Kirby Smart reveals reasoning behind Georgia's reliance on passing

On3 imageby:Simon Gibbs09/20/21

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The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs of late have developed a reliance on the passing game, and perhaps no game gave a better display of Kirby Smart’s new-look offense than Georgia’s 40-13 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.

The Bulldogs threw the ball 35 times on Saturday, with starting quarterback JT Daniels making the bulk of the throws (backup Stetson Bennett received very limited playing time in the contest), and ran it 31 times. Georgia’s passing attack was highly effective against South Carolina; they completed 24 of those 35 passes for 307 yards, three touchdowns but did throw two interceptions. The rushing game, on the other hand, managed 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.

After Saturday’s win, Smart addressed the media and explained the recent shift in Georgia’s offense, which has now become heavily reliant on the passing game.

“It’s not that we’re taking what they give us,” Smart explained, “I think we’re just better right now, timing [wise], throwing the ball [and] spacing in our routes. I actually thought we ran the ball better tonight, we rushed for 184 yards. It didn’t seem like a struggle to run it as much as it did against UAB, so statistically I was proud of our ability to run the ball. I thought our backs made some people miss. So, I’m not down the run game tonight. I thought we improved there.”

While the run game improved, as Smart noted, the passing attack simply looks more polished. Between a veteran quarterback like Daniels and a group of talented wideouts, Smart said it’s just been in Georgia’s best interest to pass the ball more than run the ball.

If it’s not broken, …

Heading into Saturday’s contest, Georgia had wins over both Clemson and UAB — and while the Bulldogs scored far more against a lowly UAB team than a top-ten Clemson team, Smart’s run-pass balance on Saturday looked more like it did against Clemson. In Georgia’s 10-3 win over Clemson, Daniels attempted 30 passes, 22 of which he completed for 135 yards, and the Bulldogs ran it 31 times for 121 yards, creating a nearly equal distribution of running and passing plays. Against UAB, the pendulum swung just a bit; Georgia attempted 22 passes between two quarterbacks, good for 376 yards, while rushing 38 times for 163 yards. Smart’s decision to rely more on the rush in Week 2 could be a result of Daniels being sidelined with a core injury.

“I do think the timing in the passing game [is better] and our guys are pretty good pass pro guys,” Smart continued. “If you’re going to be an elite team, you’ve got to be able to be pretty good at both. There are a few teams — LSU, they didn’t have to run it two years ago.”