Did Georgia Really Separate Itself?

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of my foot being inserted in my mouth.

Georgia’s 34-0 blanking of Missouri on Saturday was surprising to no one more than me. Missouri is my pick to win the SEC East, after all.

Not mention that Georgia lost Todd Gurley, the key cog to its offense, to suspension earlier that week. Even if Missouri didn’t win, all indications pointed to at least a close game. Georgia had other plans.

They were completely dominant over the Tigers from start to finish, and by all appearances leapt to the front of the race for the SEC East title.

But did they really?

Sure, Missouri clearly isn’t as good as I thought they were, maybe not even close to that good.

The Georgia defense played its best game against an SEC opponent in years, but it came against a quarterback who has completed 39 percent of his passes and thrown four interceptions in his last two games.

The offense was efficient, but it benefitted from the short fields given to it by the defense and never started a drive inside its own 25-yard line.

And yes, Nick Chubb filled in well for Todd Gurley, running for 143 yards on Saturday. But is it still as impressive that it took him 38 carries to get there?

34-0 shutouts are usually cause for excitement about a team’s chances down the stretch, but I’m still not sold on the Bulldogs.

So here’s my warning, Georgia fans: don’t overreact to this win.

Yes, the win was impressive. I’m not for a second saying that Georgia isn’t a good team or that they won’t win the East. Both could be very true.

I’m saying that Georgia didn’t show anything of championship caliber on Saturday; they simply took advantage of Missouri’s worst offensive performance in over a decade.

Anyone can beat a team whose quarterback is completing just as many passes to the defense as the offense.

Before the season started, all Mark Richt had to say about his team was, “Wow.” That’s what I’m saying about them too, but probably for different reasons.

I’ve found Georgia rather underwhelming thus far.

With the exception of Todd Gurley, the Georgia offense has been a bit stale. Hutson Mason has yet to throw for 200 yards in a game, and hasn’t proven he can win a tight contest.

The defense has played well for the most part, but they have yet to face a truly potent offensive attack like the ones seen at Auburn or Kentucky.

The Bulldogs have tons of talent, but they have not been playing quite to the level of being the champions they believe they are. Let’s not forget that this is still the same Georgia team that lost to South Carolina back in September. They almost lost to Tennessee two weeks ago.

Their first win came against a 4-2 Clemson team that lost both of its games against the only ranked teams on its schedule, the only chance it had at any “signature wins.”

And then, of course, there’s the Missouri win, but how good are the Tigers really? Again, they lost to mediocre Indiana at home, needed a late surge to beat pre-Spurrier South Carolina-ish South Carolina, and hasn’t had a dominant win yet this season.

Maty Mauk was absolutely horrendous, completing only nine passes to his own team and four to the Bulldogs secondary.

The Tigers only managed 147 yards of total offense, 50 yards on the ground for a meager two yards per carry. They failed to convert any of their seven third down attempts, and only had the ball for 17 minutes of the game.

It was without a doubt the worst offensive performance I’ve seen out of any team in a while, and it couldn’t have come at worse time for Missouri.

Georgia took advantage of an anemic Missouri offense for an entire game, throttled an overrated, young Clemson team for a second half, and dominated Vanderbilt, a task that could be accomplished by an intramural flag football team.

The Bulldogs have the talent to win, but I’m skeptical of their success against a Missouri team that just as much gave the game away as Georgia won it.

And how long can the Bulldogs sustain their winning ways without the best player in the nation, the guy responsible for almost half of their offense?

Don’t get too excited, Georgia fans. The home stretch is fast approaching, and the Bulldogs won’t be facing Missouri every week.