ATHENS — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer put Georgia’s growth and differences from a season ago into perspective.
“They do what they do offensively, and they’ve gotten better at it,” Beamer said on his Sunday night teleconference, one day after a 48-7 loss to the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs.
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It was Beamer, of course, who marveled over Georgia’s collection of record-breaking NFL talent last season with a team that had 15 NFL draft picks.
“They have like 100 5-star football players on their defense,” Beamer said, beginning a now-famous rant. “They’ve got 5-star recruits everywhere and they play really physical.”
Beamer faced a JT Daniels-led offense that passed for over 300 yards along with 3 touchdowns and a defense that featured projected first-round NFL pick Adam Anderson, who was later suspended.
Even with different Georgia stars on offense and defense, Beamer explained this season’s Georgia team didn’t strike him as too different.
“Defensively, they did what we expected them to do, and they are really well coached,” Beamer said.
“The thing is, they are really athletic at linebacker, and then it’s the size in the secondary they have with their defensive backs.”
Beamer made it clear he was impressed with Stetson Bennett, and the challenges he presents for defenses.
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“You look at them offensively and Stetson is so talented and he can make all the throws, he can run, he makes plays with his feet,” Beamer said. “He doesn’t turn the ball over, and they have really good players around him.”
Beamer shared how Georgia’s size in the secondary factored into the game.
“They are big with length; we had schemed some guys open, and we had some 50-50 balls,” Beamer said. “You have to be able to make those contested catches, but with their size and length, that’s challenging.
“As far as a difference from last season, they don’t look much different than they did last year.”
Here’s a look at how Georgia compares statistically to last season’s CFP Champions:
Passing offense
2022: 376.7 yards per game
2021: 251.9 yards per game
Rushing offense
2022: 155.7 yards per game
2021: 190.9 yards per game
Passing yards allowed
2022: 165.3 yards per game
2021: 190.1 yards per game
Rushing defense
2022: 83.7 yards per game
2021: 78.9 yards per game
Sacks allowed
2022: 0.33 per game
2021: 1.07 per game
Team sacks
2022: 0.33 per game
2021: 3.27 per game
Scoring offense
2022: 43.3 points per game
2021: 38.4 points per game
Scoring defense
2022: 3.33 points per game
2021: 10.2 points per game
