ATHENS, Ga. — The story going around was that Tennessee fans had found and leaked Carson Beck’s phone number. Just like they did two years ago to Stetson Bennett, Beck’s predecessor as Georgia’s quarterback, and we all remember how that turned out: Bennett mocking Vols fans after a touchdown run, making the phone-to-ear sign.
It was indeed true that Beck’s number was leaked this week. His phone number from high school, that is. Tennessee fans, it turns out, were lighting up either a dead number or some other poor soul.
“I’m two steps ahead,” Beck said Saturday night.
He smiled. And yes, this time Beck was allowed to smile.
As rough as this season has been, for Beck and his team, this night was a validation. The season was all but on the line. The criticism of Beck was at a peak. And he led Georgia to a 31-17 win, playing his best game of the season, putting up 31 points on a Tennessee team that hadn’t even given up 20 all season.
And it didn’t happen because anyone leaked his phone number. It happened because it had to happen.
Five days earlier, after the team’s usual Monday meeting, coach Kirby Smart instructed the coaches to leave the room. It was time for the players to speak alone. Jalon Walker got up before the team. Tate Ratledge. Malaki Starks. And then Beck.
“It’s not a thing I do often,” Beck said. “I don’t talk much, so I think when I do it means something.”
The short version of what he and the others said, according to Beck: “Everyone understood the situation we were in. Our backs were against the wall. The only way out is do whatever’s in front of you.”
Smart tried to downplay the meeting, saying it was not a “world-changing event.” But he also granted that there was “an emotional talk” making sure everyone knew the significance of this game.
Beck isn’t a fiery guy. The fifth-year senior’s demeanor can be misread, such as when cameras caught him smiling on the bench at the end of last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss. Backup quarterback Jaden Rashada had just said something to try to brighten up Beck in the waning moments, but it became an excuse for critics to go harder on Beck, who had thrown 12 interceptions in six games. Smart actually fielded a question in Monday’s press conference on whether he’d ever consider playing another quarterback. Smart shot that down on Monday and referenced it again after Saturday’s game.
“Carson carries himself well, and I’ve been very consistent even with some of the dumbest questions in the world, no offense, about our quarterback, because we see him every day,” Smart said. “You know, he gets judged on outcomes and stats, but we don’t judge based on that. We judge based internally, on what gives us the best chance to win.”
Truthfully, Beck didn’t play that badly at Ole Miss. His lone interception came on a fourth-and-long. Georgia’s issue was more its lack of a running game, receiver drops and protection issues on the offensive line. But the quarterback often gets the blame, especially one who had been plagued by turnovers in the previous five games.
“Being a quarterback at Georgia has got to be one of the toughest things to do. The stuff he has to deal with on the daily (basis),” tight end Oscar Delp said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, what he has to go through every day. He’s a great player, he’s a baller, he knows that, and we know that.”
Did Delp notice anything different from Beck this week?
“He practiced his ass off, just like everyone else,” Delp said. “When everyone’s on the same page, good things happen.”
Those good things:
- The offensive line didn’t sub anyone for perhaps the first time all season. Left tackle Monroe Freeling made his first career start, right guard Tate Ratledge played his first full game in months, and the result was zero sacks, a week after giving up five at Ole Miss.
- Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo dialed up a gameplan that kept Tennessee off-balance and saw five different receivers or tight ends finish with at least 50 yards.
- The running game, minus starter Trevor Etienne, supplemented the pass game effectively. True freshman Nate Frazier plugged away, rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Pretty good for an offense that was taking deserved criticism, including from the head of the College Football Playoff selection committee, who cited the offense as one of the reasons the Bulldogs fell out of the projected bracket. That will change this week, and Smart used the chance to express his incredulity.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for. I really don’t,” Smart said. “I wish they could really define the criteria. I wish they could do the eyeball test, where they come down here and look at the people we’re playing against and look at them and, you know, you can’t see that stuff on TV, and so I don’t know what they look for, but that’s for somebody else to decide.”
Was it fair for them to criticize your offense, Smart was asked?
“They’re always going to do that, because that’s what they say about the eyeball test,” Smart said. “So they’ll probably look at this week and say, well, we just played against one of the best defenses in the country, and we went for 453 (yards), you know, and could have been more. So it’s just the tale of each week, and we’re trying to be the cumulative whole really good quality team and not be on this emotional roller coaster that’s controlled by people in a room somewhere that may not understand football like we do as coaches.”
Coaches, players, athletic department people, everyone at Georgia knew the stakes this week. It was also the first home game in forever (35 days), and the season’s first three were not quite big games. So they whipped out everything they could for this one: Fireworks in the pregame, between quarters … and after Georgia scores.
The running joke was that, well, they won’t need many fireworks in this one. And for a while it looked like that may be the case. Georgia’s first three drives went nowhere. As the first quarter wound to a close, Georgia had only 21 total yards and was facing third-and-long.
Then it changed. Beck saw a Tennessee edge rusher jump across the line.
“It’s a free play, we’re running four verticals,” Beck said. “Let it rip.”
He let it rip to Dominic Lovett for a 38-yard catch and run. That jump-started what would be four consecutive drives with a score, a rhythm to the offense that hadn’t been there in a while.
“I just thought we had juice and intensity. We had a fire about us tonight,” Beck said. “It seemed like we were just having fun.”
As Beck spoke, center Jared Wilson stood behind reporters, smiling and waving his arms at Beck. The quarterback saw him, smiled, then kept answering questions. Wilson walked on.
The questions for Beck aren’t going away. He needs to lead his team to two more regular-season wins — the Georgia Tech game is not a mere formality — to feel safe about making the Playoff. Then there’s that Playoff, which at this point seems likely to come after Georgia, because of tiebreakers, sits out the SEC championship game, which could be a blessing for this beat-up football team, physically and emotionally.
But it’s less emotionally beat-up than it was before Saturday. This win was a jolt to the spirits that could carry the team awhile. How long and how far remains to be seen. It may depend on Beck.
And if so, Georgia’s chances suddenly seem a lot better.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
