Georgia Finishes the 2020 Season Fighting for a Win
Georgia’s 2020 football season is officially over.
While this is not how the Georgia coaching staff, players or fans wanted the season to play out, there were several bright spots along the way.
The season was truly a tale of two halves. Georgia began with many offensive issues, most of them stemming from current starting quarterback JT Daniels not being healthy until after Georgia played both Alabama and Florida.
First Six Games
- Total Offense: 382.8
- Passing: 209.3
- Rushing: 173.5
While the first six games included matchups with Alabama and Florida, neither of those teams were known for their defense this season.
Last Four Games (With Daniels)
- Total Offense: 486
- Passing: 310.8
- Rushing: 175.2
The last four games were not against the best teams, outside of a great defensive performance from Cincinnati, but there was a clear improvement on the offensive side of the ball when Daniels became the starting quarterback.
Peach Bowl Recap
Georgia had an underwhelming performance against Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, but the defensive replacements that took over can't be blamed. Christopher Smith broke up a couple of passes, playing in the absence of Richard LeCounte. Latavious Brini had nine tackles and two tackles for loss.
Outside of the big 79-yard run by Cincinnati, Georgia’s defense has held up without Monty Rice's presence and with Quay Walker playing in his place.
Without the defense, Georgia would not have had the opportunity to make the fourth-quarter comeback they did.
The biggest concern from the Peach Bowl performance was the offensive line. With Trey Hill and Ben Cleveland not playing, Georgia had a tough time getting a push up front in the running game, and Daniels was constantly being hit when he dropped back to pass. When it is fourth-and-1 and the Bulldogs pass instead of run behind an SEC offensive line against an AAC defensive line, that shows there were big issues there all game. Georgia was able to rush for only 45 yards in the game, but some of that could be credited to Cincinnati's defense stacking the box to stop the run.
Daniels had accuracy and ball-security issues throughout the game, throwing an interception and fumbling once. Even with that, he did not play a bad game and he came up big on the game's final drive. Daniels went 26-for-38 with 392 passing yards and one touchdown.
The offensive potential going into the 2021 season is astronomical. Still, the offensive line will have to improve its run blocking if Georgia wants to make a run at a national title.
