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Hot or Cold: Georgia yet to put together complete performance
By Jordan Cox
Published:
Checking in on the early-season temperatures in Athens, Ga. …
HOT
The running game continues to be the highlight thus far in 2014 for the Georgia Bulldogs. Todd Gurley’s name is in the thick of the Heisman talk who is averaging 134 yards per game and nearly 10 yards per carry. The good news, perhaps, for the Bulldogs (and maybe not so good news for Gurley) is that they have three more highly capable backs other than Gurley to carry the load. Freshmen Sony Michel and Nick Chubb have made an impact in big ways through the ‘Dawgs first three games.
WARM
The Bulldogs’ chances in the SEC East. Georgia’s still considered the favorite in a wide open division in which each team that has played a conference game has a conference loss. The Bulldogs face a sneaky tough Tennessee team this weekend and there’s another big East showdown in Columbia between South Carolina and Missouri. A loss this weekend would likely eliminate Georgia from contention in the East. Georgia has put together one complete half of football and will need much more than that this weekend.
COLD
Georgia pass offense. Hutson Mason has not been in put in a position to have to throw the ball yet this season, averaging a very modest 137 yards per game. Mason has had issues throwing the ball down the field and didn’t have to throw much in Georgia’s rout of Troy on Saturday. He’s made good decisions, but lacks any zip on the ball. It’s likely Tennessee will force Mason to throw the ball on Saturday and he has yet to prove that he can with great consistency.
FROZEN
The Georgia defense. The shutout of Troy showed us nothing, and the defense got shredded in the loss to South Carolina two weeks ago, especially in the secondary. Tennessee has a lot of talent, though inexperienced, at the skill positions in Jalen Hurd, Marquez North, Pig Howard and Josh Malone. The turnaround hasn’t been as quick as head coach Mark Richt or coordinator Jeremy Pruitt had hoped, but the Bulldogs have a big stage on Saturday to prove where it stands.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
