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Georgia football winners and losers following win 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 a quarterback has had since Kirby Smart took over as the head coach.
Stylistically, it may have been even more fun to watch and enjoy Daniels cook. He consistently hit on downfield throws for big gains all night. Both of his second-half touchdown passes traveled over 40 yards in the air before being caught by Jermaine Burton and Kearis Jackson.
This was Danielsâ first action of the season and the first competitive snaps heâs taken since Aug. 31 of 2019. That wasnât lost on him after the game.
âIt feels really good, this is the first time Iâve taken a (game) snap since Aug. 31, 2019, in another part of the country,â Daniels said. âI really couldnât be happier and more appreciative to Coach Smart Coach (Todd) Monken and the team.â
Related: No second-guessing from JT Danielsâ family after 401-yard passing performance
Yes, this was an undermanned Mississippi State team and it was just a single game. But if Daniels is able to consistently make the throws he made on Saturday and hit the lay-ups as Smart calls them, it solves a lot of the issues weâve seen plague the Georgia offense since the 2019 season.
Loser: Kirby Smart
Smart obviously was thrilled with how well Daniels played. He bailed the team out with how some of the other units played against Mississippi State.
But the showing leads to the question of why Daniels hadnât seen the field earlier this season.
Smart answered that question following the game.
âAbsolutely I would,â Smart said of those who question why it took until game seven for Daniels to see the field. âBut I also think people need to take into consideration that Iâve been coaching football for I donât know how many years, 20 or 25 years and God knows Monken has probably doubled me as old as he is. Thereâs not a decision that we make as coaches, as a coaching staff, as an offensive coaching staff, five guys that I adore and think the world of ⊠maybe the question should be, man, arenât they glad theyâve got J.T. here, when nobody thought that maybe they needed him.
Smart continued to explain his process for playing DâWan Mathis and Stetson Bennett for earlier parts of the season.
âWould I have loved him to go out and do that same thing to other teams? Absolutely,â Smart said. But the decisions were made on who we felt gave us the best opportunity to win, and a lot of that had to do with mobility and Stetsonâs play. As Stet struggled, we had to look for other options. He did a great job with his opportunity, he also had some help in receivers that came back and how Mississippi State played them.â
Mobility and athleticism is something Smart and Monken have said was a key part of evaluating the quarterback position. Daniels was hobbled 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 once again leaned on his and the offensive staffâs experience in their reasoning.
âHe played unbelievable. Iâm as proud as hell for the way he played,â Smart said. âBut every decision we make is who gives us the best opportunity to win the game and the men in that room who are making those decisions, theyâve got a lot of experience doing it.â
It needs to be said that Jamie Newman opting out of the season undoubtedly threw a wrench into Smartâs plan. And if Daniels continues to play well and lead Georgia to the heights that other elite teams have enjoyed, he will one day likely get credit for bringing in Daniels when he did.
But that wonât come from a fan base that saw Georgia lose to Alabama and Florida due in part, though obviously not entirely, to ineffective quarterback play.
Winner: Georgiaâs wide receivers
What a difference an accurate quarterback can make for your young pass-catchers. Burton, George Pickens and Demetris Robertson all had their best efforts of the season.
Burton really turned heads, as his eight catch, 197-yard performance validated why he had been so hyped up over the course of his freshman season. Coming into the game, Burton had 130 yards on 10 catches. In just the first half, he topped that with 149 yards.
Related: JT Daniels praises Georgia wide receivers in win 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 due to injury, he picked up a 28-yard catch and run on Georgiaâs first drive.
He also found the endzone for Georgiaâs first score of the game. Having a locked-in Pickens no doubt helps make this offense better.
It has been a tough go of things for this position group this season. But Saturdayâs performance showed signs of a brighter future. Burton, Pickens and Jackson will all return in 2021. Georgia will also get Dominick Blaylock and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint back from injury. If Arian Smith continues to develop and return to health, itâs not hard to see this one-time weakness becoming a position of strength.
Loser: Georgia ground game
For as great as Daniels and the pass offense was, the rushing attack was bad. Georgia finished the game with eight rushing yards on 23 carries, with sacks included. Thatâs the lowest total of the Smart era and the fewest since at least 2009.
Georgia couldnât get anything going. on the ground and thatâs largely due to Mississippi State stuffing the box with defenders. Georgia was running into eight-man boxes for much of the night. Mississippi State dared Georgia to beat them deep and fortunately, Daniels was able to do so.
âThey kicked our butt. Thatâs the bottom line,â Smart said. âHey, we pass proâd better than they pass rushed. And they run stopped better than we ran. Iâd reserve judgment until I watch it to see totally what it was, but it wasnât good enough.â
Georgia had been running the ball better as off of late and it will be worth monitoring how South Carolina adjusts to defending Daniels. But the Bulldogs will need to run the ball better unless Daniels is just going to start throwing for 400 yards in every game.
More Georgia football stories from around DawgNation
- Everything Georgia quarterback JT Daniels said after his 401-yard passing game
- Georgia football freshmen report: Georgia 31, Mississippi State 24
- Georgia opens as giant favorite in revenge game at South Carolina
- Georgia teammates praise JT Daniels: âVery blessed to have that kind of talentâ
- Georgia football: What Mississippi State and Mike Leach said after a 31-24 loss
- Georgia football moves up in Coaches Poll, stays still in AP Poll after JT Danielsâ debut win
- Social media thrilled with JT Daniels performance, but ponders why Kirby Smart didnât play him sooner
- Enter Georgia quarterback JT Daniels: âWe had a great game planâ
- Nakobe Dean explains what the Georgia defense must do better going forward
- Game Ball: JT Danielsâ 401-yard passing performance ignites Georgia offense
