Alabama vs Georgia 2024 Preview: Q&A with DawgSports

In what has become a regular tradition, my friend Macondawg over at Dawg Sports took the time out of trying to survive a Category 4 hurricane to answer our burning questions about the Georgia Bulldogs.

To be honest, they’re really not as confident over there as I’d expect. The Dawg faithful don’t seem quite as high on the team as the national media at large does, to be honest.

Seriously, they run a great site over there, and I’ll always recommend going to give them a read. And again, big thanks to Macondawg for the time and effort!

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1. Right off the bat, here’s a fun exercise for us to see where you stand: Right now, it looks like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Missouri (I guess?) are the contenders in the SEC. Where do you rank these teams right now, and who will still have one loss or less at the end of the season?

I’m not yet fully sold on Tennessee in part because I think Nico may be susceptible to a team that can get consistent pressure. I’m not sure Ole Miss has the depth to be there at the end of the year.And Missouri frankly just ain’t that good a football team. At this point I’d rank the others 1) Texas, 2) Alabama, 3) Georgia based on resume so far. I think the funniest outcome is probably for those three to all end up with one loss apiece in a southern fried circular firing squad.

2. I like Carson Beck a lot. I’ve generally been a doubter of most of UGA’s quarterbacks during Kirby Smart’s tenure, but Beck is really impressive. However, losing Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey from his pass catchers was huge. Are Dominic Lovett and Arian Smith going to be able to step up to really take over games? Or someone else? Or no one?

Lovett and Smith are among a host of Bulldog receivers with a lot of promise. Miami transfer Colbie Young has also shown the potential to be a big mismatch, and slot receiver Dillon Bell has also shown flashes.

Replacing Bowers may be another matter. He’s just a whole different kind of player. Bowers’ replacement Oscar Delp has only managed 4 receptions so far on the season, and had a drop and a fumble against Kentucky. Getting him on track along with younger tight ends Lawson Luckie and Jaden Redell would go a long way to loosening up defenses and allowing Beck to do what he does best.

3. Weirdly, despite the reputation of being a more old-school, power running team, UGA hasn’t had a 1000 yard rusher since Deandre Swift back in 2019. Any chance Trevor Etienne breaks that streak?

It’s doubtful for the same reason NFL tailbacks Zeus White, James Cook, Daijun Edwards, and Kenny McIntosh don’t cross the millennium mark in Athens: Mike Bobo just prefers to spread the carries around. Etienne has already shown that he’s going to be a key component of the offense. But freshman Nate Frazier looks set to get a growing proportion of the touches. Also, bruising back Branson Robinson has staked a claim to being the go-to goal line and short yardage back. Finally, the coaches have a lot of faith in veteran walk-on Cash Jones.

4. UGA held on to Mike Bobo and Glenn Schumann at the coordinator spots. Continuity is always great! Are you happy with those guys?

Bringing Schumann with him from Tuscaloosa was pretty likely the most important hire Kirby made early in his UGA tenure. Bulldog fans are resigned to the fact that we’re going to soon lose him to a head coaching gig.

Bobo remains the scapegoat for all UGA fan anger and fear. Despite routinely coordinating offenses that have produced gobs of points while still winning the time of possession battle (the dual mandate Kirby Smart insists on) it seems like Bulldog fans are consistently ready to fire him into the sun. I’d say I’m probably more happy than the average Bulldog fan with Bobo because I’ve seen a lot of hotshot OCs flame out in a way he never has. Kirby isn’t asking Mike Bobo to score 42 a game. He’s asking him to out an offense on the field that scores consistently, holds onto the ball, and doesn’t give away turnovers.

5. Is there any chance UGA’s defense isn’t actually as infallible as it looks? The stats are kinda terrifying, and I dread doing a preview this week. I guess Kentucky did kind of rush the ball semi-decently on you guys, but that’s about it. A single explosive play in 3 games is just nuts.

It’s been difficult to get a read on this unit so far because it’s been patched together for a lot of the early going. Mykel Williams and Warren Brinson are probably Georgia’s two most disruptive defensive linemen and neither has played since the opener against Clemson. But the early returns are very promising. The Dawgs brought back a lot of players at every level, and while the defense isn’t huge on stars outside of Williams and Malaki Starks, there are guys who can be counted on at every spot, including a lot of depth.

If there’s a concern it may be that this team doesn’t have the two gap run stuffing defensive tackle in the middle that Georgia has had in the past with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter. Nazir Stackhouse is solid, but Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott needs some other players to log quality snaps behind him in the middle, or someone is going to run it down this defense’s throat.

That being said, if the interior line gets healthy, this unit could be close to the 2021 defense by the time all is said and done.

6. You have any freshman that are already looking like they might have some real superstar potential and will be terrorizing the SEC by next year?

Defensively safety KJ Bolden has already found a home in the rotation and looks like the next Malaki Starks. Offensively tailback Nate Frazier has shown great instincts and is should see an increasing number of touches as the season progresses.

7. What’s the outside opinion on Alabama now that we’re three games into our first season without Nick Saban? You guys still view us as a threat, or just another SEC team?

I watched the Wisconsin game. But I also watched the first three quarters of the USF game. And from that I’ve come to the opinion that Kalen DeBoer has a team that’s still stocked with Saban era talent but is perhaps also still finding its feet. I expect the Tide to be a title contender for a long time to come. But I don’t expect them to be as good, as often, for as long as under Saban. And no one else should either, because what Nick did in Tuscaloosa was unprecedented.

8. Make your game prediction?

I just can’t make myself feel confident about this one. I’m a little worried about Georgia being able to consistently cover Ryan Williams. I’m a lot concerned about Jalen Milroe. Georgia’s struggled under Kirby Smart with quarterbacks who can go off script and make plays with their legs. Milroe killed the Bulldogs last year in the SEC Championship Game doing that, and to me looks like a better pocket passer this season. I don’t know that the Red and Black have a counter for that. I’d love to be wrong, and both teams have been variable enough this year that I could be. But I’m guessing Bama 31, Georgia 23.

9. I assume you will predict that UGA misses the playoffs. Is it national championship or bust? Or will you be happy with (or at least ok with) a playoff win and a graceful exit?

I think it will depend to some extent on the circumstances. After two national titles I will admit some of the old UGA fan angst is gone. I honestly wondered for twenty years if I’d ever see Georgia win a national title. Then I saw them win two in 364 days. So I’m a lot more mellow about this stuff than I once was.

I’m on record saying the team that wins it all this season may just be the one among the “big four” of Bama, Texas, Georgia and Ohio State that’s healthiest at year-end. If the Bulldogs do put everything together, race into the playoffs healthy and undefeated or with one close loss, and then proceed to fall flat in their faces against Utah I’ll say this whole 12 team playoff thing is a horrible idea. But then if they hobble in and squeeze together enough pixie dust to win one more title I’ll probably hail it as the greatest innovation since the forward pass.