No 4. Georgia is still looking for its starting quarterback ahead of Saturday night’s matchup with No. 7 Auburn.
Redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis started the game last week versus Arkansas, but was abruptly pulled for junior Stetson Bennett after just five offensive drives.
Mathis, who was cleared for football activities in May after surgery to remove a brain cyst kept him out in 2019, didn’t get much help from his teammates in the short time he was under center versus the Razorbacks.
Preseason second-team All-SEC center Trey Hill surprised with multiple bad snaps, plus the Bulldogs totaled 11 penalties for 98 yards in the first half.
Former Georgia quarterback, now CBS Sports college football analyst Aaron Murray believes Mathis was fighting from behind even before the first snap.
“To be able to master a playbook, and then to get the timing down with your receivers and running backs and the communication with your offensive line. It takes a lot of time. I don’t think he has had a lot of time to do that. So, I think expectations were high, but obviously it comes with the position here be a starting quarterback and Georgia. People expect a certain level of play. I just think those expectations were unrealistic.”
Georgia was forced to scramble to find a signal-caller just a few weeks before the season after Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman, the projected starter and Heisman Trophy hopeful, decided to opt-out of the 2020 football season because of Covid-19 related concerns.
The Bulldogs’ decision then was between Mathis, Bennett and redshirt sophomore, USC transfer J.T. Daniels, the only current Georgia quarterback with Power 5 experience.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart expected Daniels to be cleared by gametime last week, but after traveling with the team to Fayetteville, Daniels was still not cleared for gameplay, throwing Mathis into the starting role at-least for week-one.
“The cards were stacked against him (Mathis). He hasn’t played football in a while, didn’t have spring, wasn’t a starter and really had limited reps in the offense or in fall camp. So to me, hen is someone that I wish they would have given at least the first half, get through the first quarter, you know, make a couple of mistakes, and then see how he rebounds, especially mentally and how he can handle it and then go from there.”
Smart announced on Monday that Daniels is now cleared for gameplay and Murray believes his experience at USC in 2018 can set him apart from Mathis and Bennett moving forward.
“He (Daniels) was an 18 year old kid playing college football at USC, and I thought he did pretty good for being a young pup playing out there. Start the season off strong through the first half of last season in that first game. And then obviously, the ACL injury happened. He is a big kid, he has a good arm, he’s played football.”
Bennett, a former JUCO star at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi, came in for Mathis and showed promise, throwing for 211 yards on 20/29 passing with two touchdowns and a two point conversion run.
“I do think Stetson came in and played really well. I mean, it’s another guy who probably had absolutely no opportunity with the ones at all during fall camp to get the reps and get the timing with those guys. So, the fact that he was able to go 20/29, get a couple touchdowns take care of the football was was really darn impressive to watch. And I think he’s someone that’s going to take care of the football, he’s going to be accurate, he’s played, he just looked like he was more comfortable out there”
The defense’s three interceptions, one for a pick-six, and safety were a large part of the Bulldogs’ resurgence from a abismal first half, but Bennett’s poise helped Georgia find at least some identity in its season opener.
This weeks matchup with No. 7 Auburn will be much more difficult for the Bulldogs. The Tigers come to Athens off of a 29-13 win versus Kentucky where sophomore quarterback Bo Nix threw for 233 yards on 16/27 passing with three touchdowns and led team in rushing with five carries for 34 yards.
Auburn’s defense is as talented as always. The Tigers defensive front is led by defensive end Big Kat Bryant and at linebacker, senior K.J. Britt, who had 11 tackles versus Kentucky and is always around the ball. And in the secondary, the Tigers are lead by junior cornerback Roger McCreary, one of the best lock-down corners in the SEC.
The question remaining is, how does Georgia come away with a win versus a top-10 Auburn team without a solidified starter at quarterback?
“Just lean on the defense, that’s all I got to say. People just want points, points, points. We want 4,050 points a game. Screw that man, just win. I just think that’s the issue right now – everyone wants these these explosive offenses. Everyone wants to go be entertained with high scoring games, just just be grateful that you’re winning ballgames. Be grateful that we won a road game against an SEC opponent, and we covered the spread.”
Listen to our full interview, including an Auburn preview, with the SEC’s all-time leading passer here: