George Pickens catches everything in Georgia’s Sugar Bowl victory vs. Baylor

The Georgia Bulldogs have themselves a budding superstar at wide receiver in George Pickens, and he helped his team beat the Baylor Bears in the Sugar Bowl.

The 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl pitted the Big 12 and SEC runner-ups against each other on New Year’s night. Talent and coaching was not the issue in this bowl game between the Baylor Bears and the Georgia Bulldogs. It was about who wanted it more — George Pickens. The young wide receiver was outstanding helped carry Georgia to a 26-14 Sugar Bowl win.

Georgia had been under a ton of scrutiny because of how lackluster its offense had been throughout the year. After losing so much receiving talent to the NFL, junior quarterback Jake Fromm regressed enough to the point where he may not leave school early. The defense had been spectacular all year outside of the SEC Championship, but the offense needed work.

Pickens had a fantastic last game of his true freshman season. He could not be contained by Matt Rhule’s strong Baylor defense, showcasing talent Georgia has not seen at the wide receiver position in a decade. We’re looking at the next A.J. Green in Athens heading into 2020. Though Baylor put up a fight in the second half, the 2020 Sugar Bowl was The George Pickens Show.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Georgia’s Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor.

The Jake Fromm to George Pickens connection was outstanding

Where was this all year? Fromm desperately needed a receiving target he could trust. It took some time, but it seems he finally forged a connection with a true freshman in a marquee game for the Dawgs. Fromm completed 20-of-30 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns with the bulk of his passes going Pickens’ way.

Pickens set a Georgia record with 12 receptions in a bowl game, 11 of them coming in the first half. He went for 175 yards, a 27-yard touchdown grab and a long of 46 yards. Fromm only completed eight other passes for 75 yards and a Matt Landers touchdown outside of targeting Pickens.

It remains to be seen if Fromm will go pro after his junior season at Georgia. He loves college football and playing at Georgia, but it’s so hard to turn down potentially being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. He might only be the fourth or fifth-best quarterback prospect in 2020, so that might be a factor in him returning for his senior season.

Matt Rhule can stay, but he might have coached his last game at Baylor

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Baylor played a heck of a game against one of the most talented rosters in college football. Georgia has been a top-five program in college football the last few years, recruiting in the top-10 annually seemingly forever. In most years, Baylor would have no chance hanging with a team like Georgia, but that’s what makes Rhule so special for the Bears.

His team was down 19-0 at halftime and didn’t pack it in. Frankly, Baylor outplayed Georgia for most of the second half, outscoring the Dawgs 14-7 in the final two frames. His pass rush got better as the game went along, as did the play of his wide receivers. Baylor was not afraid of the stage, despite being largely outmatched from a talent standpoint. This team is tough like Rhule.

And it is for that reason Rhule is getting some attention from NFL teams that are in need of a great program builder. Rhule has built two in Baylor and the Temple Owls before that. If he wants to stay in Waco, he absolutely can. However, he might have coached his last game at Baylor, as he could very well be the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers or the New York Giants in 2020.

Georgia embraced next man up and came to play in New Orleans this time

The biggest question entering this game wasn’t Rhule’s coaching future or if players like Fromm or Georgia running back D’Andre Swift were going to enter the NFL Draft a year early. We weren’t going to know the answers to any of that until after the fact. But what we would find out was if Georgia was going to be ready to play in this year’s Sugar Bowl after laying an egg last year.

Georgia might have had 13 players of note not dress for this game, including offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson, as well as All-American safety J.R. Reed. However, everybody on last year’s roster knew how embarrassing Georgia’s effort was in the 2019 Sugar Bowl vs. the Texas Longhorns. Georgia overlooked Tom Herman‘s program and didn’t want to even be there.

From the opening kickoff, you could tell Georgia was going to put forth a genuine effort, despite not playing many of its best players. The Dawgs knew how well-coached this Baylor team was. Of all the games Georgia played this year, this was the closest thing to a complete game the Dawgs played against an excellent opponent. Look for this young team carry the momentum in 2020.

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