ATHENS — Carson Beck and Trevor Etienne are the two Georgia players who undoubtedly care more about the Florida game than others.
But Kirby Smart doesn’t want you to know how they feel going into the 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday — he’d rather they show you.
Beck, who played his high school football in Jacksonville, and Etienne, who transferred to UGA from Florida, figure to carry the Bulldogs’ offense against the resurgent Gators. Without a doubt, Beck and Etienne are the two most irreplaceable players on this Georgia football team.
Beating Florida is of major importance; it’s a big game UGA needs to win to remain in control of their SEC Championship Game and postseason destiny.
As good as Florida is playing right now, a loss to the three-loss Gators would be damaging in tiebreaker situations, as Texas A&M and Tennessee have already beaten Florida, and Texas and LSU -- two other teams UGA could find itself in a tiebreaker situation with -- still have games remaining against the Gators.
The new SEC tiebreaker rules for the SEC title game stipulates that record against common SEC opponents is the second tiebreaker after head-to-head.
As far as the “personal” stories for Beck and Etienne -- which may be reserved for pregame television features -- they are obvious.
Beck surely wants to win in front of family and hometown friends, just like he did last year.
And, of course, Etienne wants to have a good game and win against his former teammates and friends.
What more could either player say?
Smart likely chose players Arian Smith, Chaz Chambliss, Lawson Luckie and Malaki Starks to speak to the media this week in an effort to provide them valuable publicity that would aid in their postseason All-SEC recognition.
Smart, however, did provide some insight into Beck and Etienne this week, as well as the importance of the team’s bye week activity.
On Etienne
Smart noted how versatile and explosive Etienne has proven to be, as his role and importance has continued to grow in the Georgia backfield.
“He’s a really good receiver, he catches the ball well out of the backfield,” Smart said. “If you play man-to-man, he’s one-on-one with the backer. If you play zone, then he can catch the ball underneath to turn it into a big gain.”
Etienne ranks 10th among SEC backs and leads Georgia with 422 yards rushing on 82 carries (5.1 yards per carry) and is the fourth-leading receiver with 20 catches for 130 yards.
Banged-up Bulldogs
Smart shared how important the two bye weeks have been for Georgia, which has had one of the tougher schedule draws in the SEC with the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation, to date.
“The two bye weeks, I feel like this year, we’ve had more injuries than we’ve ever had,” Smart said. “I just feel like with the two starters we’ve missed on the offensive line, how beat up we are on the offensive line (and) the D-line, how it was at the start of the year. We just had more lost time starters.
“So, when you have less depth, more injuries, the two bye weeks actually has to help.”
Assessing Beck
Beck isn’t putting up the prolific passing numbers some might have expected, but with 2023 Bulldogs Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers now starring in the NFL and the loss of “X” receivers RarRa Thomas and Colbie Young — and the offensive line injuries Smart spoke of — that maybe shouldn’t be so surprising.
“I don’t think anything’s wrong with (Beck),” said Smart, who during the offseason encouraged his quarterback to work more with new receivers in the event there was attrition at the position. “He hasn’t played perfect, but nobody does.
“So I’m very comfortable with where Carson is, and in terms of his leadership, his practice habits, the things we’re asking him to do, I think he’s doing a good job.”
Perhaps, but NFL scouts are taking notes and Beck appears to be responding to the feedback, as his body language and emotional investment took a noticeable — and effective — upturn in the 30-15 win over Texas.