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TaxSlayer Bowl to feature struggling offenses from Georgia and Penn State
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
The Georgia Bulldogs will appear in the Taxslayer Bowl this postseason, but it might as well be called “the offensively challenged” bowl.
Both the Bulldogs and the Penn State Nittany Lions struggled big time on offense in 2015.
The biggest disappointment for each school was quarterback play. Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert along with new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer energized the Georgia faithful prior to the season. Each left the fan base disgruntled by season’s end.
After a hot start, the Georgia offense failed to score more than 20 points in five of its last eight games. The Bulldogs also tallied under nine points in two of those contests.
Lambert took care of the ball, but threw only 11 touchdown passes. He lost his starting role only to reclaim it after freshman Faton Bauta’s horrible start against Florida.
It obviously didn’t help that Georgia lost top RB Nick Chubb to a major knee injury in the middle of October. Although Sony Michel filled in nicely, the offense was never the same.
Outside of Michel, Lambert didn’t have much help after Chubb’s injury. Michel, Chubb and senior WR Malcolm Mitchell were the only players with more than 400 yards from scrimmage.
Like head coach Mark Richt, Georgia fired Schottenheimer, and he will not coach in the bowl game.
The issues for the Nittany Lions nearly mirror the ones at Georgia.
Quarterback play plagued Penn State’s offense all season, and resulted in the team firing offensive coordinator John Donovan.
In his third year of starting, junior signal caller Christian Hackenberg made minimal strides in 2015. His yards per attempt average and TDs increased while his interceptions decreased. But he threw for fewer yards and a lower completion percentage.
Over its final six Big Ten games, Penn State averaged only 344 yards on offense.
Similar to Lambert at Georgia, Hackenberg didn’t receive much help. The Nittany Lions finished 106th out of 127 FBS schools in rushing. Only three Penn State players had more than 500 yards from scrimmage.
Overall, Georgia finished 75th in total offense while Penn State was 106th. These schools are much better on defense, so expect a low-scoring battle on Jan. 2.
The Bulldogs have the top ranked pass-defense in the FBS, so Hackenberg is not going to be able to carry Penn State to victory. The Nittany Lions will have to establish freshman RB Saquon Barkley.
Georgia will have to establish its running game as well against Penn State’s 10th-ranked pass defense.
The TaxSlayer Bowl may not hold the same importance as the 1983 Sugar Bowl, the last time these two teams met, but a win would help each program carry some momentum into the offseason.
Dave covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
