Should Georgia win a second consecutive national championship Monday night inside SoFi Stadium, will it be because of or despite its pass defense?
The top-seeded Bulldogs are 14-0 entering their title showdown against third-seeded and 13-1 TCU, but they were staggered aerially by LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 3 and again last weekend during the Peach Bowl national semifinal against Ohio State. The Tigers and Buckeyes threw for a combined 850 yards, which is more than Georgia allowed in four September games (684), four October games (733) and nearly as many as in four November games (877).
“Ohio State made some big plays against them, particularly in the passing game, and I’m sure they’re going to work to get some of those issues addressed,” TCU first-year coach Sonny Dykes said. “Ohio State has a really good group of wide receivers who made some contested plays. Those guys really played well, and credit their quarterback, because I thought C.J. Stroud played really well in that game.
“Georgia is not accustomed to giving up that many points, but you got to see what Georgia is all about in the fourth quarter of that game. You got to see what kind of team they have, because they responded and did exactly what you would expect them to do. They found a way to win.”
After giving up just eight passing touchdowns during the regular season, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have yielded seven the past two games. Georgia never allowed more than 6.0 yards per attempt in the regular season but has allowed 9.9 to LSU and Ohio State.