SEC football continues here during the fifth week of the college football season and Grace Olson, Josh Kirschner and myself are here to pick all seven SEC games this week.
Through the first four weeks, here are the standings.
1. Mike 34-4
2. Grace 32-6
3. Josh 30-8
ATHENS—–Georgia head coach Mark Richt met with the media Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon. Below is the complete transcript of Richt’s time with the media previewing the Mississippi State game, courtesy of Georgia Sports Communications.
Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
“I want to talk to our crowd and our fans and want to educate our fans just a little bit. We need a lot of crowd noise. I know the fans know that part, but when teams no-huddle some times you are cheering and you might not be cheering at the right time. You might get exhausted, so I want to talk a little bit about what we hope will happen in the game. Chris Relf, their quarterback, gets into his cadence and then he looks for the ball and it doesn’t come and then he looks to the sideline. When he looks to the sideline, that’s when we need the fans to go berserk, because that’s when they are going to try to communicate to the line what they’re going to do. So we don’t want them to be able to communicate well. We want them to have trouble hearing each other. We want offensive linemen to jump offsides. So UGA fan base, that’s the time to go crazy. When the quarterback looks to the sideline after he starts his cadence, he’ll look to the sideline and that’s when you go crazy and make all kind of noise. Of course if they are down on the goal line, do that every play every moment.
“Mississippi State, they are an extremely talented and physical football team. Of course they beat us a year ago. They did a great job against us. They really haven’t lost a lot of people. They have eight starters back on both sides of the ball.
“Offensively, they do spread the field, but they spread to the field to run it maybe as much as they spread it to throw it. They are very balanced. Chris Relf actually has more rushing attempts than anyone on their team. Ballard actually has the most yards, but Relf is definitely a dual threat quarterback, a guy who can run well and a guy who can throw well. He’s an outstanding player, big guy, really a good player. We caught him last year just when he was getting going and now he’s really become a dangerous player.
“(Vick) Ballard, their running back, is a very physical runner. We think he has a lot of ability to run downhill and run through people and break tackles. He does have good speed, but we think his greatest attribute is his balance and his power. Perkins has had 30 rushing attempts, and he has some speed to get on the edge. (more…)
Another great action of SEC football is in the books, and here are my bowl projections for games involving SEC teams following week 4 of the college football season.
BBVA Compass Bowl – Birmingham, Ala. — Jan. 7, 1 p.m., ESPN
Vanderbilt vs. Big East #5
Liberty Bowl – Memphis, Tenn. — Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Auburn vs. CUSA #1
Music City Bowl – Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 30, 6:40 p.m., ESPN
Tennessee vs. ACC #6
Gator Bowl – Jacksonville, Fla.– Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN2
Vanderbilt vs. Big Ten #4/#5
Chick-fil-a Bowl – Atlanta, Ga.– Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Florida vs. ACC #2
Cotton Bowl — Arlington, Texas — Jan. 6, 8 p.m., FOX
Arkansas vs. Big 12 #2
Outback Bowl — Tampa, Fla. — Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ABC
South Carolina vs. Big 10 #3
Capital One Bowl – Orlando, Fla. — Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN
Georgia vs. Big 10 #2
Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, La. — Jan 2, 8 p.m., ESPN
Alabama vs. BCS
BCS Nat’l Championship – New Orleans, La — Jan 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
LSU vs. BCS #2
ATHENS, Ga — A battle between Bulldogs will take place this Saturday when Georgia plays host to Mississippi State.
Georgia head coach Mark Richt has a message for Georgia fans. Below is the video.
My journey to Oxford, Miss from Athens, Ga this past weekend for Georgia’s first road game of the 2011 season will be one that remains in my memory for a very long time.
Although the weekend centered around Southeastern Conference football between the Bulldogs and Rebels, it was “The Grove” and southern hospitality throughout the weekend that separated this weekend from others.
Below are some photos about my experience from Ole Miss. Stories below the pictures will follow shortly.
OXFORD, Miss. — After dropping the first two games of the 2011 season, the Georgia Bulldogs improved to 2-2 (1-1 SEC) with a 27-13 win over Ole Miss. This is the Bulldogs ninth straight victory over the Rebels in the series.
“That was an outstanding victory for Georgia football,” said head coach Mark Richt. “We did really big things on both sides of the ball.”
Everything but the scoreboard showed that the Bulldogs dominated this game.
Defensively, Todd Grantham’s unit dominated the Rebels offense. The defense gave up a total of eight first downs and 183 yards on 56 plays. Junior ILB Mike Gilliard led the Bulldog defense with seven tackles while freshman ILB Amarlo Herrera added six.
Overall, this was one of the best defensive games that Georgia has ever had under defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Coming into today the Bulldogs have only had one sack, but finished with four today.
The Rebels scored 13 points, but 6 of them came on a punt return. The lone touchdown the defense scored came in the second quarter as Ole Miss cut the Georgia lead to 17-7.
Junior FS Bacarri Rambo recorded his team-leading third interception late in the second quarter.
Just like the Georgia defense, the Bulldog offense dominated the game as well, but only managed 27 points.
Aaron Murray and the Bulldog offense held the ball for 38 and a half minutes, and finished with a total of 475 yards on 82 plays.
Freshman RB Isaiah Crowell has a career day as he rushed for 147 yards on 30 carries, both career highs.
Murray finished the day 17-for-26 for 268 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. Following his first touchdown pass to Charles, Murray connected with senior TE Aron White for a 35-yard touchdown pass at the 2:38 mark in the second quarter.
Even though the Bulldogs only scored three points in the second half, Murray was pleased with the performance of the offense.
“I think it was a great second half,” said Murray. We moved the ball pretty much every possession, going up and down the field. I think we looked great, both first and second half.”
Murray connected with former high school teammate Charles five times today for 59 yards and a touchdown.
“It always feels good to get a win, but we still have a lot of things to correct,” said Charles. “We’re going to celebrate the win, and then at 12:01 a.m., we’re going to start getting ready for Mississippi State.”
One area of struggle was the play of PK Walsh. The senior connected on his first and last field goals of the day, but missed three straight from 46, 48 and 35 yards. Walsh is now 5-10 this season.
Georgia finished the game going 8-for-18 on third down conversions while holding Ole Miss to
Other notes:
The attendance of today’s game was 58,042, the largest crowd of the year so far at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.
Captains: Georgia’s captains on Saturday were junior TE Orson Charles, redshirt sophomore QB Aaron Murray, senior DE Abry Jones and junior SS Shawn Williams.
Up Next: The Bulldogs (2-2, 1-1 SEC) return home to host Mississippi State (1-2, 0-2 SEC) in Sanford Stadium. FOX Sports South will televise it at 12 p.m.
OXFORD, Miss. — It’s Saturday in Oxford and I am live from the “Hot Seat” Bowl bringing you live analysis from today’s game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels.
Here is the Georgia depth chart for this game.
For live analysis, follow me on Twitter @Mike_Reiter
1st Quarter Stats and Notes: Georgia 10, Ole Miss 0
-Georgia’s defense has took the field for three possessions. On the first one, Ole Miss drove down the field into Bulldog territory, but haven’t gained a first down since that drive
-On the offensive side of the ball, Crowell has found lots of room to run and has 56 yards on eight carries.
-Murray only has one completion in the game so far, which was a 14 yard throw to Orson Charles.
-Time of possession is about equal. Georgia has held the ball for 7:26, while Ole Miss has held the ball for 7:34.
-Georgia has 8 first downs to the 3 Ole Miss has.
-The Bulldogs have outgained the Rebels, 100-33
2nd Quarter Stats and Notes: Georgia 24, Ole Miss 13
-Even though the scoreboard might not show it. The Georgia Bulldogs are completely dominating this game.
-Aron White caught his first touchdown of the season in the second quarter on a 35 yard strike from Murray. White spun off Ole Miss defenders at around the 10 yardline en route to the endzone.
-Isaiah Crowell has 92 yards on 14 carries in the first half. In the second quarter, Crowell rushed six times for 36 yards.
-Murray is 7-14, 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. The one interception bounced off Orson Charles before being picked.
-Four different receivers have caught passes from Murray. The 2 tight ends (Charles and White) have combined for five receptions, 80 yards and two touchdowns.
-Michael Gilliard leads the defense with 6 tackles. Amarlo Herrera is right behind him with four tackles.
-Zack Stoudt and Randall Mackey have combined to play quarterback for the Rebels. Stoudt is 3-8 for 38 yards. Mackey is 3-6 for 78 yards along with a touchdown and an interception.
-Georgia has outgained Ole Miss 289-134. The Rebels only have 18 net rushing yards, while UGA RB Crowell has 92 yards.
-Georgia has scored all three times it has entered the red zone. Ole Miss has yet to have a red zone opportunity.
-The UGA defensive line has been able to put pressure on the Ole Miss quarterbacks with three sacks in the first half.
-Each team has one turnover, both interceptions.
Georgia will receive the ball following halftime
3rd Quarter Stats and Notes: Georgia 24, Ole Miss 13
-This is the kind of game Georgia needs to put away, or else you are letting a team have a chance at winning a game they shouldn’t
-There was no scoring in the third quarter for either team
-Isaiah Crowell now has 22 carries and 117 yards through three quarters. Crowell has 118 yards on 16 carries against South Carolina.
-Murray is 13-21 for 222 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
-The attendance was announced at 58,042 here at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium. The full capacity is listed at 60,580.
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Georgia head coach Mark Richt spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon, below is the transcript of his press conference provided by the UGA Sports Communications department. Video of the press conference will come later.
Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening statement…
“This is the first SEC game away from home. We are looking forward to that. We don’t get to go to Oxford very often. You play them once every six years or whatever it might be. We are looking forward to that. I do enjoy road games. You get your 70 guys and you go on a business trip and there aren’t a lot of things you have to do other than go and play the ballgame. There aren’t any other responsibilities that I have personally or that the players have or that the assistant coaches might have. So it is nice just to gather up the team, gather up the troops and get busy. We get there in time to have dinner, and we have some meetings. We give them a snack and then they go to bed. They are going to wake up extremely early. It depends on whose time zone you are on, but I think we are going to keep our team on our time zone just to keep them on their normal biological clock, and also make it where they wake up at 7:15 instead of 6:15. I don’t know if that will help or not, but we’re looking forward to it.
“Coach (Houston) Nutt has always fielded great football teams and we are looking forward to that challenge. I’ll talk a little bit about them offensively. I’ll start with their offensive line; they are massive. They just look massive on film, even. They like to run a lot of zone plays, just power plays downhill kind of stuff. They like to maul you, they like to playaction pass off of it. They have some pretty sporty backs too. Jeff Scott is the one leading them in rushing right now. Not a real big man, but it’s kind of tough to find him sometimes coming out of that pile of humanity up front. They do like to play both tight ends a good bit. They will get into a lot of two tight end, two receiver sets. When they do go into two-back sets their fullback, H.R. Greer, is a pretty typical Southeastern Conference fullback. If you aren’t tough you can’t play fullback in this league and in this system that they are playing. He’s a very, very tough guy. Not super tall, 5-11, 235 pounds, but you need a low center of gravity to do the types of things they are asking him to do. (more…)
ATHENS, Ga — The Georgia Bulldogs will play on the road for the first time this season when they travel to Ole Miss this Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss.
Below is the depth chart for Georgia’s second Southeastern Conference game. Of note, freshman Malcolm Mitchell is listed as the started above Junior Marlon Brown at the “X” wide receiver position.
It’s Saturday in Athens!
“We need more Dawgs,” states Coastal Carolina Head Coach David Bennett. This statement resonates with each team on Saturday for different reasons. Coastal Carolina (2-0) comes in as the FCS opponent from right outside Myrtle Beach with nothing to lose. Not many expect them to stick around for more than the opening kickoff. So perhaps, they do need more dawgs today to pull the upset. The Dawgs on the other side of the field see today as an opportunity to breathe new life into the program. This game may prove later to be the shot of adrenaline Georgia needs in 2011.
Many this week have said that if UGA took last week as a moral victory it only personifies the step back this program has taken since 2008. Last week, the Dawgs D only gave up 21 points to one of the most potent offenses in college football. Melvin Ingram returned a fake punt, Murray threw a pick six, and Jadeveon Clowney tossed Aaron Murray around causing another non-offensive touchdown. The week prior USC racked up 56 points over the last 35 minutes of play. Regardless of who your going up against that is one heck of a resume bullet.
Mentally I’ll be the first to tell you we need to sharpen up before Oxford next week. However, count me in with one of those who feel slightly more spiritually intact after last week’s performance. It takes a lot to remove Marcus Lattimore out of the equation for 3 quarters, and if it weren’t for a 30+ yard TD pass to do-everything receiver Alshon Jeffery, I’d say we held him at bay as well. Offensively, we left a lot to be desired in the first three drives where we dominated from the 20 to 20, but only came away with two field goals. Then we were able to string of drives together with what felt like incredible ease. I kept scoreboard watching last week, dumbfounded, at how we were down but completely outplaying the top 15 gamecock squad, yet always down by a score.
Now today with Coastal Carolina in town the only question remains is: which set of Dawgs will show up today?
14:17
Coastal Carolina received the opening kick off. Started off within their own 10 yard line, and didn’t get anything going for the first drive. Aramis Hillary had two incomplete passes. Austin Cain on the punt for 35 yards. Brandon Smith, returned the punt for minimal gain.
12:24
Georgia goes 4 plays for 41 yards culminating in a Isiah Crowell 35 yard TD run.
8:17
The second CCU drive has slightly more success than the first. Aramis Hillary completes two passes for short gains. The final outcome is the same ending with a punt that placed Brandon Smith back on the UGA 45. Georgia goes back to Isaiah to start the drive with two runs for a total of nine yards. Then it was Murray’s turn with two quick strikes to Tavarress King for 13 yards. On third down, Murray hits Michael Bennett in the open field for 18 yards. Aaron Murray goes in with the QB sneak Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 3:14. Dawgs 14-0.
1:42
Aramis Hillary passes to the tailback Jeremy Height for a 9 yard gain. Longest play of the day for the Chanticleers. DE Garrison Smith comes up big in the trenches on 3rd and 1 for the Dawgs. Richt had both Brandon Smith and Brandon Boykin on the following return. The ball was downed in Georgia territory. Carleton Thomas starts the series off with two first downs. This takes the Dawgs into opposing territory. Crowell goes 13 yards before getting called back on a Ben Jones holding call. Murray connects with T. King for 32 strike to hit pay dirt. Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 4:08. Dawgs 21-0.
Start of Second Quarter
CCU started the drive with 2 first downs. The Chanticleers break into Georgia territory for the first time today. Aramis Hillary displays his scrambling ability picks up 5 yards to UGA 45. Bacarri Rambo picks off Hillary returns in 38 yards into CCU territory only to fumble. Fumble recovery by Jeremy Height. CCU with a fresh set of downs. Nothing comes of it.
10:55
The Dawgs start their drive with a screen to Mitchell for 6 yards. On third goes back to Mitchell for 13 yards. Crowell and Bruce Figgins get in on the action with sizeable gains. Drive comes to a halt with Blair Walsh on for the kick… no good from 41 yards. A personal foul against CCU keeps the drive alive. Murray ends drive as it starts going back to Mitchell on 3rd and 5 for the TD. 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:47. Dawgs 28-0. 6:08 left in the half.
6:08
Jeremy Height returned the following kick 25 yards. Freshman super prep Nick Marshall there on the stop of the Dawgs. Aramis Hillary displayed tremendous athletics ability after getting flushed out of the pocket for a 11 yard gain to TE David Duran. Drive ended three plays later. Brandon Smith returns the following punt to the house only to be called back on a block in the back at midfield. A beautiful 70+ yard return instead is a 19 yarder.
2:30
Boykin spins his way past midfield on the 9 yard pass from Murray. Crowell moves the chains twice once through on the ground and then on the ground. The Dawgs start within the ten, and Carlton Thomas gets a good push from the OL on two carries. Murray tosses it up to King for the goal line score. Dawgs 35-0. 11 plays, 65 yards, 3:52.
End of the Half.
First Half Analysis
Any fan can appreciate a scoreline to the tone of 35-0. However, it isn’t the scoreline that has been most impressive for the Dawgs, but rather the contribution we’ve received from everyone who has seen action. These games are real confidence builders for the young guys coming through the ranks. Malcolm Mitchell has 3 catches for 35 yards. Michael Bennett has 27 yards receiving. Isaiah has obviously had a big half on 13 carries. On the defensive side of things Shawn Williams switches to inside linebacker and has had multiple big hits. Amarlo Herrera earned another start this week in replacement of Ogletree. The pressure on Hillary has been relentless (as expected but it is nice to see). The intensity was there from start to finish. I’m looking forward to seeing how the 2nd and 3rd string react as we go deeper into our rotation.
3rd Quarter Analysis- 59-0
Brandon Boykin returned the opening kickoff from the 11 to the CCU 43. Not much came of Hutson Mason’s first drive running the offense other than Blair Walsh kicked a 56 yard field goal (career long). The next UGA possession Hutson Mason connected with King a couple of times. Coastal coughed it up on the following kickoff. Mason hit a streaking Orson Charles on the following play for a 32 yard TD.Then a big hit dislodged another Coastal kick return. Carlton Thomas capped off a 2 play drive with a run off the RT for a 17 yard scamper.
In the 3rd quarter, Ray Drew saw his first action of the year. Brandon Harton, who was widely talked about during the spring, had his first carry for 8 yards. Jordan Love had a big hit that caused one of the kick off turnovers. Michael Gillard had a tackle for a two yard loss. Even with a full second team in the Dawgs haven’t let off the gas pedal for a second.
Jamie Childers took over at QB for CCU, but had minimal success on his first couple of possessions.
4th Quarter
QB, Parker Welch, saw the first snap of his career. He was handing off to Brandon Harton behind a largely freshman offensive line. For the few who remain this afternoon at Sanford Stadium, their getting a first glimpse at a good portion of players from this “Dream Team” class. The Dawgs were pretty content for the 4th quarter with simple draws and inside handoffs to Brandon Harton. As the clock runs out the score remains the same… Dawgs 59-0.
