What has Been Holding Georgia's Offense Back?

What has been holding Georgia's offense back after two straight weeks of struggling?

Jonathan Williams | Oct 4, 2022

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Georgia Bulldogs

It has been two straight weeks of struggles for Georgia's offense. For the first three weeks, the Bulldogs looked to be unstoppable. Scoring with ease and getting the ball in the end zone at an efficient pace. Their success has now seemed to come to a shocking halt the last two weeks against Kent State and Missouri, so what is causing the issues?

Turnovers have been a big issue. In their past two games, the Bulldogs have committed five turnovers. It's why Missouri was able to hang on to their lead for as long as they did and keep the ball in their court. It restricts the offense from getting into a rhythm and Georgia fell victim to that in week four as they followed their first turnover with two straight three and outs while Missouri was responding with points.

Georgia had zero turnovers on offense in the first three weeks of the season and that's when Georgia's offense looked its best. Turnovers are drive killers and in a game of momentum, they can really hinder an offense's success while also pinning your defense into tough situations, particularly on the road.

Red zone scoring is another area that Georgia has struggled. Out of 31 total trips to the red zone, the Bulldogs have had to settle for 11 field goals. No other FBS team has kicked 10 or more field goals in the red zone. Against Missouri, Georgia kicked field goals on four straight trips in the red zone. That's not an ideal formula for success.

The good news for Georgia is they lead the nation in trips to the red zone so no other team is getting there more than the Bulldogs. It's just a matter of capitalizing on those opportunities by scoring six points as opposed to just three.

Georgia's offense outside of those two factors has been solid. Stetson Bennett has thrown for 1,536 yards and scored nine total touchdowns. They're averaging 39 points per game which ranks third best amongst all SEC teams. The running game has also been pretty effective as they are averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the season.

Georgia's offense was looking like the well-oiled machine that they were for the first three weeks then they protected the football and made the most of their red zone opportunities. If Georgia can figure those two issues out, maybe they can get back to being the unit that scored touchdowns on seven straight possessions against Oregon in week one.

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