Dribble Dawgs Dropped By Bulls 64-53

BASKETBALL

Despite having the game’s top scorer, the Georgia men’s basketball team dropped a 64-53 decision to the South Florida Bulls on Friday night. The game, however, was much closer than the score would reflect. The game, played in front of 5,167 at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., was part of the SEC/Big East Challenge. The loss saw the Dawgs season record fall to 2-5.

Sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the team and the game with 19 points, he was the only Dawg to score in double digits. Junior forward Marcus Thornton led Georgia in rebounding with 6 boards. Sophomore center John Cannon record a career high eight points and was Georgia’s second highest scorer.

The Dawgs took their first lead of the game mid-way through the first half on a Caldwell-Pope lay-up that put Georgia up 13-11. After the Bulls retook the lead, sophomore forward Tim Dixon gave the Dawgs a 15-13 lead before USF rallied to go into the locker room at half-time leading 27-24.

After hanging with the home team for the early part of the second period, it was Caldwell-Pope again giving the Dawgs the lead on 11:32 with an explosive dunk. The Bulls rallied again, however, but were not able to separate themselves from the Dawgs with junior forward Donte’ Williams hitting a 2-pointer while falling down to tie the contest at 50-points apiece. The game, however, got away from Georgia as the USF took advantage of being in the double bonus with free-throws down the stretch seeing them secure the 64-53 final.

“It felt like what really failed us in the game was our defense. We started the game poorly but then we settled down, ground things out and got the lead. In the gut of the game, when it was decided late in the second half, our defense and our rebounding failed us. We just didn’t get the stops we needed to get,” said coach Mark Fox. “Offensively in the second half we were playing very well until the end when we had to fire up some desperation shots. I thought offensively we had some pretty good numbers.”

The game was the first time Georgia and South Florida have played each other; it was also Georgia’s third straight appearance in the annual SEC/Big East Challenge. The defeat marked Georgia’s third loss in the annual event.

The Dawgs return to action on Tuesday when they travel to face in-state rival Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.

Jarvis Jones Named A Lott IMPACT Trophy Finalist

FOOTBALL

Georgia junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has been named one of four finalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, according to an announcement from the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation on Thursday.

Jones, who was named an AFCA All-American for the second consecutive season this week, joins Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, Stanford’s Chase Thomas and Kansas State’s Arthur Brown as the award’s finalists.

The award goes to the defensive player who has had the biggest IMPACT on his team, both on and off the field. The IMPACT acronym is Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

The winner will be announced at the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy banquet on December 9th at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. The event will be televised live by FOX Sports beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The keynote speaker will be former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The IMPACT Foundation will award $25,000 to the general scholarship fund of the winner’s university with each of the runner-up’s school receiving $5,000.

Former Bulldog All-American David Pollack won the inaugural Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2004.

A 6-3, 241-pound outside linebacker from Columbus, Jones has accumulated 71 tackles, including 19.5 tackles for loss of 107 yards and 10.5 sacks, one interception, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in only 10 games this season. He is the current NCAA active leader in sacks per game (1.0) with 24 in two seasons and is tied for the lead in tackles for loss (1.6) with 39 through this season and last.

Jones has also been named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi, Bednarik and Butkus awards.

He has twice been named the National Defensive Player of the Week by the Lott IMPACT, Nagurski and Walter Camp awards in 2012 and the SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season following his performances during wins at Missouri and versus #3 Florida.

Jones has sparked a defense that has given up a combined 19 points (one touchdown, four field goals) during the team’s last three SEC victories. During that span, Jones has tallied 20 tackles, including five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Jones earned All-America honors last season after leading the SEC and tying for fifth nationally with 13.5 sacks to go along with 70 tackles, including 19.5 tackles for loss.

Tuesday Press Conference ~ Defense

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt and a delegation of football players met with the media during the Dawgs’ weekly press luncheon on Tuesday afternoon. They offered the following comments:

Coach Mark Richt

On the importance of emotion for the defense…

“If they get their blood high, I think they play better.”

On the emotion of the defensive players…

“They’re all young and excited, and they say what they want to say sometimes. I don’t think it’s going to matter much what everybody says before the game. I think it’s going to matter when we kick it off, so I’m not too worried about that.”

On Damian Swann…

“Damian is a very talented guy, and he’s really the youngster in our defensive backfield right now. As soon as this class leaves, he’s going to be the veteran. He has ball skills of an offensive player. He’s got good length, and he’s got great coverage skills. He can make acrobatic interceptions, and he made a big jump in his physicality from a year ago. He got very serious about getting in the weight room and getting stronger and about playing more physical. He’s been in the nickel position which is a run-support guy to the field side, more so than your field corner. Of course your boundary corner is a support guy, as well. I think Swann has the cover skills to play in the field, and he’s got the physicality to play the nickel or the boundary corner. I think he could play safety, as well. He’s really a pretty good player.”

On the play of special teams this season…

“My goal this year was for us to be solid on our special teams. My goal wasn’t to try to lead the nation in any one category. I wanted to make sure that every time we force them to punt, I want to make sure we have the ball. If someone makes a fair catch, that’s okay with me. At the end of the kickoff, I want to make sure we have the ball in our hand. Let’s have a good, solid return, secure the football, and do well. Of course when you punt, you have to make sure you protect. My goal is just to kick that sucker high and have the least amount of big plays in that situation. We did have the one returned for a touchdown, but other than that, we’ve given up very few return yards. Now is our net punt quite as high as Alabama’s, which is almost 44 yards? No, but even if it’s 38 or 39 yards and it’s got good hang time and we fair catch it, we can then move the ball for four downs and get a good play out of it. My goal was for a really solid kicking unit this year, and I think we are solid. In the kickoff return, Malcolm Mitchell returns it back to the 50. It’s not like we’re not trying to get a touchdown. We had Todd Gurley return one for a touchdown, and we blocked a couple punts this year. We’ve done some good things in there, but the big thing is to make sure that they don’t become a huge momentum play for the other team.”

Linebacker Amarlo Herrera

On being labeled as one of the best defenses in the nation…

“I feel the same as some of my teammates that have been saying we’re the best, I back those guys up. I haven’t seen anybody play as well as we have in the second half of the season. You can probably say that we were lacking some confidence early in the year because we weren’t playing as well as we should have been, but now we have the swagger back and we’re feeling like the best again.”

On playing with emotion…

“We just have to play with more confidence and keep up the same level of confidence that we’ve been playing with these past couple of weeks. It all goes back to what Shawn [Williams] said earlier this season, and that whole week of practice leading up to the Florida game. It has a lot to do with the way we prepared for that week and how we’ve been preparing from that day on and really playing up to par.”

On playing in the SEC Championship…

“It wouldn’t matter where we’re playing at. It doesn’t matter how big the stage or where we’re playing, we’re just going to go out there and keep playing the way we have been all year, especially the second half. We’re going to play just like that. It’s a big difference having gone through the same experience last year, because now we know what to expect. We know to try and control our emotions and not let them overwhelm us because I think that’s what happened last year. Our emotions ran out and we stopped playing with confidence and with the crowd emotion. I think we’re feeling more confident going into this game because we’ve had a great year and we’ve been playing together for a long time now”

Linebacker Christian Robinson

On turning around the defensive play in the second half of the season…

“It’s kind of a tale of two seasons. The first half of the season we didn’t really live up to anybody’s expectations on defense, and now we’re winning the way people thought we should have been winning all along. Now we have a chance to really do something special, something that hasn’t been done here in a long, long time so now we have to see it all the way out.”

On getting to play in the SEC Championship game…

“When you live around the metro Atlanta area, getting a chance to play in the Georgia Dome is something that you dream about. Especially on this stage, and with what this game means, everybody from around that area knows the significance of this game. This is huge. This is everything that we’ve dreamed of our whole lives and now we’ll have the world watching us. “

Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

Third-ranked Georgia held a two-hour practice in jerseys, shorts and helmets Wednesday as the team finalizes preparations for its game against second-ranked Alabama for the SEC Championship.

Coach Mark Richt said preparations have been going well this week as Georgia (11-1) is focused on the Crimson Tide (11-1).

“I thought the energy level was good, and the scouts did a good job and we competed well during 11-on-11 at the end,” said Richt.

When asked if the excitement of the upcoming championship game was evident in the players as Saturday approaches, Richt said he saw it a bit today and reminded the team to stay in the moment and focus on the process, and their job.

“I’ve been practicing what I’ve been telling the players, and for me it’s to think about my job and certain situations that may come up during the game,” Richt added. “It was called the ‘iffy’ meeting that Coach Bobby Bowden had. If this comes up…if this happens… you have to have a plan now of what you’re going to do and not try to deal with it for the first time during a game with the emotion. It’s all about preparation.”

Richt said during Friday’s practice at the Georgia Dome, the freshmen specialists might get there early to get some work. He felt like both freshmen punter Collin Barber and freshmen placekicker Marshall Morgan have improved as the season has progressed. This year, Barber is averaging 41.2 yards a punt while Morgan has tallied 78 points on eight field goals and a school record 54 extra points.

On Wednesday, cornerback Damian Swann (cervical strain) and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell (shoulder contusion) were in green jerseys and limited to no contact in practice. However, Richt said they will be fine and ready to go Saturday.

Alabama features the nation’s top scoring defense (9.25 ppg) and one of the most balanced offenses (2,570 yards rushing and 2,626 yards passing). Alabama is making its eighth appearance in the SEC Championship game while the Dawgs are making their fifth. Georgia is 2-2 while the Crimson Tide is 3-4. Overall, Alabama holds a 36-25-4 edge in the series history with Georgia. However, the Dawgs are 3-1 against the Crimson Tide under Richt.

Murray Named A Manning Award Finalist

FOOTBALL

Georgia junior quarterback Aaron Murray has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Manning Award, according to an announcement from the award and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Murray, Alabama junior AJ McCarron and Texas A&M freshman Johnny Manziel are three players on the list from the Southeastern Conference. During the regular season, Murray was one of the award’s Stars of the Week twice.

The winner will be announced after the bowls on Wednesday, January 9th, and will be honored at a ceremony in New Orleans. The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes the candidates’ bowl performances into consideration in its balloting.

Murray, a 6-1, 210-pound native of Tampa, Florida, has developed into one of the nation’s elite at his position. He has been named a finalist for Wuerffel Trophy and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. He became the first SEC quarterback in history to have three consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons after completing 14-of-17 for 215 yards and two touchdowns versus Georgia Tech last week.

Currently, Murray leads the SEC in passing efficiency at 177.2. In his 27 wins as a starter, he has 69 TDs to just 15 INTs. Murray is the SEC’s leading active player in total offensive yards (9,618, which is 10th in SEC history), completions (660), TD responsibility (99, which is fifth in SEC history), TD passes (89, which is tied for second SEC history) and passing yards (9,399).