The Crimson Empire has once again taken down the Rebels of Georgia Football. Will a hero rise and lead them to redemption?
Once again the Crimson Empire (better known as Alabama) has beaten down the beloved Rebels of Georgia football. These last three battles have been heartbreaking to watch. Each time it looked like the troops would finally break through and take down their strongest foe. However, it always ended the same way, in soul-crushing defeat.
Just once it would be nice for the Rebels to storm into the Death Star and blow it up. Imagine the celebration back on Endor if Master Jedi Kirby Smart was able to finally defeat the evil Sith Lord, Darth Saban.
Why must the Crimson Empire always win? Where is Luke Skywalker? Where is Rey? Who will finish the mission for Georgia football and finally knock off the Crimson Empire and bring balance back to college football?
The most unlikely of all heroes may just be the hero Georgia football needs. That man is none other than Stetson Bennett. Yes, the quarterback that completed just 18 of 40 passing attempts for 269 yards. Yes, the quarterback that threw three interceptions to two touchdowns. Yes, the quarterback that missed James Cook running wide open in the flat three times. Yes, that quarterback that had seven passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Bennett reminds me of a young Luke Skywalker. Luke was just a farm boy taken from his homeland and thrust into a galactic battle between the Rebels and the Evil Empire. There was no bigger underdog in the galaxy. Much like Skywalker, Bennett has been a huge underdog his entire life. He was asked to step up and challenge the Crimson Empire but his skills just weren’t polished enough.
Skywalker faced Darth Vader twice. In his first encounter with the sith lord, he was timid and intimidated. He lost this encounter and became permanently scarred from it as it cost him his hand. Bennett lost his first encounter with the Alabama Crimson Tide similarly. He now has a major scar on his record. A crushing 17-point defeat in which he did not perform at his best.
With two weeks before Georgia’s next game, Padawan Bennett has plenty of time to meditate and study with Jedi Masters Smart and Todd Monken to improve his skills. Bennett has the grit and determination of someone that could very well become a Jedi someday soon. As long as he keeps working and listens to his Jedi Master he very well could still be Georgia’s hero.
Master Monken could help his Padawan by not abandoning the running game when it is working. In the second half against the Crimson Empire, Monken called just 12 running plays. Georgia was averaging 4.8 yards a carry last night, but Monken chose not to take advantage of that. Instead, he put the second half squarely on the shoulders of Bennett and his receivers.
It was a questionable battle strategy and it ended up putting the Rebels at an extreme disadvantage. Bennett looked like a Stormtrooper who couldn’t hit his target for most of the second half. Yet Monken never changed his strategy to calm down his quarterback. Instead, he just pushed ahead, allowing the pressure and mistakes to mount for Bennett.
With some extra time to figure things out, Bennett should play better against Kentucky. If Georgia football handles its business in their remaining seven games Bennett will get his second shot at the Empire in Crimson. Skywalker defeated Vader in his second encounter and there is reason to believe, with some tutelage from Master Jedi Smart, Bennett can achieve this same feat against Darth Saban.
Only time will tell how this story ends, but all is not lost. Georgia’s goals are still in front of it and are still very obtainable. It is time to get back to work and strive to get better. There is no doubt that is what Padawan Bennett will be doing. He will be studying tape this week and trying to fix his mistakes, as will the rest of the Georgia football team.
Georgia football has a hero in the making and a new hope for tomorrow. One blemish on their record will not stop these Rebels from achieving ultimate victory. One day soon the Crimson Empire will fall to Georgia and a celebration that can be heard clear across the south will follow. That victory will be lead by Jedi Stetson Bennett and his band of Rebels.