Georgia is through their first two scrimmages of fall camp, and with the season less than two weeks away Kirby Smart has identified a big flaw in his team. He unfortunately thinks Georgia’s pass rush could be a big problem for the team just like they were last year, and that ultimately could be what costs Georgia a national championship again this season.
“I'm not ready to say that the defensive line is ready to rush with four and get there every time," Smart said via sports.yahoo.com. "I certainly hope they can, but I didn't see any indication that that was the case from what I saw Saturday."
Georgia’s pass rush could be the flaw standing in Georgia’s way of a national title
Georgia’s pass rush was not up to the standard expected in Athens during the 2025 season. The finished the year with just 20 sacks which was dead last in the SEC. Some of top defenses in the conference last year (Oklahoma and Texas A&M) both had over 40 sacks during the season, so it’s easy to see how poor Georgia’s pass rush was compared to the rest of the SEC.
Their lack of a pass rush ultimately cost them a national championship because they had no answer for Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss during their playoff loss. He was able to do whatever he wanted during the game because Georgia rarely got to him, and when that happens it doesn’t matter how good the secondary is playing, they’re eventually gonna get beat.
Smart unfortunately hasn’t seen any real improvement from their pass rush so far in camp. A big reason for that may be due to the season-ending injury transfer Amaris Williams suffered in the spring who was supposed to help fix the pass rush, but so far Smart is worried that they haven’t improved like he was hoping.
They still have some time to get better before the season begins, but this is a concerning quote to see with the season beginning in under two weeks.
Gunner Stockton could feel more pressure due to Georgia’s lack of pass rush
Not only will the rest of Georgia’s defense feel more pressure to perform if Georgia’s pass rush struggles, but so too could Gunner Stockton.
Just look at the playoff loss to Ole Miss last year. Georgia scored 34 points which included a defensive touchdown, but that ultimately still wasn’t enough points to win as the defense gave up 39. Most Georgia fans would agree that 34 points should be enough to win, but on that night it wasn’t and that ultimately ended Georgia’s season.
If Georgia’s pass rush struggles again and that results in the defense giving up a lot of points then Stockton might feel more pressure to play even better. He might feel like he needs to score more points, and that extra pressure could force him to make mistakes.
If Georgia’s pass rush gets back to the level everyone became accustomed to under Smart then this team will be good enough to win a national championship. If they finish dead last in the SEC in sacks again this year then it will be extremely difficult to win it all.
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