn’t hurt, either.
Like his own quarterback Max Duggan, Dykes feels the two share a lot of the same characteristics and are huge reasons the two offenses have been effective.
“They do a great job throwing the ball, they do a great job running the ball, they're very efficient, really good on third down, really good in the red zone,” Dyke said. “You sit down, look at all the important characteristics for an offense, and they check the box in every single one of those. They're just a team that really doesn't have a lot of weaknesses.”