Georgia Football: 4 Startling Statistics Through 5 Weeks

The halfway point of the season is here, and the Georgia Bulldogs are closer to achieving the goals that they set at the beginning of the year, including winning the SEC East.

And while the Bulldogs have the talent to win the SEC East, they will go only as far as Todd Gurley will take them. Gurley is statistically the best running back in the SEC.

Gurley leads in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards per carry and yards per game, which is not a surprise to anyone. But he also leads in one category that is almost unreal.

Here are four startling statistics though the first five weeks of the season.

The Passing Attack

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The Bulldogs have been known for having a solid aerial attack since Mark Richt took over in 2001. Guys like David Green, D.J. Shockley, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray had no issues getting the football to different receivers at any given point in a game.

That has not been the case this season. The Bulldogs average 170 passing yards per game, which ranks 12th in the conference. They also average 7.3 yards per throw and have thrown eight touchdowns.

Hutson Mason has had his struggles this season, but despite the experience he has had over the years, he is in his first full year of starting and still has a lot to learn.

But another reason the Bulldogs lack the passing attack is the play of Gurley, who can do just about anything.

Gurley the Quarterback

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And when I say anything, he could be the team’s best passer, and that is no joke.

When the Bulldogs played Vanderbilt on Saturday, he threw a 50-yard pass to Jeb Blazevich. Not only was it an impressive play from Gurley, it was the longest pass play from scrimmage all year from any Bulldogs player who can throw the football.

There are two ways to look at this. Having Gurley throw the football makes him more dangerous, but him having the longest pass play from scrimmage says a lot (or a little) about the quarterbacks on the roster.

Offensive Powerhouse

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Because Gurley is able to run the ball, the Bulldogs have put up a good amount of points.

But what’s interesting is they rank second in the SEC in scoring offense with 45 points per game, and that average also puts them as the sixth-best scoring offensive team in the country.

In every game the Bulldogs have played this season, they have scored no fewer than 35 points. They have totaled 225 points, and 180 of those points have come on touchdowns.

Back in 2012 when the Bulldogs reached the SEC title game, the offense averaged 37 points per game. There is still a lot of football left to be played, but the Bulldogs have a chance to be better on offense this season without Murray, who was a big reason the Bulldogs had a record-setting year in 2012.

Defensive Evaluation

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So if the offense is stellar, why did the Bulldogs have that one loss to South Carolina?

It’s obvious the defense is not up to par with the offense, but it’s not as bad as one would think.

Through five games, the Bulldogs have given up 335 yards per game, which puts them fourth in the conference behind Alabama, Ole Miss and Auburn. And the pass defense that has been criticized this year is ranked seventh in the conference with 223 yards per game allowed.

The one thing the Bulldogs will need to do is get better in the scoring-defense department, as they are 11th in the SEC with 21 points allowed per game. But the defense is a group that is still learning Jeremy Pruitt’s system and has work to do in order to be where it wants to be at the end of the year.

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