Georgia's Improved Passing Game Makes Bulldogs a Team Nobody Should Want to Face

The Georgia Bulldogs lost Todd Gurley, one of the best running backs in the nation, for the season last week, but this offense is still finding ways to get better on a weekly basis. With a constantly improving passing attack, Georgia is now a team that nobody should want to face.

Though freshman sensation Nick Chubb has kept the Bulldogs ground attack relevant, it’s the surprisingly efficient passing game that is now poised to trouble future opposition—like the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, potentially a foe in the SEC Championship Game and a surefire bowl opponent. After all, the more teams prepare to limit Georgia’s rushing production (which is more commonly relied upon), the more open downfield wide receivers become.

And nobody knows that better than fifth-year senior quarterback Hutson Mason. After a seemingly slow start, Mason has developed a close chemistry with a host of receivers, and the results have been staggering.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Mason has not thrown an interception in 135 attempts. Over that time period, he’s thrown 12 touchdown passes, and in two of his last three games, Mason has tossed more touchdown passes than incompletions. 

Though it came against inferior opposition and over the course of just two quarters, Mason’s performance against Charleston Southern was indicative of just why opposing defenses should be so fearful.

On just 12 attempts, Mason completed 10 passes to five different receivers to the tune of 187 yards and three touchdowns. Even beyond the stat sheet, the performance remained impressive. 

Mason was sharp on short passing routes, mobile as needed to extend plays and confident in deep passes. And several other long plays were rewarded with defensive pass-interference calls.

For Georgia, the stride that Mason has found could not have come at a better time, and it could not have come alone. Accordingly, one would be remiss not to recognize the weapons who have made Mason such a viable passer over recent weeks.

Coming into the season, it was expected that seniors Michael Bennett and Chris Conley would lead a unit of experienced receivers. That assumption has proved accurate, as the two typically sure-handed targets have combined to haul in 11 touchdown catches. Along the way, Bennett has remained one of the Bulldogs’ more versatile weapons, and Conley has become increasingly adept in stretching opposing defenses.

Less expected—at least relative to early-season performance—is the return to relevance of two oft-injured Bulldogs.

Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley both missed the majority of the 2013 season with ACL injuries, and when this year’s campaign began, neither player was a contributor. In recent weeks, however, Mitchell and Scott-Wesley have returned to old form and in doing so rejuvenated Georgia’s passing attack.

Though held without a catch against Charleston Southern, Mitchell posted two 55-yard receiving games in November and caught touchdown passes against Kentucky and Auburn. Scott-Wesley grabbed his first reception, a 19-yard touchdown catch, on Saturday. His return is a welcome sight for head coach Mark Richt, per Bulldawg Illustrated's Logan Booker:

And for Mason and the Georgia passing attack, it’s not simply “more of the same.” Senior Jonathon Rumph is contributing at a high level for the first time in his career, and at 6’5”, he gives the Bulldogs their best red-zone target since Marlon Brown in 2012. Rumph post 81 receiving yards against Kentucky and 67 yards against Charleston Southern.

Toss versatile and elusive weapons like Isaiah McKenzie into the receiving rotation along with Chubb and Sony Michel, two very capable receivers out of the backfield, and suddenly, Georgia’s passing attack isn’t just looking like what folks expected when the year began. It’s looking better.

To be sure, Georgia remains a run-first offense, and that isn’t likely to change. But Georgia fans should be able to match Hutson Mason’s confidence in the passing game. The steady senior may soon get a chance to win a game with his arm. Undoubtedly, he’s ready.

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