FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
"Ole Miss came out and did a very good job. In the first half, I thought they outplayed us, but we outscored them. I thought their defense outplayed our offense in the first half. Our defense settled in pretty quick. Holding them to that first field goal instead of a touchdown was big. Ole Miss had a good plan and played hard. Coach Freeze has them going in the right direction. We were fortunate to make some plays to get it going in the right direction."
On the SEC Eastern Division race…
"We're one game away from our goal of winning the Eastern Division. We've got a lot of work to do between now and then. It's never easy going to Auburn. They'll be playing out of their minds. We've got to be prepared for that."
On the game…
"I don't think we were not ready to play; Ole Miss just did an excellent job of executing. As time went on, as the game settled down, the defense tightened the screws pretty quick. We always try to stop the run first. Ole Miss has good concepts, they do good things offensively. Their quarterback is very accurate. They came ready to play and we came ready to play. We threw a few punches, and then we took it over. There was so much at stake, so I didn't think there was anyway we would not take this game seriously. It's hard to get as emotional for any game like we did against Florida. That game was bursting with emotions. Mentally, we were ready to play, but this one was not quite as emotional."
Defense Steps Up: After Ole Miss scored the game’s first 10 points through the 11:45 mark of the second quarter, Georgia’s defense then outscored the Rebels 2-0 the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Dawg offense tallied 35 points for a 37-10 win. It was the second time this season that Georgia’s defense shut out an opponent in the 2nd half (Vanderbilt).
Nose Guard John Jenkins
On the game...
"It's always a great feeling to get a win. I think our defense played well and finished the game strong."
On next week...
"It's going to be easy to stay focused. We're around each other all the time and we know what each other wants, and that's to get back to Atlanta. We have to get to work this week and get ready for a big game."
Safety Alert: Alec Ogletree (11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 INT) had a safety at the 0:49 mark in the third quarter to put the Dawgs up 30-10. This was the Dawgs first safety since Brandon Boykin had one in the 2012 Outback Bowl.
Sacks: Georgia had four sacks, four in the opening two quarters. The Dawgs had a season-high five against the #3 Gators. Sophomore cornerback Damian Swann recorded his second sack in as many games during the opening period. His sack versus the Rebels held Ole Miss to a just a field goal after driving to the Dawg 11-yard line. Georgia’s second sack came from junior inside linebacker Alec Ogletree to end the Rebels’ second drive. The Dawgs’ third of the game came from senior strong safety Shawn Williams, which was the first of his career. Junior defensive end Garrison Smith had his first career sack to give Georgia four in the game. Georgia held Ole Miss to eight yards rushing in the opening period. Georgia did not allow a sack versus Florida and had allowed no more than three in any game this year. Ole Miss had five sacks today.
Murray Connects With Brown: Junior quarterback Aaron Murray (21-for-28, 384 yards, 4 TDs) had four touchdown passes to lead the Dawg offense. He now has a school record 80 career TD passes in his career, which is sixth in SEC history. His scoring strikes went for 66, 40, 42 and 23 yards. He connected with senior splitend Marlon Brown for a 66-yard touchdown in the second quarter. This was Brown’s fourth TD catch this year and the eighth of his career. Brown finished the game with three catches for 113 yards for his fourth career 100-yard game.. Murray sent a 40-yard touchdown pass to senior flanker Tavarres King with 0:03 left in the first half to put the Dawgs up 14-10. This was King’s 18th career TD catch and his team-leading sixth of 2012. Murray then hit sophomore splitend Malcolm Mitchell on the sixth play of the second half for a 42-yard touchdown.. In the fourth quarter, Murray hit senior flanker Rantavious Wooten for a 23-yard score.
Quarterback Aaron Murray
On next week…
"We are going to be extremely focused this week. There's so much on the line, and getting back to [the SEC championship] has been our goal all year."
On the play-action touchdown pass to Marlon Brown...
"We had a lot of confidence in that play. We practiced it all week. When you're third and one in that formation a lot of people are thinking run, and I just found an open guy. It couldn't have worked much perfectly."
On the difference between halves...
"Ole Miss' defensive ends have a lot of speed and I think it just took our guys some time to get used to it. I think our offense played great in the second half and it really gives us some momentum heading into this week."
Wide Receiver Tavarres King
On the difference of play between halves...
"I thought that we played a decent first half then came in and made some adjustments at halftime and really started clicking in the second half. I think the biggest thing was just getting acclimated with how their defense was playing."
On next week...
"It's been our goal all year to get back to Atlanta and we are one game away. We are going to stay focused and come out this week and have a good week of practice to get ready for Auburn."
First Time Across The Line: Junior fullback Alexander Ogletree rushed for an eight-yard touchdown, the first of his career, in the third period. Ogletree also tied his career high with two catches for 12 yards. Also on the ground, freshman tailback Todd Gurley tallied his sixth 100-yard game after collecting 117 yards on 18 carries.
Fullback Alexander Ogletree
On his touchdown carry...
"I wasn't nervous. I felt like they called my name, it was a good play, and I had to get into the endzone. I just got my mind right before the play."
Long Ball: Freshman punter Collin Barber booted a career-long 60-yard punt in the first quarter. This was the longest punt for the Dawgs since Drew Butler’s 62-yarder versus LSU in last year’s SEC Championships. He finished with five punts for a 48.2 average.
Points Off Turnovers: Georgia and Ole Miss each had a pair of turnovers in a one-minute span (6:58-5:58) in the second quarter – and neither team scored off the turnovers. Freshman tailback Keith Marshall fumbled the ball with 6:58 left in the second quarter and Ole Miss recovered it. On the next play, senior free safety Bacarri Rambo forced a fumble and Damian Swann recovered it and scampered 53 yards. Two plays later, freshman tailback Todd Gurley fumbled and the Rebels jumped on it. On the very the next play, Georgia’s Alec Ogletree caught his first career interception. Swann scooped up another fumble in the 3rd quarter that inside linebacker Christian Robinson forced. The Dawgs were then forced to punt. For the year, Georgia has scored 44 points off 19 turnovers while opponents have scored 49 points off 15 miscues.
Starters: Sophomore strong safety Corey Moore got his 1st career start; It was on offense at wideout.
Injury Report: Junior right guard Chris Burnette suffered a left shoulder contusion in the first half and didn’t return. Marlon Brown injured his left knee in the 3rd quarter and didn’t return.
Captains: Junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Kosta Vavlas, sophomore center David Andrews and senior defensive end Cornelius Washington served as captains.
Homecoming Tradition: Collette Toney, a senior from Snellville, majoring in Social Studies Education and History was named the Homecoming Queen while Darien Labeach, a senior from Senoia, majoring in Marketing, was named the Homecoming King.
Georgia improved to 72-17-2 on Homecoming, and today was the first one televised on CBS since 1997. It was the first time Ole Miss was a Homecoming opponent. Overall, Georgia has won 10 in a row over the Rebels and leads the series 32-12-1.
Up Next: Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) will face Auburn on the road Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN2). With a win over the Tigers, Georgia would clinch the Eastern Division and play in the SEC Championship Game on December 1st in Atlanta.
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