ATHENS — If Gunner Stockton starts sailing deep passes down the sidelines against Marshall there’s a good chance that’s what the Thundering Herd wants him to do.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart revealed this week that he expects Marshall coach Tony Gibson to do whatever it takes to stop the Bulldogs run game and bring extreme pressure.
“They’re aggressive,” Smart said. “They’re relentless to stop the run, take care of their gaps, run to the ball, they’re just aggressive, whether it’s run blitz aggressive, or bringing pass pressure on third down, they’re not afraid to zero you out, they leverage the ball and play perimeter screens well.”
If the Marshall game plan in the 3:30 p.m. game with Georgia at Sanford Stadium is indeed to make Stockton beat the defense, the Bulldogs’ quarterback will need to make good decisions, extend plays when necessary and make accurate throws.
“Each team takes on a different trait,” Smart said. “But obviously the goal is to start fast and execute.”
It’s not a novel concept to test an inexperienced player like Stockton, and opposing defenses will continue to press the Georgia quarterback until he proves capable of beating such aggressive schemes.
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Smart might also opt to run into the heavier defensive fronts to test the Bulldogs run game, depending on the level of confidence Georgia has in Stockton to make the sort of throws Marshall makes available.
Either way, it could prove a good opening game test that will provide valuable experience for the reloaded offensive unit.
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Smart has said Georgia’s offense will go through the ground game with an objective of running the ball effectively enough to set up the play-action pass — something Smart believes his offense needs to be more effective than a season ago.
There are indeed a lot of ways the Bulldogs could go about things, much of it dependent upon how Marshall lines up and the amount of pressure Gibson chooses to bring.
Smart will also want to get back-up quarterback Ryan Puglisi some valuable repetitions, as the second-stringer is always one snap away from being the next man up and having the season’s hopes on his shoulders.
Puglisi, a redshirt freshman, has yet to take a snap in a college game.
Georgia has substituted at quarterback after the first series of the third quarter in past games against overmatched opponents, but the score of the game will obviously play a role.
The Bulldogs are a 38-point favorite or more, but Smart has never covered — won by that amount or more — when Georgia has been favored by so many points.
This Bulldogs team could be different, as Smart has stressed the importance of making a “first impression” to his team and put a priority on Georgia keeping the energy pumped up between plays.
The Marshall game won’t tell the story of Georgia’s season, but it is an important first chapter in the new direction Smart looks for his program to head into in his 10th year leading the program.
