Monken's Miami Magic Must Be Recreated

It was a performance to remember in Miami for Georgia's offense, can Todd Monken recreate it in the rematch with Alabama?

For all the talk about Georgia's defense this season, even after the lopsided loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship game in early December, it was about time the Georgia offense received some recognition. There were two main talking points heading into the CFP Semifinal hosted by the Orange Bowl last Friday: 

1. First, how would Georgia's defense respond?
2. Is Stetson Bennett good enough to win a "big game?"

Both questions were answered after the 34-11 beating of the Big Ten champion Michigan on New Year's Eve. The response from Georgia's defense was a familiar one, physicality, holding the nation's 10th best rushing attack to 88 yards on the ground, and sacking the opposing quarterback four times against the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive screams physicality, not to mention allowing 11 points. It was a defensive performance that Georgia produced against the likes of Auburn and South Carolina. 

Offensively, it was a game that rivals the first half of the 2020 Alabama game, that saw Georgia go to the locker room with a 24-21 halftime lead, a half of football widely applauded as offensive coordinator Todd Monken's best playcalling. The big difference is the execution from start to finish. 

Stetson Bennett completed all nine of his first nine passes; the early game momentum for Georgia's passing attack led to the first five Georgia offensive possessions ending with points. A quarterback who routinely received criticism from his fanbase for not having the necessary arm strength or height to win the "big games" shredded the Wolverines defense with two of the NFL's top edge rushing projects, Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. 

Neither the never-ending blunt criticism or the two potential first-round draft picks stopped Bennett en route to an Orange Bowl victory, where he completed 20 of his 30 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, Bennett's arm provided the spark, with three first-half strikes for over 30 yards - first to Brock Bowers for 35-yards on Georgia's opening drive, then to running back James Cook for 53-yards in the second quarter, then the 57-yard in-stride bomb to Jermaine Burton for a touchdown. Bennett's explosive plays through the air wouldn't end there as he would connect with Cook again in the second half on a 39-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Georgia's offense showed the type of explosion it will need to win a national championship; Monken backed up his words from his press conference earlier in the week, saying that he believed Bennett could win a national title. Bennett's explosive strikes certainly proved himself capable. 

Monken will need to find a way to keep Georgia explosive versus Alabama without going over the 35 pass threshold. He proved capable of it in Miami; the only question will be, can he recreate some of that post-season magic that guided Georgia to a 12-0 regular season?

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