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| Georgia runs over the Yellow Jackets in upset
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| Staff CollegeFootballNews.com | Nov 28, 2009 | ||
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2009 Georgia Bulldogs ... Head Coach: Mark Richt
Georgia Bulldogs Nov. 28 Georgia 30 … at Georgia Tech 24 Georgia outgained the Yellow Jackets 339 yards to 205 on the ground with Caleb King running for a 75 yard touchdown in the third quarter and a six yarder to start out the scoring, but Georgia Tech would bounce back. Down 24-10 after King’s home run, the Yellow Jackets got a five-yard Jonathan Dwyer scoring run and a one-yard score from Josh Nesbitt, who also connected with Demaryius Thomas for a 76-yard touchdown in the third, to pull within six. With the ball late, Tech went to the air, but Thomas dropped a first down pass to give Georgia the win. Blair Walsh connected on three field goals from 22, 38 and 43 yards away for the Bulldogs. Player of the Game: Georgia RBs Washaun Ealey and Caleb King combined for 349 yards and two scores (both King’s) and 38 carries. Georgia Tech: Passing: Josh Nesbitt, 6-12, 135 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Josh Nesbitt, 19-41, 1 TD, Receiving: Damaryius Thomas, 5-127, 1 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 8-14, 76 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 20-183, Receiving: Rantavious Wooten, 2-25 What It All Means: Georgia appeared to be playing loose and was bouncing around with good energy. It showed on both sides of the ball as Rennie Curran made 15 stops while the offense was tremendous on the ground without A.J. Green to keep the safeties away. After the Kentucky loss this was exactly what the program needed, and now it can improve its bowl positioning as a far more attractive team. With time off to rest and heal up, the Dawgs could be very dangerous in the post-season and could set the tone and the expectations high for what should be a bounceback 2010. Nov. 21 Kentucky 34 … at Georgia 27 Down 20-6 at halftime, Kentucky rallied for 28 second half points helped by four takeaways and Randall Cobb scoring runs from one and 12 yards away. LaRod King added a 21-yard touchdown catch to get the Wildcats within seven, and Derrick Locke tied it taking a pass 60 yards for a score. The one-yard Cobb run sealed it. Georgia had one final chance, but Joe Cox was picked off by Sam Maxwell and the Wildcats held on. Georgia outgained UK 487 yards to 260, and got two Cox touchdown passes in the second quarter along with two first half field goals from Blair Walsh. Player of the Game: Kentucky RB Derrick Locke ran 16 times for 80 yards, and caught two passes for 80 yards and two scores, and returned three kickoffs for 85 yards Kentucky: Passing: Morgan Newton, 9-17, 137 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Derrick Locke, 16-80, Receiving: Derrick Locke, 2-80, 2 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 12-30, 291 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Caleb King, 18-77 & Washaun Ealey, 19-77, Receiving: Orson Charles, 4-73, 1 TD What It All Means: Georgia had a chance to all but secure itself in a New Year’s Day bowl slot, but a sloppy second half changed all of that. Now it’s going to take a win over Georgia Tech or else the Dawgs will finish 6-6 with a chance at a losing season if they lose the bowl game. The offense moved the ball, but the four second half turnovers proved to be too much to overcome. The defense wasn’t bad, but it couldn’t hold up under the pressure of the offenses’ mistakes. Now the D will have to play at a whole other level to keep Georgia Tech in relative check. Nov. 14 at Georgia 31 … Auburn 24 Caleb King ran for fourth quarter scores from 11 and 24 yards out and the defense held as Auburn had a late chance throw into the end zone as Georgia became bowl eligible. The much-maligned Bulldog defense got a big play from Bacarri Rambo late on a big hit on a pass play, but he was knocked out and was carted off the field on a stretcher. The Tigers got up 14-0 on two Chris Todd touchdown passes, but Georgia game back on a 50-yard Israel Troupe touchdown catch to spark a 17-point run. After taking a late 24-17 on King’s first scoring run, Auburn responded with a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Demond Washington. After holding on the ensuing drive, Auburn got the ball back with all the momentum, but a Reshad Jones interception led the way to the second King touchdown. Player of the Game: Georgia LB Rennie Curran made 12 tackles Auburn: Passing: Chris Todd, 20-28, 238 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Ben Tate, 20-67, Receiving: Darvin Adams, 6-90 Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 9-17, 173 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 18-98, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Green, 3-19 What It All Means: Georgia’s defense wasn’t a rock, but against the Gus Malzahn offense it was solid allowing 353 yards and keeping the attack under wraps late. More importantly going forward, now that the Dawgs are bowl eligible, they got something out of the running game. 169 yards might not seem like a lot, but for an attack that’s been struggling to get anything productive on a regular basis, this was important with Kentucky and Georgia Tech coming up … and a bowl game. This might have been a disappointing season, but for all the problems, there’s a chance to finish strong and get through a rebuilding year on a positive note. Nov. 7 at Georgia 38 … Tennessee Tech 0 Washaun Ealey scored from seven and 44 yards out, Branden Smith ran for a 52-yard score, and Orson Charles caught a 23-yard scoring pass as Georgia got up 31-0 at halftime and coasted. Tennessee Tech came up with a mere eight first downs and 55 yards of offense with -13 yards rushing. Georgia ran for 304 yards. Player of the Game: Georgia RB Washaun Ealey ran seven times for 89 yards and two scores. Tennessee Tech: Passing: Tre Lamb, 3-6, 37 yds Rushing: Tremaine Hudson, 10-20, Receiving: Tim Benford, 5-41 Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 10-13, 140 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 7-89, 2 TD, Receiving: Orson Charles, 3-42, 1 TD What It All Means: Great, Georgia showed it could run on Tennessee Tech. Whoopee. The stats were padded, Joe Cox and the passing game got some work in, and the backups got to see some live action. But that’s about all that was accomplished. If the attack is sharpened up a bit going forward, after a miserable first eight games, then the throwaway game was worth it. Can the running game keep working against Auburn? The hope has to be for this to be a confidence builder to pave the way for a big finishing kick. Oct. 31 Florida 41 …. Georgia 17 Florida got two rushing touchdowns from Tim Tebow and two Riley Cooper touchdown catches, including a brilliant one-hander from 29 yards out, in the easy win. Georgia got a 26-yard touchdown catch from Aron White early in the second to pull within four, and got within 14 in the third on a four-yard Michael Moore catch, but the Gators had control of the game throughout. The Florida defense picked off Joe Cox four times with Brandon Spikes returning one five yards for a score. Player of the Game: Florida QB Tim Tebow completed 15-of-21 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns and hr ran 18 times for 85 yards and two scores. Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 11-30, 165 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 17-70, Receiving: A.J. Green, 3-50 Florida: Passing: Tim Tebow, 15-21, 164 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Tim Tebow, 18-85, 2 TD, Receiving: Riley Cooper, 4-78, 2 TD What It All Means: Florida is better than Georgia, and all the black helmets and jumping around wasn’t going to change that. Losing to the No. 1 team in America isn’t a problem, but having more problems with penalties and turnovers is an issue. Beating Tennessee Tech next week obviously isn’t going to be a problem, but none of the last three games against Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech are gimmes if the Dawgs keep making big mistakes. The running game is non-existent and Joe Cox is Joe Cox, so if the defense isn’t significantly better in the next few weeks, the last month is going to be rough. Oct. 17 Georgia 34 … at Vanderbilt 10 Georgia had few problems with the struggling Commodores as Joe Cox connected with A.J. Green for a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Caleb King on a 21-yard play in the fourth to get ahead and stay there. Vanderbilt got creative with several trick plays, and pulled within seven on a five-yard Brandon Barden touchdown catch in the third, but the Bulldogs scored the final 17 points of the game and the Commodore offense was shut down. Georgia outgained Vandy 399 yards to 296. Player of the Game: Georgia WR A.J. Green caught three passes for 95 yards and a score. Vanderbilt: Passing: Larry Smith, 11-26, 121 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Warren Norman, 14-52, Receiving: Brandon Barden, 5-49, 1 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 16-31, 226 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 13-71, Receiving: A.J. Green, 3-95. 1 TD What It All Means: Is this the game that’s going to finally get Georgia going? The defense finally came up with a good game, but it was against a miserable Vanderbilt O that came up with 296 yards but struggled to score. Joe Cox threw a pick, but he had an effective game keeping the chains moving. He was helped by a running game that finally, finally got going with Washaun Ealey averaging 5.5 yards per carry. With two weeks off to prepare for Florida, the offense will have to come up with several new wrinkles, while the defense will have to come up with ways to force turnovers … fast. Oct. 10 at Tennessee 45 … Georgia 19 Gerald Jones caught two touchdown passes from Jonathan Crompton and Marsalis Teague caught a five-yarder as Tennessee stunned the Bulldogs. Georgia got help from the special teams, with Brandon Boykin returning a kickoff for a score, and from the defense with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown from Bacarri Rambo, but Tennessee blew open the game with 21 unanswered points highlighted by a 39-yard Montario Hardesty touchdown run and a 51-yard Jones touchdown grab. Tennessee outgained Georgia 472 yards to 241. Player of the Game: Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton completed 20-of-27 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. Tennessee: Passing: Jonathan Crompton, 20-27, 310 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Montario Hardesty, 20-97, 1 TD, Receiving: Gerald Jones, 5-105, 2 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 19-34, 146 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Carlton Thomas, 3-30, Receiving: A.J. Green, 8-60 What It All Means: Where is the offense? The running game can't be counted on, that has been proven once again, and if Joe Cox isn't on, the Dawg attack goes dead in the water. The defense that did such a nice job against LSU last week couldn't handle Jonathan Crompton ... no one has a hard time handling Jonathan Crompton. This was a disastrous loss mainly because it showed just how flaky the team is. There's no consistency and there's nothing the coaching staff can rely on. Fortunately, Vanderbilt is up next to make everything all better. Oct. 3 LSU 20 … at Georgia 13 It was a snoozer for three quarters with LSU holding a 6-0 lead on two Josh Jasper field goals, and then the fireworks began. The two teams traded short touchdowns, with Georgia’s Shaun Chapas catching a one-yard scoring pass and Charles Scott running it in from two yards out with just under three minutes to play. The Dawgs answered with a 79-yard drive in six plays with A.J. Green catching a jump ball for a 16-yard score with 1:09 to play. But he got hit with a questionable celebration penalty to help give LSU great field position. Two plays later, Scott rumbled through a tackle for a 33-yard touchdown for the game-winner with 46 seconds to play. Player of the Game: LSU RB Charles Scott ran 19 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 18-34, 229 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Washaun Ealey, 8-33, Receiving: A.J. Green, 5-99, 1 TD LSU: Passing: Jordan Jefferson, 18-27, 212 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Charles Scott, 19-95, 2 TD, Receiving: Terrence Toliver, 6-76 What It All Means: Georgia and its fans are likely going to honk about the horrible, horrible, horrible excessive celebration call after the A.J. Green touchdown, but the special teams didn’t help the cause allowing a 40-yard kickoff return. That sort of summed up the Dawgs’ day. They have chances to take control of the game several times, but didn’t do it. Defensively, Rennie Curran had a phenomenal game, up until the final Charles Scott touchdown run, making 16 tackles. Now there’s more work to do with three straight away games against Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and the Cocktail Party against Florida. Sept. 26 at Georgia 20 … Arizona State 17 Georgia WR A.J. Green blocked a field goal attempt and Blair Walsh nailed a 37-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Dawgs the win. Green started off the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown catch and Fred Munzenmaier ran for a two-yard score for a 14-3 first quarter lead, but ASU controlled the third quarter with a six-yard Dimitri Nance touchdown catch and a 47-yard Jarrell Holman interception return for a score. The Dawgs outgained ASU 334 yards to 204. Player of the Game: Georgia WR A.J. Green caught eight passes for 153 yards and a score and blocked a field goal attempt. Arizona State: Passing: Danny Sullivan, 10-32, 116 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 25-92, Receiving: Dimitri Nance, 4-47, 1 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 17-31, 242 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Caleb King, 11-55, Receiving: A.J. Green, 8-153, 1 TD What It All Means: Georgia’s defense finally showed up. Arizona State’s offense was a question mark, but the passing game sputtered against a Dawg secondary that had a nice game after getting ripped up by Arkansas and South Carolina. However, the running game didn’t get going netting just 92 yards, and it’s not going to do much more next week against LSU. On the plus side, A.J. Green has gotten hot at the right time. He was fantastic against the Sun Devils and has reemerged as the team’s star to work the offense around. Sept. 19 Georgia 52 … at Arkansas 41 In a wild game with 783 passing yards, ten passing scores, and 25 penalties, Georgia pulled ahead in the back-and-forth shootout with Joe Cox fifth and final touchdown pass of the game on a 28-yard throw to A.J. Green. Ryan Mallett also threw for five scoring passes including a 40-yarder to Greg Childs and a two-yarder to D.J. Williams in the third quarter, but Cox and the Georgia passing game kept up the pace with a 44-yard play to Orson Charles and a 50-yarder to Tarvarres King in the crazy third quarter. Georgia averaged 20.8 yards per completion while Arkansas averaged 19.4 yards per catch. Player of the Game: Georgia QB Joe Cox completed 18-of-26 passes for 375 yards and five touchdowns with an interception Arkansas: Passing: Ryan Mallett, 21-39, 408 yds, 5 TD Rushing: Michael Smith, 8-59, Receiving: Greg Childs, 5-140, 2 TD Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 18-26, 375 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Richard Samuel, 16-104, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Green, 7-137, 2 TD What It All Means: So this is how it’s going to be for Georgia this year. The defense is struggling mightily against the pass, but unlike last week when the offense sputtered in the win over South Carolina, the Dawgs came up with some offense. The Georgia receivers made big things happen with midrange passes, while the running game did a good job of providing some consistent help with Richard Samuel leading the way to a nice day. As good as this win was, Georgia won’t win too many shootouts and must find a way to start generating more pressure, stop someone’s passing game, and has to slow down with the penalties. 14 for 93 yards was a problem. Sept. 12 at Georgia 41 ... South Carolina 37 In a wild and wacky game, South Carolina was finally stopped when Stephen Garcia misfired in the end zone. Before that, the two teams scored in almost every way possible. Garcia threw three touchdown passes and Spencer Lanning kicked five field goals for thee Gamecocks, but it took a big defensive play, a 35-yard interception return for a score from Eric Norwood, to seemingly tie it up in the fourth. But the extra point was blocked, Georgia got a 42-yard Blair Walsh field goal, and USC couldn't answer. The Dawgs were outgained 427 yards to 308, but they got a 100-yard kickoff return for a score from Brandon Boykin and a 61-yard Branden Smith scoring dash to keep up in a wild first half. two Joe Cox touchdown passes gave Georgia the lead for good, but it would be a nail-biter. Player of the Game: In a losing cause, South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia completed 31-of-53 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and ran ten times for 42 yards. Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 17-24, 201 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Richard Samuel, 15-65, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Green, 6-86, 1 TD South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 31-53, 313 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Stephen Garcia, 10-42, Receiving: Weslye Saunders, 8-96 What It All Means: It might not have been a great defensive performance, and it's not like the offense was consistent, but Georgia needed a tough win and it got one. To get through the rough part of the slate, the Dawgs need more of a running game to take the pressure off Joe Cox and the passing attack, and that's where Caleb King comes in. Hurt, he was supposed to come back and play this week and didn't. Richard Samuel got stuffed for most of the day, and while Cox was solid, he wasn't spectacular. Sept. 5 at Oklahoma State 24 … Georgia 10 Zac Robinson ran for a one-yard score and connected with Dez Bryant from 46 and 12 yards out as Oklahoma State came up with the statement win it’s been looking for over the last few years. Georgia started out the scoring with a four-yard Michael Moore catch, but was only able to manage a 53-yard Blair Walsh field goal over the final 50 minutes. Player of the Game: Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant caught three passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, and returned two punts for 29 yards. Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 15-30, 162 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Richard Samuel, 20-87, Receiving: A.J. Green, 4-52 Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 11-22, 135 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Kendall Hunter, 4-23, Receiving: Dez Bryant, 3-77, 2 TD What It All Means: The team missed Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Joe Cox was supposed to be ready to step in and be fine, and Richard Samuel was supposed to lead a slew of backs to carry the ground game, but the Dawgs were missing playmakers to swing the momentum. The defense did its job, holding the high-powered Cowboys to just 307 yards, but the offense needs to come up with some answers in a hurry, and Cox has to be better. Copyright © Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com | |||