Bradley’s Buzz: In Round 2 against Texas, which Georgia will we see?

Texas is favored over Georgia, which makes us wonder if anyone saw what happened when those teams last met. For those who missed it, the visiting Bulldogs so overwhelmed their hosts that the famous substitute Arch Manning was deployed in the second quarter. Even with that, here was the halftime score:

Georgia 23, Texas 0.

Then again – and what has this Georgia season been if not a crazy quilt of then-agains? – here were other halftime scores:

Kentucky 6, Georgia 3.

Alabama 30, Georgia 7.

Florida 13, Georgia 6.

Ole Miss 16, Georgia 7.

And, most recently: Georgia Tech 17, Georgia 0.

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En route to a national championship, the 2021 Bulldogs didn’t trail at halftime over the regular season. En route to a second title, the 2022 edition trailed once at halftime in the regular season – 16-6 at Missouri. The 2023 team was tied after two quarters twice in regular-season games – Auburn and Missouri – and trailed at the break only against South Carolina.

Even if we count the 2021 opener against Clemson, in which Georgia didn’t trail and won 10-3, the Bulldogs of 2021 through 2023 were put under pressure only five times over 36 regular-season games, all of which they won. The 2024 Bulldogs might well have lost five times. If they had, they wouldn’t be playing for the SEC title. They’d be looking ahead to the Music City Bowl.

We stipulate that the Bulldogs’ three-year run – counting championship/playoff/bowl games, they went 42-2; both losses were to Alabama – rates among the greatest stretches in college football annals. Handed a more arduous schedule in 2024, we assumed they’d lose a game or two. We did not expect such wild mood swings, and not just from week to week. From half to half.

We began today’s missive by asking if oddsmakers missed what the Bulldogs did that night in Austin, but an observer could have viewed every snap of every game and still not know what to make of Georgia. Is this the team that spotted Alabama 27 points but, for 13 astonishing seconds, held a 34-33 lead? Or is it the team that mustered but 262 yards at Kentucky and 245 at Ole Miss?

Georgia, when it’s bad: Playing at home, it was outgained 307 yards to 137 in the first half against unranked Georgia Tech. Georgia, when it’s good: After eight overtimes, it won 44-42.

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Much of this has to do with Carson Beck. He had no interceptions over the season’s first three games. He had 12 over the next six. He has had none since. He ranks among the nation’s top 10 in passing yards and touchdown passes but is 32nd in passing efficiency. Then again …

If not for Beck, Georgia would be a shade above mediocre. Among 16 SEC teams, it ranks next-to-last in rushing and ninth in total defense. Over the fullness of a careening regular season, the Bulldogs have mostly gone as their quarterback went. Then again …

Their win at Texas came on a night when Beck threw no touchdown passes and three interceptions, when he compiled the lowest passer rating of his two seasons as a starter. To be fair, he had two vital completions, one on a flea-flicker, when the Longhorns drew within 23-15 after bottle-throwing begat a refereeing rethink. Still, that remains the one game when the Georgia of 2024 resembled the Georgia of 2021-2023.

Will the rematch elicit the same collective effort – solid running, some chunk plays, mighty defense – we saw in Round 1? Then again – I know I’m repeating myself, but I did warn you – the Bulldogs won by 15 points while gaining only 283 yards. Was that victory more a function of Longhorn wretchedness than Georgia excellence?

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For three years, we knew exactly what Georgia was. This team has worked 12 games, and we’re still not sure what it is. Maybe we’ll find out Saturday. Then again – that’s my last one, at least for today – maybe we’ll never know.