Tuesday Press Conference – Part 3

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

On graduate assistant Nick Jones:

“Nick is really fantastic. Of course Nick played center for us and some guard during his day and he is a graduate assistant coach. He’s our on-the-field offensive coach. His main job right now is to get the scout team lined up and ready to try to simulate Colorado, and he is doing a great job of that. I enjoy watching him. He is confident in his ability in drill work, for example, he’ll coach the guy. He’ll talk about the technique. He’ll be quick to see what he’s doing right or what he’s doing wrong, and he’ll be quick to correct or quick to praise. He’ll do that verbally where a lot of times a young graduate assistant coach is a little bit nervous about doing that. He’s like, ‘Is this my role? Can I do this? Will coach Searels get mad at me?’ All those kinds of things, and Nick has just done a very good job. During camp, he’s had more of a chance to do that, but right now his main goal is just to try to get that scout team lined up and ready to go. I think he is going to be a tremendous field coach. He’ll be a great recruiter. He’s definitely what I’m looking for in a coach.”

“I’ll say this too because you mentioned one, when you look at Todd Hartley and Mitch Doolittle and what they did during the bowl game and you have Brad Hutcherson also, who was a student assistant with us all the way through. Now he’s an off-the-field graduate assistant, video guy. Those guys do an awesome job. It would be tough to do it without them.”

On things Georgia had not seen from Mississippi State on film:

“There were some formations that we hadn’t seen. Part of it was they were using a lot of three-receiver tight end stuff. They had some guys who were injured that we weren’t sure how injured they were. If you go by the film they were using those guys quite a bit but we didn’t know for sure if they would play or if they weren’t going to play. As it turned out they didn’t play an awful lot, so they used a different personnel grouping to do some of the same things they liked to do so it was a lot of very common threads but it wasn’t exactly the way we practiced it. It had to do with it being more of a two-back, three-receiver than a three-receiver, one-back and one tight end.”

#45 Linebacker Christian Robinson

On the morale of the team right now:

"We definitely realize that what has happened has happened. We are not happy with that. We don't want to accept that it happened, but at the same time we realize we have a great opportunity to move forward."

On Coach Mark Richt's use of a train analogy:

"He's said it before, and I know he said it last season when we went through some difficult times. It's easy for us to understand that. This team is a train. It's a big train. It's hard to get it moving early on, but once you get it going really fast it's easy to keep the momentum, it's easy to continue on the path you want to go to for your final destination."

#94 Nose Tackle DeAngelo Tyson

On Georgia's 1-3 start to the 2010 season:

"Being one and three is a very upsetting feeling. I don't think anybody on the team right now has every started a season of playing football one and three, so it's very shocking that we are one and three because we've put in so much work during the summer and we work hard in practice each and every day. It's just very hard for us right now, but we're moving on. We're not going to ponder on the loss; we're just moving on to the next game against Colorado, which is a good team. We're just going to go out and practice and try and get better than last week."

On the team needing a spark:

"As a team, I think the spark would be us winning this game because the train hasn't moved yet, and we just need a little juice to make the train move. If we can pick up a win Saturday that will give us a spark and we can go from there."

#51 Linebacker Akeem Dent

On the progression of the defense:

"I feel like we've come along, but I feel like we still have a little way to go. We can always go out and keep improving on the things that we are doing fundamentally and in our overall game."

On SEC opponents scoring on their first possession against Georgia:

"As a defense, you don't want to give up any touchdown, but it is all part of the game. It's just something that we are going to have to go out and just play harder and fight harder."

On going to Colorado:

"It's going to be a nice trip. Right now, all everyone is talking about is the altitude and things like that. But I think it's something that we will be able to adapt to during the game."

On fan reaction towards the players following the 1-3 start:

"I think the fans are still behind us. I know, that they know, that they deserve more, and we deserve more as well. They are still behind us."

Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

Throughout a steady downpour, the Dawgs conducted a two-hour practice today and managed to have a productive workout, according Coach Richt.

“It (the rain) came right when we started stretching, but it was good to get out there and get the work in,” said Richt. “I don’t think it’s going to rain in Colorado, but it was a good day and we got it in.”

When asked about the altitude being a factor for Saturday’s game in Boulder, Richt said he hasn’t mentioned it because there’s nothing really you can do about it except do a good job with your personnel.

“It’s like a hot day in the south, you just have to treat it like the same and make sure we substitute,” said Richt.

Georgia (1-3) will travel to Colorado for the first time in school history, and it will mark just the second meeting with the Buffaloes (2-1). It is the back end of a home-and-home series as CU came to Athens in 2006. The Dawgs rallied for a 14-13 win as Joe Cox came off the bench to direct a pair of scoring drives in the last 10 minutes of the contest.

“It was a close game last time,” Richt recalled. “Stafford was throwing it good, we just were not catching it. The more balls that were dropped, the harder he threw it. Joe came in and laid a couple in there. The boys were not used to Matthew yet.”

Stafford was 8-for-16 for 76 yards that day while Cox finished 10-for-13 for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

The Dawgs will have additional depth at right guard, as senior Chris Davis is feeling better. Davis has made 39 starts in his career while Tanner Strickland has started the past two games at right guard and senior Clint Boling saw some time at guard as well in that span.

“You’ll continue to see (Tanner) Strickland and (Chris) Davis play there, and the time off helped Chris,” said Richt. “He said he is feeling as good as he has in a couple of years.”

Random Pictures From Starkville

FOOTBALL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Blair Walsh’s kicking shoe with covered laces.

 

Kris Durham runs to sideline after suffering a shoulder stinger.

Tuesday Press Conference – Part 2

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

On whether lessons were learned from A.J. Green’s suspension:

“Hopefully I’m sure he learned something from it. I would think everybody saw what happened to A.J. and hopefully, if they were in that position, would not give in to whoever is trying to convince you that this is a good thing to do or that it’s OK to do. So hopefully the guys learned from that.”

On whether the return of A.J. Green has provided a boost to his teammates:

“I don’t know. I can’t help but think that the guys know. They see him everyday. They see him practice. They know he’s a very talented guy. They know that we have a better chance with him than without him. I don’t know if everybody is just kind of jumping up and down, saying A.J. is back.”

On whether teams defend Georgia differently with A.J. Green:

“I think they would. I’ll say this, based on a year ago, you might see a team have a certain percentage of a coverage versus pro-I . You are watching the scouting report and you see versus base I, what we call I-formation and base personnel, we might see that they have a certain amount of percentage of this coverage or that coverage or whatever it might be. Then when we play them in the very same coverage, they play a little differently than they have all season long, so I think if they looked at the film and said if this receiver is just as good as that receiver there is no reason to roll coverage that way, then we’ll just kind of do what we’ve been doing. But if they see somebody that they feel like could hurt them if they just played the way they normally play then they have to do something different. So we’ve seen a lot of different looks towards wherever A.J. lines up. Do I think people would have played us differently the first four ballgames? Probably would be my guess.”

On whether Georgia players talked about what would happen if A.J. Green had played in the first four games:

“We never did that. We couldn’t do that. There is no point in doing that. We all, whether we said it or not, I’m sure there were times we were thinking about it. Durham has played very well. Durham has played that position very well. Kris really has been open deep maybe four or five times, and if we hit him on the run he is going to score. He got behind the perimeter a lot in these last few games. Of course A.J. has been able to do that too throughout his career. Murray is still getting that feel of how to hit a guy deep on the run. If you remember the spring game, everything is just way out of range. So if that ball is out of range, no one can catch it. Keep it in play, give the guy a chance, that’s what we are trying to coach instead of trying to throw that perfect ball. With that, we have caught a lot of deep balls, but if you noticed, it hasn’t been on the dead run where the guy can go take it to the endzone. But that’s better than overthrowing them. In time and with more experience, Aaron I believe will be able to hit these guys on the run a little better than he has, and I think that will help whether it’s A.J. or Durham or Tavarres King. And we have others that can go pretty good too.”

On what the presence of A.J. Green does for Georgia’s tight ends:

“The tight end position will benefit if people roll coverage to A.J. That is what happened in some of the games last year. When you saw Orson (Charles) or whoever running down the middle, a lot of times it’s because a safety is overplaying No. 8 and there is a linebacker usually and maybe a safety, but normally a linebacker trying to run with him or with Aron (White) or whoever it might be at tight end. I would think if in fact people find a way to double A.J. in some way, shape or form it will benefit the tight ends for sure.”

On Georgia’s energy level at the start of games:

“I don’t know if it was the energy level that wasn’t right. I think what wasn’t right was our ability to adjust to the things that anytime you play a team, they are going to do something new. Usually whatever is new, they are going to give it to you in the first series of the game. You could prepare for everything you see on film, but the bottom line is you are going to see something that you probably haven’t seen that needs to be adjusted to. You hope in that first series you can at least have something to draw from and say, ‘This is how we would handle this certain look.’ But when you have a brand new defense there is not a whole lot to look back on and say, ‘Last year when they did this, this is what I would do.’ When you are only prepared for what have seen and you see something new, you have to hopefully adjust well that first series, and we haven’t been able to. After that opening drive we actually played pretty good defense. I think they got three more points with about four and a half minutes to go in the game still. Of course they had that long 97-yard drive, which was kind of a stake in the heart. It didn’t finish it but it sure took a lot of wind out of our sails at that point. I think we have to do a better job of adjusting to some of those things that maybe we haven’t prepared for.”

#11 Quarterback Aaron Murray

  On having A.J. Green back:

“It’s going to be nice having him back. He’s a tremendous receiver and he causes a lot of problems for defenses. They’re definitely going to game plan to make sure that they don’t leave him one-on-one with their DBs. It just adds another playmaker to our offense who can hopefully get us going.”

On Green’s return having an effect on the running game:

“We’ll see. Teams will have to respect the pass a little more with him out there and hopefully it opens up some more lanes for our guys to make some plays.”

On practicing with Green knowing he wouldn’t be playing:

“It gets a little sad sometimes. I didn’t even want to throw to him sometimes because I would be a little upset that I couldn’t throw to him on Saturdays. It will be nice to have him back this week. He’s excited and I’m happy for him. He’s been pretty upset that he hasn’t been able to be with us the past four week and it’s really been killing him inside. He’s definitely pumped up and ready to go and like I said, we’re excited to have him back.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#16 Wide Receiver Kris Durham

On his injury and how he feel:

“I’m alright. Health-wise I’m good. I kind of got banged up a little bit, but I’ll be fine by Saturday. I’m still a little still but I’m practicing today so it’s nothing that I haven’t been through. It’s more precaution, just to make sure that I’m good. I’ve been doing the treatment and doing everything that Ron Courson says. Whatever he says, goes, so I’ve been in there talking to him a lot.”

On the furthest he had been out of the state of Georgia before coming to UGA:

“When I was younger, I used to race BMX. I went out to Nevada and raced in Reno and I’ve raced my bike in California. I’ve never actually been in the state of Colorado so I’m excited about that.”

On the effect that long trips plays on the team:

“It’s enjoyable because it’s a place you’ve never been or you haven’t played at so it’s a good experience. I’m sure it’s different for every person as to whether or not the jet lag or the time difference plays a difference. I don’t see anything wrong with it. I think it’s a fun experience for both us and the opposing team. Whatever the coaches and administration decides what’s best, they have our best interest in mind.”

#12 Wide Receiver Tavarres King

On the response of the coaches before practice this week:

“We are still high energy. This team is awesome in that aspect. Everyone is still high energy and still has the fight in them regardless of what our record is. Not a lot was said negatively and everyone is remaining positive.”

On extra motivation heading into this week:

“Definitely. We’re down and we’re struggling but we’ll bounce back because everyone is focused and everybody wants to show the Bulldog Nation that we’re not a 1-3 team.”

On getting an early spark at the beginning of the game:

“Football is a momentum game and I think it’d be tremendous to have something great happen. Maybe we can throw a deep one to ‘8’ or ‘12’ or ‘16’. That would put a little fire in your belly. When something big happens early, it does a lot for your confidence.”

Tuesday Press Conference – Part 1

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

Opening statement:

“It’s a beautiful day out there and a great day to get better. That’s what we are going to try to do in practice today. Let’s talk a little bit about Colorado. Dan Hawkins is a good friend of mine actually. We got to know each other through the Nike Head Coaching Trips that Katharyn and I used to go on. We haven’t gone on one for a while, but we got to know Dan and his wife. He’s just a great guy and an outstanding coach. He has his team going. They are 2-1 and ready to have a big game with us. From what I understand, they’re having their big blackout there. They are having the 20-year reunion of their 1990 National Championship team. I saw a list of all the players who look like they are going to come, so it looks like they are going to be revved up. Plus they had an open date to get all fired up about it too, so we’ll have a tremendous challenge as we go into the lion’s den, so to speak, or the buffalo’s den.”

“They are a very solid team. They are 2-1, and I’m sure they will be very fresh after an open date and very well-prepared by virtue of the fact that they’ve had time. I know Coach Hawkins does a great job. It will be a really good challenge for us. So it’s time for us to, starting today, have a really good day of preparing for this ballgame and this team and the challenges of the distance that we’ll have to travel. It ought to be a good one.”

On Georgia’s recent out-of-conference scheduling:

“It sounds like a good idea and it’s kind of romantic I guess. It seems like everybody would enjoy doing that. I’m sure a lot of fans enjoy taking some of those trips, but it is tough on your team, your players and coaches. For example, we are scheduled to get in about 6 a.m. after the game. So that’s tough. It’s tough to really get some sleep that night between a plane, a bus and different time zones. We are rolling into the next game, a very important Southeastern Conference game with that kind of night, which is tough. We are going to have to adjust Sunday. We are already talking about what we’ll do differently Sunday at least as a staff to try to get some sleep for our sanity and try to give respect to the game you just played but also know you have to move forward. We are going to have to reduce what we do as far as reviewing the film of the game. Something has to give, because we don’t have time to do everything that we would normally do. Playing that kind of game does draw attention. It does get you on the other side of the country, but do we really recruit over there? We really don’t. All the fans who are taking this trip, I hope they enjoy it. It is a beautiful place. I’m sure our fans will enjoy it. Our players will at least get to see the Rocky Mountains and they’ll say they were there when some other guys probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to do that. But I have no problem not taking these kind of trips.”

On whether he was opposed to Georgia’s non-conference scheduling all along:

“No, I agreed to it. It was a decision made by our administration and myself and I’m sure the president had his say in it also. When we went to the 12th game, as you all remember, we were like, ‘What are we going to do?’ Everybody was trying to figure out what they were going to do with that 12th game. The thought came up to play a non-conference team out of our region because we hadn’t done that much in the history of Georgia football. It was something that I think a lot of fans would enjoy and we thought that it would be a good thing from a media point of view. After that first trip, I guess it was Arizona State, it was very similar to the travel time coming back. Just to see what it did to everybody, it wore them out. It’s one more game that will drain you mentally and physically because a Colorado, an Arizona State or Oklahoma State, you have to get ready. You have to get ready and you have to travel and you have to live through it. As soon as we took that first trip, which I think was Arizona State, I didn’t know if this was a good idea or not, win or lose.”

On whether scheduling seven home games and one BCS opponent is the best formula to reach the SEC Championship game:

“The one BCS opponent being Georgia Tech, I think so. I think the city of Athens would probably enjoy another home game. I know there is revenue that is brought into this city every time we have a home game. There is revenue brought into the program when you have another home game, so I think it’s more of a hindsight comment I am making than I think it’s probably better to do it that way. I did not try to put my foot down and say this is a bad thing or anything like that. I mutually agreed to do it when we did it.”

On whether there would be any personnel changes for Saturday’s game:

“There will be nothing drastic. I guess the most drastic personnel change would be A.J. getting in the game. We hope Kris Durham will be ready to play. He’s still suffering a little bit from a stinger, but I don’t see a major overhaul. There might be one kid starting over another here or there, but I don’t think were going to just not play a certain guy. If a starter ends up being second team, we still plan on playing that guy. We just have to get better.”

On Georgia’s offensive identity:

“We do want to run the ball still and have play action passing. I think people certainly respect our run game. We may not have the numbers but they know that they need to stop that. I think people feel like if they stop the run and try to pressure the freshman they still probably think that’s they best way to go. Although I do think our freshman is growing up pretty quick and has played pretty darn good considering what he’s had to deal with. But we are still very much interested in running the football and throwing the play action passes. We do have ways to get the ball to our receivers quickly on quick screens. We have screens to our backs. We have ways of throwing quick game if we feel like they have outnumbered the run and we want to get some one-on-one situations. We are still very multiple in what we do. We want to be physical in nature, no doubt. We especially want to run the ball because the more physical you run it, the better chance you have of creating space for those receivers and play action passes.”

On keeping Georgia's morale up:

“We need to keep a positive outlook for sure. We need to keep coaching and correcting and teaching and all those kinds of things. We definitely need a positive outlook. The main thing that I think we need to do is we need to continue to work hard. We need to continue to stay unified, stay together. And we need to continue to have a positive outlook because the bottom line is things will get worse or things will get better. It’s probably going to be based on what we do, what we do as coaches, what I do as the head coach, what we do as position coaches and how our players respond to that. Those are the things that we are really focusing on. The things we don’t want to do is lose our integrity or lose our poise or we don’t want to take our frustrations out on someone else. We need to teach these young men how to handle adversity. We need to teach anyone who is watching, maybe who has been through tough times, how to handle adversity. That’s my goal, that we will be a model of how to handle it and we’ll turn this thing around and get it going. Those are the things I am focusing on.”

Where Did All The Talent Go?

FOOTBALL

Defense

We started Saturday night’s game in a nickel package with Abry Jones and Demarcus Dobbs the only two defensive linemen in the game. Over the course of the next 60 minutes we substituted two other players, Kiante Tripp and DeAngelo Tyson.

Dobbs made three tackles (2 solo) and Tyson made one, Jones was credited with one quarterback hurry.

Brandon Wood, Kwame Geathers and Derrick Lott did not play. Freshmen Mike Thornton and Garrison Smith have not played at all this year. Justin Anderson had surgery and is out for the season.

Our four starting linebackers were Justin Houston, Akeem Dent, Christian Robinson and Cornelius Washington. The only other two involved in the game were Darryl Gamble and Marcus Dowtin.

Missing were Reuben Faloughi, Akeem Hebron, Jeremy Longo and Chase Vasser. Mike Gilliard and T.J. Stripling did see action on special teams.

The three starting cornerbacks were Brandon Boykin, Vance Cuff and Branden Smith. Bacarri Rambo and Jakar Hamilton were the starting safeties.

Jordan Love, Sanders Commings and Shawn Williams played on defense along with Chad Gloer, Nick Williams, Alec Ogletree, Derek Owens and walk-on Blake Sailors on special teams.

Mississippi State controlled the ball for 19:21 of the second half, they scored 17 points and rushed for 116 yards that included a 10 play, 93 yard drive in the 4th quarter to seal the game against a tired defense.

We had one interception, one pass break-up, one forced fumble, two tackles for a loss and one quarterback hurry. Mississippi State’s quarterback rushed for 97 yards.

We substituted a total of 7 players all night on defense, two linemen, two linebackers and three defensive backs.

Offense

Our starting five on the offensive line were Clint Boling at left tackle, Cordy Glenn at left guard, Ben Jones at center, Tanner Strickland at right guard and Josh Davis at right tackle. Trinton Sturdivant and Chris Davis also saw action.

Not playing were Dallas Lee, A.J. Harmon, Kenarious Gates, Ben Hardin, Kolton Houston and Austin Long. Chris Burnett is injured and did not play.

Murray played the entire game at quarterback, we played all three of the tightends plus walk-on Derek Rich on special teams.

We played all three tailbacks and both the fullbacks along with the six wide receivers that made the trip.

We substituted a total of 11 players on offense, two linemen, two tightends, one fullback, two tailbacks and four wide receivers.

We had a total of 13 that only played on special teams including two kickers, one punter and one long snapper.

Of the 70 players allowed to travel for a conference road game, we played a total of 53. Mississippi State used 58 players.

The Trend

Against Arkansas we used 16 players other than the 22 starters, a total of 38. Arkansas used 50.

Against South Carolina we used a total of 55 players, 15 of them on special teams only. South Carolina used 54.

For all our recruiting prowess the past five years, we are playing with 38 to 40 players that are actually seeing meaningful snaps. Take the three kickers and long snapper out and the number drops to about 35 players.

That’s less than half of the 85 man roster.

We are red-shirting 13, that leaves 32 scholarshipped athletes that are either injured, too young or simply not good enough to contribute beyond special teams.

It doesn’t take very many recruiting misses to separate the top of the conference from the bottom and there isn’t room for much dead wood if you are going to compete at the highest level. The Dawgs have signed 30 players in the past 5 classes that for one reason or another are no longer on the team, four of them used all of their eligibility.

Coaching can take you only so far before reaching a point where you must have the players capable of making plays consistently to win a championship.

All that and an occasional smile from old lady luck.

Monday Practice Forced Inside

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs returned to practice today, working for an hour in preparation for Saturday's game at Colorado. They lifted weights and did walkthroughs on the basketball courts in Stegeman Coliseum after heavy rains hit the Athens area and forced the team inside. Georgia's players and coaches also had segment meetings.

The Dawgs are 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the SEC after last weekend's loss to Mississippi State. Colorado is off to a 2-1 start and was idle last weekend.

"We need to have a good week of practice because we're the ones who can go out and change things right now," linebacker Christian Robinson said. "Nobody plays a perfect game, but we all want to be able to say when the game is over that we did our best. It doesn't do us any good to dwell on the past. The only thing we need to worry about from the past game is correcting our mistakes. We've just got to keep working."

Coach Mark Richt announced the captains for Saturday's game will be Kris Durham, Akeem Dent, Blair Walsh and Blake Sailors.

Richt was asked how Boulder's altitude will affect his players.

"Well, we're not going to tell them that the air is so light," Richt said with a laugh. "(Kicker) Blair (Walsh) has figured it out, though. He thinks he's going to kick the ball out of the stadium.

"Colorado is 2-1 and they are off to a fast start. They have a quarterback who's a very accurate passer and they use a lot of three-receiver sets. We have to make sure we take care of our assignments there."

Richt is 39-4 against non-conference teams in his tenure at Georgia.

Kickoff for Saturday's game in Boulder, Colo., is set for 7:10 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

It was announced on Monday that the Saturday, Oct. 9, SEC football game between Georgia and Tennessee in Athens will be televised by the SEC Network with kickoff set for 12:21 p.m. The game will be Georgia’s second appearance on the SEC network this season. Georgia’s Sept. 4 season opener with Louisiana-Lafayette was also on the SEC Network.

Also on Monday, it was announced a home and home football series between Georgia and Oregon scheduled for 2015 and 2016 has been cancelled by mutual agreement of both schools. The games were scheduled for Eugene in 2015 and Athens in 2016.  The contract was originally signed in 2006. The termination was executed  by a Sept. 2 letter signed by UGA Director of Athletics Greg McGarity and Oregon Director of Athletics Rob Mullens.

Tennessee Game Time Announced

FOOTBALL

The October 9th game with Tennessee in Athens will kickoff at 12:21 pm and be televised by the SEC Network.

CBS elected to use a six-day selection and will decide between Alabama at South Carolina and LSU at Florida. The game selected by CBS will be at 3:30 ET and the other game will be televised at 7:30 ET on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Baker Kicked Off Team

FOOTBALL

Freshman linebacker Demetre Baker has been dismissed from the team following his arrest Sunday morning for DUI, improper driving and possession of alcohol.

Baker is the 10th football player arrested this year and is the first since UGA President Michael Adams told the athletic department that there were too many football players not representing the program in a positive fashion.

This sends a clear message that the consequences for a poor decision will be much tougher in the future. Coach Richt mentioned on his call in show a couple of weeks ago that he had run out of patience with off the field incidents.

Baker is the fourth player dismissed this year, Makiri Pugh, Montez Robinson and Zach Mettenberger were shown the door along with Athletic Director Damon Evans following his DUI arrest. Dontavius Jackson transferred after being suspended.

Coach Richt stated that he will help Baker find another school to continue his football career. The Orange Park, Florida native was redshirting this season and did not travel with the team to Starkville for Saturday nights game.

Dawgs Lose Third SEC Game

FOOTBALL

Mississippi State posted a 24-12 win over Georgia tonight, its first win over Georgia since 1974. Georgia had won the past nine meetings and dropped to 4-2 all-time here in Starkville and 16-6 overall. Georgia (1-3, 0-3 SEC) has now lost three straight games for the first time since 1990 when it dropped its last four that season to finish 4-7. Also, tonight Georgia fell to 0-3 in the SEC for the first time since 1993.

Senior FLK Kris Durham recorded four catches for 64 yards to lead Georgia. Durham had a career-high 101 yards versus Arkansas last week. Tonight, redshirt freshman QB Aaron Murray finished with a career-high 18-for-31 with 274 yards and one TD, a 40-yarder to Tavarres King with 1:27 left in the contest. Also, Murray had seven rushes for 32 yards. With senior FB Shaun Chapas still slowed with an ankle injury, senior FB Fred Munzenmaier started and tied career highs with three catches for 21 yards in the first two quarters.

Junior PK Blair Walsh drilled a 25-yard field goal early in the second quarter and then a 35 yarder in the last minutes of that quarter. Walsh is now 7-for-7 on the year and 42-for-52 in his career.

Junior CB Brandon Boykin had three kickoff returns for 69 yards. This total gives him 1,215 kickoff return yards in his career on 48 returns. Boykin is now No. 2 on Georgia’s all-time list. Gene Washington (1973-76, 71 ret. for 1,637) is the school record holder.

Georgia forced one turnover versus MSU. Senior OLB Darryl Gamble snagged the third interception of his career on a MSU trick play midway through the second quarter. This was the Bulldogs’ fourth INT of the season and Gamble’s first since grabbing two against LSU in Baton Rouge in 2008. Following Gamble’s INT, Georgia went three-and-out.

The Dawgs gave up a pair of turnovers. After hauling in a career-long 21-yard reception, sophomore TB Washaun Ealey fumbled the ball on the MSU goal line and Mississippi State got a touchback in the first quarter. MSU was unable to score off of the turnover.

Early in the second quarter, a Mississippi State punt glanced off of sophomore SS Bacarri Rambo and MSU recovered it. Gamble then made his interception with 8:16 left in the half. Georgia has forced five turnovers and converted them into 14 points while its opponents have scored 7 points off five Dawg miscues on the year.

Junior TB Caleb King returned to action in the opening period after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. He finished with nine carries for 23 yards.

Sophomore DE Abry Jones made his first start for Georgia.

Dawgs Play The Bulldogs

FOOTBALL

 Dawgs

at

Mississippi State

Overall: 1-2                          7 p.m. ET                          Overall: 1-2
SEC: 0-2                              Starkville, Miss.                              SEC: 0-1
Davis Wade Stadium
at Scott Field (55,082)

THE COACHES

Mark Richt is in his 10th season at Georgia and overall with a record of 91-29 (.758).
The Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator is Mike Bobo and Todd Grantham serves as the
defensive coordinator.

Dan Mullen is in his second season at MSU and overall with a record of 6-9 (.400).
Les Koenning serves as the offensive coordinator and the co-defensive coordinators are Manny Diaz and Chris Wilson.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN GEORGIA HAS THE BALL

With junior flanker A.J. Green sidelined because of a suspension, senior flanker Kris
Durham has developed into Georgia’s primary receiving threat who is enjoying a career
season. Durham hauled in a career-high 101 yards on five catches, including a 46-
yarder, against #12 Arkansas. Durham has been the leading receiver in each of the three games. He has 13 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown on the year. Aaron Murray posted a career-high 253 yards passing in a touchdown during the 31-24 loss to #12 Arkansas. In the Arkansas game, Washaun Ealey scampered for 87 yards and a TD.

Senior linebacker K.J. Wright was all over the field on Saturday night in Tiger
Stadium. Wright was credited with 12 total tackles, one-half tackle for loss and a pass
breakup. He had eight tackles in the first quarter alone, and he now leads the team with 23 total stops on the season. Chris White is among the top 10 in the SEC in both total tackles and tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The defense held LSU to only 264 yards of total offense, including only 97 passing, the lowest total since holding
Vanderbilt to 61 through the air] in 2008.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN MISSISSIPPI STATE HAS THE BALL

Sophomore strong safety Bacarri Rambo leads the Bulldog defense with 25 tackles.
At #24 South Carolina, Rambo registered a career-best 12 tackles. He followed that
performance up with a team-high seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in a loss
to #12 Arkansas. Junior DeAngelo Tyson has started at nose for Georgia the first three
games as the team showcases its new 3-4 defense. Justin Houston is tied for third in
the league with three sacks through three games.

In his 15 games as head coach at Mississippi State, Dan Mullen’s team has eclipsed
the 100-yard rushing mark in all but one contest. Through just three games, nine different offensive players have at least one rushing attempt and 11 different players have at least one reception. Dating back to last season, State has scored on its first touch of the second half in five consecutive games and seven of its last eight. Tyler Russell played only one drive against Auburn, but returned to the field at LSU after starter Chris Relf was temporarily sidelined.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Georgia junior punter Drew Butler and junior place-kicker Blair Walsh rank among the
nation’s best at their respective positions. So far in 2010, Butler has averaged 44.6
yards on 16 punts, four that went for 50+. Walsh connected on two FGs, one from 52
yards and the other from 48 yards, in the 2010 season opener. The 52 yarder tied for
the second-longest of his career. Walsh was also 7-for-7 in PATs versus UL and is now 102-for-102 in his career. Against Arkansas, Walsh drilled a 43-yarder and is now 5-for-5 on the year.

Punter Heath Hutchins averages nearly 41 yards per kick and has landed five inside
the 20 so far this season. Fletcher Cox blocked a fourth-quarter field goal attempt by
Auburn two weeks ago, the second such block of his young career. Cox also swatted
away a field goal attempt against Houston last season. MSU is last in the SEC in kickoff coverage with no touchbacks.

SERIES/GAME NOTES

Record: Dawgs lead 16-5 (Won Last 9)

Mississippi State and Georgia, two charter members of the SEC, meet for just the
22nd time on the gridiron... Of all the original schools in the SEC, the Bulldogs have only played Vanderbilt (also 21 games) as less often as Georgia...The Magnolia State
Bulldogs look to end a nine-game losing streak to their nickname counterparts, dating
back to a 38-14 MSU victory in Jackson in 1974. The Bulldogs haven’t played each
other since 2006.

Radio / TV

Dawgs: Fun 101 FM (101.1) – Pre-Game Starts At 4:00 pm / XM: 141 / Sirius: 121

Bulldogs: WXWX-FM (96.3) / XM: 200 / Sirius: 219

TV: FSN - Bob Rathbun, play-by-play; Tim Couch, analyst; Jen Hildreth, sidelines

On Line: Georgiadogs.com

Tuesday Press Conference – Part 3

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

On Georgia rotating out defenders:

“The one thing, we think it will be cooler than it has been. Those first three games in the noon heat, that was a great point on emphasis. Sometimes we were able to do that and sometimes we weren’t, just by virtue of a guy being nicked or banged up. I want to play the guys who deserve to play. I want to play the guys who have earned the right to play and the goal is if you are a second teamer and maybe you are starting out with 10 percent playing time, the better you do, hopefully it can grow for you and maybe you can overtake another guy. Of course, the starters, we want them to hold them off and hold on to their jobs and their playing time. We just want those guys to continue to compete, but because the weather will be cooler by the time we play this thing, I don’t think we’ll have as much of a reason to substitute for guys being tired as much as guys trying to earn that playing time and deserving to play.”

On Nick Williams:

“He’s getting a little bit of linebacker look, but mostly safety still. He’s just that hybrid guy. Depending on injuries and things of that nature, when Dowtin got hurt, we wanted to get Nick some work in there in case he had to play linebacker throughout the year. We really weren’t sure how quickly Dowtin would turn around. Those kinds of injuries can be a week or they can be six weeks, so we really weren’t sure. We were getting Nick some work there, but it looks like Dowtin is going to be back so he’ll be spending more time at safety now. It’s a tough spot for that kid. Our last defensive staff, is he a linebacker or is he a safety? Then our new staff comes in and they are trying to evaluate him, is he a linebacker or is he a safety? So he’s kind of been back and forth a bunch. It’s unfortunate that he’s not been able to settle into one position and hopefully before it’s over we’ll get him in the right spot. He’ll run hard. He loves contact. He’s doing very well on special teams now which is a big part of the game, but I’m sure he’d like to have more reps than what he’s getting right now.”

On Kiante Tripp’s career at Georgia:

“I don’t know if I can remember it all, but I know he started out as a defensive player. We liked his size and athleticism and thought he might be a heck of a tackle. He has some bright moments at tackle, but it just wasn’t the best fit for him and we moved him back to defensive end. Then his size, he stayed big and we kind of moved him inside. In our new scheme, he’s called a defensive end, but in reality like in nickel he’s a defensive tackle. He’s playing and he’s doing well. He hasn’t been overly productive as far as getting sacks and tackles for loss, but you could be doing your job up front and not necessarily getting the statistics to prove it. Just the fact that he’s earned the right to play, he’s done well.”

On Kwame Geathers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Everyday in practice we want to see it. He did have the one big play in the ballgame (#99 above), which was a step in the right direction too, but that’s the main thing. Everybody has an opportunity everyday when you put your pads on in practice, so he’ll plenty of opportunities to prove he deserves more playing time. I’m not going to try to predict how snaps he’ll get.”

On Dexter Morant:

“He had a shoulder surgery a while back, at least a week ago. I’m not 100 percent of what will happen even in the spring because his other shoulder might need surgery also, kind of like Josh Davis did. It worked out good for Josh once we finally got him repaired, but we figured we would get started early on Dexter and get him squared away.”

#51 Inside Linebacker Akeem Dent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On playing Mississippi State:

"I'm just anxious to just get to work so hopefully we can go out and get a 'W.'"

On defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's message to the defense:

"Basically, after the game he says the same thing he says now, that guys have to play disciplined. That's the main thing. We have to be disciplined and just do our assignments and do our jobs. We can't give up the big plays. We have to try to minimize those."

On the defense's play outside of the big plays against Arkansas:

"We did a pretty good job defensively, but those big plays cost us. With the big plays that we gave them, a couple of them were for touchdowns and the others set up touchdowns, so they were pretty crucial. We have to minimize those."

#83 Outside Linebacker Cornelius Washington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#83 is being held by the jersey and facemask, illegal chop block on #75, Umpire is looking straight at both.

On the defense:

"If you go back and watch film, the defense really hasn't played bad at all. But our biggest problem is that we've given up big plays, so we have to go out and execute and focus in on key downs to be able to not give up big plays."

On not letting the new defensive system be an excuse:

"I feel the system has been in for a fairly decent amount of time. Outside of things Coach Grantham puts in every now and then, we should pretty much know what we are doing. For the most part, everybody does except for those little tweaks. I'm assuming that's what we are having problems with is those little things. We just got to focus in on what we are supposed to do and go out and execute."

On how long it takes him to get over a loss:

"Till I get the next win. Coming off a loss on a Saturday, you go in Sunday and you're probably not having a good day. Monday, you got to come in and watch film, and then all week you are trying to prepare to get the next win. You have a nasty taste in your mouth until you get the next victory."

#45 Inside Linebacker Christian Robinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the mindset of the program with people on the outside of the program saying the chances of Georgia winning the SEC is done:

"It's difficult, but at the end of day, with our group of guys, we come together and say the only people that matter at the end of the day are the people in this room. We stick together and count on each other. I really feel like we have gotten better, and when we are called upon to get a stop, we have the capability of doing that. If we continue to work hard and correct the things that we've done wrong, and if we continue to do what we are good at the right way, we have a chance to get to a better place that people might not think we are capable of getting to."

Wednesday Practice Report

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs continued preparations for their upcoming Southeastern Conference clash with Mississippi State by conducting a two-hour practice Wednesday.

After the workout, coach Mark Richt provided an update on several Dawgs who have been hampered with various injuries.

Sophomore cornerback Branden Smith returned to practice Wednesday in a non-contact jersey and is “symptom-free” after being sidelined with a concussion last week. Provided there are no setbacks this week, he is slated to play Saturday.

Junior tailback Caleb King is close to 100 percent and Richt said he’ll be fine come game time.

Junior nose guard Justin Anderson, who has played in just the season opener due to turf toe, is going to have to have surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, senior guard Chris Davis returned to practice Wednesday.

“He did pretty good and right now he’s competing with (junior) Tanner Strickland at guard,” said Richt.

At fullback, Richt said senior Shaun Chapas is not 100 percent but there’s still time for the veteran to possibly see action Saturday.

“He’s tough, he’s a veteran and he knows what to do,” said Richt. “He could probably not practice for a week and still know what to do.”

There is one change in the previously announced game captains. Along with Kris Durham, Akeem Dent and Demarcus Dobbs, senior offensive tackle Josh Davis will serve as a captain instead of junior center Ben Jones.

“It was Ben’s idea, he stood up before practice and said Josh has played as good as anybody, he’s going to his home state, and he’d like to give up his captaincy to Josh. It went over big with the team. It was pretty cool.”

The 6-6, 310-pound Davis hails from Jayess, Mississippi, and he’s started all three games this season and 13 in his Dawg career.

Georgia holds a 16-5 edge in the series with MSU including winning the last nine meetings. The teams haven’t faced each other since 2006 when Georgia edged State 27-24 in Athens. Georgia’s last trip to Starkville came in 2005, and it returned home with a 23-10 victory. State enters Saturday’s game with a 1-2 overall record and 0-2 in the SEC.

Tuesday Press Conference – Part 2

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

On the state of the Georgia program:

“The state of the program is that we are getting ready for Mississippi State. It’s early in the year. We are getting ready to play another Southeastern Conference game and try to get a victory in league play. Some teams have played one game in the league, some teams have played two. I don’t think anybody has played three games in the league, so just keep supporting and keep fighting and we will too.”

On whether being 0-2 in the SEC is a motivational factor:

“I don’t know if that’s that big of a deal or not. I know the guys are desperate for a victory, so that probably takes care of itself. I don’t think that I have to remind them that we are 0-2 right now. I don’t know if that will make a difference right now. Who knows what I might say the day before of the day of?”

On getting Georgia prepared for the game on Saturday:

“The biggest thing is no mater who you play and no matter what happened last week, I think when guys get close to the game Thursday and Friday they get excited about playing. I’ve never seen a team just not want to play on Saturday or you look at them and say these guys couldn’t care less. You do want to do some things that help them get emotional about the game. Whether it’s things you might say the night before the game or the day of the game, those types of things are what I’m talking about. Just trying to have them peak their emotional interest in the game at the right time, which is kickoff.”

On the physicality of both lines of scrimmage for Georgia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The South Carolina game, of course we weren’t too pleased with what happened on the defensive front or the offensive front for that matter. I think our lines played much better this past game. We only had one pass protection issue with a lineman as far as a missed assignment that hurt us. We had one time where both tackles got squeezed (above). It was the play where we were deep in our territory and Murray had the long run where he stepped up in the pocket and I think we were inside the 10, maybe inside the five when we snapped the ball. One time both tackles just got crushed into the quarterback and he had to step up. If they had protected well, we had a guy running in pretty good shape for a deep ball. If Murray would have put it in place, we would have had a heck of a play. Even though we had a nice run out of it, and a first down out of it, getting out of our territory, you still need to do that. Other than that, the protection was very solid. The run-blocking definitely improved. I thought the backs got a little bit better at getting more than what was blocked for, but you still have tight ends that have to keep getting better and fullbacks too. I think they improved.”

On what playing without A.J. Green does to the Georgia offense:

“I’ve been refraining from making comments about that. I don’t want to sound like we have to have A.J. to win because we don’t. We should be able to win without A.J. He is a special player, no doubt. When he’s allowed to come back and play, we’ll talk a whole lot more about him. I would have to think if I was a defensive coordinator, I would play Georgia differently with him than without him. I would have a different plan, no doubt.”

On the importance of Caleb King’s return:

“I think it’s important. I think competition is important. I know Caleb, of the three, is the most solid pass-protecting back we have, and he’s an outstanding runner too. He’ll definitely help us. He’s a guy who has been a starter and has played a lot. The more guys you miss who have that kind of experience, the tougher it is on you. We probably could have used him in this last game a little bit.”

On Georgia’s running game and whether he has looked beyond the top three running backs:

“It has improved already, and I think it will continue to improve. Kenny Malcome, he actually had a concussion a week ago and he’s still not able to practice, so that’s not an option right this minute. If he was healthy, we would do with him like we do with a lot of young backs, just keep working and if they like they are ready to play like Washuan last year, we’ll keep working them and get in these inside drills and we give those guys reps and if they do well and they continue to learn what to do, then you put them in there.”

Tuesday Press Conference – Part 1

FOOTBALL

Coach Mark Richt

Opening Statement:

“Mississippi State, we are going to their house. We are going to the home of the cowbells. Watching TV copy, they ring them. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be something we are going to have to deal with from an offensive standpoint. I think coach Dan Mullen has really done a fine job there. He has his team playing hard. He has his team playing very well, actually. I know they haven’t had the victories they are looking for just like we haven’t, but we know there are a lot of good teams in this league that may not win every week. It’s just hard to do that.”

“I know it’s going to be a loud crowd. It’s definitely going to be a hostile environment. It’s going to be a night game. It will be the first night game for us this year. It will be interesting to actually let the guys sleep in a little bit on Saturday before the game and have a little more time to meet and prepare on that Saturday. We are looking forward to playing it.”

On the status of injured Branden Smith:

“Branden Smith right now is not ready to practice today. Before the week is over we think he’ll have a chance. He did have a concussion, so he is getting better. There is a way that (UGA Director of Sports Medicine) Ron Courson tests all our guys before they get back on the field, and he is going through that process. Between now and the time we practice, he’ll be going through some of that. There is an outside chance he could do something today, but for right this second he’s not cleared to practice today.”

On the rule of thumb on a concussion:

“I’m not an expert on it but I’ve been through this enough to know that first you want them to have no symptoms at all. Once they get symptom free, no headaches, no loss of memory, no dizziness, nothing like that, when they are symptom free you want to have a test where you exert them physically to see how they handle that. Once they pass that, then you put them into practice in a non-contact jersey and see how they handle that. If they handle that, then the next day you can start the contact with them. That’s pretty much been our protocol. If (Branden Smith) is symptom-free today and he has that exertion test today, he could actually get a little not contact today. He could possibly practice tomorrow but believe me, we will not rush a guy in there. There is no way, so we’ll be real careful with him.”

On Caleb King:

“I just can’t imagine Caleb not practicing full speed this week. Even watching him yesterday he looked fine. He’s got his ankle taped up, but he looked fine.”

On Shaun Chapas:

“Chapas is trying to get back. He didn’t practice yesterday. He was running around the field, no change of direction or anything like that right now. He is questionable. We think he still has a chance.”

On Marcus Dowtin:

“Dowtin, his strength has come back real good. He practiced yesterday. He ran well. He’ll practice today probably in a green jersey, but it’s hard to play linebacker in a green jersey. We are not afraid of him running into someone, but we just don’t want anybody drilling him.”

On Chris Davis:

“I don’t think he will practice today, but we hope he’ll practice tomorrow. He may go today, a little bit of scout work. He could go today, but we’re not going to get him in any of the more competitive drills.”

On Georgia’s receivers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#28 Israel Troupe makes a catch.

“I think our receivers played really pretty fantastic. I thought there were some great catches. I thought Durham had a couple of great grabs. I thought Tavarres King had a couple of great grabs. Rantavious Wooten had a nice grab on the sideline. Aron White, before that last touchdown score, on a third down conversion, he caught a ball about at his ankles on a dead run. I thought our receivers really came through and they blocked better this last ballgame than they had all year. So the receiving corps actually did a very nice job.”

On Kris Durham:

“It’s been great. Kris has done a great job. I can’t tell you how many times already if we hit him on the run, he’s in the end zone. He’s actually broken out, been behind guys three, four, five yards sometimes and the ball wasn’t quite where he could catch it on the dead run. The good news is the ball was in position where he could catch the ball the great majority of the time, and that’s important too. He’s actually been an outstanding deep ball guy. He’s been blocking his tail off. He’s been leading, as a matter of fact he is one of the guys named captain this week. Not only because of what he’s doing receiving, but how he’s blocking too. He’s just a veteran guy who we know we can count on.”

On Georgia’s offensive preparations for the crowd noise:

“I don’t think we’ll limit what we want to do offensively because of the noise, mainly because Aaron Murray has lived through it and handled it well as far as the communication. We had some in the South Carolina game that he had to do and he did well with it, so I don’t think we are in a situation where we’ll have to limit that. Anytime we play where we know it’s going to be loud we try to minimize the amount of checking at the line because the more you do, the more chanced you have of somebody missing it. But there are certain things you just need to get out of or there are certain times you need to get your protection right. If you don’t, you are in trouble so we’ll do it but we do try to minimize it in those kind of games.”

#11 Quarterback Aaron Murray

On the play of Kris Durham:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#16 Kris Durham

“He’s always helping the younger guys when it comes to routes, defenses. He’s like a second coach out there with the younger receivers. It’s nice to have him out there. He’s done a tremendous job our first three games and is becoming a playmaker in the offense. He’s had some unbelievable catches, some touchdowns, and he’s making me look good out there. I think he’s feeling more involved [getting to play this year], and he’s definitely helpful with the younger receivers. He keeps guys up. I was pretty down after the last game and he told me he still had my back. He’s always encouraging.”

On lessons learned on the road vs. South Carolina:

“It’s just communication with the offensive line and the receivers – that’s the biggest thing when it comes to crowd noise. I thought we executed well the first road game, so we’ll practice that and be better this week when we go to their place.”

 

#16 Split End Kris Durham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the morale of the team:

“Our main objective is to win games. Unfortunately we’re on a losing streak now, which is not something we wanted or imagined. We have to try to focus on getting better and pulling it out this week.”

On being successful vs. Mississippi State… “We’re going to have to stay together. We can’t point fingers at who’s making mistakes and who’s not. We have to try to make plays when given the opportunity. We have to stay focused and stay with the task at hand. We need to be willing to get back out there and throw it all out there, put it all on the line.”

#12 Split End Tavarres King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On his performance Saturday:

“I had a big game against [Arkansas] last year as well, but I feel like I did pretty well. I made some plays when my number was called. I do think I can be the go-to guy in some situations.”

On the play of the receivers:

“It all goes back to fall camp. We sat down as a receiving group, met and talked about executing and everybody being accountable. We all need to run our routes so that Aaron [Murray] knows where we’re all going to be and he’ll put the ball where it needs to go. It’s about accountability – all being accountable and doing our job.”

On the 0-2 start in the SEC:

“It definitely doesn’t happen to Georgia teams [often]. I can’t remember the last time it happened to me. But everyone is still upbeat. No one is down. No goal is too big for this team. There’s a lot of football left to play and a lot left to be said.”

How Important Is An Experienced QB?

FOOTBALL

Stats can often be misleading, but they can also be very revealing.

A friend on a message board took the time to research an interesting question, CPAdawg looked at UGA’s record under Mark Richt with a first year starter at quarterback and found an interesting trend.

During his 10 years, Richt has coached a first time starter at QB on four occasions. Those records are as follows:

2001 8-4  (David Greene)
2005 10-3  (D.J. Shockley)
2006 9-4  (Matthew Stafford)
2009 8-5  (Joe Cox)
2010 ???   (Aaron Murray)

2005 is an obvious exception because Shockley, a fifth year senior, was an exceptional kid who had played a lot in a backup role prior to starting. Not the case with any of the other years listed.

Now look at the years that we had a QB with at least one year under his belt.

2002 13-1  (David Greene)
2003 11-3  (David Greene)
2004 10-2  (David Greene)
2007 11-2  (Matthew Stafford)
2008 10-3  (Matthew Stafford)

Not making any excuses but just an interesting observation.

ESPN’s Chris Low asked an interesting question too.

What would Florida’s record be right now had the Gators played South Carolina on the road and Arkansas at home? What would LSU’s record be? What would Auburn’s record be?

Florida played Miami of Ohio, South Florida and Tennessee.

LSU played North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

Auburn played Arkansas State then beat both Mississippi State and Clemson by 3.

The Dawg’s next five games are winnable starting with Mississippi State this Saturday night in Starkville, then Colorado, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. They could be 6-2 heading to Jacksonville.

Florida has Kentucky, Mississippi State and LSU at home and Alabama on the road before their annual off week prior to the Georgia game. A 6-1 Gator team against the Dawgs at 6-2 would be very interesting.

South Carolina has Auburn on the road this week and Alabama at home the following week with Arkansas and Florida back to back down the road.

A 6-2 record could very well win the East this year, it’s too early to throw in the towel just yet.

Random Pictures From Saturday

FOOTBALL

The fake by Mallett fooled the defense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mallett has the ball behind his back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice that our corner (#31 Cuff) and our safety (#23 Hamilton) are both in the box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don’t get any more open than this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Great tackle by the Umpire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would having A. J. Green jumping for the final pass have made a difference?

Sunday Conference Call

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs go on the road Saturday to face Mississippi State, both teams have identical records (1-2, 0-2 SEC) and both are aiming for their first conference victory of the year.

Last Saturday, 12th-ranked Arkansas edged Georgia 31-24 in Athens while LSU dispatched State 29-7 in Baton Rouge, La. Speaking on his weekly media teleconference Sunday, Georgia head coach Mark Richt said both teams are in need of a win.

“They’re desperate for a victory and so are we,” said Richt. “It’s going to be a great competition, and hopefully we’ll get our guys prepared for what they’re going to see, and the young men will get after like they’re supposed too. Both teams are going to battle and we’ll see how it goes.”

Arkansas posted six sacks on the Dawgs, and Georgia will face another stout defense in Starkville. MSU held LSU to four field goals in the first half before the Tigers pulled away. Richt said there’s not one specific area to shore up when looking at the sacks surrendered by his team.

“I’m not going to sit here and throw out something that sounds like dirty laundry because I care very much about the mental well-being of our players,” said Richt. “It’s a combination of an offensive line issue, a running backs issue as pass protectors and quarterback issues. It was spread out across the board.”

When talk turned to the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray this past Saturday, Richt said he’s pleased with his performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’ll say this, when he moves up in the pocket, some very positive things happened and not a lot of negative things,” said Richt. “There were times he tried to move up and then back and when he didn’t move forward, he got drilled. He has to work his way up and throw it in time and don’t try to create something that’s not there. If you try to do that enough, you’re going to get hit. Still, he’s made a lot of positive plays, and you can’t ask guys to block too long, and he’s learning that. Nobody questions his toughness, his arm strength, his competitiveness, his devotion to the team, his work ethic. He has a lot of positive attributes. He’s only going to get better.”

After two straight losses, Richt was asked about how difficult it would be to motivate the team for this week’s contest.

“It depends on the group you’re dealing with, and I think our guys will get back on their horse and ride,” said Richt. “We all want to have a positive result. I don’t think that will be an issue. No doubt, it’s tougher to lead after a loss or two then after a win, but we have strong leadership among our players and coaches.”

Georgia leads the series with MSU 16-5 including winning the last nine meetings. The teams haven’t faced each other since 2006 when Georgia edged MSU 27-24 in Athens. Georgia’s last trip to Starkville came in 2005, and it returned home with a 23-10 victory.

The 2010 Georgia-Mississippi State game will be televised by FSN with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. ET.

Dawgs Lose Heartbreaker 31-24

Football

It was hot and for three quarters it was miserable, then lightning struck.

Quarterback Aaron Murray scored the Dawgs first TD since the UL-L opener on a one yard run midway of the first quarter, Walsh kicked his 100th consecutive PAT and that was it for the Dawgs, they trailed 17-7 at the half.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dawgs finally awoke from a seven quarter nap in the final stanza and put two touchdowns on the board in a four minute span, tying the Razorbacks at 24 all.

Tavarres King caught the ball on the five yard line, broke two tackles and scored with 7:52 remaining in the game. The play ignited the defense and provided the spark that the offense had been missing for two weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tight end Aron White made the best catch of his career on the next possession to give the Dawgs a first and goal at the three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tailback Washaun Ealey scored the TD with 3:55 remaining, Walsh tied it with the kick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Mallett looked like a Heisman candidate on the final drive as he led the Hogs down the field and threw a game clinching forty yard touchdown to Greg Childs with 15 seconds left on the clock. Shawn Williams missed the tackle at the 25 and Childs went in untouched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dawgs were 3-0 against the Razorbacks in Athens and 5-0 under Mark Richt before today’s defeat. Overall, Georgia leads the series 9-4. The Dawgs dropped to 0-2 in the SEC for the first time since 1993 when it began league play 0-4.

In the first two games, Georgia did not go for it on any fourth downs. On Saturday, the Dawgs went for it three times and were 2-for-3. Georgia was 8-for-14 (57 percent) on fourth down tries in 2009.

Junior offensive guard Tanner Strickland made the first start of his career, lining up at right guard. Senior Chris Davis started the first two games at the position and had made 12 consecutive starts before Saturday.

Sophomore CB Sanders Commings also started his first game for the Dawg defense.

President Michael Adams and his entourage should be required to sit in the September heat, not in an air conditioned suite, when we kickoff at noon. It was understandable why a dozen or more usual attendees on our row decided to stay at home.

I’ll have more pictures up in the next few days, it’s taking a little time to sort through the 2,867 that I took.