Georgia football: 3 Dawgs that need to play well down the stretch

Georgia football is heading into the most pivotal stretch of its season. After hitting Jacksonville and demoralizing Florida, the Dawgs still have a tough three-game stretch to close out the SEC schedule with this historic matchup against the Vols up first.

This stretch of games will show us what Georgia is made of as a team and if repeating as national champions is a real possibility. Like Georgia, Tennessee is a team with real College Football Playoff expectations this season. That matchup could be one of the biggest games ever played in Sanford Stadium.

As important as these next few games are, Georgia will need key players to have a major impact in the homestretch of the season to ensure the team can compete to defend its title.

These three players will be the key to Georgia’s success for the rest of the season

The team has had some rollercoaster performances a couple of times so far. Avoiding those types of games will be crucial in avoiding a letdown.

Stetson Bennett

The quarterback position is consistently the most important position in football, and Georgia’s success has been heavily influenced by starting quarterback Stetson Bennett throughout his college career.

Bennett started the season blistering hot and looked primed to make an unexpected run at Heisman consideration. Recent outings have not been as impressive for the veteran signal-caller, with inconsistent accuracy and questionable decision-making troubling the offense’s efficiency.

At times, Georgia has seemed to lack identity on offense, but there were some improvements against the Gators. While there were things they did better, there were too many times Bennett made a dumb decision. Bennett will need to return to form and play at the level that he is capable of for Georgia to find success. He has got to stop forcing things and being the guy we all know he is.

He’ll be tasked with keeping up with Tennessee’s electric, high-flying offense, and the Dawgs will need him at his best to do so. The margin for error in these coming games will be much smaller. Missing throws and making poor decisions could prove to be much more detrimental than they have thus far.

Robert Beal Jr.

Georgia’s 2021 sack leader has had an underwhelming 2022 campaign thus far, accumulating just 10 total tackles with 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries through the first eight games. Robert Beal had elevated expectations entering the year, given his production last year and the departure of multiple guys in the front seven, but he has yet to live up to the hype.

Hopefully, the week off can spark Beal moving forward and allow him to finish the season on a high note. Georgia’s defense is already elite, but the unit could be even better if Beal can manage to start finding his way to the opposing quarterback again.

With Nolan Smith out for the rest of the season with a pec muscle injury, Beal is someone that Georgia needs to step up and play well. Multiple guys will fill that role, but Beal has the most experience, and Georgia will look to him to hold the current standard.

The senior still has time to right the ship and make a major impact on the season, but he will have to start making plays in the backfield like he was able to do last year.

Jack Podlesny

It could be argued that kicker Jack Podlesny has been the MVP of Georgia’s season to this point. He has accounted for 82 points for the Dawgs so far, making all 41 of his PATs and 14 of his 16 field goal attempts.

Podlesny has come through in challenging situations throughout his career at Georgia and has singlehandedly prevented the Dawgs from falling too far behind in close games. He has proved himself to be a weapon and could be vital during the final half of the season.

A potentially high-scoring matchup with Tennessee would mean touchdowns need to be scored, but this was also the case for the Vols’ matchup with Alabama, which came down to a game-winning field goal. Podlesny could be in line to attempt some major kicks in the coming weeks, and Georgia fans are hopeful he can remain consistent and accurate as the season winds down.

The Dawgs still have all their goals in sight and can achieve them with elevated performances from these players and the rest of the team as a whole. This stretch of games could be the defining period of the season, and Georgia will need all hands on deck.