SB Nation - Prince Miller

Kentucky @ Georgia: Abbreviated Look at the Dogs

Ken Howlett — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:45:16 -0000

Will UK fans tear down the goal posts on an opponent's field?

UK (6-4, 2-4 SEC), coming off a victory at Vanderbilt which secured the 'Cats' bowl eligibility, tackles the 6-4 (4-3 SEC) Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia tonight at 7:45 EST. Kentucky, hoping to improve the chances of playing a bowl game outside the state of Tennessee, haven't beaten the Bulldogs in Athens since 1977, a 33-0 'Cat-washing of the pre-Hershel Walker Bulldogs.

If UK clinches a winning season tonight, this is who they must execute the coup-de-tat against ... after the jump:

Joe Cox -- 6'1", 198 lb senior quarterback: Cox is 150-259 through the air, good for 2,059 yards, 12 interceptions and 18 touchdowns.

Caleb King -- 5'11", 210 lb redshirt sophomore running back: King, who only recently earned the starting spot at running back has rushed for 291 yards on 62 carries (4.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.

Washaun Ealey -- 5'11", 205 lb freshman running back: The true freshman has rushed 73 times for 379 yards (5.2 ypc) and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 26 yards (13.0 yards per reception).

Richard Samuel -- 6'2", 222 lb sophomore running back: Samuel has rushed 88 times for 395 yards (4.5 ypc) and two touchdowns. He's also caught six passes for 39 yards (6.5 ypr).

Tavarres King -- 6'1", 180 redshirt sophomore wide receiver: King is listed as No.1 on the depth chart at the receiver spot for Georgia even though he has made only 15 catches for 268 yards (17.9 ypr). He's scored one touchdown.

Aron White -- 6'4", 236 lb redshirt sophomore tight end: White has made nine catches for 151 yards (16.8 ypr), good for two touchdowns.

Michael Moore -- 6'2", 210 lb senior wide receiver: Moore is Georgia's leading receiver with A. J. Green out for the contest. Moore has caught 21 passes for 187 yards (8.9 ypr) and four touchdowns.

Orson Charles -- 6'3", 230 lb freshman tight end: Charles has made 16 catches for 284 yards (17.8 pr) and two touchdowns. Charles, along with fellow tight end Aron White will be utilized heavily in passing downs.

Prince Miller -- 5'8", 198 lb senior punt returner: Miller is one of he SEC's leading returners, averaging 12.1 yards per return on 17 punts.

Drew Butler -- Georgia's punter is one of the leading punters in the nation, averaging 49.0 yards per punt (45 punts).

There, folks, you have the high-points.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Confrontation Between the Hedges!

Acid Reign — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:45:11 -0000

Ben Tate is DETERMINED to have a better trip to Athens, this time!

War Eagle, everybody! It's Georgia week as Auburn travels to Athens, for a 7:00 PM EST kickoff against the Bulldogs. The game will be televised on ESPN-2. As has been well-documented, Auburn has a winning record in Athens, and has a great chance this week to win. There has been a theme in those Auburn wins in Athens, that has been common: an improving Tiger unit taking it to a slumping Bulldog team. That appears to be the case again this year, although a statistical analysis shows plenty of cause for alarm for the Tigers.

Since Pat Sullivan won the Heisman in 1971 in Athens, Auburn has gone 12-6 between the hedges. The first win came in 1977, a 33-14 win over the only Vince Dooley team to finish with a losing record. Auburn linebacker "Fast" Freddie Smith smothered the Bulldog attack. Dooley's 1979 squad lost their first three games, and against Auburn, lost quarterback Buck Belue early. The Tigers cruised, 33-13. In 1983, it was the clash of two top ten ranked teams, and Auburn handed Georgia their only loss of the year, 13-7. In 1985, the injury bug derailed a promising Bulldog season down the stretch, and Auburn won 24-10. The 1987 Bulldog squad was a good one, but they could not get a consistent pass rush on Jeff Burger, (nor could their line deal with Tracy Rocker!) and fell 27-11. In 1989, Auburn started off anemic on offense, and shaky on defense. It was coming together late in the season, though, and Auburn squashed a slumping Ray Goff team 20-3. In 1993, Georgia had an electric offense with QB Eric Zeier, but could not stop folks. It was no different against Auburn, as the Tigers stormed to a 42-28 win. In 1995, the Bulldogs faced a disappointed Auburn team that had redoubled their efforts to finish strong and get to a New Year's Day bowl. Georgia was hurting in Goff's last season, and was down to wide receiver Hines Ward playing quarterback with a broken hand, and taking mostly shotgun snaps. Auburn survived in Athens, 37-31. In 1997, a rested Auburn squad exploded on Jim Donnan's team for a 45-34 win. In 1999, Auburn caught Donnan's team reeling after a loss to Florida. Auburn charged to a 31-0 halftime lead, and cruised to a 38-21 victory. In 2001, Gator burnout had struck again, as first year coach Mark Richt tried to run it with only seconds remaining and no timeouts. Auburn held, and the clock ran out on Georgia, 24-17. The 2005 Auburn – Georgia game was a wild affair, with Auburn converting a late 4^th down pass for huge yardage, and kicking the game wining field goal with only seconds remaining. It was the last Auburn win over Georgia, 31-30.

Georgia scouting report, after the jump!

Georgia limps into this year's contest with a 5-4 record. While that mark would tend to indicate that the Bulldogs are a middle-of-the pack team, statistics point out some real problems with this Bulldog squad. Auburn has turned in a Jekyll and Hyde type season. When the Tigers are good, they are very very good. But when they are bad... Georgia and Auburn both rank near the bottom of the league in scoring defense, as both squads are giving up over 26 points per game. Georgia ranks 7^th in total defense, while Auburn is 11^th. Bulldog opponents have feasted on Georgia turnovers and mistakes. When Auburn has the ball, the situation on paper looks grim for the Bulldogs. Auburn is 2^nd in the league in scoring offense, while Georgia is 7^th. In total offense, Auburn is tops, while Georgia is 10^th. Looking at pass efficiency on offense and defense, more problems are revealed for the Bulldogs. Auburn's 3^rd ranked pass efficiency offense matches up well with Georgia's 11^th ranked defense. When Georgia has the ball, it's the 7^th rated attack against the 7^th ranked defense. Georgia is next to last in rushing in the league, while Auburn is 2^nd. The Bulldogs cannot afford for this game to turn into a track meet!

In my preseason preview, I had concerns about many of the matchups in the Auburn/Georgia game. To date, several Georgia units have under-achieved, while Auburn has had over-achieving units, and the outlook now looks different. Georgia's defensive line has improved from last season on pass rushing, but has had less success in stopping the run. They face an Auburn line that has become one of the best in the SEC. The Auburn rushing attack has been better than anyone could have guessed, but Georgia's linebackers are the strength of the team. Auburn's passing attack has been less consistent, and was downright awful during a three game losing streak, but appears to have bounced back. The Tigers will attack a Georgia secondary that has only picked off 5 passes on the season, and has only 12 pass breakups. Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez will be under the gun, this week. If there's a silver lining for Georgia, it's that teams that play read and react have done better against the Malzhan attack, than teams that are blitz-happy.

Special teams have been a mixed bag for both teams, although Georgia doesn't have a glaring weakness like Auburn does at punt returner. Kickers Wes Byrum and Blair Walsh have had nearly identical seasons. Neither has missed an extra point, and both are 13-14 on field goals. Georgia is about 4 yards better on kickoff distance, but has shockingly given up slightly more yards per return than Auburn. In net kickoffs, Auburn is averaging 39.7, and Georgia is averaging 41.2. Punting is a huge advantage for Georgia. While Auburn's Clinton Durst has a pedestrian 40.3 yard average, Georgia's Drew Butler is booming the ball for 49.2. Auburn has done a better job of keeping it away from punt return men, though. In net punting, it's Auburn 35.4 yards, Georgia 41.2. On punt returns, Auburn's left the ball on the ground at least a half dozen times, and has run backward even more. Auburn is dead last in punt returns, at 3.8 yards per return. Georgia counters with Prince Miller, who averages 12.7 yards per return.

Early on, my worst fear about this game would be that the Georgia offensive line might dominate a suspect Auburn front. For much of the season, that fear looked accurate. The addition of defensive end Antoine Carter to the mix in the LSU game has really shored the Auburn line up, in recent weeks. The Tigers are giving up 4.4 yards per rush for tenth place in the league, but can Georgia take advantage? The Bulldogs are 11^th in the league in rushing offense. The culprit in Georgia's struggles is offensive line injuries. The Bulldogs have lost a couple of starters, and are playing with a lot of nicks and bruises. It's been a mix and match line for the Bulldogs, all season. It will still be a formidable challenge for the Tiger D, but I like our chances far better now, than I did in August!

Auburn's linebacker concerns in the preseason have been realized on the field, but incredibly, all three starters seem to be healthy, and playing their best football of the season, going into this game. Georgia runners have largely disappointed, this season. True freshman Washaun Ealey has emerged as the starter at tailback, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Georgia's A. J. Green has emerged as the best receiver in the league, but he's seeing a LOT of blanket coverage. Expect Auburn to hound Green with two defenders, and force Georgia to throw elsewhere. Georgia leads the SEC in throwing interceptions, with 14. Auburn's secondary is a concern. While corners Walter McFadden and Neiko Thorpe are solid, Auburn starts true freshman free safety Darren Bates, and sophomore Demond Washington at strong safety. It will be only second game Washington has ever played at safety. The starting Auburn secondary has 6 interceptions, and 19 pass breakups on the season.

While Georgia has had injury and turnover problems, nothing has hurt the Bulldogs worse than penalties. Georgia is the most penalized team in the league, taking 77 yards per game. Auburn isn't much better, getting flagged for 58 yards per game, good for 9^th in the SEC. I think the SEC officials are making fewer and fewer calls, in recent weeks. With all of the furor generated about bad calls this season, those guys might not throw a flag all day.

For Auburn to emerge victorious in Athens, they must force Georgia into mistakes in the backfield, take care of the football, and attack the Georgia secondary. If Auburn is successful in all three areas, they will win. As always, we'll have an open thread up here at TrackEmTigers.com, and will welcome everyone's opinions! War Eagle, and beat those Bulldogs!

Georgia Bulldogs 38, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 0: Yes, But . . .

T Kyle King — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:47:06 -0000

It was a sunny yet crisp day in Athens. The usual homecoming pushover allowed for a 1:00 kickoff and a relaxed atmosphere, which made it a good day for me to take my six-year-old son to the stadium. Having Thomas with me invariably colors my view of any outing for the better, so I probably came away from the experience feeling better than average, but, on the whole, I have to acknowledge in all candor that any extended review of yesterday’s triumph over Tennessee Tech would be much ado about not very much.

The best that can be said---and this is better than we usually are able to say in such circumstances---is that the Georgia Bulldogs performed like they were supposed to perform against a lesser opponent. Rather than letting an inferior visitor hang around for a fair portion of the afternoon, the Red and Black slammed the door at the outset and continued to hold it closed while generating enough offense early to put the team on cruise control in the second half and get some younger players some needed experience. Beyond that, any praises have to be qualified with, "But it was just Tennessee Tech . . ."

From where I sat, the crowd looked more numerous than I expected, although it was as lackluster as I anticipated. This is not necessarily a bad thing; I know I was not on my feet on every down and hollering like usual because I had my son with me. Logan Gray’s interception on an underthrown pass into the end zone caused me some concern (and made me wonder once again why we are so insistent upon protecting Aaron Murray’s redshirt at this stage of the season), but I am more bothered by the fact that the Bulldogs were unable to tally so much as a single takeaway when facing a Division I-AA opponent between the hedges.

Too much is being made of the penalties. Yes, it hurt that a first-quarter holding penalty nullified a Prince Miller punt return for a touchdown, but that was the only flag of the first fifteen minutes. The Georgia possession in question still ended in a touchdown. Likewise, Brandon Wood’s six-yard offsides penalty on third and nine came during a Golden Eagle drive that still ended in a punt, the false start on first and ten in Georgia’s ensuing drive did not prevent the ‘Dawgs from producing points on the series, and the false start on second and one didn’t stop the Red and Black from converting the first down. Those were the only four penalties of the first half. When a 31-0 halftime lead enables you to clear the bench after intermission, second-half penalties are more or less meaningless, and the coaching staff responded to them with an impressive level of severity.

Washaun Ealey is the future at tailback and, as David Hale noted in the postgame observations linked to above, there is a lot of young talent on this team that is going to make some noise in the SEC in the next couple or three years. However, several impediments are preventing those young men from reaching their full potential, and the top two roadblocks standing in their way are these:

Willie Martinez, who proved yesterday only that he would make a darned fine Division I-AA defensive coordinator, as long as he had substantially more talent at his disposal than the opposing coaches.

A ridiculous double standard regarding redshirting. Urban Meyer said a year or so ago that there was no longer such a thing as a redshirt year at Florida. He was right to say so, for two reasons. First of all, recruits are induced to come play for coaches who tell them their youth will not be held against them if they demonstrate sufficient dedication and ability. Secondly, when you’re recruiting at a high enough level, redshirting is counterproductive. Georgia gained nothing by redshirting Knowshon Rockwell Moreno, and Georgia is gaining nothing by redshirting Aaron Murray. That foolhardy decision virtually guarantees that we will be going through the same learning curve next year with Murray that we have had to go through this year with Joe Cox. That is a shame, considering that we all know that next year is A.J. Green’s last year in a Bulldog uniform. 2010 should be a banner year for the Red and Black, but obstinate decisionmaking regarding the Georgia quarterbacks makes it likely that it will not be.

At the end of the day, a 38-0 win over a Division I-AA opponent at homecoming is what it is, which is what it was supposed to be but nothing more than that. I got to spend the afternoon in Athens with my son, but he was a little worn out by the trip and the mild fever he had before we left worsened when we got home. I got to see a cousin I haven’t seen in a while, but that was only because, even though we missed each other inside the stadium, he called me on my cell phone while I was leaving town and told me his truck had been towed and he needed me to circle back and pick him up to take him to the wrecker service where his vehicle had been impounded.

There was a lot that was good that could be said of yesterday afternoon in Athens. Every good thing that could be said of it, however, has to be followed by a "but . . ." of one sort or another. It was that kind of day, I’m afraid.

Go ‘Dawgs! Auburna delenda est!

Georgia Bulldogs 34, Vanderbilt Commodores 10

T Kyle King — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:24:26 -0000

My life, when it is written, will read better than it lived.

King Henry II
The Lion in Winter

So it is with the Georgia Bulldogs’ victory in chilly Nashville over the Vanderbilt Commodores earlier this afternoon. History records that the Red and Black amassed 19 first downs to their hosts’ 16 while moving the chains on seven of their 15 third-down snaps. The statistics show that the Classic City Canines picked up 173 rushing yards on 37 carries, well outpacing the 122 yards the Music City Sailors garnered on 36 running plays. Mike Bobo, calling the game from the sideline rather than from the booth, directed an offense that came three feet shy of picking up 400 yards as Joe Cox completed 16 of 31 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. His lone interception initially was called an incompletion and only became a turnover after review confirmed the spectacular play the defender had made. Even so, the ‘Dawgs took it away as often as they gave it away.

Willie Martinez’s defense held the Commies under 300 yards of total offense and stopped the opposition on 80 per cent of their third-down tries. Vandy’s only fourth-down conversion in three attempts came on a fake punt. Georgia held the ball for almost 33 minutes of clock time and seven Bulldogs not named Joe Cox contributed carries on the day, including leading rusher Washaun Ealey (13 carries for 71 yards).

On paper, the 34-10 effort in which the Athenians scored 17 first-half points and 17 second-half points on a Vanderbilt defense that was surrendering just 15.7 points per game, while giving up a single sustained drive on the Commodores’ opening possession of the second half, was a dominant performance over a gritty but ultimately inferior opponent. It just didn’t seem to be nearly as one-sided an affair as it looked on the final stat sheet.

It’s not that I’m deliberately curbing my enthusiasm over a win against a weak team after getting raked over the coals last week for urging an opposing fan base to curb its enthusiasm over a win against a weak team. There genuinely were problems that caused me to fret at the time; viz.:

The Georgia offense got off to the slowest of slow starts, either turning the ball over or going three and out on each of the Bulldogs’ first three drives. Aside from A.J. Green turning a short pass into a 65-yard touchdown reception, the Red and Black didn’t have a drive of more than 15 yards in the first quarter.

The running game was nonexistent for much of the contest. Long rushes by Washaun Ealey (33 yards), Carlton Thomas (10 yards), and Dontavious Jackson (15 and 19 yards), all in the fourth quarter and all after the ‘Dawgs had gone out in front by three scores, accounted for nearly 45 per cent of Georgia’s rushing yardage. Aside from those four long runs after the game was out of reach (two of which came on the final two plays of the contest), the Classic City Canines managed just 96 yards on the ground, which is disturbingly consistent with the 97.2 rushing yards per game the Bulldogs were averaging coming into the outing. Even with those four long runs, essentially all of which came in garbage time, Georgia still only did what everyone else has done on the ground against the Commodores: Vanderbilt was giving up 170.2 rushing yards per game entering the day. This was an average performance and nothing more.

Some of the choices made by the coaches still cause brows to furrow throughout Bulldog Nation. Fred Munzenmaier had as many receptions as A.J. Green. Logan Gray made some curious calls on punt returns, making it even more odd that the backup quarterback was out there in the first place after Prince Miller racked up 95 yards on a pair of punt returns.

Only the talent differential between the two schools enabled Georgia to put this game away in the end. This is a concern, since Tennessee Tech is the only team remaining on the schedule over which the Bulldogs have an edge in ability equal to the one they enjoy over the Commodores. There isn’t a Division I-A team left on the Red and Black’s slate that the Athenians can beat strictly on talent. Accordingly, the atrocious timing of Cox’s lone interception, the reality of 71 yards lost on eight penalties against the ‘Dawgs, and the fact that the defense conceded an eleven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive taking more than four minutes of clock time to let Vandy back in the game at the start of the third quarter all represent ongoing causes for concern.

In the end, it was a win, and, right now, I’ll take the W and be content with it. At the end of the day, though, all this victory proved was that Georgia has better players than Vanderbilt, a truth that was never in doubt.

If you’re looking for something good to take away from today’s victory, here it is: Georgia’s 24-point margin of victory over the Commodores was the largest since the Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 33-3 in 2004 . . . a year in which the Red and Black went on to beat the Florida Gators. Given the vast gap in performance separating Ron Zook’s last Orange and Blue squad from the current edition of Urban Meyer’s Sunshine State Saurians, I think it’s fair to say that the foregoing parallel is a happenstance without significance. Therefore, it seems our best bet as a fan base is to say three things in summation of this win:

Any conference win on the road is a good win.
4-3 is better than 3-4.
Man, I’m glad we have an open date.

So . . . any conference win on the road is a good win. 4-3 is better than 3-4. Man, I’m glad we have an open date. Let’s leave it at that, shall we?

Go ‘Dawgs!

Lane Kiffin gets the first notch in his belt

Will — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

"Alright, I'm going to pretend like I was expecting this from you all along, okay? Just go with it."

Browse more photos »

In our Rocky Top Tennessee preseason annual, Josh McNeil said "Football is not fun if you lose. Period." It's a sentiment we can all relate to, especially in the last two years. And especially for McNeil, who added injury to insult in fall camp, probably lost millions of NFL dollars along the way and worst of all, appeared to have lost the ability to play football at all.

That's the same Josh McNeil we saw on the field in the waning moments today, with his hands on the football once more and, presumably, a smile on his face. For more than one reason. Because as little fun as we had all of last season, today was a welcome reminder that when you win - and you win like this - football is fun. Really, really fun.

The fact that we had the luxury of getting McNeil on the field at all is a good place to start. Because I always enjoy the games where you can't decide what you're most excited about:

The first big win for Lane Kiffin

Last year, the Vols suffered the most frustrating competitive loss in recent memory against Auburn, and were more or less noncompetitive in the rest of the big SEC games, losing by 20+ to Florida, Alabama and South Carolina. Plus, the Vols gave up 458 yards to Georgia and ran for one total yard themselves in a 26-14 loss.

This year, it's been competitive, but up until today that was all. We were close against Florida. Close against UCLA. We made it close at the end against Auburn. There was reason for hope.

But we needed more than hope. This program hadn't won a big game in two years, and Lane Kiffin needed a reason to be believed besides his work behind a microphone and in the living room on the recruiting trail.

The Clawfense was our hope once. But when it never became tangible, the players never had a reason to fully buy in, and that hope eventually collapsed and took everyone down with it. Phillip Fulmer's inability to keep the snowball from rolling downhill by winning a big game was the final nail in his coffin last season.

Kiffin was next in line to give us hope. But unlike last season, today he and the Vols got a return on that investment. A big one.

Any win would've been huge today. But the how of it all, in a 45-19 game that could've/should've been 45-3 if you remove special teams from the equation, gives Kiffin his big first win, and gives him something to hang his hat on. Now we've seen it, now we know for sure that this can work - players, fans, everyone. That's not to say that Kiffin is going to have success here forever, but when you win like that in your first year against one of your biggest rivals, you earn a whole lot of trust. Tennessee needed to win one of these big SEC games in the worst way. And turns out, we won in the very best way.

Georgia got 458 yards of offense last year. This year they got 241. Tennessee had 1 rushing yard last year. This year we got 162. And if you liked the running game...

Willie Martinez overtakes Jonathan Crompton for the "Most Likely to be Hated by His Own Fanbase" Award

At halftime, I told my friend next to me in Z11 that I didn't want to see Crompton's numbers. There was a Raiders of the Lost Ark feel about it - "Shut your eyes! Don't look at it!" - because what #8 did in the first half was so totally unnatural, I feared that seeing 12 of 15 for 205 yards and 3 TDs and then having my brain try to comprehend it might, in fact, make my face melt off.

Then in the second half, when the dreaded tipped ball pick six reared its ugly head and Georgia was right in the middle of one of those games it seems like that team always wins - statistically overmatched, but in it thanks to special teams and defensive touchdowns - Crompton went right back to work.

Let's take nothing away from him. That offensive performance was stunning, and he deserves every ounce of credit for his role in it. So do the receivers for catching almost everything - eight different Vols caught passes, and Gerald Jones gave us the type of go-to performance we've been waiting for with 105 yards and 2 TDs.

So does Montario Hardesty, for giving every defense a reason to be vulnerable to play action, and for continuing to be the best running back in the SEC.

Having said all of that...Georgia's defense? Yikes.

It's the biggest difference between on-paper and on-field I can remember in a long time. You looked at the names in August - Prince Miller, Rennie Curran, Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, Reshad Jones - and figured they'd carry the slack for Joe Cox and the offense. You look at the numbers here in the second weekend of October, and see a defense that's given up 37+ points three times, 400+ yards three times, and made Jon Crompton and Stephen Garcia look like Peyton Manning and (insert good South Carolina quarterback here - Steve Tanneyhill does not count).

T Kyle King was on our podcast last week and said that Georgia's special teams should've taken some of the heat off Martinez after the LSU game. After the Tennessee game, whoever's responsible for special teams needs a raise...unless it's Martinez.

This leads to a larger point:

Georgia reminds me of Tennessee in the last few years of the Fulmer Era

They run a consistent offense that isn't "sexy" and, when it features Joe Cox instead of Matthew Stafford, isn't that consistent. They got a great young coach who brought them more success than they had seen in decades, but who has struggled to maintain that level of success on a consistent basis, and who is fiercely loyal to his assistants, for better or worse. Meanwhile, just as Fulmer watched the SEC go from a two-team race to everyone for themselves, Richt found his early success when Ron Zook was at Florida and the door was revolving in Tuscaloosa. Now the Tide and Gators are a step ahead of everyone else, LSU is still right behind them, and Georgia just got embarrassed by the new kid on the block. And the Dawgs will see the other new kid come November, and Gene Chizik certainly appeared to have Auburn moving in the right direction until Saturday.

And in this little game, Willie Martinez will be playing the role of Randy Sanders.

Between my total shock at Crompton's performance and the small but shared recognition I feel with Georgia fans, I didn't even fully enjoy their suffering in Neyland Stadim today. I still hope they enjoyed the long sad drive back down I-7-5, but you know.

Because we've been there. We've been Georgia. As a friend of mine said in the postgame, we've forded that river and lost two oxen.

I like it much better this way.

Georgia's offense never crossed the Tennessee 30 yard line

...no commentary necessary.

Staying Relevant

In a world where Florida has beaten you five years in a row and won two National Championships in the process, Alabama is back to being Alabama and LSU is also ahead of you, it was absolutely critical for Lane Kiffin to keep Tennessee from slipping any further in the SEC hierarchy.

Beating Georgia was, is, and always will be key for recruiting. By the way, what are the odds Coach O picked up the phone and called Marlon's Granny after the game today?

But it also pays off in the short term: being just the fifth best team in the SEC is still good enough to get you to January 1, and after that performance the conversations about bowl games move from if to where.

And even if I'm too busy feeling Georgia's pain to fully appreciate it the way I'd like to today, it should be noted and remembered that three of the last four years, the Vols have beaten the Dawgs 51-33, 35-14, and 45-19.

So now the bye week comes at the perfect time, as the Vols will carry some spring in their step to Tuscaloosa to face a tremendous challenge. And they'll face it not as a 2-4 team still looking for answers and their first big win, but a 3-3 team that isn't just hoping anymore...now we've seen it. Now we know.

Previewing South Carolina at Georgia: Georgia's Defense

Gamecock Man — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:17:28 -0000

Georgia uses a traditional 4-3 defense. The 'Dawgs, although they struggled at points late last season, have consistently had one of the best defenses in the country over the past few years, ranking no lower than 22nd in the country in total defense since 2002. Georgia continued to play strong defense last week in their loss to Oklahoma State, giving up only 307 total, 135 passing, and 172 rushing yards to OSU's vaunted offense. The 'Dawgs did give up a relatively high 24 points, but OSU often had a short field due to Georgia's offensive miscues.

Georgia's strengths on defense are numerous. First of all, although they gave up a relatively high amount of rushing yards against OSU, the 'Dawgs should be strong against the run this year with Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, and Kade Weston forming a talented interior-line rotation. Also helping out on the run will be star inside linebacker Rennie Curran, who led the SEC in tackles a year ago. The 'Dawgs secondary is led by Prince Miller and Reshad Jones and did a good job slowing down a usually prolific OSU passing attack last week.

Georgia's defensive weaknesses coming into the season were their pass rush and overall passing defense. Georgia failed to register many sacks last year, a fact attested to by the fact that our paltry line for the most part kept them out of our backfield last year. Georgia had no sacks and few hurries against Oklahoma State, although it should be said that OSU was known for being rarely sacked last year. Georgia did well against the pass against Oklahoma State, suggesting that their talent and depth in the linebacking corps and secondary may be coming together in passing defense.

Read the rest of the preview after the jump.

This weekend, I expect Georgia to try to play to our perceived weaknesses by assuming that their line can manhandle ours and stuff our rushing game, usually using their linebacking corp to play the pass, and occasionally using blitzs to attempt to throw Stephen Garcia off. Georgia's inability to get quarterback pressure with a four-man rush will require these blitzes. These strategies should be effective for the most part. Our rushing game showed some potential last week against a decent N. C. State rushing defense, but we still averaged less than 3 ypc. Georgia has no reason to believe that their more talented line can't hold us to the same average until we prove otherwise. With Spurrier claiming he'll be less conservative this week, I do expect you'll see us diversify the running game with more outside pitches, occasional option plays, and perhaps wildcat formations with Stephon Gilmore taking the snap. Hopefully this, along with better line play and fewer freshman mistakes by Jarvis Giles, will help us move the ball on the ground somewhat effectively. However, you have to think that Georgia will be able to limit our rushing yards to a large degree.

As far as the passing game goes, I think that with their rushing defense Georgia will mostly play to dare Garcia to throw the ball downfield, assuming that he won't make the throws he needs to and may make occasional mistakes that lead to turnovers. Again, Spurrier claims he's going to take more chances this week, so we can expect to see us take Georgia's gambit here. Whether we succeed depends on a few keys. First of all, Garcia obviously needs to continue to avoid throwing into traffic. He did a good job of that last week, and I'd much prefer to see him continue to take a two- or three-yard gain on the ground instead of forcing the ball, as I think our defense can carry us in this game as long as we don't commit turnovers. Second of all, Garcia has to make the throws when he has open receivers. He underthrew Tori Gurley on the touchdown that got called back and underthrew a wide-open Weslye Saunders earlier in the game. He has to make those throws when we get the chances, because we won't get many. Finally, Garcia has to manage the blitz better. Spurrier criticizes him for not audibling well against N. C. State, and we've seen Garcia have trouble with this before. If he can find out a way to handle the blitz, we could see things open up in different ways. An well-timed handoff or pitch to the speedy Giles seems like the ideal blitz-breaker to me.

Overall, I expect we'll have some trouble moving the ball against Georgia. However, if we can limit turnovers and convert on the scoring opportunities we get, I do think we can score some points against the 'Dawgs. This week it probably really will be about Garcia; we're going to have trouble running, so Garcia playing smart and making plays when he gets the chance is what will have to make the difference for us.

Post-Spring Previews: Georgia

Gamecock Man — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:34:56 -0000

After traveling to Raleigh, the Gamecocks continue their path along one of the nation's toughest schedules when they go to Athens to take on the 'Dawgs. The Georgia game is always one of the defining moments of our season. Most Gamecocks fans consider Georgia our biggest SEC rival, and a win typically marks the beginning of a good season (2007 aside).

On the whole, Georgia is a team full of question marks. They disappointed last year after coming into the season with sky-high expectations. This year, they have to replace a number of significant players, most notably offensive stars Matt Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and Mohamed Massaquoi. On the other hand, they return significant talent on defense and on the offensive line. Their success will likely depend on whether Joe Cox can be efficient and can at least come to close to matching Stafford's productivity and if their defense can stay healthy and play better than it did in highly publicized meltdowns against LSU, Florida, and Georgia Tech last season. We'll probably know a lot more about Georgia after they open their season at Oklahoma State, a team with an absolutely explosive offense that will probably be preseason top ten.

Let's take a closer look at how we match up against these guys.

Quarterback

Mark Richt plans to start senior Joe Cox, who got significant playing time early in 2006 but since then has been Stafford's backup, only playing in mop-up duty. Cox is a fairly talented player and has spent a lot of time in the system, so the 'Dawgs can reasonably hope that he will be a competent signal caller. However, he lacks Stafford's physical abilities, so his ceiling is probably relatively low. I'd call it a push between Cox and Stephen Garcia; Cox has had longer to grow into his roll and is a more mature player, but he lacks Garcia's natural talent and has less in-game experience than Garcia. Usually, I'd say that means that Garcia has the advantage, but Garcia was hardly impressive in some of his appearances last year. Although he showed promise at times, he has plenty to prove this time around.

Verdict: Push

Running Backs

While Moreno leaves big shoes to fill, Georgia is uncommonly deep at the running back position, with several highly recruited players waiting to become the next Moreno, Garrison Heart, or Herschel Walker. The one most likely to become a household name is Caleb King, a speedy home run threat who rushed for over 200 yards last year as Moreno's primary backup. However, Richard Samuel will also get plenty of touches, and the two backs may form something of a Thunder and Lightening duo. I'd say UGA has a slight advantage over us here; while I like our stable of backs and expect us to field a much improved running game in the fall, both King and Samuel could start at any school in the nation. These guys are monsters and, while we might get the 'Dawgs during a transition period while UGA tries to figure out how best to divvy the caries, I doubt UGA will miss a beat without Moreno this year.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Offensive Line

UGA returns a seasoned, talented offensive line led by tackles Quintin Sturdivant and Clint Boling. Sturdivant's preseason injury last year caused this unit to underperform last year, but if Sturdivant is able to return close to full strength, this should be a very good unit. I would give them a slight advantage over our line. While I expect much-improved blocking from our guys this year and the play in the spring gives us every indication that that's what we'll get, we simply lack the talent possessed by Georgia at these positions.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Georgia returns phenomenal receiver A. J. Green (yep, the same Summerville star that screwed his home state's flagship university by committing to a bitter rival) but loses the aforementioned Massaquoi, and so far it's unclear who will be the second receiver. That could be problematic for Georgia, as Cox could use the benefit of a slew of targets. At TE--a position that hasn't been featured in recent UGA offenses but may be this year--UGA loses ball-dropping machine Tripp Chandler but brings in the highly recruited Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch. Charles is a big, fast player receiving end somewhat out of the Jared Cook mold, while Lynch is more of a traditional end. Either will be a significant improvement over Chandler. I'd call it a push at these positions; after losing Kenny McKinley we don't have anyone like Green on our team, but what we lose in that contrast we gain in better depth.

Verdict: Push

Defensive Line

The 'Dawgs return a very strong couple of players at tackle in Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens. However, they appear to lack a dangerous pass rusher, especially as they'll be without end Justin Houston, who is suspended for the first two games, when they play us. If Ladi Ajiboye plays in this game, I think we have a slight advantage here. While I like Atkins and Owens a bit more than Ajiboye and Nathan Pepper, UGA lacks the sack threats at end that we have in Clifton Geathers and Cliff Matthews.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Linebackers

UGA and Carolina each return one of the nation's best linebackers in Rennie Curran and Eric Norwood. UGA, however, also returns Daryl Gamble, another quality player, whereas Carolina will still be in the process of breaking in Rodney Paulk and Shaq Wilson as Norwood's partners in crime. UGA gets a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Secondary

Georgia returns star safety Reshad Jones as well as corner Prince Miller but is a little more uncertain at the other two starting spots. This puts them in a similar spot to Carolina, who returns Chris Culliver, who came into his own as a future star late last season, and Darian Stewart but, after the departure of Emanuel Cook, Captain Munnerlyn, and Stoney Woodson to the NFL, will have to fill the other spots with a host of freshmen and returning lettermen like Addison Williams who haven't always been the best around. I'm calling this one another push.

Verdict: Push

Special Teams

UGA returns a pretty good placekicker in Blair Walsh. However, their return units were a liability last season, and they'll have to prove they can improve in those areas this year. Carolina has similar questions and lacks the returning kicker, so I'll give UGA a slight advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Head Coaches

Although he's yet to win a national title, Mark Richt has been one of the most consistent coaches in the SEC while at Georgia and has one of the highest winning percentages in school history. In a way, that makes him a lot like Steve Spurrier at Florida before Spurrier won the national title in 1996, as Spurrier had up until that point been a coach that won lots of games and often got his team in position to compete for national titles but usually ended up dropping a game he should have won. My thinking is that Richt will put together that perfect season one day; a coach doesn't put his team in the top 10 as consistently as Richt does without finally having a season when the ball rolls his way. In terms of comparing the two, you can put me in the camp that believes that Spurrier still has his coaching chops, but the fact that Spurrier hasn't managed to really do much since he left Florida in 2001 means that advantage here has to go to Richt, who still appears to be at the height of his powers.

Verdict: Slight advantage Georgia

Overall

We and our coach tend to be at the top of our game when facing the 'Dawgs. However, Georgia does have more talent than us at most positions. They also have more depth than us, although I think the gap has closed somewhat and, at any rate, depth shouldn't matter too much in the second game of the season. All of that means that a victory in this game, especially considering it's in Athens, would be an unqualified upset. I think the game will be close and that we'll have a chance to win it late, but I can't bring myself to predict a victory at this point. After we've seen how these two teams play in their season openers, maybe we can revise that.

Prediction: Georgia wins by a touchdown

Georgia Bulldogs 26, Tennessee Volunteers 14

T Kyle King — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:30:37 -0000

I enjoy an emotional game as much as the next fellow, but games that are about who is more fired up than whom wind up at one extreme or the other, as evidenced by the last two occasions on which the Bulldogs wore black jerseys when facing Yellowhammer State-based squads between the hedges. Because it is impossible to be emotionally inflamed for every challenging game---and the ‘Dawgs are at the point in the season at which every game is a challenging game---a team has to win some of them in strictly a businesslike manner.

So it was against Arizona State on September 20, and so it was against Tennessee yesterday afternoon. (Let us leave aside for now the fact that both the Sun Devils and the Volunteers now stand at 2-4; the Bulldogs have twice as many victories over Division I-A teams with winning records as our division rivals from Gainesville can claim.) Everywhere except on the scoreboard, Saturday’s Sanford Stadium showdown was a thumping.

How else do you describe a game in which Georgia holds the ball for over 42 minutes and gains 29 first downs to the Big Orange’s ten? How else could you characterize a contest in which the Red and Black converted more than half of their third downs (9 of 17) while holding the visitors to a one-third conversion percentage (4 of 12)?

Matthew Stafford connected on 25 of his 36 attempts for his first 300-yard passing day in a Bulldog uniform. Knowshon Rockwell Moreno became the first running back to rush for over 100 yards against the Volunteer defense this season. Meanwhile, Tennessee tallied a lone rushing yard---one; count it: one---and, even discounting Nick Stephens’s 15 lost yards on sacks, the tailback tandem of Lennon Creer, Arian Foster, and Montario Hardesty combined for 25 yards on 11 carries.

Tennessee twice threatened to climb back into the game, both times due to Georgia miscues (about which more forthwith), but the Bulldogs built up leads of 13-0 early in the second quarter and 20-7 at halftime in the course of amassing 458 yards against a fairly stout Volunteer D while holding the Big Orange to a measly 209 yards of total offense.

The day was far from perfect, of course, as evidenced by the Bulldogs’ 12-point margin of victory. After the indignities of the past two seasons, in which U.T. drubbed the ‘Dawgs once in Athens and again in Knoxville, this game could and should have been, at a minimum, 35-0.

A.J. Green just flat dropped a touchdown pass at the goal line for no good reason whatsoever. The defense missed a couple of shots at contest-clinching interceptions and failed to force a turnover all game. The penalties, which appeared throughout much of the first half finally to be under control, once again got out of hand in the second half, to the tune of 76 yards surrendered on eleven flags.

Stafford threw more interceptions (2) than touchdown passes (1), and both of the Georgia quarterback’s picks ended what would have been Bulldog scoring drives and led to what became the only Volunteer scoring drives; absent those two bad passes, the final score would have been, at worst, 32-0.

While I appreciate, respect, and even agree with the argument that it is better to be beaten deep than dinked and dunked to death, it isn’t any fun watching it happen to your team. My hope for Prince Miller is that he will turn out to be a latter-day Bruce Thornton---picked on unmercifully while experiencing growing pains before turning into a first-class defensive back---but, for now, it is painful watching him struggle in pass coverage.

Not all of the adversity the ‘Dawgs encountered was their own doing, of course. The unfortunate loss of Vince Vance was no one’s fault, naturally, nor was the fact that the S.E.C. officiating crew that sets new standards for incompetence set up the Bulldogs with third and goal on the three after a penalty that is supposed to produce an automatic first down.

In the end, though, there was much more to like than to dislike in Saturday’s performance. Mohamed Massaquoi had a great day and Demiko Goodman had a good one. The forward wall of the Georgia offense kept Stafford upright and able to throw, which was very impressive, considering the attrition in the Georgia ranks and the quality of the Tennessee defense.

In a not unrelated item, Brannan Southerland’s overdue return proved well worth the wait, and, not to be outdone, Shaun Chapas stepped up his game. Asher Allen remains Asher Allen and C.J. Byrd made some nice plays, as well.

While it’s unfortunate that Blair Walsh had to attempt four field goals, he split the uprights on all four of them, even though one of them was a bit harrowing and I’m not altogether convinced that the wind rendered it wise to let the third quarter expire before letting the true freshman try a 41-yarder at the other end of the field. Brian Mimbs returned to the form he displayed against South Carolina and we appear finally to be getting away from this nonsense of placing kickoffs anywhere other than the end zone.

I could have done with a few more touchdowns and I carry some sense of dread that another such effort of dominance on the stat sheet but not on the scoreboard will not suffice against L.S.U. or Florida or, heck, Vanderbilt. Nevertheless, the ‘Dawgs did what they had to do, converting critical third downs and closing the deal when the chips were down.

Clinging to a 13-7 lead and facing third and eight at their own five yard line, the Classic City Canines moved the chains to spark a drive that went 97 yards in nine plays, culminating in a touchdown with nine seconds remaining until halftime. After the Georgia defense later forced the Vols to go three and out, the Red and Black ran the ball 14 times in their next 16 plays, covering 76 yards and tacking on the game-icing field goal after taking eleven minutes off of the clock.

The Bulldogs played good football and moved the ball well on what is still a stout S.E.C. defense. I will admit that I am not unbiased upon this point, since my wife teaches with this particular walk-on’s father, but, for me, the emblematic play of the game is one you probably didn’t notice. On what I believe was Georgia’s last kickoff, Chad Gloer nearly made---arguably, should have made---the tackle that would have left the Volunteers with particularly poor field position, but, having missed his chance the first time, he got back up, gave chase, and made the tackle the second time. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed a refusal to let up and it got the job done.

The final score, while disappointing, was not surprising, particularly if you happened to read this weblog before the game. (Heck, I even picked the honorary game day captain correctly!) If you want to win a football game, you have to out-think, out-tough, and out-play your opponent. Georgia did that, and, anytime you can walk away from an S.E.C. football game with a win in your hip pocket, you’ve had a good day. I, for one, am not going to fret (for now) that the good was merely good and not great. When good is good enough, I’ll take it.

Go ‘Dawgs!