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Carson Beck had 6 interceptions all last season, and they were spread out over the course of Georgia’s 14-game campaign. In his debut year as the Georgia starting quarterback, Beck didn’t have a single game with multiple interceptions.
In a win over Florida on Saturday, Beck was picked off 3 times.
It was the third game in his last 5 outings that Beck has thrown 3 interceptions.
He had 0 through Georgia’s first 3 games of the season. He has 11 through Georgia’s last 5.
“In the future, I have to be better,” Beck said after the Bulldogs’ 34-20 win over the Gators. “And that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
The final scoreline is a bit misleading. Georgia trailed 13-6 at the half. It was a tie game going into the final 7 minutes. An interception immediately after a Georgia touchdown gave the Bulldogs a 14-point final margin.
Beck was picked off on back-to-back drives in the second quarter. He was picked off again on the first Georgia drive of the second half.
“You cannot turn the ball over and beat good teams,” coach Kirby Smart said. “Some of those are on Carson, some of them aren’t, and we’ve got to do a good job helping him because when he’s needed to play well and we needed him to step up — once again tonight, backed up, third down — he made plays. He did a great job.”
The first 2 interceptions were thrown into traffic. The third was a bit more forgivable; Beck got hit by an unblocked Gator as he was throwing and the ball was impacted by it.
“What he can’t do is throw the ball late over the middle. We’ve got to do a better job protecting him. He got hit one time and the ball went up in the air. But the 2 plays he would want back were late, scramble, throw-it-up plays. And, to be honest, he hasn’t done that much,” said Smart. “He’s always been smart to take off and run or throw it away and live to play another day. I thought he pressed on those 2 plays, but he also made some really good plays.”
While Smart said the Bulldogs have to do more to help Beck, the quarterback shouldered the blame and said he just has to make better decisions.
“I feel like I prepare well, but there’s just certain situations in games where maybe I try to make a play that doesn’t need to be made. Maybe it’s a throwaway instead of trying to force something and just moving on to the next play,” Beck said. “I think it really comes down to me at the end of the day. There are things that people around me can do to help. They did it tonight.
“There’s a lot of plays that a lot of receivers made. You look at Cash (Jones), he runs through a double team, goes and scores. So, when I have guys around me that are gonna help me make plays, I mean, that takes a lot of it off of me. For me, I just, I have to be better. And whether that’s in the preparation or when I get into the game and just the in-game decision-making and that’ll come.”
Asked if he was feeling any pressure that was causing poor play, Beck said he doesn’t feel any.
“For me, I just go play. I just have fun. I’m here to win. End of the day, it’s a bottom-line business. I don’t care what happens,” he said. “Obviously, I want to go throw a perfect game. You know what I’m saying? Like, 30 for 30, 4 touchdowns. I mean, that’s what I was thinking about walking into the stadium. You know what I’m saying? Like, I felt like I was the man. I’m walking back into my hometown in Jacksonville. Like, let’s go.’ So, no, it doesn’t put any pressure on me. This is fun. What am I supposed to do, we just won?”
Georgia (7-1) needs him to be cleaner. The next 2 weeks will see the competition level turn up. Beck and the Bulldogs travel to Oxford next Saturday to face an Ole Miss team that just put 63 on Arkansas. The following week, Georgia hosts Tennessee.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
