The Georgia Bulldogs’ offense wasn’t very explosive on Saturday in a 28-6 win against Austin Peay.

Georgia’s biggest play of the game was a 23-yard completion to sophomore running back Dwight Phillips Jr.

After the win against Austin Peay, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart met with reporters and he essentially issued a challenge to the Bulldogs’ first SEC opponent of the season — the Tennessee Vols.

Can Georgia’s offense be explosive against Tennessee?

Smart noted while speaking to reporters on Saturday that Georgia has been taking what the defense gives them so far this season — due to opposing defenses playing soft coverages.

Moving forward, Smart is anxious to see if his team can be explosive against SEC opponents — starting with Tennessee next Saturday in Knoxville.

“We’ve got to find ways to be explosive,” said Smart. “I mean, you’ve got to be able to throw the ball downfield and take shots. And that’s probably the toughest thing that I’ve been most disappointed in.” 

Smart pointed out that starting quarterback Gunner Stockton “does it every day in practice”, suggesting that Georgia’s lack of explosive plays this season is due to how opponents are defending the Bulldogs’ offense.

“He (Stockton) does it every day in practice, he does a great job of it — it’s more about how people are playing us right now,” continued Smart “And there’s two weeks in a row where there’s just a ton of cushion. I talked to you all about it before. If people want to play like that, you’ve got to take what they give you. And we had some really easy throws — we call it an extension of the run game.

“When you play in our league, those aren’t there. Nobody’s giving you that. So, if they don’t give you that, then you’ve got a chance to hit your shots. And it’ll be interesting to see as people creep up in our league, are we able to throw it beyond them?“

It’s not that Smart is directly calling out Tennessee’s defense, but his comments are definitely a challenge. Can the Vols prevent the Bulldogs from being explosive, or will Georgia find a way to create splash plays against Tennessee’s defense?

Smart is basically signaling that Georgia is going to take shots against Tennessee. The Vols have struggled in recent years to slow down Georgia’s offense — the Bulldogs have averaged 34 points per game in their last four wins against Tennessee. Is this the year the Vols’ defense finally shuts down the Bulldogs’ offense?

We’ll see on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET when Georgia and Tennessee meet in Neyland Stadium. SEC play is officially here.

Game on.

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