Sports

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — It’s Saturday in Jacksonville and it’s time for the biggest game of the Georgia season.

There is nothing quite like the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville, Florida. Half of the stadium is in red and black, and the other half in orange and blue.

The Bulldogs come into today’s game on a five-game winning streak and are tied with South Carolina for the SEC East lead.

A couple injury notes before kickoff. UGA WR Malcolm Mitchell did not make the trip, neither did WR Israel Troupe. The loss of Mitchell and Troupe means Georgia will be playing with four scholarship receivers.

Georgia will also be without Shawn Williams and Kwame Geathers for the first half, after being suspended by the SEC following the Vanderbilt game two weeks ago.

On the Florida side, John Brantley participated in the stretch period a couple hours before the game, but did not participate in team warm-ups. It is unknown if he will start or not.

For live updates of today’s game, follow me on Twitter @Mike_Reiter

1st Quarter: News, Stats and Analysis

-Florida won the toss and elected to receive. On the first play, John Brantley completed a 72-yard catch-and-run screen to HB Jeff Demps. Brantley threw three straight incompletions with the ball on the Georgia 21 yard-line, but Brad Phillips missed a 38-yard field goal attempt.

Florida put the first points up on the board with a 31-yard pass on 4th-and-19 from Brantley to TE Jordan Reed. Following that drive, a Murray pass deflected off  the helmet of Crowell and was intercepted by Florida and the Gators had the ball on the Bulldogs 12. After a couple of sacks and a penalty, Florida lost 26 yards, and punted from their own 38.

QB Aaron Murray is 5-7, 44 yards, and 1 interception. Freshman RB Isaiah Crowell has six rushing attempts for 34 yards.

WR Marlon Brown has stepped up nicely and has two big receptions for 22 yards so far. The first was a 3rd-and-5 to extend a drive, another was a 15 yard reception on 2nd-and-18 following a holding penalty.

Florida QB John Brantley is 6-for-12, 164 yards and one touchdown. Reed has 1 reception for 31 yards and a touchdown. Jeff Demps has one reception for 72 yards.

The Gators have a total of -27 rushing yards. Granted, that number is skewed because sacks count as rushing yards lost. In terms of actual running plays, Florida has -5 yards rushing. Demps is the leading rusher with 2 yards on 1 carry.

Time of possession was about even with Florida holding the ball for 7:33.

2nd Quarter: News, Stats and Analysis

After a less than stellar first quarter of the game for Georgia, the Bulldogs came out in the second quarter with more fight in them.

Georgia finished a 12-play, 67 yard drive to open the second quarter that resulted in a Blair Walsh 32 yard field goal. The score was 7-3, but it didn’t stay like that for long. Jeff Demps returned the next kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-3. The Gators would

After a three-and-out for Georgia, the Gators drove down and Brad Phillips made a 43-yard field to make it 17-3. Georgia then took the ball 61 yards on 15 plays, but the drive ended on a 33-yard missed field goal attempt by Blair Walsh.

On the next drive, Florida had it 3rd-and-22 from their own 8, Chris Rainey rushed the ball 17 yards, but UGA ILB Alec Ogletree forced a fumble and it was recovered by Bacarri Rambo.

With the ball at the Florida 25, the Bulldogs weren’t able to get a first down, and with the problems with Walsh, the Bulldogs decided to go for a fourth and five.

And that’s when the Georgia season might have changed.

Aaron Murray connected on a 20-yard pass to Michael Bennett, and the Bulldogs cut the Gators lead in half.

The score is 17-10 Florida, but keep in mind, Georgia was down 21-7 at the half last year, and outscored the Gators 24-10 in the second half to force the game into overtime.

Aaron Murray is 9-for-17, 88 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Isaiah Crowell has 49 rushing yards on 11 carries. Richard Samuel has rushed for 15 yards on four carries.

Murray has spread the wealth of his receptions evenly amongst the receivers. Michael Bennett, Chris Conley, Marlon Brown and Orson Charles each have two receptions. Bennett caught the lone touchdown of the game for the Bulldogs so far on a 20-yard pass from Murray on fourth-and-5.

The second half is about to begin of what might be the most important second half Mark Richt has ever coached at Georgia.

3rd Quarter: News, Stats and Analysis

The two teams exchanged punts to start the second half, but after Florida started their second drive inside their own 10 yard line, Jarvis Jones made another outstanding defensive play.

The redshirt Sophomore forced a fumble, and the Bulldogs had the ball at the Gators 18. Initially, the call on the field was that the runner was down by contact, but it was overturned by replay.

After getting the ball, the Georgia offense stalled again, but with the way Blair Walsh has been playing, the Bulldogs went for it again on fourth down. Aaron Murray connected with Tavarres King and the game is all tied up at 17.

Another theme of the day is the inept play of the Georgia special teams. Florida returned the next kickoff for 63 yards, the Gators offense stalled, and behind the leg of Brad Phillips, Florida leads 20-17.

Aaron Murray is 14-for-28, 151 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Crowell has rushed for 67 yards on 15 carries, but is currently out with an injury. His return is questionable.

Orson Charles is the leading receiver with 4 receptions for 31 yards. Tavarres King has three receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Florida QB John Brantley is 11-for-27, 235 yard and one touchdown. The Georgia defense has played well against Brantley, and has recorded five sacks. In somewhat of a skewed statistic, the Florida Gators have -26 rushing yards.

Onto the fourth quarter we go…

It’s finally time for the Georgia-Florida game, or some might call it the Florida-Georgia game depending on if you like jorts, the Swamp, a mullet, the color Orange, jorts, Tebow, Spurrier, Gainesville or jorts.

Regardless, all fans can agree it’s finally time for the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and Gators wear jeans shorts

Gators Wear Jean Shorts

Georgia comes into this game on a five game winning streak, while Florida comes in on a three game losing streak.

But flip the teams schedules, and the exact opposite might be said, so DON’T look to much into that. The Gators have lost to Alabama, LSU and Auburn, while Georgia has beaten Coastal Carolina, Ole Miss, Miss. State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

This isn’t to say the five game winning streak isn’t impressive, it is. However, the three game losing streak for Florida was expected. The Gators are still a fairly good football team.

Now to the actual game itself that will kickoff at 3:30 this Saturday on CBS.

Georgia is a team that has battled through early season losses, suspensions and injuries, but the Bulldogs have shown that they can do something special.

Through the first seven games, the defense has played great. It is one of the best in the SEC behind the NFL teams of LSU and Alabama, but the scary part is that the defense hasn’t reached their full potential.

Now, I know using the word potential is a dangerous word to use, because that means it hasn’t been reached yet. But heading into the Florida game, the Georgia defense will be the healthiest it’s been all year.

Linebacker Alec Ogletree returns after sitting out the last six games following an injury he suffered in the Boise State game. Outside linebacker Cornelius Washington returns after a two-game suspension for being a dumbass. (DUI and Speeding — 92 in a 55).

The Bulldogs will be without Shawn Williams and Kwame Geathers for the first half, but defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has shown that he can still have a solid unit even when starters go down. Not to mention that Geathers and Williams will have fresh legs in the second half — an area where the defense has struggled in recent games.

For the Georgia defense to be successful in this game, they must get pressure on John Brantley, or whoever the quarterback is. I’m talking about blitzing and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Charlie Weis and the Florida offense. The Gators will try to get outside with Demps and Rainey, so another key will be containing the edge. Because if Florida can break contain, it will cause headaches for Grantham and the defense.

That’s why the most important players for the Georgia defense are outside linebackers Cornelius Washington and Jarvis Jones. With how those two have played so far this year, I feel very confident that they will contain the Florida offense. Behind them, Alec Ogletree, Michael Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera and Christian Robinson will rotate at inside linebacker and make plays.

On the offensive side of the ball, the key to the game is simple. Run the ball, run the ball, don’t turn the football over, and run the ball.

Murray needs to make smart decisions. He needs to know when to tuck and run, when to just throw the ball out of bounds. But most importantly, he must connect on the deep posts that Georgia runs a couple times throughout the game. Malcolm Mitchell is the best option for that play, but he is questionable for the game. Other than him, the Bulldogs will have to rely on Tavarres King and Marlon Brown.

Now, onto that team that resides in Gainesville, Fla.

It’s been a tale of two seasons so far in Gainesville. The Gators went 4-0 in September with wins against Florida Atlantic, UAB, Tennessee and Kentucky, but are 0-3 in the month of October.

Granted, the schedule has everything to do with it, and if Georgia played that schedule, the Bulldogs would be 4-3 and the Gators would be sitting at 5-2.

The one thing that has changed for the Gators is the quarterback position. However, all reports indicate that John Brantley will be the starting quarterback. He started the first five games, but was injured in the _ game, and hasn’t played since.

Defensively, the Florida defense is very talented like past years, but are fairly young and inexperienced. Regardless, Murray and the Georgia offense will have their hands full on Saturday.

Last year, Georgia was the better team on the field, but literally threw the game away because of Aaron Murray’s three interceptions.

Despite the turnovers, Georgia scored 17 fourth-quarter points and took the game into overtime for the first time in series history, but Murray threw an interception on Georgia’s first drive and Florida kicked the game winning field goal on their next drive.

But enough of last year, the 2010 game is in the past.

This year is going to be different. In fact, this year will be different that 18 of the last 21 years.

The Georgia Bulldogs will win this game, and in the words of Larry Munson, “Some property will be destroyed in St. Simons.”

Georgia is the better team, and while that won’t win the game for the Bulldogs this year.

This is the most important game of the season. This is the most important game concerning Mark Richt’s future at Georgia. This is the most important game left in terms of the SEC East race for Georgia.

Most importantly, this is a game that Georgia has to win for the players, coaches, and most importantly, the fans.

With a win, the Bulldogs will go onto a 10-2 regular season and have the opportunity to get destroyed by the winner of the National Championship game between LSU and Alabama on Nov. 5.

Back to the game on Saturday, here’s my final prediction:

Aaron Murray will throw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns. Isaiah Crowell will rush for 110 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree will have monster days.

Georgia is a 3 point favorite, but give Florida all of those points, it doesn’t matter. The Bulldogs will win this game by 14 points.

It’s finally here. It’s the weekend of the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and the Georgia-Florida game.

However, there are four other SEC games, and Grace Olson, Josh Kirschner and Mike Reiter pick those games along with the game down in Jacksonville.

Here are the standings through the first eight weeks of the college football season.

1. Mike       55-6, 5-0 last week
2. Grace     51-9, 5-0 last week
3. Josh       48-12, 5-0 last week

CLICK HERE for a more in-depth look at my Georgia-Florida prediction

ATHENS—–Georgia head coach Mark Richt met with the media Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon.

Below are comments from Richt courtesy of the UGA Sports Communications. Video highlights from Richt and a few of the players will be uploaded later.

Head Coach Mark Richt

Opening Statement…

“Coach (Will) Muschamp has a very outstanding team in my opinion. I know they’ve lost the last three, but they’ve played three ranked teams, and two of them are dominating everybody that they play. I think there is a perception that Georgia is on a roll and Florida is struggling, but if you flip those schedules I’m not sure it wouldn’t be a whole lot different story for us and for them as far as winning. They are a very talented team as always, very fast team. That’s the one thing that sticks out more than anything is just the team speed, offense, defense, special teams. We have issues to deal with in that regard.”

On what he will say to Aaron Murray about last year’s game against Florida…

“I think the less said the better. We’re trying to focus real hard on not the fact that it’s in Jacksonville, not the fact that it’s even Florida. We’re looking at the team we’re playing as far as their personnel, their scheme. If you are a quarterback, what’s really important? It’s not important if it’s your hometown, it’s not important if it’s in Jacksonville. It’s important to know if there is enough crowd noise that you are going to have to deal with that. It’s important to know what jersey numbers they wear and what positions they play and what types of tendencies they have in the red zone or third down. Those are the things we are focusing on, not so much that it’s Florida, not so much that it’s his home state team. I want him to focus on what’s going to help him win when the ball is snapped. That’s where our conversations are going.”

On the status of WR Malcolm Mitchell…

“He didn’t do well yesterday. He practiced for about five minutes.” (more…)

We are now almost halfway through the 2011 college football season and it’s time for another weekend of SEC action. Below are the week 7 SEC picks from Grace Olson, Josh Kirschner and myself.

Here are the standings through six weeks:

1. Mike       45-6, 6-0 last week
2. Grace     41-9, 6-0 last week
3. Josh       38-12, 5-1 last week

We are now six weeks through the 2011 season and the bowl picture is beginning to take shape, but there is still a long way to go. Below are my predictions for the bowl games involving SEC teams following week six 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
Tennessee vs. CUSA #1

Music City Bowl – Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 30, 6:40 p.m., ESPN
Auburn vs. ACC #6

Gator Bowl – Jacksonville, Fla.– Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN2
Mississippi State vs. Big Ten #4/#5

Chick-fil-a Bowl – Atlanta, Ga.– Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
South Carolina 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
Florida 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
LSU vs. BCS

BCS Nat’l Championship – New Orleans, La — Jan 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Alabama vs. BCS #2

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It’s Saturday in Knoxville and it’s time to tee it up on Rocky Top for the matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers.

Now, I know that it doesn’t have the same flavor as a Saturday in Athens when games are played between the hedges, but every other year Georgia has to make this trip up to Neyland Stadium.

Georgia hasn’t won in Knoxville since 2005 and the last two meetings have been ugly for the Bulldogs. In 2007, Tennessee won 35-14 and in 2009 the Volunteers won 45-19. However, Georgia beat Tennessee 41-14 last year in Athens.

This is a game where the home team has won the last four matchups, and one where the winner will be one of the favorites in the SEC East.

It is going to be loud, the color Orange is an eyesore, and Rocky Top will be played about 100 times.

For live updates and analysis of the game, follow me on Twitter @Mike_Reiter.

1st Quarter News, Stats and Notes: Georgia 3, Tennessee 0

Tennessee won the toss and chose to defer.

Obvious stat of the first quarter other than the score. Georgia is 3-for-3 on fourth downs. 2 of the 3 fourth down conversions came on Georgia’s end of the field. While I don’t agree with either call, the offense converted and the drive continued.

Tennessee has fumbled the ball a couple of times, but has managed to get it back. Isaiah Crowell also fumbled the ball, but the ball squirted out of bounds.

Murray is 5-8 for 35 yards with a long of 11. The quarterback also rushed four times for six yards. Isaiah Crowell has rushed the ball for 13 yards on five carries, an average of 2.6 per carry.

Georgia out-gained Tennessee 76-48 and held the ball on offense for 8:57. The Volunteers one drive lasted 6 minutes and 3 seconds

SCORING PLAYS: 35 yard field goal by Blair Walsh, 15 plays, 62 yards, 6:13

2nd Quarter News, Stats and Notes: Georgia 6, Tennessee 6

Story of the first half: The offense has moved the ball well, but the opposing teams defense has stepped up when it matters most.

The statement can be applied to both teams and this is about as even of a game as you could have.

Junior ILB Mike Gilliard has been the leading tackler for the Bulldogs the past three games. He had a career-high nine against Miss. State last week. At the half tonight, he has a team-high seven tackles with one forced fumble, one pass breakup and one tackle for a loss.

Georgia’s defense continues to impress, and the unit lead by Todd Grantham has allowed just one touchdown in the last 14 quarters.

Coming in tonight, Georgia was 3-for-9 on fourth down conversions. In the first quarter, Georgia was 3-for-3 on fourth downs.

Cornerback Branden Smith recorded his first rushing attempts of the season tonight (2 for 19 yards). The junior leads all teams in rushing through one half of play.

Isaiah Crowell has 14 yards on 7 carries. Murray is 8-for-16 for 95 yards.

On the Tennessee side of the ball, Tyler Bray is 10-for-19 for 160 yards with a long of 27 yards. Da”rick Rodgers has two receptions for 25 yards, and has been hit hard on both of them (Branden Smith and Bacarri Rambo).

3rd Quarter News, Stats and Notes: Georgia 20, Tennessee 6

Without question, that was the most important and best quarter of football the Georgia Bulldogs have played all season.

Freshman Isaiah Crowell and Malcolm Mitchell were the story of the third quarter. Crowell scored his first touchdown since Coastal Carolina, and added another one after a 73-yard reception by Mitchell.

Tennessee received the opening kickoff of the second half, and after a bad snap, the Volunteers punted from their own five yard line. The Bulldogs capitalized and scored the first touchdown of the game to lead 13-6.

After the Bulldogs went up 20-6, the Volunteers returned the kickoff to midfield, but the defense stepped up and forced a three and out.

Georgia outgained Tennessee 177-11 in the third quarter. That’s just dominant football. Nothing else needs to be said about that stat, unless you want to add the 14 points Georgia scored in the third frame.

Murray is 13-for-22 for 206 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Crowell has now rushed for 52 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Mitchell has three catches for 126 yards including a long of 71.

Now we are heading to the fourth quarter in Neyland Stadium.

It’s time for another weekend of SEC football. Here are the week 6 picks from Grace Olson, Josh Kirschner and myself.

Through the five four weeks, here are the standings.

1. Mike       39-6, 5-2 last week
2. Grace     36-9, 4-3 last week
3. Josh       34-11, 4-3 last week

Georgia tight end Aron White spoke to the media before the Bulldogs’ game against Tennessee. In this interview, White talks about his dislike of the color orange, along with Tennessee.

ATHENS, Ga — The depth chart for the Georgia Bulldogs in their game against Tennessee has been released. The Bulldogs have yet to name a starting OLB to replace Cornelius Washington who is serving a two-game suspension following a DUI and speeding arrest.