2021 UGA Football: Week Ten

 UGA Instant Analysis 

Week 10:  W vs. Missouri; 9-0 

While not all Braves fans are Georgia fans, all Georgia fans are Braves fans, so our sports excitement is at an all time high. The Braves closed out a season to remember forever this week, so now it’s time for the Bulldawgs to match it. For Georgia Football — another slow start, another strong finish. Missouri is not very good, so to watch their offense have some success, and Georgia go almost the whole first quarter without points was alarming. Like good teams do, Coach Smart’s young men turned up the heat and left no doubt who the better team on the field was. Georgia’s got the biggest test remaining next week against a dangerous Tennessee offense, so they’ll need to settle down from the injuries and off-field noise and set up to dominate UT on the road. Despite the slow start, and everything going on around the program, I am convinced now the only thing standing between UGA Football and a national championship is consistent quarterback play. 

This is one of the closest weeks for each unit, as all three phases were good but not great. The offense will start off this week’s analysis but only because there was a punt block on special teams. The offense is here simply because Georgia could not effectively run the football, and it took way too long to exploit the stacked Missouri front through the air. This is probably the third or fourth game where I felt Coach Monken was calling a strange game early, but like the last times too, he ended on strong notes and got more than enough points to close the door. I will limit the quarterback conversation, but offer the possibility both Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels are good enough to win games, and both offer different skill sets. If that sounds familiar, that’s the message Coach Smart feeds the media, but I don’t think he’s lying about it and I believe it too. I personally think there is one better than the other, especially in this system, but both proved capable of leading Georgia to victory. They both played ok, although I think Stetson benefitted from some ridiculous pass catching help to avoid disasters, and it’s a big possibility Georgia needs both QBs to win it all. With that out of the way, the stars of offense this week were two young men Georgia desperately needs to win a championship: Arian Smith and Jermaine Burton. McConkey, Jackson, Mitchell, Bowers, Washington, all these guys are great and contribute massively to the offense. We talk tailbacks and offensive line a lot too. But Smith and Burton pop the top off this offense and can score from anywhere on the field. They are incredible athletes with great speed, strong hands, and are willing to block downfield in support of their teammates. With Missouri adding extra pressure to the run game, Smith and Burton broke off their man coverage constantly and provided dangerous targets for Coach Monken. While I always believe games are won and lost on the offensive and defensive lines, explosive receivers and mismatch tight ends really put stress on defenses, and with these players healthy Georgia has that advantage. 

Special teams falls in the middle this week. They struggled in the first quarter with kick coverage, mostly due to tackling issues, but a blocked punt and a relatively limited return game after the first quarter earned them this spot. For my consistent readers, you are likely tired of hearing about Nolan Smith — too bad. This young man, who I do believe is the most versatile defender on this team and likely the country, also provided the Dawgs a spark by blocking a punt for the special teams unit. Not too often are starting linebackers, especially those with first or second round talent, blocking kicks. I do wish Dan Jackson covered it for the TD but the safety earned points while also setting up the offense for success. Podlesny made his kicks and Camarda was effective with his limited opportunities. In order to end the season on top, all three phases must be effective, so Georgia must continue to build on a strong special teams unit because it may be the difference in a tight matchup. 

The defense will stay in the winner’s circle of my analysis until further notice, although it wasn’t their best performance. Georgia’s strong D was excellent after a questionable start, and another week of TD-less play is remarkable. Similar to special teams, there were way too many missed tackles in this game, something I rarely say about Kirby Smart’s teams. With the off-field issues centering on defense, I wonder if the defensive minds weren’t 100% focused. I guess the good news is, even with an unfocused and lackadaisical performance an SEC opponent failed to find the end zone. The fourth quarter stand with the #2’s was awesome to watch. I’m really excited for linebacker Chaz Chambliss to see playing time in the future. The play to highlight on defense came early when Georgia was still struggling and needed a spark and Lewis Cine provided. He read a screen perfectly and planted the seed of doubt in Missouri’s brain. The way Georgia presses those passes, along with the way they set the edge, continue to impress and their speed is unreal. Despite some shakiness, Coach Lanning’s squad proved once again it is a championship-caliber group.

It is hard to provide an accurate analysis this week without addressing the Adam Anderson issue. I don’t know all the details, and I won’t make any judgements without the facts coming out, but I think Coach Smart is handling this the right way. He removed Anderson from the lineup and from what it looks like, will do so until those facts are known. To me, this is the appropriate way to handle these situations, especially those as severe are sexual assault. I hope the alleged victim is safe, and I hope the truth comes out quickly so either Anderson is punished appropriately or reinstated. 

Closing out the UGA-specific items, I was happy to see Coach Mark Richt honored at today’s game. It’s no secret, I was not fond of Coach Richt’s performance in Athens. Despite his inability to hire quality assistants and develop top prospects into stars, he was and is a good man and deserves credit for a lot of success at Georgia. I wish him the best in his health battle and hope we enjoys UGA forever.

Top ten after week 10 (most deserving, not necessarily BEST):

1. Georgia
2. Oklahoma
3. Alabama
4. Oregon 
5. Ohio State
6. Cincinnati 
7. Notre Dame
8. Texas A&M
9. Michigan State
10. Michigan
11. Honorable mention: Purdue 

Go Dawgs!