An Influx Georgia Bulldogs Team Swaps in Third-Team QB Faton Bauta as Starter

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Another SEC team is looking to jump start a slumping offense by switching out a starting quarterback in hopes that a backup can provide more of an offensive punch. On Tuesday, Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin announced he was re-opening the Aggies’ quarterback battle naming true freshman backup Kyler Murray the team’s starter on Friday. Also on Friday, Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt followed suit choosing Faton Bauta as Georgia’s first-string quarterback against the Florida Gators.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 4-0 record before running into a buzz saw at home playing Alabama. Up until Week 5 against the Crimson Tide, starting quarterback Grayson Lambert had been solid setting a FBS efficiency record completing 24 of 25 passes for 330 yards with three touchdowns tossed against no picks in a 52-20 win over South Carolina. Against Alabama, Lambert, as most quarterbacks have looked when playing Bama this season, was held to a season-low 86 yards passing on 10 of 24 with one pick.

In Week 6, Georgia fell again this time to Tennessee 38-31. Lambert did not have a horrible game completing 15 of 32 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns but when teams start losing, fingers start getting pointed. On Oct. 17, Georgia hosted Missouri in a defensive showdown winning 9-6. Again Lambert was not horrible completing 23 of 32 passes for 178 yards but failed to throw a touchdown pass but did take two sacks and threw a pick.

There is no denying the Georgia offense began sputtering when sophomore running back Nick Chubb was lost after one carry against Tennessee. Chubb suffered a gruesome leg injury ruling him out for the rest of the season with an unknown timeline for a return to action in 2016. The Cedartown, Georgia native had posted 13 consecutive games of topping the 100 yard rushing mark setting a school record before getting one carry for two yards against Tennessee.

Georgia’s move to start Faton Bauta is somewhat of a surprise, he was listed as the team’s third-string quarterback behind Lambert and Brice Ramsey. Bauta, a senior from West Palm Beach, is more of a dual-threat that could allow Georgia multiple options in their ground attack. Bauta’s career passing stat line is 4 of 5 for 48 yards with no touchdowns tossed and zero picks all achieved in 2014.

Chubb (747 yards) has essentially missed two games but is still 239 yards ahead of the Bulldogs’ second leading rusher, Sony Michel (508). In the loss to Tennessee, Georgia still posted 444 yards of offense with 165 yards on the ground. Trouble is Tennessee posted 519 yards of offense. Against Missouri, UGA’s offense stalled only collecting 298 yards but the defense held an anemic Tigers offense to just 164 yards, 21 on the ground, and 143 in the air.

A&M is looking for a boost to their offense after back-to-back losses took them from the No. 9 AP team in the nation to out of the polls. Sumlin decided to go with a dual-threat option as well picking true freshman Kyler Murray over sophomore Kyle Allen in their matchup against South Carolina on Saturday.

Georgia (5-2, 3-2) is scheduled to kick off against Florida (6-1, 4-1) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida.

Photo credit: todaysu.com; No. 1o Faton Bauta warms up with head coach Mark Richt watching in the background.