Marching Toward Atlanta

The last three weeks have been good for the Georgia Bulldogs.  For most, including myself, the loss to South Carolina shocked the confidence of UGA fans.  The Chickens beat us down, their coach once again mocked our prominence, and the Bulldog Nation saw the Dawgs in decline.  The Bulldogs limped into the bye week.  We hoped Georgia would return with renewed vigor.

#11 Georgia 29, Kentucky 24

The week started bad with the season ending injury of Michael Bennett.  Moreover, future All-American linebacker Jarvis Jones would be sidelined.  Unfortunately, the Bulldogs arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, uninspired and the Wildcats pushed around the defense of the Red & Black Attack.  The only shining moment was quarterback Aaron Murray’s career day.  He finished 30 of 38 with 427 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Murray distributed the ball evenly, throwing to King, Mitchell, Brown, Lynch, Gurley, Conley, McGowan, and Marshall. 

The week ended bad with Georgia’s next opponent, the Florida Gators, complete destruction of the South Carolina Gamecocks who previously destroyed the Bulldogs.  UGA fans went into a tailspin as we pondered the potential for another embarrassing lost to the hated Gators.

#10 Georgia 17, #2 Florida 9

 This was probably the quietest lead up to the Georgia / Florida game in some time.  Fans of the Red & Black Attack kept quiet as we were seriously afraid that the hated Gators would embarrass us.  The statistics did not favor UGA as we had not beaten a ranked team in two years. 

Shawn Williams called the team “soft” and demanded better play.  The team, led by the G-Day Defense answered the challenge.  They forced 6 turnovers and held the Gators without a touchdown.  Jarvis Jones was a one man wrecking crew, finishing with 13 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.  His performance will go down in history of Georgia / Florida games.

Aaron Murray and the offense played like garbage, but Murray connected with Malcolm Mitchell late in the fourth quarter for the go ahead 45-yard touchdown pass.  Jones sealed the victory when he punched the ball out the hands of Jordan Reed on 5-yard line, which caused a forced fumble that was ultimately recovered by Sanders Commings.

For the first time in a long time, Georgia played spoiler to Florida’s national title ambitions - “Glory, glory, to old Georgia!”

#6 Georgia 37, Ole Miss 10

 Many considered this a trap game because Ole Miss was on the upswing and Georgia was coming off an emotional victory over Florida.  The Rebels came out hungry and for two quarters they dominated Georgia.  Mississippi stopped the Dawgs offense and did just enough to keep a 10-0 lead.  The elation caused by being in the lead for the SEC East Title was slowly slipping away.   

UGA needed a boast, and Coach Mark Richt dialed a trick play that resulted in a 66-yard touchdown pass to Marlon Brown.  The homecoming crowd of 92,746 exploded Between the Hedges.  Once on the board, the Dawgs exploded for 37 unanswered points.  Murray finished with an impressive 21 of 28 for 384 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Todd Gurley rushed for 117 yards off 18 rushes, and senior wide receiver Marlon Brown lead the team in reception yards with 113 until her suffered a season ending injury.  I hope he recovers quickly.

In addition to the offense waking up, the defense tamed the Rebs.  Linebacker Alec Ogletree had a safety, sack, and interception.  Damian Swann recovered 2 fumbles and defense held Ole Miss to only 55 total yards in the second half.

Georgia can only continue their march to Atlanta if they beat Auburn, in one of my favorite rivalry games.  Although the Tigers are bad this year, they will look to spoil UGA’s run at a second consecutive SEC East title.