Georgia might have escaped Florida, but lingering passing-game concerns threaten title hopes

Georgia’s defense and ground game have masked issues through the air, but tougher opponents could force the Bulldogs to open things up

Coming out of its bye week, No. 3 Georgia began its home stretch with a big 27-8 win over No. 17 Florida. You never snub your nose at a three-score rivalry win, but the Bulldogs' offensive performance wasn't as rosy as the scoreboard might suggest. Georgia totaled just 318 yards of offense against a Florida defense that has been leaky all season, but, to be fair, some of that was due to the defense. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers. One of them resulted in a scoop-and-score, and two more resulted in short fields, which Georgia converted into 10 points. The biggest question about the Dawgs' offense after this win is the passing game.

The running game eventually found some consistency, allowing Georgia to lean on the Gators in the second half. Quarterback Gunner Stockton, on the other hand, couldn't find much success against one of the worst secondaries in the conference. Entering the game, Florida ranked 13th in the SEC and 121st nationally in passing yards allowed per game (255.0). The Gators also ranked 112th in EPA per dropback (0.23) and 126th in passing success rate (50.7%). Despite that, Stockton finished the game with just 101 passing yards on 13-of-23 passing. Freshman Craig Dandridge was the team's leading receiver with 39 yards, and 32 of those yards came on the