Yikes! Georgia Football Might Have A Big Problem Here

ATHENS - Kirby Smart and the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs are 5-0 heading into another monster game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Bulldogs have won each of their five games by at least 20 points and have a quarterback in Gunner Stockton playing at an extremely high level. The defense has been outstanding, but did shows some flaws during their 38-14 win over Vanderbilt.

The Bulldogs gave up several first downs in key third-down situations with four of them coming through the air. They gave up 162 passing yards in the first half and had a tough time corralling saw wide receiver Junior Sherrell who had a big day against the Bulldog secondary. The Vanderbilt playmaker hauled in seven passes for 107 yards and one touchdown.

Smart told reporters after Georgia's win over Vanderbilt that they'll need to improve more on 3rd down while adding they need to continue improving week by week in the secondary.

“There a lot of things we can do to improve.," Smart told reporters. "At the end of the day you’ve got to have an identity on third down and they did a good job executing on third down. You don't trick teams. You've got to go out and play them, and they executed at a good level, and in some cases we did, and in some cases we didn't.”

A lot of credit goes to Vanderbilt quarterback Blaze Berlowitz. He played extremely well considering the circumstances and was able to make multiple plays with his legs while connecting on several passes down the field. The Dawgs ate him up in the second half, but the veteran Commodore quarterback did show that the Bulldog defense can still improve.

“I thought the secondary played well," Smart told reporters. When you go to one-on-one situations, you're not gonna let them off. You can't give up PIs, and we had two of those. Those are gifts. But look, this league is becoming a closer to the NFL. They're calling things tighter and there's more PIs called each and every year, and they're calling things tight. It wasn't like there was a bust or a lack of technique on those 53 calls. We just have to play better.”

They'll certainly need to play better against an Alabama offense playing at an elite level. It won't be easy slowing down Keelon Russell and the Alabama passing attack, so the Bulldog secondary has a big test ahead of him. As well as Russell is playing, a lot of credit goes to his receivers. The Crimson Tide have playmakers all over the offense and they'll look to test the Georgia secondary down the field.

Led by Russell, the Crimson Tide are ranked 6th in the SEC with 473 total yards per game. They're 4th in the league in passing as they average 287 yards passing yards per game. They rank 2nd (behind Georgia) with 49.6 points per game.

As for Georgia, the Bulldogs rank 5th in the SEC against the pass, giving up 187 passing yards per game. They're 2nd in the league (right behind Texas) in scoring defense, giving up just 13.4 points per game.

If the Bulldogs want to slow down the Alabama passing attack, they'll need to be better on third down and better overall in the secondary. They have not faced an offense like the one they'll see in Tuscaloosa, so they'll need to play extremely well to get the job done. If they can, look for the Dawgs to have a big day.

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