Georgia: winners and losers in football after victory over Mississippi State

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Georgia: winners and losers in football after victory over Mississippi State

Winner: JT Daniels

What more needs to be said at this point about Daniels and his performance on Saturday night? It was statistically the best performance by a quarterback since Kirby Smart took over as head coach.

Stylistically, it might have been even more fun to watch and enjoy Daniels’ cooking. He consistently hit the pitch shots on the field for big wins all night. His two touchdown passes in the second half traveled more than 40 yards in the air before being caught by Jermaine Burton and Kearis Jackson.

It was Daniels’ first action of the season and the first competitive shots he has taken since August 31, 2019. It was not lost on him after the game.

“It feels really good, this is the first time I’ve taken a (match) photo since August 31, 2019, in another part of the country,” Daniels said. “I really couldn’t be happier and more grateful to Coach Smart Coach (Todd) Monken and the team.”

Related: No doubt from JT Daniels’ family after 401-yard passing performance

Yes, it was an under-endowed Mississippi State team and it was only one game. But if Daniels is able to still make the throws he made on Saturday and hit the layups as Smart calls them, it fixes a lot of the issues we’ve seen hanging over Georgia’s attack since the 2019 season. .

Loser: Kirby Smart

Smart was obviously delighted with Daniels’ quality of play. He bailed out the team with the way some of the other units played against Mississippi State.

But the demonstration leads to the question of why Daniels hadn’t seen the pitch earlier this season.

Smart answered this question after the game.

“Absolutely I would,” Smart said of those wondering why it took until Game 7 for Daniels to see the pitch. “But I also think people have to take into account that I’ve been coaching football for I don’t know how many years, 20 or 25 and God knows Monken has probably doubled my age. There’s no decision that we make as coaches, as coaching staff, as offensive coaches, five guys that I love and think the world … maybe be that the question should be, man, aren’t they happy to have JT here, when no one thought maybe they needed him.

Smart went on to explain his process for playing D’Wan Mathis and Stetson Bennett for the early parts of the season.

“Would I have liked him to come out and do the same to other teams?” Absolutely, ”said Smart. But decisions were made on who we thought gave us the best opportunity to win, and that was largely related to Stetson’s mobility and play. As Stet struggled, we had to look for other options. He did a great job with the opportunity, he also had some help with the receivers who came back and how the State of Mississippi played them.

Mobility and athleticism is something Smart and Monken said was a key part of assessing the quarterback’s position. Daniels was hampered by the aforementioned knee injury which prevented him from being cleared to play for the start of the season.

Smart made sure to praise Daniels, but again relied on his experience and that of the offensive staff in their reasoning.

“He played amazing. I’m also proud of the way he played, ”said Smart. “But every decision we make is who gives us the best opportunity to win the game and the men in this room who make those decisions, they have a lot of experience.

It must be said that Jamie Newman withdrawing from the season has undoubtedly threw a wrench into Smart’s plan. And if Daniels continues to play well and lead Georgia to heights other elite teams have enjoyed, he will likely one day get credit for bringing Daniels in when he did.

But that won’t come from a fan base that has seen Georgia lose to Alabama and Florida in part, but obviously not entirely, to ineffective quarterback play.

Winner: Georgia’s wide receivers

What a difference an accurate quarterback can make for your young pass catchers. Burton, George Pickens and Demetris Robertson all put in their best efforts this season.

Burton really turned heads, as his eight-strike, 197-yard performance confirmed why he had been so excited in his first season. Coming into the game, Burton had 130 yards of 10 catches. In just the first half, he passed that with 149 yards.

Related: JT Daniels praises Georgia receivers for victory over Mississippi State

It was clear from the jump that Georgia was going to get a good performance from Pickens. After missing the previous two games with injury, he had a 28-yard catch in Georgia’s first practice.

He also found the end zone for Georgia’s first score. Having a locked Pickens definitely helps improve this offense.

Things have been tough for this position group this season. But Saturday’s performance showed signs of a brighter future. Burton, Pickens and Jackson will all be back in 2021. Georgia will also recover Dominick Blaylock and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint from injury. If Arian Smith continues to develop and regain his health, it is not difficult to see this one-off weakness become a position of strength.

Loser: ground match in Georgia

As big as Daniels was and the pass attack, the rush attack was bad. Georgia finished the game with eight rushing yards on 23 carries, with sacks included. This is the lowest total in the Smart era and the lowest since at least 2009.

Georgia couldn’t do anything. on the court and that’s largely due to the state of Mississippi cramming the box with defenders. Georgia was faced with lodges of eight for much of the night. The state of Mississippi challenged Georgia to beat them deeply, and luckily Daniels was able to do so.

“They kicked us. That’s the main thing, ”said Smart. “Hey, we’re having better than they rush. And they run better than we run. I would reserve my judgment until I looked at it to fully see what it was, but it wasn’t good enough.

Georgia have managed the ball better lately and it will be worth watching how South Carolina adjusts to Daniels’ defense. But the Bulldogs will need to execute the ball better unless Daniels starts throwing 400 yards in every game.

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