Carson Beck is wrong … but also right: Georgia does indeed have an identity crisis

Watching Georgia quarterback Carson Beck struggle against an Ole Miss pass rush that harassed him all game in a 28-10 loss, one can understand why he’d be frustrated afterward. 

After another poor offensive performance resulted in Georgia’s second loss of the season, Beck seemed to push back on the narrative forming around his poor play. 

“It’s not about how I play but how we play,” Beck said. “Our identity is to run the ball. We just weren’t able to do that tonight. Maybe whenever that happens, I have to step up, and we have to make some explosive plays in the passing game. Or maybe I got to start making some plays on the ground. Someone has to step up and make a play whenever we’re not able to run the ball comfortably.”

That’s not what you want to hear from your star quarterback and veteran leader after a dismal offensive performance. Georgia fans jumped all over those comments in a way that illustrates how college football has changed. As a highly-compensated, Lamborghini-driving quarterback in a game that is moving more and more toward a professional model, Beck has received more than his fair share of criticism and blame as Georgia’s offense has come unglued in recent weeks. 

Given his stature and what is expected at the quarterback position, Beck is probably wrong for airing out any grievances. 

Here’s the thing, though: there’s truth in what Beck said. 

Dealing with two injured starters on the offensive line, Tate Ratledge and Micah Moore, Georgia’s offensive front was clearly overwhelmed. The Rebels had five sacks, led by Princely Umanmielen’s two sacks, and left Beck little time to do much. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin delightedly pointed out afterward how Georgia had to resort to throwing screens and abandoned the downfield passing game to avoid Ole Miss’ pass rush. 

The Bulldogs managed only 59 yards against Ole Miss in what has been a struggle all season long. The offensive line, while acknowledging the injury impact, isn’t as dominant as it has been in the past. Neither is the running back position with coveted transfer Trevor Etienne, who has been banged up and managed 24 yards on six carries against the Rebels. Following the Ole Miss loss, Georgia now ranks 104th nationally in rushing offense with an anemic 124.11 yards per game. 

The reality is Georgia’s identity needs to be passing the ball, regardless of what the expectation has been in years past, but Beck has been unable to shoulder that heavy load. He hasn’t been able to live up to the billing of a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite and projected first-round pick. He sorely misses Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. With his interception against Ole Miss, Beck’s 12 interceptions this season are tied for the most in the country. Georgia is beyond fortunate that it only has two losses after Beck totaled three separate games (Alabama, Texas and Florida) where he threw three interceptions in the game. This is after only throwing six interceptions in his first 17 starts as the Bulldogs’ quarterback. 

As an opposing defensive coach told Matt Zenitz and me in our national insider notebook last week, “He’s definitely pressing. Forcing it. Trying to do too much.” Out of FBS quarterbacks, he now has the fifth-most turnovers in the country with 14. 

Beck never looked comfortable Saturday against a Rebels defense that was built to beat the Bulldogs. Georgia used a short field following a Jaxson Dart first-quarter interception to build an early 7-0 lead, but that was the last real highlight for the Bulldogs’ offense inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Georgia had only a single play that went for 20 or more yards against Ole Miss in what is becoming a recurring issue for an offense that last season ranked as one of the nation’s best. 

Beck finished the game 20 for 31 for 186 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. As the game progressed, even the most optimistic Georgia fans had to have given up hope watching Georgia’s offense flail around and look incapable of doing anything worthwhile against Pete Golding’s aggressive defensive front. Still, Kirby Smart defended his QB’s play after the loss.

“I thought Carson played good, guys,” Smart said. “I thought he played good. I mean, some of those penalties aren’t on him. You know, now some are. He had a couple snafus, too, where he maybe didn’t motion a guy or didn’t shift somebody in as part of the adjustment, and he knows that. But we put a lot on him, and he’s playing on the road with crowd noise. But man, he stands in that pocket and converted some third downs and made some really nice plays. I thought he threw the ball away a couple times tonight. It was really good. So I’m not here to be critical of him.”

The good news is Beck won’t have to worry about crowd noise this week back inside Sanford Stadium. The bad news is Tennessee is coming to town with one of the nation’s best defenses that has the potential to overwhelm Georgia’s offensive line again. Tennessee gives up only 100 rushing yards per game (9th best in the country) and gave Alabama QB Jalen Milroe major problems last month in a two-interception performance that led to a Vols’ win.

The Ole Miss loss eliminated any wiggle room for Georgia. One more loss and the Bulldogs should be out of the College Football Playoff race. That’s how fast things can change this season, especially in the SEC. Georgia looked like the best of the SEC after it beat Texas in Austin and now has its back against the wall. The Bulldogs need an offensive solution ASAP, and no matter what was said Saturday night, it almost certainly will have to come from the passing game. 

Is Beck up for the task? Georgia’s season depends on it.