Georgia's Carson Beck's elbow injury could ruin Bulldogs' national title hopes

The Georgia Bulldogs' hopes of claiming another national title this season may have suffered a fatal blow when quarterback Carson Beck went down with an elbow injury in the SEC title game.

According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Chris Low, Georgia have been preparing for their quarterfinal matchup next week against either the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or Indiana Hoosiers as though they won't have their senior starter under center.

In fact, ESPN also reported Beck is weighing surgery options on the injury, which would likely keep him out of action until at least the NFL Draft, if not longer.

Beck's injury could not have come at a worse time for the Bulldogs, and it's entirely possible that it's ultimately what keeps Georgia from making a deep playoff run this season.

Beck has run extremely hot and cold all year long; he threw for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns, but also threw 12 interceptions. All of those picks came in just five games: three against Alabama, two against Mississippi State, three against Texas, three against Florida, and one against Ole Miss.

But, for all his inconsistency, make no mistake: Beck gave the Bulldogs their best chance at winning. Backup Gunner Stockton, a former four-star prospect, is more of a dual-threat quarterback than Beck was, and wasn't asked to do much throwing the ball against the Longhorns in the SEC Championship. He went 12/16 for just 71 yards and an interception against Texas, as the Bulldogs switched to a much more ground-and-pound oriented offense.

With Georgia's mediocre, drop-prone receiving corps, expect a lot more of that from them in the quarterfinals. While Georgia has the size and talent to grind most opponents into dust without Beck, the prospect of facing Notre Dame poses a very, very big problem.

The Irish are one of the few teams in the country who can hang with the Bulldogs' physicality, and if their defense only really has to worry about Georgia's run game, it could make for a very, very long night.

Think about it like this: if the offense was as maddeningly inconsistent as it was with Beck under center, think about how rough it could potentially get with a quarterback who can't throw the ball as well as he could.

Sure, there's some backup quarterback theory at play here, in that Notre Dame doesn't have much film on Stockton to use to prep for him, which gives the Bulldogs a little room to work, but consider that the Irish got to see plenty of the sophomore in the second half of the SEC title game. And even if Stockton does manage to befuddle the Irish, a semifinal or final matchup would have the benefit of significantly more film to pick apart, and more data to come up with a plan to slow him down.

Georgia's offense was already lacking in easy buttons to make plays and pick up yards this season, and Beck's absence is going to make picking up any kind of big play yardage even harder. And in a playoff field where the margin for error is likely going to be small, that could be the thing that keeps Georgia from making an extended run.

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