This is a bigger deal than most people realize. Once Drew Bobo had to exit Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate with a leg injury, the Georgia offense largely sputtered. The Bulldogs were able to beat Georgia Tech in part because of its great defense. It was not a banner day for first-year starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. He has played very well this year, but we may have overlooked this one component.
Ahead of the SEC Championship Game vs. Alabama, ESPN's Holly Rowe shared an interesting wrinkle.
"Gunner Stockton's got a lot on his plate, Drew Bobo makes all the checks, all the calls, gets them into the right play. We'll see if Gunner Stockton can use his toughness but also his football IQ and acumen to make sure Georgia is running the right thing when they need it."
It is not surprising that Bobo is the one making all the checks at the line of scrimmage. He played a lot last year, and is the son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Having a center operating as the fulcrum of the offensive line, especially before the snap, is made is huge. Georgia will have to try its best to contain the Alabama pass rush with Malachi Toliver serving as the starting center in this one.
As far as Stockton is concerned, he may know Bobo's offense well, but he will be at a disadvantage in having to offset some of the team's star center's leadership and overall football acumen. Stockton has shown a proclivity of locking in once Georgia is near the red zone. He can ad-lib a good bit, too. However, he tends to lock onto receivers and may not necessarily get through all of his reads on time.
FanDuel Sportsbook has UGA laying 1.5 points to Alabama at neutral site Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
How Georgia can defeat Alabama in the rematch without Drew Bobo
The single most important thing Georgia needs to do in this game is to not let Alabama get out to a big lead early. We have to expect that the Crimson Tide are going to pick up yards through the air, even on an improved Georgia defense, because that is what they do. The Crimson Tide really struggle to run the football. They are probably not going to have Jam Miller available out of the backfield here.
Because of the limitations of Toliver, and apparently Stockton, pre-snap, Georgia may not be built to win from behind this time around. The Dawgs did keep the Crimson Tide scoreless in the second half of their previous meeting earlier this year. So what Georgia needs to do is to be able to dominate time of possession by running the football with conviction. This could help open up easier passing lanes.
From there, Georgia needs to be able to bring the pressure in this game. Ty Simpson can really spin it, but he had all the time in the world to throw for the most part in the previous matchup. Georgia has found itself more on defense in recent weeks, so that could be huge for the Dawgs here. Furthermore, Kirby Smart is the king of the rematch. He has a track record of winning the second of two meetings.
Ultimately, Stockton needs to redeem himself after what was a frustrating game for him personally vs. Georgia Tech. If not for his lone touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch, maybe Georgia would be 10-2 and needing a win to make the playoff? Alabama is probably getting in anyway, but Kalen DeBoer and his team are not going to want to leave that to chance. Alabama has owned Georgia for the most part.
The Dawgs can win this game to earn the No. 2 seed, but it starts with Stockton having football savvy.