Corey Smith spent a lot of time in Athens and says more in three and a half minutes than I could write all week. I don’t know who put the pictures together with the music but it made me feel better on a Sunday morning.
Every Dawg Has His Day
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Top 25 – Week 9
| Team | Record | Opponent | |
| 1. | Auburn | 9 – 0 | Chattanooga |
| 2. | TCU | 9 – 0 | Utah |
| 3. | Oregon | 8 – 0 | Washington |
| 4. | Utah | 8 – 0 | TCU |
| 5. | Boise State | 7 – 0 | Hawaii |
| 6. | Ohio State | 8 – 1 | Off |
| 7. | Michigan State | 8 – 1 | Minnesota |
| 8. | Stanford | 7 – 1 | Arizona |
| 9. | Wisconsin | 7 – 1 | Purdue |
| 10. | Oklahoma | 7 – 1 | Texas A&M |
| 11. | Alabama | 7 – 1 | LSU |
| 12. | LSU | 7 – 1 | Alabama |
| 13. | Nebraska | 7 – 1 | Iowa State |
| 14. | Oklahoma State | 7 – 1 | Baylor |
| 15. | Missouri | 7 – 1 | Texas Tech |
| 16. | Arizona | 7 – 1 | Stanford |
| 17. | Nevada | 7 – 1 | Idaho |
| 18. | Mississippi State | 7 - 2 | Off |
| 19. | Baylor | 7 – 2 | Oklahoma State |
| 20. | Hawaii | 7 – 2 | Boise State |
| 21. | South Carolina | 6 – 2 | Arkansas |
| 22. | Iowa | 6 – 2 | Indiana |
| 23. | Virginia Tech | 6 - 2 | Georgia Tech |
| 24. | North Carolina State | 6 – 2 | Clemson |
| 25. | Florida State | 6 – 2 | North Carolina |
Dawgs Lose Heartbreaker 34-31 In Overtime
FOOTBALL
A. J. Green said in the locker room following the Dawgs 34-31 overtime loss to the Gators that, “every member of the team left everything they had on the field tonight.” This was a battle to the bitter end by two teams that wanted and needed a win badly, it’s what an Ali – Holyfield fight would have looked like.
It was the first time in the 88 game history of the series that an overtime period decided the outcome.
The Dawgs fought back from a 21-7 halftime deficit after watching Florida score 14 second quarter points as a result of three Georgia turnovers.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray had a career night (18-for-37, 313 yards, 3 TD’s) although he did throw three interceptions, his 63 yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King was the longest TD for both of them. King finished the evening with 104 yards on 3 receptions, tight end Orson Charles also went over the 100 yard mark for the first time with 6 catches for 108 yards.
Murray echoed Green’s sentiment in the locker room, "We fought our butts off all game. A lot of teams would go into halftime in a game like this and give up but not this team. It wasn't the way I wanted us to start the game with an interception, and I thought the whole first half was rocky. But we bounced back and finished strong. You have to be accurate when you play this athletic of a team. I had a little jitters and I was probably more amped up than most games, but I won't make any excuses."
Coach Richt said, "You can't question anybody's effort, you can't question anybody's heart or their nature. They did all those things. We just didn't get the job done in overtime, obviously, and they did, so credit to them."
"We felt like everything that we had planned was a good plan. It got started off a little bit rocky, and Aaron Murray didn't get a real solid start. We just let him know that you just got to settle in there and trust your protection a little bit better and if you start putting it on the money we'll be fine. And that's about what happened. We protected pretty well, we were catching pretty well, and at times we were running pretty well."
"They were going with the no huddle pace and a pretty quick pace. There was a plan for when they had someone in there at quarterback besides number 12. What they were doing early on was starting out with maybe number 8 in the backfield and we had to check for that. Then they would have number 12 jump in there and play quarterback shifting back into there, so we had to make sure we were ready to go back to the original call. Once we got a hang of what they were doing we were able to get the right calls in at the right time. It took us a little while to figure that one out."
"There's no question about their fight and their effort tonight. It was beautiful. It was great to see our boys get after it. You want to come out of here with a win. I came in here feeling like a victory would land us in Atlanta. I still believe that scenario could have happened, so we knew we were playing for an awful lot. We knew a win here was going to be a very important thing for everybody, the players and fans alike, but you have to give them the credit."
"We were pretty sure we were going to get a matchup with their safety and Kris Durham, and we felt like that was going to be a good situation. We ran A.J. Green in motion and their cornerback stayed with him, and our outside receiver became one-on-one with Durham and the safety. It was a good match up and worry of a shot. If we had placed that ball a little bit better Kris would have had an opportunity to make a play on the ball. We came back and ran one and got a couple yards. Then on third down you are trying to get in position to score a touchdown because you know a field goal might not be what it takes. When you are in those situations you just have to play ball, and they got some pressure and the ball got tipped up in the air and got picked.
"I talked to them about deciding how they are going to react to this thing. There have been some tough losses this season no doubt, and we have had some very big disappointments. We were going in the right direction and getting a lot of momentum and actually getting back in the SEC Eastern Division race. A victory here could have put us in a position to be in Atlanta, so now we have to realize that more than likely that dream is over and we just have to go and win some games."
Senior Outside Linebacker, #42 Justin Houston
"This one hurts no matter what team we were playing, but we have to forget it and get ready for Idaho State. One thing about this team I like is that we always fight hard, but a big situation for us today was losing the turnover battle. It's hard to win a game when that happens. I thought the defense looked good at times, but we have got to learn to play all 60 minutes. It hurts to lose this one, especially to those guys but we have to put it in the past."
Friday, October 29, 2010
Dawgs Play The Gators
FOOTBALL
Dawgs
VS
Florida
Overall: 4-4 3:30 p.m. ET Overall: 4-3
SEC: 3-3 Jacksonville, Florida SEC 2-3
EverBank Field (84,000)
The Coaches
Mark Richt is in his 10th season at Georgia and overall with a record of 94-31 (.752). The Dawgs’ offensive coordinator is Mike Bobo and Todd Grantham serves as the defensive coordinator.
Urban Meyer is in his sixth season at Florida with a record of 61-13 (.824) and 10th
overall with a record of 100-21 (.826). The Gators’ offensive coordinator is Steve
Addazio and the defensive coordinator is Teryl Austin.
What To Look For When Georgia Has The Ball
For the first time in history, the Dawgs have scored more than 40 points in three
straight SEC games during a trio of victories. Washaun Ealey set a new school record
with five rushing touchdowns in a game against Kentucky. On a career-high 28 carries,
Ealey had 157 yards versus the Wildcats, which marked the third 100-yard game of his
career. Kris Durham was the leading receiver in each of the first three games while A.J. Green was out and is the team leader in 2010. He has 22 catches for 453 yards and two touchdowns on the year.
Justin Trattou has tallied a career-high nine tackles in back-to-back games and has six tackles for loss during SEC play. A.J. Jones has 32 tackles, including three tackles for loss, and two pass breakups this season, while Brandon Hicks has 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Jonathan Bostic has three interceptions this season, tying for the team lead. Ahmad Black has led the team in tackles four times this season, tallying a career-best 13 against LSU, a then-personal-high 12 vs. Miami, 10 in the Mississippi State game and eight against USF. He leads the team for the season with 60 tackles, including three for loss.
What To Look For When Florida Has The Ball
John Brantley has completed 125 of 208 passes (62.0 percent) for 1,266 yards and
six touchdowns with five interceptions for a passer rating of 117.9. Trey Burton has
scored a touchdown on nine of his 52 offensive touches (not including pass attempts) this season. Jeff Demps leads the Gators with 482 rushing yards through seven games, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Deonte Thompson leads the UF receiving corps with 25 receptions for 353 yards (14.1 avg.), an average of 50.4 yards per game. In SEC play, Carl Moore has 15 catches for 256 yards (17.1 avg.).
Junior DeAngelo Tyson has started seven games at nose for Georgia this season. He
posted a career-high five tackles against UK, including half a sack. Also versus the
Wildcats, senior defensive end Kiante Tripp, who has played OL and TE in his career, tallied a career best four tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Thanks to 5.5 more sacks in his last three games, junior OLB Justin Houston remains the SEC leader with 9.0. Houston is also second in the conference in tackles for loss (14.5) after exploding for 3.5 TFLs at UK. Houston also added a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 2.5 sacks against the Wildcats. Akeem Dent managed a career-high 15 stops at Kentucky and is second in the league with 77 stops.
Special Teams
Junior cornerback Brandon Boykin sped to his fourth kickoff return for a touchdown
(third 100-yard return) in his career to tie an SEC record against Kentucky. So far in
2010, Drew Butler has averaged 45.5 yards on 33 punts, 11 that went for 50+. Blair
Walsh is now 14-for-17 on FGs for the year and 49-for-62 in his career. He missed his
first extra point of his career at Kentucky after making 119 straight.
Jeff Demps leads the SEC with a 32.5-yard kick return average (min. five). He has returned eight kicks for 260 yards with a long of 54. He had a kickoff return of 40-plus yards in each of the first three games this season. Andre Debose recorded an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against LSU. Chas Henry leads the nation in yards per punt with a 49.3 average (min. 15 punts). He also has helped the Gators to the best net punting average in the nation at 44.6 yards.
Series/Game Notes
Record: Georgia Leads 47-39-2
The Georgia-Florida series began in 1904, a 52-0 Dawg win in Macon... Georgia
leads the series 47-39-2, including 40-37-1 in Jacksonville...The last UGA win was 2007, when the Dawg’s defense sacked Tim Tebow six times in that matchup... The game may most be remembered for the Dawgs’ on-field celebration following the first of three Knowshon Moreno touchdown runs... After Georgia dominated the 1980s by going 9-1 in the series, the Gators are 17-3 over the last 20 seasons.
Radio / TV
Dawgs: Fun 101 FM (101.1) – Pre-Game Starts At 11:30 am / XM: 200 / Sirius: 219 / WJXL-AM (1010), Jacksonville
Gators: WFXJ-AM (930), Jacksonville / XM: 141 / Sirius: 121
TV: CBS Sports / Vern Lundquist, play-by-play; Gary Danielson, color analyst; Tracy
Wolfson, sideline reporter.
On Line: Georgiadogs.com
Weather
In one word – Perfect!
Sunny and 77 degrees at kickoff, no chance of rain, 57% humidity and winds from the east-northeast at 9 miles per hour. UV index will be high, don’t forget the sunscreen.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday Press Conference – Part 3
FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
There are some good defenses out there and they have played some very good football teams. When you play Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State back-to-back, those might be the three best defenses definitely on that side of the league. I haven't looked at their statistics, but my guess is that they are all probably top-10 or 15 defenses in the country, so they have struggled some against those teams, but they've also had their games where they put the 30 and 40-point margins on there. Well just see how we do against them, but they are not putting the numbers up that they've put up in the past.
On what has caused Georgia problems with third down defense:
Mostly our inability to squeeze the quarterback in the pocket. We’ve allowed him to get out of the pocket either on QB run situations or scrambling situations to where he can buy a little more time and put more pressure on our coverage. Then the back end, our defensive backs and linebackers, especially in zone coverage, we’ve not been disciplined enough once the quarterback does buy that extra time we’ve been too quick to try to go sic him when he hasn’t even crossed the line of scrimmage. Or well go jump a guy in the flat who is one yard past the line of scrimmage, still maybe seven yards away from the stick and just go aggressively try and stop the play right there instead of hold off the curls, the square ins and then break on the ball if the quarterback crosses the line of scrimmage or if he throws it out in the flat, whatever it might be. I think that’s been our biggest problem.
On Branden Smith’s status:
Branden right now is in a non-contact situation today, and if everything goes well we hope to progress him to the contact tomorrow.
On the possibility of moving Branden Smith to one spot:
He’s a corner. He’s a corner. When we play him on offense, it’s actually very little practice time that he gets. The things that we ask him to do, we feel like we can rep with the team, within a five-minute period and then get him back to defense. We don’t think it hurts him in the defensive role. If there is something special, he might could work on it after practice with a teammate if there is something that he needs to perfect that’s a little different.
On Chris Rainey:
He’s dangerous. He’s fast and he has ball skills. He is a guy who could take it the distance anytime he touches it. One mistake with that guy and he gets out into space and he is going to score. He is a special player, he’s a game-breaking player, and that’s what we need, that’s what they need, that’s what everybody needs is those kind of guys.
Senior Inside Linebacker #51 Akeem Dent
It's been really exciting to turn it around. It's just been different among the team. Guys are a lot more focused and playing hard.
On playing in Jacksonville against Florida:
It's a rivalry, period. They have a little hate in their hearts about us, and we have a little hate in our hearts about them. It's always a great game in a great stadium with the 50-50 seating. It's like a bowl game kind of atmosphere.
On playing this game as a senior:
It's always been one I've circled on my calendar ever since I committed to Georgia. It's always been one of the games that I look forward to every year.
On Georgia's defensive preparation for the Gators:
We have to go out and prepare the same as we have been preparing the past three weeks. We have to focus in on the guys they are going to try to get the ball to and just go in trying to stop their offense with the weapons that they have.
Sophomore Inside Linebacker #45 Christian Robinson
Personnel. Just look at who they use normally and how they use them. Looking at tendencies and things they might want to change. If you are looking at a certain formation and they only seem to do one thing out of it, they might try to throw a different type of play in to go a different direction. That's what a lot of teams try to do if they go back and look at what they've been doing, and that's probably something they've looked at and might want to try. But Coach Todd Grantham and our staff has done a great job of preparing us those certain situations and those opportunities.
Sophomore cornerback #19 Sanders Commings
It feels great. I don't know if the defense has ever led a category since I've been here, so it feels good to lead the SEC in something.
On the significance of the UGA-UF game:
We are playing for something. If we win this game and get some help from other teams, we can still win the SEC East. So this game definitely means a lot to us, and it always does. Even if we were 0-8, we would still want to beat Florida.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday Practice Report
FOOTBALL
Due to severe weather and heavy rain, the Dawgs moved indoors Wednesday, practicing approximately 90 minutes at the Ramsey Center on campus.
Working out in jerseys, shoulder pads, shorts, helmets and tennis shoes, the Dawgs (4-4, 3-3 SEC) continued preparation for this weekend's annual showdown with Florida (4-3, 2-3 SEC) in Jacksonville.
"I would've rather been outside, but we had a walk-through inside and everybody was focused, and we got about as much out of it as we could have," head coach Mark Richt said after practice.
Georgia spent about 25 minutes on kicking/special teams work and the rest of the time the offense and defense worked in separate gyms.
"We're not going to change anything in our routine Thursday, it will be our normal work tomorrow," Richt added. "We'll go to the stadium and work with the crowd noise."
When talk turned to tailback, Richt said the starter has not been determined between sophomore Washaun Ealey and junior Caleb King. Ealey has a "bone bruise" and did take part in Wednesday's walk-through. He is coming off a record five-touchdown rushing performance in the road win over Kentucky last Saturday.
Also, Richt said he was proud of the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) released by the NCAA Wednesday as the Dawgs ranked second in the SEC among football teams, trailing only Vanderbilt for the highest graduation rate. Football's latest GSR came in at 68 percent.
"That's great news and outstanding for all the guys that graduated, for our support staff including our academic people," said Richt.
UGA Graduation Success Rates Released
University of Georgia student-athletes graduated at a rate of 77% for the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) survey period according to figures released Wednesday by the NCAA. That’s up from 75% a year ago and is the highest percent for the Bulldogs since the GSR was implemented in 2005.
In the GSR four-year average rate, University of Georgia athletic teams improved in eight sports including football, men’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s cross country/track, women’s golf, soccer, softball, and women’s swimming and diving. Three sports repeated their 2009 score of a perfect 100%--men’s swimming and diving, gymnastics, and women’s tennis.
Football’s 68% was second among all SEC schools behind only Vanderbilt. The three Georgia teams that recorded 100% were all at the top among all SEC schools.
The four-year average rate includes not only freshmen but transfers in and out of the institution. The current report tracks the freshman classes of 2000-2001-2002-2003.
“The overall report is encouraging and it definitely continues an upward trend,” said UGA Director of Athletics Greg McGarity. “The improvement by eight of our sports as well as the three that remained at 100% is particularly noteworthy. At the same time, we want to get better and will continue to work hard in the academic area with our student-athletes.”
UGA Graduation Success Rate Report
| Sport | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Baseball | 61 | 62 | 65 | 63 |
| Men’s Basketball | 19 | 23 | 18 | 36 |
| Cross Country/Track | 45 | 67 | 69 | 68 |
| Football | 41 | 48 | 57 | 68 |
| Men’s Golf | 78 | 75 | 88 | 89 |
| Men’s Swim/Dive | 88 | 92 | 100 | 100 |
| Men’s Tennis | 83 | 88 | 82 | 73 |
| Women’s Basketball | 80 | 79 | 79 | 77 |
| Cross Country/Track | 69 | 64 | 72 | 75 |
| Women’s Golf | 67 | 71 | 86 | 88 |
| Women’s Gymnastics | 93 | 92 | 100 | 100 |
| Soccer | 90 | 89 | 85 | 92 |
| Softball | 73 | 74 | 82 | 91 |
| Women’s Swim/Dive | 90 | 91 | 84 | 86 |
| Women’s Tennis | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Volleyball | 91 | 100 | 92 | 91 |
| Women’s Equestrian | ** | ** | 91 | 68 |
Tuesday Press Conference – Part 2
FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
They are definitely very different in what they do and style. Most of the time when Burton gets in there, Brantley is still in the game. I guess it would be like a Wildcat type of situation. The thing about Burton, he’ll play receiver, he’ll play tight end, he’ll play fullback, he’ll play quarterback, he’ll play a lot of different positions. When he’s in there, normally Brantley has been in there also. So Brantley has moved to the wide receiver position a good bit, and Burton has been their quarterback. You’re not sure when they break the huddle who is going to be their quarterback. Sometimes it’s just a substitution, you put Burton in and put Brantley on the sideline, it’s a little easier to make a call. Now you’re not sure who is going to be the quarterback, you have to be able to make some adjustments as they break the huddle and you realize that Burton is the quarterback.
On whether Colorado is the only team that has tried single coverage with A.J. Green and whether Florida did a year ago:
Colorado is the only one from my best memory that they really didn’t change. I don’t know if Colorado changed a thing that they did. And I’m trying to think back to a year ago, I didn’t study that because there is a new defensive coordinator at Florida. I didn’t study a lot of that film, so I can’t sit here and say I can remember. But I don’t anticipate Florida doing a lot different from what they normally do. They may and we’ll always keep an eye on that, but their cornerbacks are very outstanding in coverage and they mix in a good bit of zone too. But I think Janoris Jenkins will be the guy who will match up. They usually do keep at least one high safety, and I want to see where he lines up and see if he is cheating to A.J.’s side of the field or not. We’ll keep an eye on that.
On Orson Charles:
He’s done well. His blocking is getting better. Most every opportunity he’s had to catch the ball he’s caught it. Last week we just didn’t throw it much at all, so the tight ends didn’t get much work. But I think he can make a tremendous impact on this game. It will be interesting just to see whether Florida plays a lot of man or a lot of zone and just exactly how they might play A.J., if they are going to do anything differently. Again, my guess is they probably won’t, but if they do it tends to open up opportunities for those guys. I think he’s going to have some chances to make some plays in this game for sure.
I don’t know. I didn’t talk to Coach Bryan McClendon or Bobo about it, but we’ll probably just wait to see how today goes. Today is going to be a very physical day and a day that guys can impress or maybe disappoint a coach as he is watching him prepare, so that has a lot to do with it too.
On the advantages and disadvantages of using two running backs:
I do think early in the year when its really hot, its hard for one guy to get the great majority of the carries in my opinion. I think its tougher when its 95 degrees and humid and you might have a long drive going or a long run and to expect that guy to carry it 25-30 times in that time of the year, I think its tough. I’d like to keep a couple of guys as fresh as possible. When the weather cools down, I think it does help a guy have a little more stamina. I think it helped Washaun in that ballgame. It was a pretty cool evening. I think it helped him. I know it will be warm Saturday, maybe not as warm as it could be. It looks like the weather may break to the high 70’s instead of the high 80’s, which is good I think for us. I still feel like if you have two guys who know what they are doing, they are going to run hard, they are going to be physical and pass-protect like they are supposed to, then you play them, so I’m sure well split it up. I didn’t mention Carlton Thomas, but Carlton has come in and played well too. So it wouldn’t be a surprised to see him. It’s hard to manage three guys, but there may come a time when three guys get a chance.
Redshirt freshman quarterback #11 Aaron Murray
It was funny. He was embarrassed about what happened. I tell him that it’s a good thing now. I told him that if he went to Florida, it may be bad, but you go to Georgia. You’re worshiped for that here. I told him to take more advantage of being the kid who dropped the national championship trophy.
On Coach Urban Meyers response to Charles dropping the trophy:
I think Coach Meyer was like, You better commit here and come win us another one if you’re going to do that. I think that Coach Meyer was pretty cool about it. They had insurance on it so they just got another one.
On what lead Murray to Georgia rather than Florida during recruitment:
Both schools are great schools. They both have great teams and great coaches. There’s a lot of tradition in both places. In the end, it was just a gut feeling. In my heart, it just felt like Georgia was the place for me and that’s why I committed here. Like I said, it was just a gut feeling. When I came up here, I didn’t want to leave. I liked Florida, grew up there and went to a lot of games but like I said, it was just a gut feeling. I loved the coaches here. I loved the atmosphere. I loved everything about it.
Senior split end #16 Kris Durham
You understand the rivalry. You understand the history and the past but you still have to focus on the task at hand. It’s still an SEC game and it still has a lot of value to our season and our team. You just have to focus on this week and getting prepared for this game.
On the teams confidence in QB Aaron Murray:
His ability to take control and take control of the huddle. Just the way that he studies the game, he’s a student of the game and he gets in there and he takes command. He tells you that this is what he’s looking for and that this is what he wants, stuff that you only see out of a veteran quarterback.
On whether or not the team had bought into Murrays leadership before the season:
I believe so, because he was our guy. He’s our quarterback and he’s our leader. A lot of pressure goes on his shoulders and just his ability to deal with that and show that he’s out there ready to win and out there preparing to win gives you nothing but confidence.
Junior kicker #57 Blair Walsh
My best friend is actually a University of Florida undergrad student right now. I’m making him come wear Georgia stuff and sit in the stands with my dad and watch the game.
On what the Georgia-Florida rivalry has meant to him:
It’s always meant something in that I always dreamed of playing in the game as a kid. I never thought that I would get to this point, football-wise, and I have. It's a dream come true to play in that stadium in front of that many people.
On whether or not there is extra pressure in this game after Georgia’s recent struggles with Florida:
I think that there’s a little extra pressure going into this game, but if you let it get to you or overhype it and get too excited for the game, you’re going to be negatively affected by it. We’ve just got to treat it like another game and just take care of business.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday Press Conference – Part 1
FOOTBALL
Head coach Mark Richt
Opening statement:
Florida is a great football team. Coach Urban Meyer has done an unbelievable job there. They are of course coming off an open date for our game this week. It’s just kind of what you would expect from a Florida team, very fast, athletic, very well-coached. I’m sure with their open date, they will be as healthy as they can be and be ready to play. It ought to be an exciting day in Jacksonville. CBS, we haven’t had the fortune to be on CBS much, if at all, this year, so that will be nice for our program to get the nationally televised game.
On how much a week off can help Florida:
A lot of things can happen in that time frame. I know from past experience that if you are going to try to make a fairly radical change, that’s the time to do it. I’m not saying they are going to do that, but you can definitely do a lot more in an open date because you have more time to think things through. Then you have more time to prepare your players and get the reps you might need if you are going to make a change. If you are going to make a change, a big change, this open date would be the time to do it. We know that there may be a little bit different look. If it is, we are trying to predict what the new looks might be. Just getting people back healthy I think is going to be a big part of the difference for them.
On facing Florida:
Florida has won the East I don’t now how many years in a row. Florida is a team that still controls their destiny, so there is no doubt we need to step it up. The bottom line is we just need to continue to improve. The last three weeks our goal has been to get better, our goal has been to play more physical and practice more physical and to be more disciplined. All the things that we’ve been doing the last three weeks, we just want to continue to do.
On Aaron Murrays recruitment and his decision to leave his home state:
I know Florida wanted him and I know that it was definitely a very exciting thing for him to think about, for him to play for Florida. I’m not exactly sure what the turning point was. I think he really enjoyed coach Mike Bobo, I think he enjoyed myself. I think he trusts us to develop him into the quarterback he wants to be. And I think he probably looked at the depth chart and felt like the opportunity would be a good one for him. It just turned out to be a really good fit. I know when he came on campus once or twice, I don’t know if it was the very first time, but you could tell he left with a real comfort level that felt like you were definitely in the race with him. I think quarterbacks tend to commit a little bit earlier than other positions just so that they can get the place where they think they belong and begin to recruit their class, so he decided pretty quick and stayed true to his word.
On whether Aaron Murray has exceeded expectations:
The season is not young, we’re eight games going into the ninth game. There is more season to play so I don’t want to say how I think he did this year, because there is a lot more to play, but to this point he’s done very well. You hope that we were going at the right pace with him. For the end result to be what it is at this point, I think we did a good job of kind of easing him into this thing. If we had given him more early on, he might have handled it, I don’t know. We didn’t want to take the chance of just throwing the whole game plan on his back early and expecting him to play like a two or three-year starter.
The thing that I’m really most proud of for him is the respect that he’s had for the football and the fact that he rarely throws it in a dangerous place. He’s had a couple of those, but not many. Every quarterback tends to do that and some guys never grow out of it. He’s had a very healthy respect for the ball. His ball handling has been exceptional; his ball fakes have been exceptional. He has learned to work the pocket better and better. I think he’s improving on that. I think he is a little more athletic than I thought he was. We talked about that a little bit. I think he’s made more plays with his wheels than I expected him to. Again, he has to still be wise when he gets out in the open. Some of the shots he’s taken, that’s the one thing I’ve been most concerned about with him is how he gets exposed to some of those hits, and we have to be smarter there. But he’s done a nice job.
On Aaron Murray making his first start against Florida:
I haven’t talked to him, but I did see him on the way in here. I was thinking about grabbing him and talking to him a little bit about the fact that we are playing in Jacksonville, playing in Florida, it’s his home state. I just want to encourage him just to focus on his job, and just do what you’ve been doing every week. Prepare like you’ve been preparing every week, and you’ll be fine. I probably don’t even have to say that to him, to be honest with you. As far as the split of the crowd, our guys understand that you have to treat it like an away game because both fan bases can produce enough noise to make you do your non-verbal communication. Well treat it like an away game in that regard.
On Aaron Murray earning the respect of the team:
I think they respect him. I think they respected him going into the season. He did have the summer to kind of prove his leadership, knowing that he was going to be the starter. There is a lot of responsibility on the starting quarterback in the summer, because the inability of the coaching staff to really get involved and be out there coaching. So the quarterback has to take a lot of responsibility; he did that. I think they know he loves Georgia, they know he loves his teammates. They know he is truly dedicated to the preparation it takes to be a quarterback here at Georgia. So I think he definitely has a lot of respect from his teammates.
On the SEC East race:
There is that hope. There is definitely that hope. Anytime you play Florida it’s a big game, we know that. It’s a traditional rivalry, and it means so much to our players, fans and coaches. To get to this game and understand that it has a tremendous amount of meaning in the Eastern Division race period because if Florida wins out, Florida wins the East. If we could get this victory, it opens the door for us to get to Atlanta. Just knowing that going into the ballgame is an exciting thing for our players and coaches and I’m sure our fan base too. I’m just thankful we’ve gotten to this game and there is true meaning for us in the Eastern Division race.
On the possibility of winning on Saturday:
We pretty much dug out of a hole, and now were just trying to climb the mountain a little bit. Hopefully we’ll just continue to play well and represent Georgia is a way that everybody will be proud of the guys and the effort and the players and the coaching staff. Were always looking to win. We want to win and we are going to go in this game with that mindset. It would be big for us to win the next game regardless of who it is because we’ve grabbed a lot of positive momentum and we just want to keep going. This is where were at right now.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Houston Honored By SEC
FOOTBALL
Junior outside linebacker Justin Houston has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, according to a league announcement today.
Third on Georgia’s defense with 40 tackles this season, Houston remains the SEC leader in sacks with 8.5 and is second in the league with 14.0 tackles for loss.
Houston is playing his first season at outside linebacker after lining up as defensive end his first three years.
Thanks in part of Houston’s presence, the Dawgs have forced 15 turnovers and converted them into 52 points while Georgia has only had eight miscues that have turned into seven points. This turnover margin (+7) ranks second in the SEC and 18th in the nation.
Houston was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week last season for his performance against Arizona State.
This is Georgia’s fourth SEC weekly football award of the 2010 season.
Following Saturday’s game, Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said, “Georgia is one of the most physical teams that we've played this year.”
Richt said tailback Caleb King’s two-game suspension is over and that he will be in the rotation for Saturday's game against the Gators.
“I can’t think of any reason why he won’t get back in the mix,” Richt said. “He’s played pretty well this season and he’s improved in a lot of areas. We are confident in his ability to play. I don’t know how many carries he’ll get. We’ll observe all the guys during practice this week. Once a young man carries out his discipline, he’s back in good standing with us. We’ll give him as many reps as we think he deserves based on his practice.”
Richt was asked about the challenge of facing Florida with the Gators coming out of their bye week.
“It’s a little more of a mystery than if we’d played them without an open date,” Richt said. “With an open date, you have time to make change, radical changes if you choose to do so. So we’re not 100 percent what we’ll see. But it’s hard to change everything. We have some basic idea. I’m sure Coach Meyer and his staff will have some interesting twists for us to deal with. I’m sure there will be some things that are brand new to us.”
Random Pictures From Kentucky
FOOTBALL
Uga is ready for a cat fight!
Drew has his game face on.
Before you can kick it, Frix has to snap it.
A great night for football!
I doubt that any other receiver could have held onto this.
Davis is playing hard again.
Davis pushes Ealey into the end zone.
Davis opens another hole, Ealey steps in, Murray signals TD.
Ealey would not be denied on this TD.
Dawg’s gave their fans something to smile about.
Dawgs Win 44 - 31
FOOTBALL
Sophomore tailback Washaun Ealey (28 rushes for 157 yards) set a school record with five rushing TDs. The 28 carries was a career-high too. Last year, Ealey scored three TDs all season and he came in tonight with two. Ealey now shares the school record for most TDs scored in a game with Robert Edwards, who did it against South Carolina in 1995 (4 rushing, 1 receiving). Ealey notched his third career 100+yards rushing game. He had a career-high 183 in a win over Ga. Tech last year and 123 against Vanderbilt last week.
Junior Brandon Boykin notched his fourth career kickoff return for a TD including his third that covered a school-record 100 yards. Last year, Boykin became the first player in SEC history with two 100-yard kickoff returns for TDs in the same season (vs. Tennessee, and @ South Carolina). Boykin had two returns for 123 yards tonight.
For the first time since 2007, Georgia scored 40+ points in three consecutive games. That year, they beat Florida 42-30 in Jacksonville, Troy 44-34 in Athens and Auburn 45-20 in Athens. Earlier that year, they also beat Ole Miss 45-17 in Athens, which was the last time they scored 40+ on three SEC opponents. In the last three weeks, Georgia has beaten Tennessee 41-14, Vanderbilt 43-0 and tonight’s 44-31 win over UK. This season, Georgia is averaging 45.8 points in its four wins.
Senior linebacker Akeem Dent set a career-high with 15 tackles including 12 solo stops. He has had 10+ tackles in four out of the last five games and been the team-leader in the past five games. Georgia got a big game from junior Justin Houston, the SEC sack leader. He had five tackles including 2.5 sacks.
Points off Turnovers:
Georgia forced four turnovers tonight for 14 points. Georgia got three turnovers in the first half and converted them into 14 points.
Tonight’s Starters:
Georgia shuffled its starting tackles tonight with senior Clint Boling at LT and senior Josh Davis at RT. Also, freshman Alec Ogletree made his first career start on offense, starting at split end. He has seen action on offense this year. Tonight, he also started on special teams. He ended up with four tackles.
Injuries:
Junior FLK Logan Gray injured his right hamstring in the first quarter and returned in the second half. Sophomore LB Mike Gilliard injured his right hamstring in the second half and did not return.
Georgia-UK Series:
Tonight’s 44-31 Georgia win gives the Dawgs a 50-12-2 edge in the series history since it began in 1939. The Dawgs improve to 34-9 in an opponent’s stadium under Mark Richt including their first road win this season.
Top 25 – Week 8
| Team | Record | Opponent | |
| 1. | Auburn | 8 – 0 | Ole Miss |
| 2. | Michigan State | 8 – 0 | Iowa |
| 3. | TCU | 8 – 0 | UNLV |
| 4. | Missouri | 7 – 0 | Nebraska |
| 5. | Oregon | 7 – 0 | USC |
| 6. | Utah | 7 – 0 | Air Force |
| 7. | Boise State | 6 – 0 | Louisiana Tech |
| 8. | Alabama | 7 – 1 | Off |
| 9. | Wisconsin | 7 – 1 | Off |
| 10. | Ohio State | 7 – 1 | Minnesota |
| 11. | LSU | 7 – 1 | Off |
| 12. | Nebraska | 6 – 1 | Missouri |
| 13. | Oklahoma | 6 – 1 | Colorado |
| 14. | Oklahoma State | 6 – 1 | Kansas State |
| 15. | Florida State | 6 – 1 | North Carolina State |
| 16. | Arizona | 6 – 1 | UCLA |
| 17. | Stanford | 6 – 1 | Washington |
| 18. | Nevada | 6 – 1 | Utah State |
| 19. | Mississippi State | 6 - 2 | Kentucky |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 6 - 2 | Off |
| 21. | Baylor | 6 – 2 | Texas |
| 22. | Hawaii | 6 – 2 | Idaho |
| 23. | Miami | 5 – 2 | Virginia |
| 24. | South Carolina | 5 – 2 | Tennessee |
| 25. | Iowa | 5 – 2 | Michigan State |
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Red Cross Report – Kentucky Game
FOOTBALL
Out For The Season
(Starters In Bold)
Offense
|
| |
Defense
| Strongside Outside Linebacker | Nose Tackle |
| 92 Dexter Morant* (Shoulder) | 79 Justin Anderson (Toe) |
| Weakside Outside Linebacker | |
| 44 T.J. Stripling (Torn Patella) Fr. 6-6, 216 |
* Will Redshirt This Year
Out For Kentucky
Offense
| Tailback | |
| 4 Caleb King (Suspended) |
|
|
| |
Defense
| Free Safety | Cornerback |
| 39 Nick Williams (Hamstring) | 1 Branden Smith (Concussion) |
Friday, October 22, 2010
Dawgs Play The Wildcats
FOOTBALL
Dawgs
VS
Kentucky
Overall: 3-4 7:30 p.m. ET Overall: 4-3
SEC: 2-3 Lexington, Kentucky SEC 1-3
Commonweath Stadium (67,942)
The Coaches
Mark Richt is in his 10th season at Georgia and overall with a record of 93-31(.750). The Dawgs’ offensive coordinator is Mike Bobo and Todd Grantham serves as the defensive coordinator.
Joker Phillips is in his first season at Kentucky and overall. The Wildcats’ offensive
coordinator is Randy Sanders and the defensive coordinator is Steve Brown.
What To Look For When Georgia Has The Ball
Aaron Murray scorched the Commodore defense for a career-high 287 yards and two
touchdowns. His passing efficiency has steadily risen for four straight games, peaking with a 190.4 mark against VU. With 18 career touchdown catches, A.J. Green ranks fourth in Dawg history. Green managed another touchdown versus the Commodores on three catches. In his first start since MSU, sophomore TB Washaun Ealey exploded for the second 100-yard game of his career after registering 123 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown against Vanderbilt. Kris Durham was the leading receiver in each of the first three games and is the team leader in 2010. He has 22 catches for 453 yards and two touchdowns on the year.
Kentucky leads the SEC in pass defense, limiting the opponent to just 153.2 yards per game in the air. Danny Trevathan is having an impressive season as he paces the defense with a league-leading 70 tackles. He has posted double-figure tackles in four games this season, including three in a row. He also ranks fifth in the league in the tackles for loss category with nine TFL. Winston Guy is second on the team in tackles with 46 stops and has played consistently with at least four tackles each game, including a season-high 10 vs. South Carolina. Ricky Lumpkin has 3.5 tackles for loss in the first seven games, including a quarterback sack, and also has been credited with a quarterback hurry.
What To Look For When Kentucky Has The Ball
Mike Hartline is coming off one of his finest performances as a Wildcat as he set a career high for TD passes (four), passing yards (349) and completions (32) against South Carolina. He currently ranks second in the SEC in passing yards per game (255.9) and is fourth in total offense (257.1 yards per game). Randall Cobb became UK’s leader in career touchdowns last week. Cobb now has 33 TDs in just 30 career games. Chris Matthews has an SEC-high six TD catches this season. Matthews had 12 catches for 177 yards against South Carolina, both career highs.
Justin Houston remains the SEC sack leader with 6.5. Houston is also fourth in the conference in tackles for loss (11). He exploded for a career-high 10 tackles, including two sacks, and forced a fumble against South Carolina. Houston tallied five tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in the victory over the Volunteers to go along with seven QB hurries. Akeem Dent has registered 10 or more tackles in three out of the last four games and has led Georgia in tackles during all four of those contests. He tied his career high with 12 tackles against the Volunteers (previous career high came against Colorado) and is tied for fourth in the league with 62 stops.
Special Teams
Blair Walsh has also hit at least one FG in 15 straight games and 29 games in his career. Walsh is now 13-for-15 on FGs for the year and 48-for-60 in his career. So far in 2010, Drew Butler has averaged 45.0 yards on 30 punts, nine that went for 50+.
Punter Ryan Tydlacka was named SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against South Carolina. Tydlacka averaged 41.5 yards per punt with three punts inside the 20. Joe Mansour has handled most of the kickoffs this season. He now has a league-leading 14 touchbacks. Randall Cobb is a capable punt returner and ranks fourth in the SEC in punt return average with 9.8 yards per runback. He has two punt return touchdowns in his career.
Series/Game Notes
Record: Georgia Leads 49-12-2
The Georgia-Kentucky series began in 1939, and the Dawgs hold a 49-12-2 edge... The Wildcats’ 12th win in the series came in Athens in 2009 as Kentucky edged Georgia 34-27... The Dawgs took a 20-6 lead going into the second half, but Kentucky exploded for four touchdowns in the second half and Georgia turned it over four times... Tight end Orson Charles had a career day in his first year with the Dawgs after snagging four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown... Quarterback Joe Cox led Georgia’s passing attack with 291 yards and three touchdowns, although completing only 12 of 30 attempts... This was only the third time in 19 seasons that Kentucky posted a victory against the Dawgs.
Radio / TV
Dawgs: Fun 101 FM (101.1) – Pre-Game Starts At 4:30 pm
Wildcats: WBUL-FM (98.1), Lexington / XM: 199 / Sirius: 217
TV: CSS - Matt Stewart, play-by-play; Chris Doering, analyst; Allison Williams, sidelines.
On Line: Georgiadogs.com
Weather
In one word – Cool!
Partly cloudy and 64 degrees at kickoff, decreasing to 62 by 11 pm, no chance of rain, 47% humidity at kickoff and rising to 56% by 11 pm, winds from the south at 11 miles per hour. Temp will feel like 61 at kickoff, dropping to 58 by 11 pm.
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