Here is the Nov. 1 edition of The Daily Recap presented by JFQ Lending.
In defense of Bennett
Following Saturday’s 34-7 win over Florida, linebacker Nolan Smith went out of his way to defend quarterback Stetson Bennett. Smith said he was disappointed with what has been written and said in recent weeks about Bennett, who he said does a great job leading the UGA offense.
"I want to say something about my quarterback—Stetson Bennett, 'The Mailman,'” Smith said. “Y’all call him the weak point in our offense. I read all y’alls stuff; I know I’m not supposed to, but one thing about Stetson, he works; he’s not worried about nobody. He’s a blue-collar guy.”
Against Florida, Bennett completed 10 of 19 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It wasn’t Bennett’s best performance but it was enough in a game otherwise dominated by Georgia’s defense.
Smith said that he has a ton of faith in Bennett to lead the offense each and every week.
“When you talk about trusting a guy, I trust him, because he goes out and works, and always puts his best foot forward every day,” Smith said. “Even though it may not look pretty to y’all, he gets the job done.”
Was it elite?
Head coach Kirby Smart was asked if Georgia’s defensive performance against Florida was elite or not.
Smart did not think it measured up as an elite outing.
"No. Absolutely not, because we gave up 194 passing yards, 161 rushing yards. That's not elite,” Smart said. “That's not our standard. Now, if you want to say turnovers, if you want to categorize turnovers as elite, yes, that was elite. We're trying to play total defense. So we helped ourselves in the turnover category, and we went backwards with the rush, pass, all those statistics. But at the end of the day, did they get in your end zone? When you hold a team under 13 points, I think that's elite, but there was not a total elite standard defense."
Not at its best, yet dominant
Among Brent Rollins’ post-game thoughts was that despite the fact Georgia didn’t play its best football, it still recorded a 27-point victory over a hated rival.
“How good are you when you're not at your best? Well, three turnovers, untimely penalties, and pass protection issues had Georgia looking sloppy for much of this game,” Rollin wrote. “In spite of that, the defense played to its normal standard, and the offense took advantage during a five-play stretch that changed the entire complexion of the game with the Nolan Smith strip of Anthony Richardson, the James Cook touchdown run, the Smith interception, and then the perfect throw and catch touchdown from Stetson Bennett to Kearis Jackson. Seven plays later, Nakobe Dean put the nail in the coffin with his pick-six. Florida wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunities it was given, and the Bulldogs still cruised to the 27-point win. Not too bad on a day when you weren't as sharp as you've been and can be.”
Postgame Overreaction Show
By the numbers
Dave McMahon compiled all of the key statistics from Saturday’s victory over the Gators. Among those is the fact Georgia scored on one-play drives twice against Florida, which brings the total of one-play drives to five for the season. In addition, running back Zamir White’s 105-yard outing marked the fourth time he has gone over the century mark during his career.
Embrace this run
Dayne Young wrote that it’s time to embrace the season Georgia appears to be putting together.
“How is it that a segment of the fanbase can’t embrace a 34-7 win over Florida because of impending fear of Alabama and Ohio State, neither of which is certain to be an opponent anyway?” Young wrote. “More troubling, how is it that a group of people who have endured so much more than a title drought fail to embrace the same interpersonal connections the coach cites as the team's secret sauce?”
Embrace Bennett
Anthony Dasher wrote that maybe it’s time for many of Bennett’s doubters to come around and embrace that he’s the starting quarterback, at least for the time being.
“Until he proves otherwise, perhaps it’s in the best interest of everyone to get behind the Blackshear native instead of trying to poke holes in his game and wonder if he’s capable of doing the job he’s been charged so far to do,” Dasher wrote. “These notions that Bennett cannot throw the ball downfield, and he “doesn’t have the arm,” are narratives that, assuming you’ve actually been watching, do not exactly qualify as true. No, his interceptions were not good plays. Both throws were ill-advised and bad play calls, and Bennet was burned trying to force the issue when perhaps he should have lived to fight another play. But even those mistakes should not take away the fact that Bennett continues to deliver some very impressive wins for the nation’s top-ranked team.”
Turnovers changed the game
Georgia forced three turnovers against Florida, with all of them coming late in the first half and changing the trajectory of the game. Up only 3-0 with less than three minutes to play, Smith forced a fumble from quarterback Anthony Richardson and recovered the football. Running back James Cook ran the ball in for an 11-yard touchdown on the next play.
On Florida’s next series, Travon Walker deflected a pass that Smith intercepted, which led to a 36-yard touchdown throw from Bennett to Kearis Jackson. And then with seven seconds to play in the first half, Nakobe Dean picked off Richardson and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown.
The coaches challenged the defense last week by showing a graphic depicting the team not in the upper tier in turnovers produced.
"That offends our guys," Smart said. "I can’t say that’s why we got turnovers. I can only tell you that was the attempt to challenge their pride. It worked out this week."
Game over
Time to feast
Outside the Vent
TCU decides to part ways with Gary Patterson.
Michigan State moved up to No. 5 in this week’s AP poll.
Epic clashes set the stage for what will be an interesting November.
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