The Georgia Bulldogs put any doubters to rest on Saturday with its dominating win over rival Tennessee. Few have questioned the ability of Kirby Smart to field a sound defensive team, but there were questions surrounding the offense. In fact, this perception led to the Dawgs' ranking below Ohio State one week ago in the preliminary College Football Playoff poll.
Perhaps those thoughts were finally put to bed after Georgia's explosive 24-point first half against Tennessee, and subsequent 27-13 win, but perhaps not. Brandon Adams from Dawgnation joined College Football Gametime to discuss the misconception surrounding the Georgia offense.
"You saw criticism of Georgia's offense and you know on one hand I guess I sort of understand where it comes from," Brandon started to explain on Saturday morning. "But on the other hand, the things I say a lot to the people who say, 'well Georgia’s got no playmakers' and 'Georgia doesn't have this or doesn't have that.' Show me some statistical proof that that's true because as you kind of point out, it's actually a little harder to find than you might imagine, like on the selection committee this week you talk about why was Georgia number three?"
At times, this would have appeared to be a valid criticism of the Georgia offense when you watched their game against the likes of Kent State or Missouri, but not when you actually look into the numbers.
The Georgia Bulldogs are now third in FBS in total yards per game (ironically behind two teams they held to 13 and 3 points, respectively), tenth in passing yards per game and yards per completion, eighteenth in yards per rush, and eleventh in scoring offense. These numbers lend themselves to them being sixth in third-down efficiency and one of the most effective offenses in the country at sustaining drives.
Despite the success the unit has had, the public perception said that the offense left something to be desired.
"One of the things that [the College Football Playoff Committee Chairman] Boo Corrigan said was Ohio State's offense is more explosive," Adams started to explain. "But the honest truth is Ohio State this season [going into Saturday] only has two additional plays of 20 or more yards on the year than Georgia does. Georgia's averaging more yards per game than they are."
People were simply wrong about this offense, fueled by the former walk-on quarterback, a committee of running backs, and some tight ends leading the charge. No, they don't have a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback or a Biletnikoff winner at wide receiver, but what they do have is results.
"[Some] have been left to conclude there's something about Georgia - from an offensive standpoint - that's lesser than some of these other teams that were discussing, but the actual overall stats here don't quite tell that tale. It's a little bit of a situation where the mask kind of tells us something different, and sometimes I think what our eyes think we're seeing."
As some would say, the proof is in the pudding.