The boys in Vegas said Auburn was a two touchdown favorite. Auburn fans beat their chest declaring an early victory, while Georgia fans prayed for mercy. Fortunately for the Bulldog Nation, all three parties were wrong. An unranked and written off Georgia Bulldogs shocked the world by beating the #5 Auburn Tigers 37 – 15. As the old saying goes, you have nothing to lose when your back is against the wall. The Bulldogs came out the tunnel fearless and posed. The hostile Auburn crowd was voided by Georgia willpower and execution, and the team finally played like the defending SEC East champions.
It was beautiful seeing both players and coaches perform to their potential for a complete sixty minutes. Mark Richt coached his best game of the season. He found a great mix of conservative and aggressive offensive play calling, and the defensive game plan was amazing. Georgia forced 4 turnovers, 4 sacks, and made the big third down stop.
Matthew Stafford broke out of his freshman slump and had a career day. He finished 14 of 20 for 219 yards and 1 touchdown. Additionally, he rushed 7 times for 83 yards and 1 touchdown. Stafford’s most important stat, he didn’t have any interceptions because prior to this game, he had thrown at least one interception in the last four games. He also did a great job spreading the ball around, hitting Martrez Milner for 41 yards, Mohamed Massaquoi for 20 yards, A.J. Bryant for 59 yards, Kenneth Harris for 52 yards, Kregg Lumpkin for 26 yards and 1 touchdown, Michael Moore for 17 yards, and Kris Durham for 4 yards. It’s good to see the wide receivers catching the ball. As a result of his good play, Stafford was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
Although I hate to see that both Thomas Brown and Danny Ware injured, I like to see Coach Richt trusting one running back with a majority of the carries. I think in the past our running backs have struggled because they weren’t getting enough touches on the ball. Kregg Lumpkin continues to impress and make a case for why he should be the featured back next season. He finished with 105 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging 5 yards per carry off 21 carries. Brannan Southerland continues to impress at fullback. He’s the physical back Georgia has lacked in the past. He’s perfect for short yardage and goal line situations. He finished with 26 yards and 1 touchdown. Lastly, Gordon Ely-Kelso, punter and recent place-kicker added a 34 yard field goal and went 4 of 5 on extra points.
As stated above, the G-Day defense looked exceptionally well and held Auburn to a wimpy 171 yards of offense. Tra Battle led the defensive charge, with 3 interceptions, 1 of which he ran back touchdown. As a result of his good play, he was named National Defensive Player of the Week by Walter Camp Football Foundation and SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Linebacker Tony Taylor had eight tackles, while defensive tackle Ray Gant recorded 2 sacks.
A big win like this inspires the Bulldog Nation and gives us momentum as we head into our match-up with instate rival #19 Georgia Tech on Thanksgiving weekend. The Yellow Jackets haven’t beaten the Dawgs in five years and they’re currently in the running to win the ACC championship. I win over them lays a perfect foundation for next season because it tells the team that they can compete with the top teams in the country. The Bulldogs are off this weekend, and won’t play until the following week.
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