Georgia football did not play well on Saturday. The Bulldogs were nearly 50 point favorites against Austin Peay, but they managed to only beat the Governors by a 28-6 final score.
This game was ugly from the start and there are countless takeaways to be had from this game, but these are the three things that stand out the most.
1. Gunner Stockton struggles are major problem
Everyone was singing Gunner Stockton’s praises after his impressive performance against Marshall. That will not be the case after his play against Austin Peay.
Stockton completed 26 of 34 passes for 227 yards. He didn’t throw any interceptions, but he also didn’t have any touchdowns either. Stockton also wasn’t as effective on the ground either as he only picked up 13 yards with his legs.
Stockton’s overall stats aren’t horrific, but he really struggled with his decision making. He especially had issues identifying when the deep ball was open as there were a few plays where Georgia had a receiver open deep and Stockton just didn’t throw the ball.
Stockton needs to be much better if Georgia is going to win a lot of games this season, and that improved play has to begin next week at Tennessee.
2. Georgia has good versatility at running back
Georgia’s top running back this season is Nate Frazier, but two other backs emerged as legit options behind him against Austin Peay.
The first is Chauncey Bowens who had the best game of his career on Saturday. Bowens tallied 11 carries that he turned into 56 yards and two touchdowns. Dwight Phillips also came out of nowhere and had a great game as well by recording 55 yards on just seven carries.
Bowens and Phillips had great games at the perfect time to help a struggling Georgia offense. Frazier also fumbled the ball on the first possession of the game, so these two were able to come in and help pick up the slack until Frazier started playing better.
This versatility at running back will do wonders for Georgia this season, especially if injuries start to creep up again like last year.
3. Georgia isn't ready to compete for an SEC Championship
Everyone though repeating as SEC Champions was on the table for Georgia after their 45-7 week one win over Marshall. That however is no longer the case.
There are a few teams out there in the SEC that look better than Georgia, but there doesn’t look like any easy wins on their conference schedule right now. The Bulldogs still have to play Texas and Alabama who could both beat UGA, and games against Ole Miss and Florida look scary as well. But Tennessee is potentially the most difficult test for Georgia right now.
Tennessee had a solid 19 point victory over Syracuse week one before beating East Tennessee State by 55 points this week. So the Vols very well could finally get their victory over Georgia this season.
These two teams do battle next week in Knoxville, so Georgia will learn if they’re SEC contenders or pretenders in one week.