JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the end, in the final moments of a tenser-than-expected contest, Carson Beck got the final bow he surely wanted.
In presumably his last appearance as a college football player in his hometown, the Georgia quarterback heard thunderous cheers from the Bulldogs faithful as the final seconds ticked off the EverBank Stadium scoreboard clock Saturday. Before exiting the field through the northeast tunnel, he hopped into the end-zone stands, Lambeau Leap-style, to celebrate with fans.
Not every college athlete gets to lead his team to two consecutive wins in a tradition-rich game in front of a sellout crowd in a stadium 10 miles from his home. Beck was appreciative of this privilege, calling it his dream.
“This is my favorite game of the year,” he said.
With the 34-20 win, Beck and No. 2 Georgia took care of the Gators for the fourth year in a row, improved to 7-1, took another step toward securing a spot in the College Football Playoff and ensured a happy ride home for Georgia fans from this annual celebration of copious alcohol consumption.
But the path for Beck to get there … yikes.
Before steering the Bulldogs to 28 second-half points to overcome a 13-6 halftime deficit, Beck threw three interceptions and at times looked unsteady. He finished 25-for-40 passing for 309 yards for two touchdowns and three interceptions. His passer rating was 128.9, a score lower than any of his single-game ratings from last season, his first as a starter.
Beck ultimately helped the Bulldogs leave Jacksonville victorious. But he was also a reason why Georgia could have lost a game that they were favored to win by 14.5 points.
“You can’t turn the ball over and beat a good football team,” said coach Kirby Smart, in the process probably not making the Gators feel great about themselves. “He knows that, and I don’t think it’s a matter of decision making. I think just sometimes, he presses there.”
Smart has a quandary on his hands with the most important player on the team. Improbably, Beck has become the one thing that few could have predicted that he would be in his final season with the Bulldogs – a potential liability to his team’s national championship aspirations.
After throwing three interceptions against Texas in the lowest passer-rating game of his starting career, Beck looked even worse for the first two-plus quarters Saturday.
On the third play of the second quarter, Beck forced a pass into double coverage on a deep throw to the sideline for his first interception. After the Gators cashed in that turnover with a 43-yard touchdown pass play to take a 7-3 lead, Beck messed up again, throwing into heavy coverage in the middle of the field for a second interception.
Beck “can’t throw the ball late over the middle, he can’t throw the ball down the sideline on a scramble, just throw it up for grabs,” Smart said. “Those are things he can’t do.”
Beck did manage to finish the half without a third interception, although he appeared to lack confidence and was fortunate not to be intercepted on another pass over the middle late in the half.
When he ultimately did surrender interception No. 3, in the third quarter, it wasn’t his fault, as he was hit as he was throwing. But, even excusing that turnover, he was uncharacteristically missing targets. After the Gators intercepted him for the third time, he was 13-for-26 for 167 yards with no touchdowns to offset the picks.
To their credit, the Bulldogs have won back-to-back games with Beck tossing three interceptions. (On Saturday, facing a team that had to turn to its third-string quarterback for the final 2-1/2 quarters helped immensely.) But with a road game at No. 19 Ole Miss and a home matchup with No. 7 Tennessee coming up, Georgia would be seriously pressing its luck to continue on this turnover-laden course.
After his stellar junior season in which he finished with a 24/6 touchdown/interception ratio and finished fourth in FBS with a 72.4 completion percentage, Beck’s regression is puzzling. Beck threw one interception per 69.5 pass attempts last season. This season, his rate is one per 26.4 attempts.
Not having trusted targets Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey (both now tearing it up in the NFL) makes his job much harder, certainly. Rara Thomas and Colbie Young were expected to be playmakers for the Bulldogs at receiver, but Thomas was dismissed and Young indefinitely suspended after they were arrested. And receivers have been dropping more throws than they should be. And he has been without two starting offensive linemen for much of the season.
But Beck made mistakes Saturday that you’d expect a freshman to make, not a fifth-year senior who has demonstrated a highly accurate arm and excellent decision making.
“There’s times where it’s OK to throw it away if it’s not there,” Beck said. “I think that’s something I did a lot better last year. And whether that’s me just trying to make a play and thinking that it has to happen every single time, which it doesn’t, then that’s just me out there trying to compete and trying to make a play.”
It’s puzzling, even for Smart.
“As to what keeps him from pressing, if I knew that, I would be worth a lot more money,” Smart said.
Smart defended Beck by noting that Beck made unnoticed contributions to the win, such as checking the offense into better plays. But it almost makes Beck’s interception binge even more confusing. If he’s at the top of his game mentally in those moments, why not when he’s actually throwing the ball?
It’s probably worth remembering that Beck is 22, an age when curious decision making is standard procedure. As the leader of a team with a massive following and high expectations, he’s probably feeling pressure that most people his age – or any age – do not.
The wealth that he’s earning from name, image and likeness deals in some ways make him fair game to be publicly criticized, but it doesn’t make him older than 22. Not everything he does will be logical.
Maybe he gets it together, maybe he doesn’t. Given his history, it’s safe to assume he’ll do whatever he can to find the answer. But if he doesn’t, it’s going to be really difficult for his team to have the season it wants.
An earlier version of this column misstated Georgia quarterback Carson Beck’s passes per interception rate for this season and also wide receiver Colbie Young’s status with the team.
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