Last year's UGA team left a bad taste in mouth of most Bulldog fans because the team continually underperformed. Two of last year's biggest weakness - quarterback play and defensive play were addressed during the offseason. Quarterback Joe Cox thankfully graduated and was replaced with redshirt freshman Aaron Murray and Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez was shown the door and replaced with former NFL assistant Tood Grantham.
Aaron Murray's debut was successful as he went 17 of 26 for 160 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 42 rushing yards. Although the coaches may disagree, I liked Murray's ability to scramble after the play broke down as opposed to simply throwing the ball away or taking the sack. This added rushing ability has the potential to confuse defenses because they'll now have to game plan for Murray's arm and legs.
Todd Grantham's new "Junkyard Dawgs" defense looked impressive as they held the Ragin' Cajuns to 5 first downs, 14 yards rushing, and 128 yards total. They also forced 3 turnovers and seemed to be 100% more proactive and nastier than last year's reactionary defense. Their play reflected how I imagined UGA's defense to be.
Next week the Dawgs travel to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in a game that could determine the East's representative in the SEC Title game. In some respects we'll learn how a whole bunch about Murray and the Junkyard Dawgs as they take on SEC caliber players and coaches in a hostile environment.
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