Offensive takeaways from the Georgia football victory over Arkansas
A slow start on offense was expected Saturday. How Georgia football recovered from that slow start was not, however.
Stetson Bennett IV taking over the quarterback position and a litany of changes on the offensive line helped produce a 32-point run in the second half. Georgia started the run with a frustrating and stressful 10-5 deficit. By the end of the run, the Bulldogs had a comfy 37-10 lead.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Georgia's offensive performance against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Stetson Bennett is calm and poised
D'Wan Mathis with his superior athleticism, size and skills might be the quarterback Georgia wants, but Bennett was the quarterback Georgia needed. Bennett showed a ton of poise Saturday and he thrived in situations that Mathis floundered in.
The best example was how they treated bad snaps from center Trey Hill. Mathis tried to pick the ball up and run. He was tackled deep in the backfield and out of field goal range. Bennett fell on the ball instantly to keep the offense in the red zone. A play later, Bennett found George Pickens for a touchdown.
Bennett's poise expanded to third downs where he was perfect as a passer in the second half, converting three third downs with his arm. It's worth noting that he completed third down a pass to James Cook for what would have been a first down early in the third quarter, but Cook fumbled. On Third down, Mathis was 0-for-3 with an interception, a sack and two rushes where he failed to reach the marker.
Warren Ericson may be the man at center
Trey Hill has held down the center position on Georgia's offensive line since Lamont Galliard graduated. But his time as starting center may have ended Saturday after several bad snaps. Warren Ericson took over the center position midway through the third quarter, and Hill moved to right guard.
The new combination was very effective. Snaps were on target and the offensive line began to really dominate Arkansas's front. The change didn't come out of nowhere. Ericson has shown a lot of potential as an interior offensive lineman and there were some rumblings after last season that he could make a push for the starting center job because of Hill's history of problematic snaps.
Georgia does not lack targets in the passing game
A lot of hype for Georgia's offense was based on the deep, but unproven group of receivers and tight ends. That group proved a lot Saturday. Including the running backs, 12 different targets caught a pass against Arkansas.
Kearis Jackson had a career day, catching six passes for 62 yards. Pickens played as well as you'd expect, catching four passes for 47 yards with one touchdown. Demetris Robertson had a nice four-catch day as well. John Fitzpatrick looked really good in his second start by catching a pair of passes, including one for a score. Matt Landers and true freshman Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint caught a pair of passes as well.
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