The narrative following Georgia’s 24-21 home loss to Alabama was simple– just more proof that the Crimson Tide own the Bulldogs and that’s the way it is.
And sure, there’s plenty of reasons to feel like that right now. But a much graver concern made itself evident in that game, one that creeped up during the Bulldogs’ 44-41 overtime victory over Tennessee and even threatened to reveal itself in Georgia’s season opening cakewalks against Marshall and Austin Peay.
Georgia doesn’t have much of a pass rush.
Georgia has a major problem on defense
The Bulldogs only sacked Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson one time, courtesy of Chris Cole, and only have five sacks so far this season. That’s the second-fewest in the SEC.
All five of those sacks have come from Georgia’s linebackers, meaning the defensive line is still looking for its first takedown of the season. That was an easy thing to shrug off after two cupcake games to start the year. It’s not so easy to look past now, two SEC games in and coming off a loss in which the team got carved up.
Simpson only faced pressure on five pass attempts, and went 23 of 33 for 266 yards and two touchdowns on dropbacks where he was kept clean. The Tide also converted a ridiculous 13 of 19 third downs as well.
Head coach Kirby Smart defended his pass rush after the game, chalking most of Alabama’s success up to good play on Simpson’s part.
“There wasn't a lack of execution," Smart shared via 247sports.com. "There was really good execution and a high level quarterback play. Give him a lot of credit, shake his hand, say he did a great job,” Smart said Monday. “The ball came out before some of our rush got there …. You have to execute better in those situations. So we have to find ways to affect the quarterback, but we had some in there that we executed, and they out-executed.”
There were certainly a few plays where the rush nearly got home, but it remains clear that Georgia doesn’t have the caliber front it had last season. Last year, they could trust Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker to win their one-on-ones with consistency, which allowed them to get to the quarterback without needing to send extra linebackers.
This year, now that Georgia’s only source of sacks has been linebackers, the team has had to rely more on blitzes and stunts to create havoc, which has put more pressures on their defensive backs in coverage. That’s how you get things like the Tennessee game, where Volunteer wide receivers were torching Georgia’s cornerbacks deep.
Georgia needs to find a new answer
It doesn’t seem like a sustainable formula. Not every quarterback Georgia plays will be as good as Simpson, but they do have to beat a few quarterbacks of his caliber eventually if they want to win a national title.
If anyone in Georgia’s pass rush group has that “star” quality to him, it’s Cole, but the Bulldogs still need production from other players too. Interior linemen Christen Miller and Jordan Hall have been stout against the run, but have not added much pass rush juice.
Gabe Harris and Elo Modozie have also set the edge well in the run game, but neither has flashed much as a pass rusher. And if the Bulldogs keep getting handled on the edge and not getting to quarterbacks, it could be a fatal flaw for the 2025 defense.