Must win in Austin?

The Georgia Bulldogs have been less than impressive this season, and most of the fanbase is ready to write them off this game against the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns are the number one team in the nation, but have yet to face a true test. People will argue that wins at Michigan, and at home against Oklahoma are enough to garner the praise that the Longhorns are getting, but I do not think that this Texas team is as good as everyone would like to tell you that they are. I am not saying this is a good football team, but the consensus thinking that this will just be a walk in the park for the Longhorns could not be further from the truth. We are going to get into the the reason why Georgia is better than the people think, and what the Dawgs need to be able to do to leave Austin with a win.

The Georgia Bulldogs next two games following the loss to Alabama were wins, but they were not as impressive as Dawg Nation would have liked. It was a tale of two issues for the Dawgs. Against Auburn the offense looked sluggish, and the defense held their own. Against Mississippi State the offense was firing on all cylinders, and the defense looked like they did in the first half of the Alabama game. The Dawgs need to put a complete game together, which we have not seen yet this year. The positives though, enough harping on the negatives. Carson Beck is still one of the top quarterbacks in the nation if not THE top quarterback. He has gotten better with every game, and has been able to connect with his weapons more and more every game. The offense has not really been the question this season, but the one downside if you could find one has been the offensive line. The Dawgs have not been able to run the ball at will like we are used to seeing since the injury to Tate Ratledge, and they have not been able to protect Carson Beck well since that either. This offensive line is not going to get better over night, but these shortcomings can be hidden by scheme. We have seen Mike Bobo do this by bringing in an extra big body on the goal line, but the Dawgs have some of the best tight ends in the nation. Hopefully we see some 12 from the Dawgs on Saturday, as a heavy dosage of our tight ends will help us run the ball better, and will not cause a huge drop off in our passing game. There have been two holes in the Dawgs' defense though, the pass rush and the secondary. The pass rush questions have a simple answer, and that is the injuries that have been plaguing the Dawgs pass rush this season are finally going away. Mykel Williams was able to start against Mississippi State, and is only getting healthier and that should provide a huge boost to the Dawgs pass rush. This pass rush getting better can only help the other hole in the Dawgs defense and that is the secondary. The Dawgs have not been able to find a second corner this year, and this has hurt them when it comes to running that man defense that Kirby Smart is known for. Smart was stubborn staying in the man against Mississippi State even though it was getting burnt, I doubt that he will be as stubborn against the Longhorns. With all this being said the pass rush getting back to normal could be all the Dawgs need to get back to being an elite defense and that is all we can hope for right now.

I kind of hit on some of the things that I think the Dawgs need to do to leave Austin with a win on Saturday. First let's start with the offense. Branson Robinson will miss this Saturday's game against Texas, and normally missing someone is a bad thing, but I think that this is a blessing in disguise. The most explosive running back that Georgia has had this year is Nate Frazier. Kirby Smart has been weary of giving the young freshman touches in important situation mainly due to him needing to get better in pass protection. Now with Robinson injured, Kirby will be forced to give more touches to Frazier, and that could prove to be the best thing that could happen to the Dawgs run game. The Dawgs can also take advantage of an overrated Texas secondary this game. I do not think that there is a corner or safety on Texas' roster that can keep up with the speed of Arian Smith. I do not think that Texas has a linebacker that can match both the size and speed of Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie. This offense is rolling and I do not expect them to skip a beat in this game. The place where this game will be won or lost for the Dawgs is on the defensive side. Texas has an offense that can compete with everyone. The passing attack lead by Quinn Ewers is deadly, especially when you consider where the Dawgs secondary has been this year. If I was Glenn Shuman this is what I would do. On the first two drives of the game I would bring the house against Quinn Ewers. Even if the blitz is not getting there for the sack, if we get the chance to hit Ewers we have to make it hurt. Ewers is just returning from injury, and if we can make him feel uncomfortable early, it is a recipe for success. If the blitz is working there is no reason to get away from it, but if Ewers is able to find success against the blitz I would start to implement a "bend but don't break defense." If you read my Falcons blogs you have already heard me sing the praises of this defense especially when playing explosive offenses. This defense is good against explosive offenses because it does not allow for explosive plays,, and then when the field gets short in the red zone that is when you tighten up. This defense could prove to be successful if Texas gets impatient and does not take their three in the red zone. The one thing Kirby Smart can not do is show the same stubbornness that we saw in the Mississippi State game. If the Dawgs can execute, they have the talent and coaching needed to win this game, and that is the expectation.

Go Dawgs