Georgia enters Saturday's home date vs. the Austin Peay Governors as the No. 4 team in the country. While the Dawgs are not going to be able to make up any more ground in the next AP Top 25 Poll in all likelihood, they have yet another opportunity to iron out the kinks before they commence SEC play in two weeks' time vs. the Tennessee Volunteers. It is all about the offense coming together as one unit.
Last Saturday gave Georgia with one breakout performance after another. While Gunner Stockton had the best day on offense of anyone, Dawg Nation cannot overlook what Zachariah Branch did in his Georgia debut, as well as the second-year leap Dwight Phillips Jr. seems to be on. Simply put, Georgia will need to be able to win with the run and the pass during their road date with Tennessee.
Yes, it seems fairly obvious that Stockton needs to look the part in his first SEC road start. However, there may be one player who is just as important to the Georgia offense in this particular game. That would be Branch, not just for his incredible play-making abilities, but the potential to take advantage of where Tennessee is weak. That would be in their secondary with its two star playmakers being out.
The Volunteers are not expected to have cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III available.
Zachariah Branch must take advantage of depleted Tennessee secondary
Truth be told, Branch is more of an ad-libber within the context of any offense than anything. He has a propensity to go up and get it on jump balls, as well as blow by defensive backs when he catches a quick out route near the sidelines. While it remains to be seen what he will do on a deep ball thrown by Stockton, at least Tennessee will probably not have its two best defensive backs there to contain him.
Again, this is all about the new pieces coming together and playing with confidence on offense. The offensive line is still largely unproven, but Georgia has continued to recruit well on that side of the ball for years now. Furthermore, we may see the Dawgs lean on their defense more so in the first month of the year than expected. Being sound defensively is how the Dawgs can beat Tennessee and Alabama.
Overall, it does kind of seem like Stockton and Branch have a budding rapport worthy of getting behind already. Their abilities to make things happen off-script is partially why it might be easier than expected to get on the same page. Yes, Georgia needs to get Noah Thomas involved in the offense, too. However, the upward trajectory of this unit might hinge on Stockton and Branch coming together.
Look for Stockton to try to build up his rapport with as many Georgia receivers as possible Saturday.