Ryan Russillo: Georgia Notre Dame's another one because I think this Stockton quarterback storyline in the SEC title game.... He gave them a real spark when there was a couple decent possessions but he also threw the disastrous pick. I know the run was huge but they were clearly afraid to let that guy throw the football and for good reason.
Klatt: Yes.
RR: So the way this game is talked about as if he's this massive positive because of the dual threatness of it? I don't know if it's the dual threat thing as much as I just think people are being incredibly convenient the way they're talking about Stockton's impact in this matchup.
JK: Yeah. He's getting a Georgia bump. He's getting a Kirby Smart bump. Right? If this was Stockton playing for Arizona State it would be a total throwaway and we'd be "That's not gonna happen." Yeah. Exactly. Maybe that's correct because Georgia has earned that and Kirby has earned that, but the difference is is that the supporting cast around Stockton has been really bad. I know that that's everyone's like "man you just hate Georgia" No. No. No. They led the country in drops. There's a reason Carson Beck had a poor season. They led the country in drops. If you watch some of their games and they struggled offensively against Georgia Tech or some of these other games. Their skill position players don't give Beck any help whatsoever and now you're going to tell me that a quarterback is going to go in there and make his first start and all of a sudden they're going to be better offensively? That's not a thing. That's not a thing. That is hoping for hope's sake. That is believing in the logo and not actually evaluating what's going on. if Georgia wants to win this game, it has to be a low-scoring affair. Notre Dame's defense is one of the better defenses in the country. They're fast. They're athletic. They're physical. Georgia is not going to run up and down the field on them. This is not an offense that goes crazy and and goes berserk. I don't think that they're going to be able to just sit there and run the football with their dual threat quarterback. That's also not a thing. So the pressure is going to be on their defense to stop Notre Dame and I personally believe that Riley Leonard is a better version of Haynes King. This Georgia team struggles against mobile guys who are willing to run and can be a threat in the run game on the outside. We saw that with Haynes King. We saw that with Jaylen Milroe. This matchup to me very much favors Notre Dame. It's not just Stockton. It's everything. If Beck was playing I would pick Notre Dame, and now Stockton's playing and I'm like well I'm definitely picking Notre Dame in this game.
RR: Yeah. I can see how you get there because the Stockton thing is a complete unknown. I just feel like it's being rounded up because of how that game played out specifically. Maybe it's because of the SEC part of it, but I have not liked Beck in so many games. I thought the Georgia Tech game it was very telling. Tate Ratledge brings him over to the sideline. He's talking to him because he's just.... he knows. He's like you're flat right now or you're not seeing it. He didn't see it against Bama. That game could have been even worse for him. I thought he was actually terrible in the Texas game. He wasn't good in the Texas game.
JK: No. They're only drive in the Texas game they needed a trick play. Other than that, they got the ball at the 35. You're not gonna make a lot of hay in this business picking against Georgia, but this Georgia team is different. This is a totally different team and I think Notre Dame beats them.
RR: I am worried about Georgia's receivers getting separation against these corners for Notre Dame because Every time we're watching the TV broadcast I just feel like there's so many times where I just love the way the defensive backs for Notre Dame compete.
JK: They're good players, man.
Klatt: Yes.
RR: So the way this game is talked about as if he's this massive positive because of the dual threatness of it? I don't know if it's the dual threat thing as much as I just think people are being incredibly convenient the way they're talking about Stockton's impact in this matchup.
JK: Yeah. He's getting a Georgia bump. He's getting a Kirby Smart bump. Right? If this was Stockton playing for Arizona State it would be a total throwaway and we'd be "That's not gonna happen." Yeah. Exactly. Maybe that's correct because Georgia has earned that and Kirby has earned that, but the difference is is that the supporting cast around Stockton has been really bad. I know that that's everyone's like "man you just hate Georgia" No. No. No. They led the country in drops. There's a reason Carson Beck had a poor season. They led the country in drops. If you watch some of their games and they struggled offensively against Georgia Tech or some of these other games. Their skill position players don't give Beck any help whatsoever and now you're going to tell me that a quarterback is going to go in there and make his first start and all of a sudden they're going to be better offensively? That's not a thing. That's not a thing. That is hoping for hope's sake. That is believing in the logo and not actually evaluating what's going on. if Georgia wants to win this game, it has to be a low-scoring affair. Notre Dame's defense is one of the better defenses in the country. They're fast. They're athletic. They're physical. Georgia is not going to run up and down the field on them. This is not an offense that goes crazy and and goes berserk. I don't think that they're going to be able to just sit there and run the football with their dual threat quarterback. That's also not a thing. So the pressure is going to be on their defense to stop Notre Dame and I personally believe that Riley Leonard is a better version of Haynes King. This Georgia team struggles against mobile guys who are willing to run and can be a threat in the run game on the outside. We saw that with Haynes King. We saw that with Jaylen Milroe. This matchup to me very much favors Notre Dame. It's not just Stockton. It's everything. If Beck was playing I would pick Notre Dame, and now Stockton's playing and I'm like well I'm definitely picking Notre Dame in this game.
RR: Yeah. I can see how you get there because the Stockton thing is a complete unknown. I just feel like it's being rounded up because of how that game played out specifically. Maybe it's because of the SEC part of it, but I have not liked Beck in so many games. I thought the Georgia Tech game it was very telling. Tate Ratledge brings him over to the sideline. He's talking to him because he's just.... he knows. He's like you're flat right now or you're not seeing it. He didn't see it against Bama. That game could have been even worse for him. I thought he was actually terrible in the Texas game. He wasn't good in the Texas game.
JK: No. They're only drive in the Texas game they needed a trick play. Other than that, they got the ball at the 35. You're not gonna make a lot of hay in this business picking against Georgia, but this Georgia team is different. This is a totally different team and I think Notre Dame beats them.
RR: I am worried about Georgia's receivers getting separation against these corners for Notre Dame because Every time we're watching the TV broadcast I just feel like there's so many times where I just love the way the defensive backs for Notre Dame compete.
JK: They're good players, man.
