Georgia QB Hutson Mason Shines vs. Kentucky, but Will He Be Ready for Auburn?

On a day when a lot went the Georgia Bulldogs' way in a 63-31 win over the Kentucky Wildcats, it was the solid play of a steady veteran that shone brightest as quarterback Hutson Mason completed all but three passes and tossed four touchdowns.

For Mason, who has come under fire repeatedly this season, the game was arguably the best of his career. More importantly to the team's goals, however, his stellar performance against Kentucky proves that he's ready to take down the Auburn Tigers next week.

In some ways, Mason's career day was no surprise.  After all, it was marked by consistency, poise and mistake-free football—three characteristics that many fans tend to overlook when focusing on his lack of video-game-like passing numbers.

To be sure, Mason was particularly sharp on Saturday, but completing 13 of 16 passes isn't necessarily an outlier for a player who's hit on nearly 68 percent of his attempts this season.  And after the team's disappointing loss to the Florida Gators just a week ago, it was Mason's signature calm, cool composure that made the offense go up against the Wildcats.

And with strong play by a host of solid receivers, Mason and the Georgia offense squashed any comeback bid Kentucky could muster up by scoring on six of seven offensive possessions before giving way to Brice Ramsey and some backups.  The lone possession that didn't yield a touchdown came as the clock ticked down at the end of the first half. The Macon Telegraph's Seth Emerson noted Mason's significant stats against Kentucky's top-ranked pass defense:

Now, the quarterback some feared would not improve as a fifth-year senior, has the Bulldog offense poised to threaten one of the best teams in the country in Auburn.  And a team that seemed down and out after a loss to Florida is still in position to shake up the SEC.

Opponent	Completion Percentage	Passing Yards	Passing TDs	Passer Rating
Clemson	69.2	131	0	111.6
South Carolina	72.7	191	2	175.7
Troy	72.7	97	2	206.8
Tennessee	64.0	147	1	110.6
Vanderbilt	64.7	121	2	151.6
Missouri	78.6	156	1	137.2
Arkansas	58.8	179	2	186.1
Florida	63.4	319	1	136.8
Kentucky	81.3	174	4	255.1

Auburn will understandably focus on stopping Georgia's ground attack.  Star running back Todd Gurley will return from a four-game suspension next week, and he'll join Nick Chubb, who's run for 671 yards as the starter in place of Gurley.  Based on Saturday's game, Sony Michel also appears to be healthy.

Thanks to the efforts of those three stars, Georgia has had a 100-yard rusher in every game this season.

Ultimately, however, Georgia's best weapon against the Tigers may be the weapon Auburn dedicates the fewest resources to stopping—Hutson Mason.  And as Mason showed against Kentucky, he doesn't need many pass attempts to completely dishearten an opponent.

Mason's  completions went to five different targets on Saturday and arrived in a variety of ways.  He was quick in getting the ball out to the flats, accurate on passes across the middle and spot-on on several deep balls.  Equally noteworthy, Kentucky never even sniffed an interception.

For Mason, that standard of mistake-free football is becoming a a key component of his identity, even if no one has noticed.  In fact, he's now thrown 104 consecutive passes without an interception.

And now, the quarterback who found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a quarterback controversy just a few short weeks ago can help the Bulldogs to a huge upset over a bitter rival simply by being himself.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

In light of that, Mason's postgame comments following the dismantling of Kentucky seem more introspective than reactive to Saturday's game.  "I don’t think there was an importance in the way we won,” Mason told Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The important part was how we responded. In life you get hit in the chin, you face adversity, people call for your job, people are going to say you stink. For us, for anybody, it’s how you respond."

Mason's response has been inspiring over the past few tumultuous weeks.  His job was called for.  His team lost its best player to suspension.  And later, his team suffered a disappointing setback to Florida.

But through all that, Mason has remained committed to consistency, poise and mistake-free football, and as a result Georgia survived without Gurley with a 3-1 record in four conference games away from home.  And somewhere along the way, Mason found confidence.

If Hutson Mason plays his game next week, Georgia will upset Auburn.  Who would have said that in early October?  Anyone other than Hutson Mason?

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.