Georgia Football: Five Improvements That Must Be Made Before Next Week

Georgia did not look like a team ready to compete for the SEC East this year as they took on the No. 5-ranked Boise State Broncos.

The Bulldogs were out of sync and nowhere near physical enough to compete against Boise.

Next week holds a similarly difficult challenge, as Georgia will play host to South Carolina in a game that could determine the SEC East crown.

Here are five things that Georgia must improve on over the next six days to have a chance against the Gamecocks.

Offensive Line

The offensive line MUST play better for the Dawgs to even have a prayer against South Carolina.  Boise controlled the front all night and constantly had pressure on quarterback Aaron Murray.

Murray looked spectacular last year, but seemed very human tonight as Billy Winn and his Boise counterparts were all over him for the entire game.

South Carolina also boasts a strong front four and will produce similar results if head coach Mark Richt doesn't change something fast.

Running Game

The Bulldogs expected to have a little bit better of a run game than they ended up with against Boise.

The highly-touted Isaiah Crowell made his debut,and just looked all right as he had 15 carries for 60 yards.  Richard Samuel was less effective, and the lack of a running game was a real detriment to the rest of the offensive game plan.

Controlling the clock will be key to keeping South Carolina's stud skill players off the field.

Defensive Backfield

I get that Kellen Moore is pretty good, but Georgia looked outmatched in the defensive backfield.  Moore threw three touchdowns and made it look easy.

The only player in Georgia's backfield who looked like he belonged on the field was Brandon Boykin, who had a very good night on both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs.

Alshon Jeffery is no joke, and may be the best wide receiver in the country.  Georgia is going to make Stephen Garcia look really good if they don't make a quick improvement in the defensive backfield.

Need Fewer Drops

The drops seemed to be a problem for several Bulldogs tonight, most glaringly Tavarres King.  With AJ Green gone to the NFL, the receivers left on the team really need to step up and help Aaron Murray.

Orson Charles had a nice night, but the contributions from the other receivers was a little lacking.  Murray was continually forced to make throws on the run, and it seemed that even when he was on target, the catch wasn't made.

Charles is a nice target to have, but can't be the only one on a team who will need to put up some points this year in conference play.

More Manageable Third Downs

Georgia continually got themselves into a position of third and way-too-long.  They ended up going a pitiful 2-for-13 on third down all night, which was a huge part of why they lost.

The offense must find a way to pick up a few yards on first and second down more consistently to take pressure off on third.  If they can't, they will continue to struggle putting up points as they did against Boise.

Getting the running game off the ground a little more would be a good place to start.

Erik Underwood is the creator of Saturdays in the Fall.  Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/erikunderwood