Georgia football’s PFF grades from their win vs. Tennessee have been announced.
The Georgia Bulldogs entered a do-or-die game against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Fresh off their second loss of the season against the Ole Miss Rebels, they UGA was in must-win territory if they wanted to make the College Football Playoff. Georgia took care of business, winning against the Volunteers 31-17.
The passing game finally emerged for the Bulldogs after looking dreadful recently. Carson Beck silenced the critics with 347 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. As a result, he made PFF’s All-SEC team. Beck distributed the ball well. A staggering five different receivers finished with over 50 yards. Oscar Delp emerged as his No. 1 red zone target.
The defense was less consistent than in past games, but at the start of the second half, they finally gelled together to shutout Nico Iamaleava and the Volunteers offense. Chaz Chambliss led the team with two sacks. Smael Mondon Jr. had a sack and a tackle for loss, looking as healthy as ever. As a cherry on top, Damon Wilson II stripped Nico Iamaleava of the ball to end the game.
Highest and lowest PFF grades from the Georgia offense and defense vs. TENNESSEE
Offense
Best Grades
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Tight End Oscar Delp: 87.0 overall grade, 88.3 receiving grade, 73.3 pass-blocking grade, 56.8 run-blocking grade
Georgia football quarterback Carson Beck put together one of his best games all season against Tennessee.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck is expected to carry the UGA offense after the loss of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. With 12 turnovers in the past five games, Carson Beck’s NFL draft stock hit a low point. In the Tennessee game, Beck had his first game with no turnovers since the Auburn game.
Georgia’s 31-17 win means a lot for Carson Beck. Beck has faced a fair share of scrutiny from national media. Against the Tennessee Volunteers, Beck showed flashes of his old self that NFL scouts and Georgia fans know and love.
In this game Beck completed 25 of 40 passes 347 yards, and two touchdowns. He started to dial in when UGA trailed 10-0 in the second quarter. Beck displayed his assertiveness, accuracy, and anticipation to make timely throws. Beck’s19-yard touchdown pass to Oscar Delp was something we have not seen in a long time. His anticipation and pinpoint accuracy was on display on that pass and it helped him build confidence.
Another NFL-like throw was Beck’s 28-yard third-down pass to London Humphreys. Beck’s pass had perfect ball placement and it lead to a game-sealing touchdown for the Bulldogs.
His decision-making was great throughout the whole night. Beck used hard counts to draw the Volunteers defensive line offsides and made them pay. Beck was Georgia’s second leading rusher with 23 yards and a touchdown. He showcased his mobility in the win.
Beck even jokingly said in a interview after the game “I was dual threat in high school so I tell coach all the time I can run the ball,” Beck said.
Georgia’s win against a very formidable opponent like Tennessee is perfect timing. With the postseason approaching and Georgia losing a couple playmakers to injury, now is the perfect time for Beck to step up as Georgia looks to make a national championship run.
Carson Beck silenced his doubters and supposed “falling draft stock” in the 31-17 win over Tennessee.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked one of the most ridiculous questions of the season in a press conference in the week preceding the Tennessee game: would he consider a change at quarterback over Carson Beck?
His response was simple.
“Absolutely not (have we considered a change),” Smart said. “We’ve got the quarterback we’ve got, who’s completely competent, capable and understanding of our system that gives us the best chance to win.”
That question asked sounds even more laughable Saturday after Georgia’s dominant 31-17 win over No. 6 Tennessee. There was some back and forth at first, but there was no need for the “Cardiac Dawgs” to get a last-minute victory.
The outcome the Bulldogs were after was on ice for more than just a small while.
It was also Beck’s best game of the season as he rose to the occasion in an essential must-win game to stay in the College Football Playoff race. He took it upon himself to give an emotional speech to the team ahead on Monday ahead of the game.
“I stood up in front of the team on Monday and just kind of talked to them about how I felt about how our season’s gone,” Beck said. “Whatever has happened has happened. And that all we can control is what he can control moving forward.”
Beck backed up his talk by finishing out a complete game 25-for-40 passing for 347 yards with two passing touchdowns and one rushing score.
It marked his first touchdown on the ground of the season, with his last one coming against the Alabama Crimson Tide in last year’s SEC title game.
Allowing Beck to use his mobility and improvisation ability more — two things he brings to the table that are slightly hidden away in his toolbox at times — was in the game plan and incredibly important in the absence of star running back Trevor Etienne.
“We had a couple plays where it was a designed quarterback run, which I don’t know if we’ve ever done for me ever,” Beck said. “So, I was kind of excited coming into the week because when I was in high school, I was a dual-threat, and so I would just like to let everyone know that.”
Being able to let loose on the ground is something Beck has been pushing Smart on for some time now. And the head coach finally let him go with the wheels on Saturday.
It paid dividends.
“I kept telling coach that I’m a dual-threat and that I can run if he needs me to and he doesn’t ever let me run. But he did let me run tonight a little bit so that’s fun.”
All jokes aside, despite the way Beck has fallen among media analysts in terms of draft stock, it’s clear he’s still got the interest and respect of the coaching staff around him, his teammates and NFL scouts.
That’s all that matters at the end of the day.
“Carson carries himself well,” Smart said after the game. “I’ve been very consistent, even with some of the dumbest questions in the world about out our quarterback, because we see him every day. He gets judged on outcomes and stats, but we don’t judge based on that.”
Smart is confident Beck gives the Bulldogs the strongest shot at going all the way.
“I’m never going to falter on what I see with my eyes. What I see with eyes is a guy that is really good on the pocket. He’s got poise, he’s got composure. He puts us in the right play over and over again and makes good decisions.”
Beck and the Bulldogs will continue their run in the race to the College Football Playoff with just two regular-season matchups left against UMass and Georgia Tech.
Kirby Smart did not mince words when questioned about a potential quarterback change.
Kirby Smart has fielded a lot of questions on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck as of late, many of which have pertained to the signal-caller’s interceptions.
One of the most ludicrous of those was as to whether or not he would consider a change at the position, whether temporarily or permanently and if he thought there could be another option as a running threat.
Smart did not mince words when he responded.
“Absolutely not (have we considered a change),” Smart said. “We’ve got the quarterback we’ve got, who’s completely competent, capable and understanding of our system that gives us the best chance to win.
There is merit to some of the criticism regarding Beck’s questionable decision-making at times, but it should also be noted just how severe Georgia’s issue with receivers dropping passes truly is.
In fact, the No. 11-ranked Bulldogs have one of the worst drop rates in concerning drops rates in college football. It’s the issue that’s holding the offense back most, even though everyone seems to want to point fingers at Beck.
“The receiver problem is real,” college football analyst David Pollack said in a recent appearance on The Todd McShay Show. “They drop balls at the third highest-rate. They don’t make contested catches. Delp (Oscar) is M.I.A. this season. He has less than eight catches on the season. If you want to boil down to what you see and watch on tape, Carson Beck don’t trust Delp. He doesn’t. You can tell there’s definitely not a level of trust. (Brock) Bowers, that ball was getting force-fed. (Ladd) McConkey, that ball was getting force-fed.”
Such an issue causes any quarterback of any caliber to second-guess himself, causes hesitancy in the pocket that can affect timing of getting the ball off and overall decisiveness and generates a pure lack of trust.
Beck finished out his last appearance, the 28-10 loss to Ole Miss, 20-for-31 passing for 186 yards with one interception. On the season to this point, Beck has completed 65.4% of his passes for 2,488 yards with 17 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
That ratio may look a bit alarming, but at the same time, going back and looking through the film will show more receiver error causing this outcome than decision-making issues by Beck, which have existed but been few and far between.
How Beck continues to progress with the 2025 NFL Draft now much closer than it may appear will be something to watch down the final stretch of the season.
That starts with Saturday’s matchup against No. 6-ranked Tennessee in Sanford Stadium.
Some Georgia football fans need to face the reality that Georgia is not going to play any quarterback outside of Carson Beck
The Georgia Bulldogs are backing quarterback Carson Beck despite his recent interception and fumble issues. Beck and the Georgia offense have turned the ball over three times in each of UGA’s past three games, but Georgia went 2-1 during this stretch.
Beck’s numbers are down across the board in 2024. Beck has 17 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions through nine games. He finished 2023 with 24 touchdown passes and six interceptions.
Georgia’s offensive struggles are not all Beck’s fault. His supporting cast simply isn’t as good as it was a year ago. The Georgia offensive line has not been as effective this season. UGA is averaging just 124.1 rushing yards per game, which is 15th in the SEC. The Dawgs don’t have as reliable pass catchers and lead the country in drops.
So why will Georgia not play another quarterback in Beck’s place?
1. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart supports Beck and is not considering a change.
“Absolutely not,” said Kirby Smart when asked if Georgia is considering a change at quarterback. “We’ve got the quarterback we’ve got who is completely competent, capable and understanding of our system that gives us the best chance to win.”
2. Georgia simply does not have the talent or experience at quarterback to replace Beck with any sort of confidence.
Georgia Bulldogs back up quarterback Gunner Stockton is UGA’s top option behind Carson Beck. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Georgia’s back up quarterbacks are freshman Jaden Rashada, sophomore Gunner Stockton, and freshman Ryan Puglisi.
Rashada has not recorded a stat for Georgia this season. Rashada has played in three career games, while at Arizona State, and put up modest numbers (485 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions on 82 attempts).
Stockton is Georgia’s top backup quarterback. He is more mobile than Beck, which is intriguing, but he has just 31 career pass attempts and was Georgia’s third-string quarterback for all of the 2023 season except for one game.
Puglisi is a true freshman who was unable to participate in much of the spring workouts. Now, is way too soon for him to start over an experienced quarterback like Beck.
3. Carson Beck has proven he can beat the nation’s top teams.
Brett Patzke-Imagn Images
Beck beat the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on the road just a few weeks ago. Beck also played well in the second half in Georgia’s season-opening win over No. 16 Clemson.
Ultimately, Georgia does not have much of a choice. The Bulldogs have to roll with Carson Beck as long as he is healthy because he is UGA’s top quarterback option. There’s no magical player on Georgia’s roster that will be able to step in and save Georgia’s season, so it will have to be Beck and his next opportunity is this Saturday against No. 4 Tennessee.
UGA head coach Kirby Smart comments on Georgia’s recent offensive struggles
In the Georgia Bulldogs’ 28-10 loss to the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford it raised questions about UGA’s offense identity. With it being this late in the season questions need to be answered with another pivotal matchup in Week 12 agains the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers at home.
In Monday’s press conference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had answers.
With the offensive line surrendering a season-high five sacks and nine tackles for losses the offensive line performance was one of the main things wanted to hear from Kirby.
“But, you know, being more efficient is the most important thing. And that’s our biggest struggle, is staying ahead of the chains for third downs and putting together drives where we don’t have turnovers, ” Smart said.
“At the end of the day when you play from behind and a team can rush the passer like they did. Their No. 1 is an elite rusher,” Smart said.
The No. 1 that coach Smart is referring to for Ole Miss is Princely Umanmielen, who had two sacks and two tackles for losses and consistently lived in the Georgia backfield.
Georgia ranks No. 76 with a 38 percent conversion rate on third down. Compared to last year, when Georgia was the best team in the country with a 55 percent conversion rate on third down. Seven starters left for the NFL after last season including main offensive contributors Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. The receiver corps lost two were security blankets for Carson Beck.
Smart also touched on the difficult schedule that the Bulldogs have been going through this season.
“Well, we played really good defenses. So, you guys will look at a stat sheet and you’ll say, where do they rank? And I’ll say, well, against who? Because relative to who we’ve played, we’ve played some really good teams,” Smart said.
The Bulldogs have No. 1 strength of schedule this year with four top 25 matchups in away/neutral stadiums. In those top 25 matchups, the average defense the Georgia offense will faced was 20th in the nation. Georgia will have their hands full with their last matchup against Tennessee, who is No. 7 in total defense.
[lawrence-auto-related count=2]
This season has been inconsistent on the offensive end of things for Georgia. However, UGA’s season ends with three home games in a row, so there could be a way to find that consistency ahead of the postseason.
Georgia football’s PFF grades from the Ole Miss game have been announced.
The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a 28-10 loss against the Ole Miss Rebels. A big culprit of that was the UGA offense. Carson Beck played more hesitantly due to his turnover issues in games against Texas and Florida. The offensive line let him down and allowed five sacks.
They were arguably worse in the run-blocking department. The running game only generated a total of 59 yards on 33 carries, good for only 1.8 yards per rushing attempt. Overall, it was just a poor offensive showing.
The defense tried to pick up the slack, but they allowed seven different drives to end in points. One reason was because the Georgia offense turned the ball over three times, which put the defense in some terrible situations.
Highest and lowest PFF grades from the Georgia offense and defense vs. Ole Miss
“I thought Carson played good,” said Kirby Smart after Georgia’s road loss to Ole Miss
Georgia Bulldogs senior quarterback Carson Beck took care of the ball better in Georgia’s 28-10 road loss to Ole Miss, but that was about it. Beck completed 20 of 31 passes for 186 yards and threw one interception, which was tipped. Beck was sacked five times and fumbled twice (one lost fumble) in Georgia’s rough 28-10 road loss to Ole Miss.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart thinks Carson Beck played pretty well given the circumstances. The Georgia offense was not explosive against Ole Miss and did not test the Rebels deep down the field often.
“I thought he came out gunning and throwing,” said Smart. “Carson (Beck) had his best week of practice. I thought Carson did some good things. He threw some play-action strikes. He stepped up and made some great third-down plays.”
Beck and Georgia moved the ball alright, but turnovers haunted Georgia once again. Beck did not receive much support as running back Nate Frazier fumbled twice and the UGA offensive line struggled.
“I thought Carson (Beck) played good, guys,” said Smart. “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.”
Georgia needs the best version of Carson Beck if UGA is going to beat Tennessee on Saturday.
Georgia loses to Ole Miss, tumbling down the SEC standings. Here are some things people should take away from the loss
The Georgia Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 in SEC) had a lot to prove coming into an away matchup versus the Ole Miss Rebels (7-2, 4-2 in SEC). Despite some great wins versus the Clemson Tigers and Texas Longhorns, who are two teams in College Football’s latest top 25 rankings, Georgia’s lost against Alabama and looked sloppy against Kentucky, Florida, and Mississippi State, three teams near the bottom of the SEC.
No one knew which version of the Bulldogs fans were going to see, but people were expecting the championship contender they looked like against Texas.
Safe to say, that didn’t happen. Georgia was defeated again in an ugly 28-10 loss. Despite what looks like a blowout score, this game was actually close. Georgia started with a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, the offense shut down essentially the rest of the way. They couldn’t get anything going in the first half, and while the second half was bettter, but turnovers doomed Georgia.
Despite a fumble by Nate Frazier, Georgia was driving with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter of a 22-10 game, but on the 4th down try, Carson Beck’s pass was intercepted, and Ole Miss went down the field to kick a field goal with 3:25 left to make it 25-10. On the next drive, Beck was strip sacked and Ole Miss used the great field position to kick a field goal to reach the final score of 28-10.
Carson Beck wasn’t as turnover prone as past games, but he was too hesitant, only racking up 186 yards and an interception on 31 passing attempts. Of course, his offensive line did him no favors, allowing five sacks, including the strip sack.
The all-reliable running game was also rendered obsolete in this one. Trevor Etienne was sparingly used since he was dealing with an injury, but Nate Frazier didn’t succeed in his first taste as a lead back. Despite scoring a touchdown, he only had 47 yards on 12 carries and fumbled the ball twice, once recovered by the Ole Miss defense. Overall, the running game had just 59 yards on 33 carries, a dreadful 1.8 yards per attempt.
The defense was also weaker in this one. Although they were solid in the red zone, they still allowed seven scoring drives. Ole Miss gunslinger Jaxson Dart suffered an injury in the first quarter, but was quietly efficient. He threw for just 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, but it was only on 22 attempts, as he was aiming for more deep in-breaking routes. Austin Simmons was also efficient in backup, with 64 passing yards on just six attempts.
This loss puts Georgia at 7-2, with their SEC championship ambitions on life support. Next week’s game against No. 7 Tennessee is essentially a do-or-die game, and even if they win, they’d need one of Texas A&M/Texas (these two play each other for the final week of the season), Ole Miss, or Alabama to lose another game down the stretch. If they lose, Georgia could be out of the College Football Playoff and finish outside of the top ten for the first time in recent seasons.
Here are four takeaways from this matchup:
Quarterback Carson Beck couldn’t get in a rhythm
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
There should be some blame on offensive coordinator Mike Bobo for this loss. After all, the team only racked up 245 total yards. However, Carson Beck still couldn’t get in a rhythm. Even with a more cautious approach, he wasn’t able to get anything going.
Beck had just 49 passing yards by halftime and in the second half he had an interception and a fumble. Beck now has 12 interceptions against SEC opponents (seven games), the most by any quarterback in a seven-game span since former Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in 2019. Sure, it’s not entirely his fault, but as the driver of the offense, he could afford to be more careful with the ball.
Offensive line was not effective
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Unfortunately for Beck, the Georgia Bulldog offensive line did not show up. They easily had their worst game of the season, allowing five sacks for 40 yards lost. Not only did they let up in pass protection, their run blocking was flawed too, with Georgia running backs picking up a combined 1.8 yards per attempt. Even with several adjustments and tackle rotations, nothing worked.
Ole Miss was coming into this game leading the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, but Georgia’s offensive line has always been strong. In this game, they had their worst showing in years.
Turnovers killed Georgia
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The offense had a fast start with a 7-0 lead off of a Jaxson Dart pick, but it was fool’s gold, as Georgia punted on every other drive in the first half while Ole Miss racked up 16 unanswered points.
However, Georgia’s offense finally woke up for a few drives, kicking a field goal and driving down the field again down 10-22, but freshman running back Nate Frazier fumbled the ball in Ole Miss territory. On their next drive, UGA got the ball again in Ole Miss territory, but on a fourth down try, Carson Beck’s pass was tipped an intercepted.
Even if Georgia were to kick field goals on both of those drives, they would’ve only been down by one score (22-16), but the turnover game made it out of reach for Georgia. It not only killed momentum on some drives, but it also made the defense’s job harder.
Georgia in danger of missing playoffs
Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
What a difference a week makes. Georgia looked in prime position to be the home team in the SEC championship. Now, they’re in no-mans land in the SEC standings.
Georgia is currently behind Texas A&M, Texas, and Tennessee, and they’re only ahead of Ole Miss and Alabama due to playing just one more SEC game.
Only Tennessee and Texas have a better record than the Bulldogs. If Georgia beats Tennessee, then they’ll be more in the fold. However, Ole Miss and Alabama would have the tiebreaker over them with their wins against Georgia over the year.
There is a lot riding on this matchup against Tennessee. If Georgia wins this game, then Tennessee would be in the pile of two-loss teams, potentially putting Georgia ahead of them, but if Georgia loses, then thate could be the nail in the coffin for their College Football Playoff hopes.
Former Georgia quarterback, college football analyst Aaron Murray has advice for UGA quarterback Carson Beck
There has been a great deal of criticism about Georgia Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck’s play lately. The Bulldogs are looking sluggish offensively, and Beck has thrown two touchdowns and six interceptions during his past two games. Some fans have even urged Beck’s benching.
There are few better sources for advice than former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray.
“Message to fans: this is still a very talented quarterback. … You can feel it (the offense) coming together,” said Aaron Murray. “The silly mistakes are keeping Georgia from being a really good offense.”
“Carson’s just forcing it,” continued Murray. “He’s trying to compensate for having guys he didn’t have a year ago.”
It’s true Beck has lost a significant amount of talent, such as Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, around him, but it does seem like he’s trying to force throws that aren’t there sometimes. The only way to tell if he’s taken Murray’s advice will be to watch these next few games, especially the matchup against No. 16 Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. ET. Georgia is facing an elite Ole Miss offense and a quarterback that is firing on all cylinders.
