What's wrong with Carson Beck?

According to his head coach Kirby Smart, who fielded that very question on Monday, the answer is nothing.

"I don't think anything's wrong with him," Smart said. "He hasn't played perfect, but nobody does. I'm very comfortable with where Carson is in terms of his leadership, his practice habits, the things we're asking him to do. I think he's doing a good job of those."

Still, the numbers show that Beck hasn't been as sharp this year as he was in 2023.

Beck's completion percentage has dropped from 72.4 percent last season to 66 percent this season. Beck's interception total through seven games in 2024 (eight) has already surpassed his total of six from the entire 2023 season.

In Georgia's two biggest games of the year to this point, Beck has had his fair share of struggles. In the loss to Alabama and the win against Texas, Beck completed 50 of 91 passes (54.9 percent) for 614 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions.

After the Texas game, Beck owned up to his performance.

"I was just off it felt like the entire game," Beck said. "I think the fourth quarter, it really started to kick in for the most part, but I mean, I was just off. I mean, that's obviously really difficult. I mean, not to say that games like that are going to happen, but, you know, plays, I can't control everything. I can control what I can control and I’ve got to go back and watch a film and I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to be better for this team."

Smart fully expected his quarterback to respond that way. He wants to see better from everyone around Beck.

"We need to coach better, we need to execute better," Smart said. "We need the people around him to play better. That's the ownership that a quarterback takes, and I wouldn't expect him to answer any questions like that any other way."

Receiver Arian Smith also feels like Beck is in a good place.

"I’d probably say he doesn’t really need to do much better as a quarterback," Smith said. "He does all the things he needs to do as a quarterback for us, like make sure we're in the right run, the right protection. I'm sure he's talking about things like he missed a throw, or we missed a catch or something like that on offense, taking accountability because that's the person he is. So I'd probably say nothing, we’ve just got to play better as an offense and be all 11 of us on the same page for where that play to work."

Georgia will need Beck at his best over the next month. The Bulldogs have pivotal contests upcoming against Florida in Jacksonville, at Ole Miss, and against Tennessee at home as they chase another SEC title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.