Georgia Squeaks By Mississippi State, Turns to JT Daniels Too Late

Georgia was a 25-point favorite heading into its matchup against Mississippi State on Saturday. The Dawgs got the win, but the final score was a lot closer than expected. It took a late-game stop by team's defense to get a 31-24 victory over State.

Still, Georgia moves to 5-2 on the year, and they discovered a new quarterback in the process.

Granted, that quarterback is someone everyone has been pushing for since the preseason. But it's better late than never, right? That is difficult to say. This is a team who many believed would win the SEC East and compete for a College Football Playoff spot.

Florida is going to need to lose two of their final three games in order for that to happen.

In other words, head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken turned to JT Daniels too late. The argument for the delay was the health of the USC transfer. There were some uncertainties there, but many believed he was healthy enough to be out there.

Considering Daniels threw for 401 yards, four touchdowns and averaged 10.6 yards per attempt points to him being an impact player at the position moving forward. It's unfortunate that the team was forced to roll with former walk-on Stetson Bennett and D'Wan Mathis until it was too late.

The defense didn't play great against Mississippi State, but it is still concerned one of the better groups in the country.

Having a quarterback who can stretch opposing defenses vertically with more consistency is exactly what this team has been missing. The receivers have to be happy about the switch too. Jermaine Burton and George Pickens combined for 16 catches, 284 yards and three of Daniels' four touchdowns.

The future is bright for the Dawgs on offense. But it has to be tough knowing that success could have come in 2020.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.