Was The Hit Legal?

FOOTBALL

Much has been said and written on the play that Reshad Jones made to break up a pass deep in the Dawgs territory during the Oklahoma State game last Saturday. Was it a clean legal blow or was it too high? Did he lead with the crown of his helmet or with his shoulder? Well all I can say is that if a receiver has the ball in hand and a defensive back is not allowed to knock the ball out, then we might as well just put flags on their hips or play touch.

The call of unnecessary roughness on a receiver gave the Cowboys a first down, kept the drive alive and resulted in a touchdown, it did impact the outcome of the game and was one of three

very questionable calls. Not an excuse, just a fact.

Take a look and see what you think.

Dawgs Lose Sturdivant For Season..... Again.

FOOTBALL

For the second time in his Dawg career, sophomore offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant has been sidelined with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

A 6-5, 306-pound native of Wadesboro, N.C., Sturdivant injured his left knee midway through the third quarter against ninth-ranked Oklahoma State and did not return for the remainder of the game.

“I saw Trinton today, and he was a little surprised by it,” said Coach Richt. “He didn’t figure that it was that serious after the game, and it was a surprise to him and to us. He did tear the ACL in the same leg, and he will be out. He was more philosophical this time. He said he’s got two choices, either give up or fight again. We know, and he knows he will be back.”

Sturdivant missed the entire 2008 season and spring drills in 2009 due to reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation after the first ACL injury.

In 2007, he earned Freshman All-America honors after starting all 13 games for the Bulldogs at left tackle.

The first knee injury happened during preseason practice in August of 2008.

“Psychologically, it’s tough, he will have to rehab and come back,” Richt said. “I’ve coached guys who have had it happen more than one time, and they’ve come back and played great. He’s going to battle, and he’ll be back next year.”

Senior Vincent Vance replaced Sturdivant for the remainder of the game Saturday.

Dawgs Drop Opener

FOOTBALL

As the sun rose over Lake Carl Blackwell just outside Stillwater, Oklahoma on this opening Saturday of the 2009 college football season, there were small rain drops hitting the water. By the end of the day all that was falling were the dreams of Dawg fans.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys lived up to their number nine ranking with a 24-10 victory in the newly renovated T. Boone Pickens Stadium.

The Dawgs took the opening kickoff and marched eighty yards in ten plays to score when Joe Cox hit Michael Moore on a four yard fade pass in the right corner of the endzone. The most interesting thing about the drive though is that it may well be the first time in Georgia football history that three different players took a snap at quarterback on the first drive of the season.

Not a soul in the state would have believed that it would be the Dawgs only trip into the Red Zone for the entire game.

Dez Bryant got behind Bryan Evans with 2:24 left in the first half on a 46 yard pass from Zac Robinson and made an over the shoulder catch that would have made Willie Mays proud to tie the game. The Dawgs fumbled the ball right back to the Cowboys and Dan Bailey kicked a 28 yard field goal with five seconds left in the half to put the Dawgs in a hole 10-7 at halftime.

The Cowboy's Perrish Cox returned the second half kickoff 74 yards to the 24 and eight plays later Robinson scored from the one to give them a ten point lead.

Blair Walsh kicked a 53 yard field goal with 6:49 remaining in the quarter to put the final points on the board for the Dawgs.

Following the second Dawg fumble of the afternoon deep in their own territory, everyone knew that Dez Bryant was going to get the ball thrown to him. The Dawg defense was not up to the task of stopping Bryant, he made the catch around the four, turned and put the ball in the endzone for TD number two on the day.

Joe Cox said after the game that turnovers are the most critical stat in football, the Cowboys got three and scored on two of them. Cox was sporting a rather large bruise on his forehead but it was not nearly as large as the emotional one that was evident in his eyes following the first game that he had started and lost since he was in the 8th grade.

The Dawgs saw left tackle Trinton Sturdivant go down in the second half with another injury to his left knee, the same one he just spent a year rehabing from a torn ACL and MCL. The extent of the injury will not be known until an MRI is performed on Sunday in Athens.

The Dawgs fell to 30-5 in an opponent’s stadium including 10-3 against ranked teams. It was the first non-conference road loss in an opponent’s stadium under Richt and the first season-opening loss since 1996 when Jim Donnan’s Dawgs lost 11-7 to Southern Miss in Athens.

Flu Bug Hits The Dawgs

FOOTBALL

Senior quarterback Joe Cox is suffering from the flu but is still expected to start for the Dawgs. Precautions are being taken by the coaching staff to keep any player showing flu symptoms isolated from the rest of the team for as long as possible.

Season Opener Finally Here

FOOTBALL

The 13th ranked Georgia Bulldogs will kick-off the 2009 season in Stillwater Oklahoma against the 9th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.

5th year senior Joe Cox is the starting quarterback and will have Richard Samuel lined up at tailback and Shaun Chapas at fullback behind him.

A.J. Green and Mike Moore will start at the wide receiver positions and Aaron White at tightend.

The offensive line is deep and experienced with the return of Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle along with Chris Davis, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn and Clint Boling.

The offense won’t be as flashy as the 08 version but is solid at every position and with Cox’s knowledge of the system; we should control the ball and move the chains.

The return of Jeff Owens and a healthy Roderick Battle is huge for the defensive front four, with Geno Atkins and Demarcus Dobbs along side them we have plenty of size and speed.

Juniors Rennie Curran and Akeem Dent are two of the best linebackers in the SEC. Senior Darrius Dewberry is back from a shoulder injury.

Brandon Boykin is the new kid on the block in the secondary and will be making his first start at short corner. Senior Prince Miller will start on the other side with Reshad Jones and Bryan Evans between them.

As you can see we will only have one player starting on defense that has not played extensively before and he may well be the best athlete on the field. The only real question mark for the defense is at defensive end. The Dawgs are very strong up the middle and should shut down the Cowboys running game.

Blair Walsh returns as the place kicker with Drew Butler taking over the punting duties, Walsh has the leg to be consistent up to 60 yards out. It may be a game time decision as to who will handle the kickoffs, either Walsh or Brandon Bogotay.

The pass happy Big 12 and the Cowboys have put up some fantastic offensive numbers but the suspect defenses make it hard to read much into them. Oklahoma State must run the ball first to be successful on offense and their all world receiver Dez Bryant didn’t really show up in their biggest games last year. Look for the Dawgs to stop the run, blanket Bryant and keep Cox and company on the field as long as possible.

The Dawgs will be without Caleb King and Kiante Tripp due to injuries as well as Bruce Figgins and Justin Houston due to suspensions.

Game time temperature is expected to be around 82 degrees with a 40% chance of a thundershower. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has decided against the pre-game handshake.