Georgia Football: Three biggest questions heading into 2021

Three questions every Georgia football fan is asking themselves going into 2021.

Georgia football will begin spring practice on March 17. There are a lot of questions on the mind of the Georgia faithful heading into the 2021 season. This fanbase has been starved of a National Championship since 1980 and they are getting a bit restless with having to wait until “next year” again. Next year is beginning to look like the land of Narnia to some of these fans.

It has now been three years since Georgia football last made its lone appearance in the College Football Playoffs. Could 2021 be the season they return? If the stars align just right it could be. However, that question has quite a few moving pieces. Let’s concentrate on things with a little more certainty than how a twelve-game schedule will unfold. .

So with that in mind what are some of the questions on the mind of Georgia football fans right now? Well, there are quite a few, but let’s focus on the most common ones that will have the biggest impact on the upcoming season.

3. Can Todd Monken’s offense get Georgia football over the hump?

Believe it or not, there are still Georgia football fans that watched the entire 2020 season and didn’t see a single difference in the 2020 offense and the 2019 or 2018 offenses. To these fans, I would suggest fewer “adult” beverages during games and more paying attention to what is being rolled out there. Also, they may want to try to re-watch the games and watch fewer highlight shows.

Georgia’s offense under Todd Monken has been the exact evolution that Kirby Smart wanted when he first contacted the free-agent coach about joining his coaching staff. Let’s take a look at what Monken was able to do as offensive coordinator for Oklahoma State and head coach at Southern Mississippi.

Offensive Coordinator for Oklahoma State:

Monken was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Oklahoma State from 2011-2012. In 2011 Oklahoma State ranked number three (25.4) in SP+. Brandon Weeden went to the NFL in 2012 and the Cowboys still ranked in the top 15 in SP+ falling to number 15 (14.4).

Head Coach for Southern Miss:

Monken was the head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-2015. In his first season as head coach, the Golden Eagles were number 119 in SP+, in his second season they improved to number 103 (-10.7), but the biggest movement was made in his third year as they ended the season number 58 (5.0).

It would be an understatement to say that Monken is working with better talent in Athens, Ga. than he had in either of those stops. In 2020 Georgia was number five (24.4) in SP+ even with the erratic quarterback play and the lack of spring or summer practice. That in itself should give Georgia fans something to be excited about. However, let’s compare the SP+ rankings of Jim Chaney and James Coley, for those that still aren’t believers.

Georgia football had the number three SP+ rating in 2017 (17.5) and 2018 (25.1). When James Coley took over in 2019 that rating dropped to number five in the nation, but their SP+ rating went up significantly to 26.8.

Those ratings from Chaney and Coley are impressive, but both of them had an established quarterback in Jake Fromm. Monken was working with Stetson Bennett and D’Wan Mathis with no spring and very little summer practice and he still had one of the most efficient offenses in the nation. Think about that for a second before you say this is the same ole “1980 offense.”

Now, think about having JT Daniels starting from game one while running an offense with Dominick Blaylock back to add to guys like Kearis Jackson, Jermaine Burton, George Pickens, and “The Big O” Darnell Washington.  The talent Georgia has at receiver and quarterback with a great offensive mind like Monken should give Georgia football fans great confidence in 2021.