re: Mathis and Bennett vs. Arkansas

Mathis looks like he has all the tools. His speed and ball placement are elite. If he can continue to develop, I could see him being a really great player.

I bet a nickel we'll see Mathis tomorrow, even if he doesn't start.

Kid's decision making was OK. It just wasn't a level to deal with multiple offensive breakdowns. He really dealt with a few just fine. If they keep happening, though, something will eventually go really wrong. That's what we saw.

Ball placement was average. Worse than Stetson for sure if you look at all of his throws.

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But I can't let go of the fact the coaches chose him to start.

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You are correct. Coaches saw 28 practices and chose him to start.

But Newman leaving and Daniels knee were factors.
Mathis was chosen over Bennett and Beck essentially.

Mathis in my opinion has always been the high risk/high reward QB. I dont want him benched. But we cant expect redshirt freshman to be Aaron Murray. Most are still learning the position. Especially with a new OC and playbook.

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Kid's decision making was OK.

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I thought the zone reads were poor. Sometimes, the playcall is a give when it looks like a zone read. So maybe it wasnt always on him. But I thought he kept when he should give and give when he should have kept.

I'm not used to a QB actually making the read, so maybe my interpretation is wrong. Bennett looked much better in his keeps and gives.

I absolutely agree that the offense did no favors. I heard on a podcast that the offense lost 100 yards of offense being called back on penalties. Combine that with the 95 yards or so that we marched backwards... yikes.

The rushing game lost about 50 yards on bad snaps, sacks, and 2 mathis scrambles late in the game where he ran out of bounds for a loss. I know the running game wasnt great. But the figures look a lot worse when they average in 8 plays with negative yards on non-designed runs.

I just saw where Mathis was listed as a captain for this week. Does that mean he starts?

I just saw Campbell, Rice, and White as captains?

No worries. I could be wrong as well.

Then I’m jealous that I’m not drinking yet

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Now include his stats from plays nullified by penalties.

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And there's the issue. You can't get a complete picture by just reading numbers.

Those who watched once and/or read the stat lines will have all have the exact same opinion precisely because that incomplete story is easy to tell and simple as arithmetic.

Bennett deserves the start. Doesn't mean that's what's best for UGA. I understand 'I don't know' isn't a real argument, but I believe 'I don't know' is the best any of us can come up with without seeing practice.

Either way, we'll know more tomorrow.

Former brain surgery, a big hit and worry about more head injury might be too big an obstacle to overcome.