Georgia Football: Bulldogs vs Imposters by the numbers
By Eric Taylor
Georgia football gets their first crack at the Mad Scientist, Mike Leach.
Georgia football will take on the inventor of the Air Raid offense this Saturday, the ole pirate himself, Mike Leach. Georgia has struggled with air attack offenses this season giving up over 40 points to both Alabama and Florida. However, Mississippi State is neither of them, and Georgia will look to use this game to bounce back from their loss to division rival Florida.
Georgia has struggled on offense all season, but its defense also showed some holes against Florida. Granted there were a number of defenders on the sideline with an injury or who were thrown out of the game due to a dubious targeting call, but I digress. Georgia has the ole pirate in their sights, and it’s time to fire the canons.
Here is a breakdown of how this series has gone so far.
Georgia leads series: 18-6-0
Record when both teams are ranked: Georgia leads, 1-0-0
Record when only Georgia is ranked: Georgia leads, 7-1-0
Longest winning streak by Georgia: 9 games
Longest winning streak by Mississippi State: 2 games
Most points scored by Georgia: 47 (1997-10-04)
Most points scored by Mississippi State: 38 (1974-09-21)
Largest margin of victory by Georgia: +47 (1997-10-04)
Largest margin of victory by Mississippi State: +24 (1974-09-21)
The Bulldogs haven’t faced the imposter Bulldogs very many times, but Georgia football still dominates the series in every conceivable way. That shouldn’t change Saturday night. Expect Georgia to come out guns blazing on the fake Bulldogs, sending them back to Starkville with their tales between their legs.
Georgia football vs Mississippi State in 2020
Georgia football’s defense has come under scrutiny after the loss to Florida. Dan Mullen was able to attack the edge of Georgia’s defense unlike any other offense this season. Mullen exposed some of the matchup issues the defense has when having to cover a running back with receiving skills. Of course, some of that could be due to star linebacker Monty Rice playing through injury.
Georgia’s defense has been ravaged by the injury bug. Once again this week Georgia football will be without Richard LeCounte, Jordan Davis, and Julian Rochester. It wasn’t very likely that Davis and Rochester would get a lot of looks this week anyway as Mississippi State loves to pass. This would keep Georgia in their Nickel package for most of the game.
Georgia football’s secondary has struggled this year as a unit, so that is something to keep an eye on. They have really missed D.J. Daniel back there. Some of the more inexperienced defensive backs like Tyrique Stevenson and Chris Smith have had to play in the place of some starters throughout the season. They have struggled as you may expect.
Here is how the defenses matchup.
Rushing Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 82.83 (No. 4)
Mississippi State – 127.17 (No. 30)
Pass Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 262.8 (No. 98)
Mississippi State – 232.7 (No. 61)
Total Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 345.7 (No. 29)
Mississippi State – 359.8 (No. 36)
Scoring Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 20.8 (No. 22)
Mississippi State – 27.5 (No. 55)
All eyes will be on Georgia football’s offense this Saturday night as J.T. Daniels will be making his first start for the Bulldogs. The former five-star has been dealing with some mobility issues from a torn ACL from last season but seems to be ready to finally take the reigns of Georgia’s offense. Hopefully, his experience playing in a similar style offense at USC will payoff for the Bulldogs.
Not only will Daniels be making his first start, but it could also be the first time Georgia football fans get to see true freshman wide receiver Arian Smith. Smith made the trip to Jacksonville but never got into the game. Don’t expect that to be the same case this Saturday evening. There should be plenty of opportunities to get him on the field against these phony Bulldogs.
However, let’s not forget about Georgia’s running game. Having a competent quarterback should help the running game as Mississippi State won’t be able to load the box on early downs. This will help spring Zamir White who has averaged over five yards a carry in each of his last three games. White is starting to look like the superstar many envisioned when he committed to Georgia.
On the flip side, Mississippi State kicked off the season with a 44-34 win over LSU. However, since then they haven’t been able to score 20 points in a single game. In fact, the imposter Bulldogs have only averaged 9.4 points a game over their last 5 games. Imagine if that were Georgia, the fans would burn down the stadium. Georgia is averaging 29 points a game and fans are asking for firings…sheesh.
Rushing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 173.5 (57)
Mississippi State – 21.50 (126)
Passing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 209.3 (84)
Mississippi State – 303.2 (18)
Total Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 382.8 (76)
Mississippi State – 324.7 (109)
Scoring Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 29.0 (60)
Mississippi State – 16.3 (117)
This game will not be close. In fact, expect it to be over by half time. Georgia’s offense should be able to get on track this week against one of the bottom defenses in the conference and the defense should bounce back against a struggling offense. Georgia football is going to put on a show for homecoming. Smart vs Leach, just sit back and enjoy it.