Carson Beck isn’t leading the nation in interceptions, but he’s close. He has 11. No FBS passer has more than 12. And it isn’t as if he’s spacing them out. He had none over the season’s first three games. He has averaged 2.2 picks over the past five, more than one per half, and even that doesn’t tell the whole tale.
Against Alabama: three interceptions, two in the first half.
Against Auburn: no interceptions. Yay!
Mississippi State: two interceptions, one per half.
Texas: three interceptions, two in the first half.
Florida: three interceptions, two in the first half.
Over five games, Georgia’s quarterback has been intercepted more than any Georgia quarterback – from Greyson Lambert to Jacob Eason to Jake Fromm to Justin Fields to Stetson Bennett – was in any of the first four seasons under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs threw nine interceptions in 2016, one by receiver Terry Godwin; nine in 2017, two by backup Brice Ramsey; six in 2018, all by Fromm; six in 2019, one by the then-backup Bennett.
Only in 2020, when Georgia deployed three different starters – D’wan Mathis to Bennett to JT Daniels – have the Bulldogs thrown more than 11 interceptions in a full season, and then the total was 12. In 2021, when the progression went from Daniels back to Bennett, Georgia threw 11 INTs.
With Bennett starting all 15 games in 2022, Georgia had seven interceptions. With Beck starting all 14 last season, it had six.
Fromm played 43 Georgia games, 42 as a starter. He threw 982 passes; 18 were intercepted.
Bennett played 42 games, 32 as a starter. He threw 923 passes; 21 were intercepted.
Beck has played 34 games, 22 as a starter. He has thrown 765 passes; 19 have been intercepted.
Nothing in Beck’s past suggested this. Until the Alabama game on Sept. 28, he’d thrown eight interceptions in 29 collegiate games. But now: 11 in five. Yow.
Of those 11, three bear an asterisk. The second against Alabama glanced off a receiver’s hands, though the throw was higher than it needed to be. The first against Mississippi State was deflected at the line. The third in Jacksonville came when Beck was hit on the throw.
And yet: Even if we discount those three, he’d still have eight interceptions, two more than over 14 games last season.
Cold numbers: Beck’s completion percent is down from 72.4%, which was fourth-best among FBS passers in 2023, to 65.5% now He has dropped from eighth in passing efficiency last season to 40th.
Possible explanation: Georgia ranks 97th nationally in rushing offense. In eight full seasons under Smart, it ranked among the top 20 four times and in the top 50 every year except the COVID season, when it was 56th. Upshot: It needs Beck to throw the ball in a way it hasn’t needed any quarterback of this era.
Possible explanation: Beck misses Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. Because who wouldn’t?
Counterpoint: If you rewatch the past five games, you’ll not find an abject absence of open receivers. Georgia wouldn’t be averaging 299 yards passing if nobody gets open and nobody catches the ball.
The overarching fear: Against playoff-level opposition – although what are Alabama and Texas if not playoff-caliber? – Beck can’t keep getting away with this.
The reality: The Bulldogs are in splendid shape, partially despite Beck but also because of him.
Georgia is 7-1 and has been in position to win every game. In Tuscaloosa, Beck threw for 333 second-half yards and rallied his team from a 28-0 hole. (Though his final interception sealed the loss.) In Austin, he completed two huge passes, one off a flea-flicker, after his third INT allowed Texas to pull within one score. In Jacksonville, he went 5-for-6 on the had-to-have-it drive.
Smart on Beck: “Resiliency is a huge trait.”
For Beck, here’s the bad news: A preseason Heisman favorite has no chance to win the trophy.
Now the good: He has an excellent chance to win the national championship.
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