The Key to Unlocking Georgia's Offense
Georgia's offense seven games into the season has been impressive for the most part though, a bit inconsistent at times. In some games, they score seven straight touchdowns as they did against Oregon but then they struggle to score 26 points against Missouri. They rank towards the top in a lot of offensive statistical categories, but if you're asking yourself where is there room for improvement during this bye week, well there's a pretty reasonable explanation.
Right now, the Bulldogs are averaging 41.7 points per game which ranks 10th nationally, and 526.6 yards of total offense which ranks 4th amongst all FBS teams. It hasn't been an issue of moving the ball for Georgia or even an issue of scoring points. They've been plenty efficient, but have they been explosive?
Let's take a look at how Georgia stacks up amongst some of the nation's best offenses in some of these stat categories.
Georgia ranks 10th in the nation for the number of offensive plays ran with 508. Alabama has 488 on the season, Tennessee with 450, and Ohio State with 404. All three of those teams also rank inside the top five for scoring offense, so they're scoring more points in fewer plays compared to Georgia right now.
The number of explosive plays is another stat where Georgia's offense is lacking. The Bulldogs rank 7th in the nation for offensive plays of 20+ yards, but there is a quick drop-off. They rank 66th for 30+ yard plays with 13, and 114th for 40+ yard plays with only three.
Alabama, Tennessee, and Ohio State all rank inside the top ten for both 30+ and 40+ yard plays on offense. All three also have more than 20 plays that have hit for 30 or more yards and over 10 plays that have hit for 40 or more yards. The biggest difference between Georgia and those that are labeled as "offensive juggernauts" is the ability to score points efficiently and gain yards in bunches.
One area where Georgia has struggled this season is red zone scoring. While they are fourth for red zone scoring percentage, no other team has as many trips to the red zone as them.
Georgia has 43 red zone trips while Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee all have less than 35. Both the Volunteers and Buckeyes are also perfect in the red zone. A lot of that has to do with those teams scoring from further out due to their number of explosive plays which in return limits the number of red zone trips.
This isn’t to say that Georgia’s offense is mediocre. In fact, many would probably label them as elite based on where they rank in most stat categories, particularly efficiency-based metrics. But if they want to compete with some of these high-motor offenses, like the ones listed in this article, then they have to find ways to hit their deep shots and create explosive plays.
The Bulldogs have no issue moving the ball. They rank 6th in yards per play. It's a matter of scoring points more efficiently and scoring in fewer number plays than they are right now. Georgia's offense is good this year but they have the potential to be great by the end of the season.
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