Beck Shines Under Pressure to Lead Georgia to Victory at Auburn

Georgia survived against Auburn 27-20 thanks to stellar second-half performances by Carson Beck and Brock Bowers.

Kyle Funderburk | Oct 1, 2023

Another slow start on offense didn't bite the Bulldogs this Saturday. Instead, Carson Beck did what he always seems to do; play his best football in the second half to lead Georgia to a 27-20 victory.

Beck finished the day by completing 23-of-33 passes for 313 yards and one game-winning touchdown. Not bad for a first-year starter making his road debut in the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" against a fantastic Auburn defense.

He made one bad mistake, an interception in the first quarter, but that was it. In the belly of the beast, with a passionate Auburn crowd reigning down on him, Beck did not crumble. Georgia didn't make one pre-snap procedure penalty in the game, and Beck remained aggressive even after the interception.

"I never felt that he was rattled," said head coach Kirby Smart. "That was a concern coming in, would he be rattled by this environment?"

"To have a quarterback that has never started on the road at Auburn and not have a procedural penalty or a delay of game, that's pretty remarkable. I thought we handled that really well. We did not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties"

Third Down, No Problem

Not only was Beck not rattled, but he played better under pressure. Georgia faced a 3rd-and-7 situation in the redzone early in the second quarter. With a blitzer in his face, Beck found Rara Thomas over the middle for a first down. Georgia scored a touchdown two plays later to cut the score to 10-7.

That play was merely one of eight third downs Beck converted with his arm, and a few of those were third-and-long situations. He converted two first downs on a 10-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. One was a 14-yarder to Thomas on 3rd-and-five, which took place after Beck gained seven yards with his legs the play before. The other was a 12-yard pass to a returning Ladd McConkey on 3rd-and-10.

Beck's last third-down conversion of the game happened on the game-winning drive. Facing 3rd-and-12 at Georgia's 45-yard-line, Beck found Bowers past the sticks for a 16-yard gain. The biggest play of the game came just two snaps later.

"You go 8-of-10 against air, it's incredible," Smart said. "because it's hard to do that in our league with the defensive players [Auburn's] got, and their rushers. They had a good plan and did an incredible job. We take a lot of pride in third down and the red area, being elite in the country, and our offense is starting an identity of being good at that."

"He's a calming voice out there. He got rid of a couple of balls, took off, and ran a couple of times when he needed to. The closest he came to putting us at risk is when someone didn't do their job upfront and he almost got sacked. At the end of the day, Carson is a competitor."

Bowers back in the Heisman conversation

Over half of Beck's 313 yards went to one man; two-time All-American and defending Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers. The junior was quiet in the first half with just nine yards and two tough no-catches in the end zone, but he exploded in the second half with Beck.

At the end of the game, Bowers had eight catches for 157 yards and one game-winning touchdown catch that'll surely find a home in Georgia's historic highlight film.

"Bowers did what he does, the guy is amazing," Smart said. "It's a wonder why you just don't go to him every play. People know he's there, we try to find creative ways to find him the ball."

"Who can argue that there's a better football player anywhere in the country? Just football player. The guy has the greatest toughness and grit that I've been around and he'll do whatever you ask him to do for this team. I've got a lot of respect for that guy as a competitor."

What Bowers does is get open despite his star power being well-known. Credit to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo for designing plays in a medley of formations to get him open. Credit to Beck for delivering perfect passes when Bowers was wide open, and trusting him to make plays when he was covered. And credit to Bowers for using his physical traits to get every inch out of each play he totes the ball.

Spreading the wealth

Bowers had a huge game, but several receivers had really good games. Beck completed passes to seven other receivers. Ladd McConkey, who hadn't played all year, showed everyone what Georgia was missing by being a third-down specialist. Three of his catches kept Georgia from having the punt the ball away.

"For what he practiced, I thought we got way more out of him," Smart said. "I worried about him being a little rusty and he's so confident; He played great in this stadium the last time he was here. he made some big conversions today and all I can do is hope that there's no setback from this so that he can continue to get better."

Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint continues to have a career season, he had two grabs for 44 yards. His first catch was Georgia's first explosive play of the game, a 26-yard catch into the red zone. The other was a tough catch on a nifty roll-out play on the last touchdown drive.

The transfers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas combined for five catches and 59 yards. Dillon Bell, Oscar Delp, and Cash Jones also received passes from Beck.

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Published Oct 1, 2023

KYLE FUNDERBURK