By James Claussen
Can you believe we are already seven games through the college football season? Time really does fly when you’re watching college football.
The Georgia Bulldogs just completed their seventh game, a 30-15 win over the 6-0 Texas Longhorns. The Dawgs are currently the 2nd ranked team in the nation, only behind Oregon. We are 6-1, with wins over Clemson, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Texas, with our only loss coming to the now fifteenth-ranked Alabama.
So far, star quarterback Carson Beck has been a bit disappointing. As a preseason Heisman contender, with 3941 passing yards, and 24 touchdowns with 6 interceptions, and a 72.4 completion percentage in 2023. In 2024, he currently has 1993 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, with a 66% completion percentage. His Heisman chances are now gone, with the current favorite being Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Backup quarterback Gunner Stockton has thrown 10 out of his 12 completions for 90 yards, an 83.3 completion percentage in the two games he has played.
The rushing game has also been underwhelming. After losing both Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton to the NFL, have replaced them with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne and freshman Nate Frazier. Roderick Robinson, the top leading returning running back from last year, has been sidelined for the first six games with turf toe, and Branson Robinson (no relation to Roderick), who was hurt for all of last year, has had 25 carries for 73 yards on a paltry 2.9 yards per carry with three touchdowns. Etienne has amassed 422 rushing yards on 82 carries for 5.1 yards per carry. Nate Frazier has had 41 carries for 204 yards and 1 touchdown.
The wide receiver group lost our two best stars from last year, Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers. Both declared for the NFL draft, with Bowers going 13th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders and McConkey going 34th overall to the Los Angeles Chargers. This year, senior Arian Smith has stepped up, with 444 receiving yards on 29 catches and 3 touchdowns. Dillon Bell has had 26 catches for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Dominic Lovett has had 31 catches for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns. In terms of tight ends, sophomore Lawson Luckie has had 12 catches for 162 yards, while Oscar Delp has had 7 catches for 98 yards.
The defense has taken a step back, but still has some very good players. Star cornerback Malaki Starks has had 39 tackles, 3 TFLs, and 1 interception. Linebacker C.J Allen has had 33 total tackles with 1 TFL (tackles for loss) as well. Star edge rusher Jalon Walker has had 30 tackles with 4.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs. Senior safety Dan Jackson has had 37 tackles, and 1.5 TFLs as well as an interception.
On special teams, Peyton Woodring has made all 25 PAT attempts, and 12 out of his 13 field goal tries. Brett Thorson, the punter, has had 22 punts for 1063 yards, an average of 48.3 yards per punt. Anthony Evans has had 6 kick returns for 105 yards, while he has also had 14 punt returns for 118 yards.
I asked multiple fans what they thought about the team this year, including expectations for the Dawgs. Bo Harris, a ninth grader and a big Dawgs fan, seemed to think we have so far met them, and that “our offense is getting back together and I think we can win the national championship.” However, both Mr. Brunt, who graduated from UGA in 199 1, and Lee Wetzler disagreed. Lee Wetzler said that “we should have done better,” while Mr. Brunt said that “we really haven’t met expectations so far.” In games against Alabama and Mississippi State, he said “we’ve had some mental lapses that have led to points for the other team.”
I then asked who has been the best player up to this point in the season. Both Lee Wetzler and Mr. Brunt said it was star edge rusher Jalon Walker, while Bo Harris said it was “probably Trevor Etienne.”
Next, there was the topic of Carson Beck, who has had his fair share of struggles recently, as he has thrown 3 interceptions against both Texas and Alabama, and two against Mississippi State. Lee Wetzler said it was “pretty bad,” while Bo Harris said he “hasn’t been playing his best.” Mr. Brunt seemed to blame it both on Carson and on the offensive line. He commented that “the offensive line has faltered at times,” and “Carson has forced some throws which have led to more interceptions.” He also said that the injury to right guard Tate Ratledge has impacted his play as well.
While Georgia’s defense hasn’t been great, there still have been some star players on it. All of them seemed to share a consensus that Jalon Walker, who had an outstanding game against Texas, was the best player. Lee Wetzler seemed to think it was a toss-up between “Jalon Walker or Mykel Williams.” The other two agreed that it was Jalon Walker.
There then was the question about transfer running back Trevor Etienne and the rushing game. Mr. Brunt thought that Etienne was “underutilized,” although “we are starting to see the real emergence of the Trevor that we all expected to see.” Lee Wetzler said that “we don’t use our running game at all, but when we do run, I think our running game is good.” Bo Harris said it “could be a little bit better.”
The wide receiver group has seen a massive amount of change, as both Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey both left for the NFL after last year. So I asked what people thought of the new core. Mr. Brunt said “it is not Kirby’s strength,” referring to head coach Kirby Smart. He also said it was “a bunch of transfers who don’t understand Kirby’s Way or Kirby’s culture,” and that “we need to start recruiting better at the receiver position.” Lee Wetzler said it has been “not bad,” while Bo Harris said that “we could kind of take more advantage of it.”
The most recent win for the Dawgs, a 30-15 win over top-ranked Texas, has been a very exciting moment for fans of the team. Mr. Brunt said it was “absolutely amazing,” while Lee Wetzler said “I knew we were going to win, so I kind of predicted the Dawgs by 14,” while Bo Harris said it “felt amazing,” and “it was awesome.”
Since Georgia has five more games left in the regular season, and almost certainly will have a playoff berth, I wondered how we will do on the way out. Mr. Brunt thinks that “we have some challenges coming up.” He especially pointed out the game against Ole Miss, where he thinks is “going to be tougher than people realize.” Lee Wetzler said “I don’t think we’ll lose again,” and he thinks “we’ll play in the SEC Championship in Texas probably and then be the one seed and make the playoffs,” while Bo Harris said “I think we’re going to do great” and “I think we are going to win a national championship.” While the latter two scenarios are bold, they both have a chance of happening.
