Georgia Knocks off Vandy

JY — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:39:12 +0000

ATHENS- Coming into this game, Vanderbilt and Georgia were in a 3-way tie with Florida for the the SEC Eastern Division lead. Georgia took care of the Commodores, by a score of 24-14, and are now tied with Florida at 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Dawgs gave up a couple of turnovers to the 'Dores, but, also had a couple of picks to even the turnover battle at 2 to 2. There were several other Commodore passes that could have easily been intercepted, but, somehow slipped throught the Dawgs "paws". On offense, Georgia rolled up 425 yards of total offense, but, often struggled to put points on the scoreboard, which concerned many fans in the stands Saturday. Matt Stafford connected on 13 for 23 passes for 194 yards, with 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Most of the completions were to receiver A.J. Green, who had a huge game, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and a TD. What was more impressive was that Green was not slowed down by All-SEC candidate D.J. Moore, who was covering him on several plays. Knowshon Moreno had 23 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown. And, Mohamed Massaquoi had a nine yard touchdown. Vanderbilt started the game attempting to establish a ground game. They had some success against the Bulldog defense, however, Georgia held the 'Dores to 245 total yards on the day and only allowed 5 of 14 third-down conversions.

Overall, this game could have had a much larger margin of victory for Georgia. Several interceptions were dropped or missed. And, penalties are still showing up on the stat sheet. Kicker Blair Walsh missed a field goal, which was rare. And, there appeared to be a couple of missed assignments here and there. To their credit, the Bulldog defense held steady when the score sat at 21-14, and, the offense had some key first downs to run the clock down, when it counted.

Georgia vs South Carolina

JY — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:13:32 +0000

Bulldogs- Keys of the Game

1. Georgia's air attack vs the South Carolina secondary- During the pre-season there was much hype over the South Carolina front seven. So deep on the defensive line that DE Eric Norwood was moved to linebacker to team with standout LB Jasper Brinkley! Amazingly enough, their run defense has been their weakness thus far this season. The Gamecocks have given up only 70 passing yards per game, however. And, Matthew Stafford will face his toughest test of the young season. Defensive backs Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook rank among the top talents in the SEC and have helped hold opponents to less than a 40% pass completion percentage, so far. The Dawgs receivers must continue to slice through the defense like a knife through chicken......so to speak.

2. Kicking game- Freshman kicker Blair Walsh has been lights out in the early going for the Dawgs. He nailed his first collegiate kick from over 50 yards out and has been perfect on extra points. The Georgia-South Carolina series has a history of close games and who knows if this one may come down to a last minute field goal? Walsh must continue his solid performance in front of his first hostile crowd in Columbia on Saturday.

3. Defense must Finish The Drill- The Bulldog's defense has taken care of business in the first two games, however, there have been lapses from time to time. Central Michigan's Heisman-hopeful quarterback found holes in the defensive secondary and orchestrated a couple of scoring drives to bring his team within 2 scores of a tie ballgame last weekend. Though South Carolina does not have the same caliber of quarterback, they do have standouts in wide receiver Kenny McKinley and tight end Jared Cook. The Dawgs must "bring it" for 4 quarters and keep Steve Spurrier's offense in check!

Potential Breakout Performance?

High School all-everything receiver A.J. Green has been silky smooth in his first two games as a Georgia Bulldog. While his stats haven't been eye-popping, he has been very impressive as he has worked his way into the offensive rotation. How sweet would it be for the true freshman to have his "coming out party" in his home state ,in front of a nationally televised audience? Mark Richt plucked the kid right out from under Spurrier and Green never waivered on his decision to commit to Georgia. Humble, eager to learn and talented, A.J. Green has the potential to stretch the field and create some fireworks inside Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend!