Looking Up

A conference win is always great and a road win is even better. The Dawgs put up an important 27–13 win Saturday against the Rebels and things are looking up. This marks their 9^th straight win over Ole Miss and their first SEC win of the season.

Aaron Murray completed 17 of 26 passes for 268 yards. Murray had a good day but I still see room for improvement and consistency. With 30 carries Isaiah Crowell finished with 147 yards. Leading the Dawgs with 93 receiving yards, Malcolm Mitchell had an excellent game. Receiving touchdowns for the Dawgs came from both Orson Charles and Aron White.

Bacarri Rambo had a huge game and grabbed not 1 but 2 interceptions to help set the offense up. The defense is still lacking Christian Robinson but managed to keep a tight and solid line. Georgia’s defense held the Ole Miss offense to only 183 yards. With under 1 minute left to play, Ole Miss was shutdown one final time as Cornelius Washington rushed in for the sack.

It was a shaky day for the special teams. Blair Walsh was not his usual accurate self, missing 3 attempted field goals on Saturday. This marked the worst day in Walsh’s career, but Richt’s was confident in his ability as he sent him out in the 4^th quarter to punch in a 43 yarder-he was successful. Richt notices the need for improvement, stating “We’ve got to solve some problems on our special teams. Obviously we’ve got to cover punts better. And onside kicks shouldn’t happen.”

Overall, it was an SEC win for Georgia. The Dawgs will move forward in preparing for next week’s home game against Mississippi State. It’s important that this game and Mississippi State are not overlooked. Their wins have been to tough teams, Auburn and LSU, and they are going to come to play. As always with this game, there is one certainty……the Bulldogs WILL win!

GOOO (Georgia) Bulldogs!!!!!

Back On Track

A win is a win…but too bad it’s a week too late and to the wrong Carolina team. Coastal Carolina fell to the Bulldogs 59-0 on a rather cool afternoon in Athens, Ga. A blowout was expected by coaches and fans and blowout is what they got.

Junior Tavarress King had a career-high day with 6 catches, 2 touchdowns, and 65 receiving yards. Isaiah Crowell led the Bulldogs on the ground with 86 rushing yards. Aaron Murray seemed more comfortable than ever, which will be beneficial entering next week. His rhythm, with no interceptions, was more secure and confident. Murray went 18-for-26 with 3 touchdowns on Saturday but did share his time on the field with the other up and coming QBs. Games like this give the Dawgs a chance to offensively play more people and try new things.

Anytime your defense puts up a shutout they should be commended. A joint effort and solid line is what led the Dawgs to such an exciting victory. The lack of mistakes and missed plays is what I hope I see continue throughout the season.

Special teams showed out, too. Blair Walsh put up a career-best 56-yard field goal. Walsh and Ty Frix both recovered fumbles on kick-off returns to help set up the Bulldogs for more touchdowns.

Rather than gloat about this week’s win, we should focus on next week. It may be a tougher game than many had anticipated. Ole Miss is coming off an embarrassing 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt. They are going to be playing to defend their turf and their coach. Houston Nutt, like Richt, has been under a lot of scrutiny lately to get his program back on track. Both coaches will go enter this week with a game plan to win! Whether the Rebels or the Dawgs execute that game plan better will make for an interesting ballgame.

As always, GOOO Dawgs! Prayers for Larry are going up this week. It’s been a rough week and I can speak on behalf of all of Bulldog Nation when I say “We miss you and pray you get better soon.”

Georgia’s Resilient Fight Falls Short

The Dawgs may have come up short on the scoreboard, but I don’t think anyone can disagree that they put up a good fight. The 45-42 loss to South Carolina puts Georgia at 0-2 for the season, thus marking the first 0-2 season starter since 1996. Mark Richt has been under strict scrutiny for his team’s lack of ability to put up the W’s and this week’s loss will not help this hot topic.

Aaron Murray completed 19-of-29 passes for 248 yards on Saturday. Blair Walsh put Georgia in an early lead as he hit both 37 and 39 yard field goals. Also putting up the points: Rantavious Wooten, Isaiah Crowell & Michael Bennett. Christian Robinson and Sanders Commings both made key stops for the Dawgs. Robinson dominating with 8 tackles while Commings had 6 major stops.

Marcus Lattimore led the Gamecocks with 176 yards and a touchdown. Scoring off of Georgia’s mistakes, USC was able to put up points from an interception and fumble returns. The Bulldog’s helped their opponent on one too many plays this week.

Again, the Bulldogs put up a resilient fight. They proved to be a much improved team from last week and I am confident that the best is yet to come. I think they realize that they lost a big game. The season is NOT over so Bulldog Nation need not act like it is. These boys need the support of their fans now more than ever.

I am known to be a Mark Richt supporter and fan and I will continue to defend him. I hate having to defend him but I will do so while necessary. I know that there is no finer coach or man to lead this team to greatness. If you watched this week’s game then I think you will agree that the play calling improved and several adjustments were made since last week’s loss. Newsflash: mistakes lost this game…not the coaches. I mean….I’m a girl and even I know that :)

As always, GOOO DAWGS!

Georgia Falls In Opener to Boise State

College Football is back and I could not be happier! After finishing an easily described “mediocre” season last year, the Bulldogs entered yesterday’s game with huge expectations. However, the hype that surrounded playing in the Georgia Dome and debuting new uniforms could not stop the Boise State Broncos from triumphing 35-21.

Brandon Boykin took the reins early when he switched sides to take the handoff from Aaron Murray. He would go on to take it 80-yards for a touchdown, which would put the Dawgs on the board first 7-0. That lead didn’t last long as Kellen Moore found Matt Miller to tie the game. Moore would go on to show why he may be in the Heisman race. Georgia’s defense couldn’t get enough pressure on him to shake his consistency. Boise seemed unstoppable in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarter as they scored 28 consecutive points before Georgia connected late in the 3^rd. With 1:19 left in the 3^rd, Murrary found his high school teammate, Orson Charles, who was able to score a 36-yard touchdown setting the score at 28-14.

Again, the Broncos would pull away with another touchdown to put the stretch at 35-14. Murray would soon find Malcolm Mitchell for a 51-yard touchdown to lessen the gap to 35-21. Time would run out for this Bulldog team and the No. 5 ranked Broncos would be victorious over the No. 19 ranked Bulldogs.

It’s always the question when your team suffers a loss: Were we that bad or were they that good? A little of both in my opinion. The Bulldogs got outplayed. Kellen Moore went 28 for 34 with 261 yards. Their play calling was better and their speed only helped. It’s simple….they were better and a lack of Georgia’s ability to adjust is to blame. After the half Georgia’s defense did not adjust to the speed and agility the Broncos were creating. Murray took some time getting comfortable in the pocket, and when he did he was too comfortable-sitting there too long.

Adjustments need to be made. I never make excuses for my beloved Dawgs, but it is important to keep in mind the rankings involved with this game. We didn’t play your typical “easy” opener. We played No. 5 ranked Boise State. As an SEC team we should have beat them, but we didn’t. From here you get better and learn. That’s all you can do. As always, GO DAWGS!