After Boise State, Murray foresaw Georgia in SEC title game
Aaron Murray brings something to Georgia's offense far more important than statistics. (Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com)
ATHENS – Several weeks ago, when Georgia was looking like Liberty Bowl bait and Mark Richt was waiting for that first thrown rock through his office window, Aaron Murray did something rather unexpected. He prophesied an SEC championship game for the Bulldogs.
We can’t be certain if this should be attributed to Murray’s unwavering confidence or the fact that he had just been hit in the head 37 times by Boise State. But the sophomore quarterback walked out of the Georgia locker room after the Bulldogs had just laid a 35-21 egg against Boise State at the Georgia Dome to open the season, met up with his former high school coach and uttered these words: “Coach, we’re going to the SEC championship.”
At that point, Robert Weiner, Murray’s coach at Plant High School resisted temptations to alert medical personnel who might still in the Georgia Dome. He had seen this side of Murray before, like when the quarterback was sprawled on the field with an apparent broken ankle during his senior season at Plant and he told Weiner, “Get me ready for the second half.” (Didn’t happen. But Murray made it back from a four-month injury in seven weeks, in time for the playoffs.)
So how did Weiner respond to Murray’s comment?
“I just said, ‘Alright, Aaron,’” he said, laughing. “I wasn’t too sure. But I’ve seen what Aaron can do. With most people, you blow off a comment like that as blind optimism. But Aaron started going through the rest of the schedule with specifics on each game. He said, ‘You’re coming back here to the Georgia Dome at the end of the year to see us.’ I guess he was prophetic.”
Murray said he felt confident because he saw talent and heart. “We just weren’t ready for that game yet,” he said.
When asked about his prediction, he said, “Based on how we played that game, I would’ve thought I was crazy, too.”
One 10-game winning streak later, Bellevue is firmly in the rearview mirror.
The Bulldogs are 13-point underdogs to unbeaten LSU in Saturday’s SEC championship game. Murray is the X-factor. He has been great lately and he will have to be great against LSU because there’s no guarantee of a decent running attack with the hobbled Isaiah Crowell.
But his strength is his calm demeanor. At 0-2, the house was burning down and Murray was brushing the ashes off his jersey. All Georgia players get credit for not caving early, but the quarterback is the one in the middle of the huddle.
“I understand that even though I’m only a sophomore, there are players who are looking at me,” Murray said. “When you play the quarterback position you have to stay even-tempered.”
Weiner, who drilled that into him, said, “I never doubt two things about Aaron: His will to win and his ability to mobilize the people around him.”
That’s how football teams win 10 straight after losing two. The Dogs didn’t suddenly become faster or stronger. But they grew up and found ways to win. Murray battled some consistency problems earlier this season but leadership and resolve never were problems.
Said Richt, “If things are going rough and your quarterback spits the bit, you’re in big trouble. But if you can stand in a gap and stay strong and keep fighting, your quarterback can pull you out of a bad situation. Nobody questions Aaron’s toughness, mentally or physically. No one questions his dedication. He’s got everybody’s respect.”
Murray is likely to be a four-year starter. By the time he leaves Athens, he’ll likely own every career passing mark at the school. But he said earlier this week, “Championships [are] all that matters. My goal is to win a few while I’m here, and my first one, my first opportunity, is this weekend.”
The odds are long. But the odds were long on Georgia getting here. To most people, anyway.
By Jeff Schultz
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446 comments Add your comment
James
November 30th, 2011
9:37 am
ANYONE who thinks we got to the SEC championship on the shoulders of Aaron Murray is smoking crack. The defense got us here and if we win Saturday it will be because of the defense. Go Dawgs!
News: Syracuse’s Boeheim not worried about job status – Atlanta Journal Constitution | News 25/7! Delivering news in real time
November 30th, 2011
9:52 am
[...] After Boise State, Murray foresaw Georgia in SEC title game [...]
Kelly
November 30th, 2011
9:53 am
Drew Brees played in the Big 10. Weak conference, right dogs?
Remember the Outback that year?
iTiSi
November 30th, 2011
10:53 am
So now I guess we can give Murray a new name, which would be “Clare Voyant”. OR maybe say he has ESP(n) or even that he may have stayed at a Days Inn (close enough) recently. Anyway he doth prophesyeth much! I guess if the DAWGS win some will even see a halo over his head.
PurpleNGold
November 30th, 2011
10:58 am
yadda, yadda, yadda…..
November 30th, 2011
8:31 am
Gator Man
November 30th, 2011
8:08 am
Hey, Cro-magnon, try to have someone proof read your posts before clicking “submit comment”, okay?
Lol, a Georgie fan trying to correct someone else’s grammar…
5150 UOAD
November 30th, 2011
11:01 am
So Murray is the next Derw Brees and Luck is the next Payton. Well until they take a Snap in and NFL they are college QB’s.
PurpleNGold
November 30th, 2011
11:02 am
zbulldawg, your first mistake is thinking “Kitties” are stepping onto the field with you pups.
From Where I Sit
November 30th, 2011
11:07 am
Nice try but we know that he did not have a Tebow moment as this was never mentioned until now! Does not matter as LSU will OWN GA this weekend!
Enough Said!!!
BG
November 30th, 2011
11:08 am
Aaron Murray is a baller!
TampaDawg
November 30th, 2011
11:10 am
Kelly
November 30th, 2011
9:53 am
Drew Brees played in the Big 10. Weak conference, right dogs?
Remember the Outback that year?
——————–
Truer words have never been spoken. Brees and his boys got up big early on the Dawgs in that game. But the W rested firmly with the Dawgs at the end of the game.
Tim
November 30th, 2011
11:22 am
Go Dawgs! As a Boise State fan we have been with you ever since the game. Luck is on your side, 2009’s Oregon won the PAC10 after we beat them first game of the season, 2010’s VaTech won the ACC after we beat them first game of the season, and UGA will do the same.
Hey help us in the movement to have ESPN fire Craig James. He has no logic in the way he votes in the AP poll and he has it completely out for Boise State.
Sign the Petition…..
http://www.change.org/petitions/espn-fire-craig-james-from-espn#
http://www.pollspeak.com/component/option,com_psreport/Itemid,3/f,/lang,en/o1,/o2,/o3,/o4,/p,36/r,V/s17,/seed,1322608494/t1,12/t2,/v,14/w,14/
Energy Vampire
November 30th, 2011
11:22 am
Thanks Nostradamus. With that schedule and South Carolina losing their best player, it would have been an embarrassment not to make it.
Next year will be even easier when Mizzou moves Bama off the schedule and South Carolina picks up LSU as a permanent opponent after Florida whines their way out of that game to get Texas A & M.
what of it?
November 30th, 2011
11:24 am
“We just weren’t ready for that game yet,” he said.
absolutely pathetic. there’s no place for that excuse when you have 8 months to prepare, Especially when UCF completely embarrassed us in the we’re-only-in-it-for-the-money bowl
TampaDawg
November 30th, 2011
11:26 am
From Where I Sit
November 30th, 2011
11:07 am
Nice try but we know that he did not have a Tebow moment as this was never mentioned until now! Does not matter as LSU will OWN GA this weekend!
Enough Said!!!
————————————–
Enough said??? It usually makes people feel better, posting one of the most over used sports cliches in history, to say that as if they were smart enough to post the bottom line, end of the story. But no one on here is calling it a “Tebow” moment. In fact, Tebow’s comments (as a Dawg fan, I think it was one of the greatest college football moments ever), were after a tough loss the broke up an undefeated start for the Gators. Murray’s was at the beginning of the year after losing game 1. He also didn’t do it at a huge press conference the way Tebow did. As for the LSU game, this is why we actually let the players PLAY the game. Because upsets happen (see 2005), and predictions often fall short.
TampaDawg
November 30th, 2011
11:28 am
5150 UOAD
November 30th, 2011
11:01 am
So Murray is the next Derw Brees and Luck is the next Payton. Well until they take a Snap in and NFL they are college QB’s.
———————————-
Absolutely true. The QB spot is by far the toughest to predict coming out of college and into the NFL.
Philip
November 30th, 2011
11:31 am
Murray is too short for the next level. That is why he rolls out so much. If you will noticed, the passes over the middle are always high unless 15 yds or further down the field. Coach Bobo is the weakest link in the chain. CMR has brought in some really talented coaches on the other side of the ball. I expect changes next year on the O-side.
Gordo29
November 30th, 2011
11:40 am
If I was Penn State, I wound interview Mark Richt. If anybody could handle the pressure and craziness that is there lot right now, its the coolest guy in the house, MR. This may be his best season. the only game they should have lost was Boise State, who was clearly the better team. Had they beaten SC, as they should have, they might be in the top 5 right now. I know they could kill Arkansas and am pretty sure they will match up well against LSU. If Crowell can go and Aaron is on his game, it will be something LSU has no faced all year – a good balanced offense.
TampaDawg
November 30th, 2011
11:49 am
Philip, people keep mentioning Drew Brees on here, and he is the same height as Drew Brees. Height is the most over rated stat in rating a QB and only those who have never played QB even know that. With lineman generally coming in between 6-4 and 6-7 these days, a QB would have to be about 6-7 to 6-9 to SEE over the lineman. QBs work off finding passing lanes created by the line.
Brees, Mark Brunell, obviously Flutie, Steve Young and we could go on. Its about the lanes.
Delbert D.
November 30th, 2011
12:01 pm
Vick is 6-0.
yadda, yadda, yadda.....
November 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
PurpleNGold
November 30th, 2011
10:58 am
LOL!! You understood Gator Man’s post? LOL.. only an LSU fan could understand that mess. LOL.
doo doo ley
November 30th, 2011
12:09 pm
a prophet? does he see himself in some real hot water soon?
PurpleNGold
November 30th, 2011
12:13 pm
yadda, yadda, yadda…..
I am not obsessed with the Gators like you Georgie fans are. You beat them once every, what, seven years?
TampaDawg
November 30th, 2011
12:31 pm
Buckeye
November 30th, 2011
8:57 am
Drew Brees played in the Big 10. Weak conference, right dogs?
——————————————-
Yup, sure was.
gomdawg
November 30th, 2011
12:53 pm
Georgia Defense has pull more than it’s part in this run ,but Murray and Company has pulled their part as well it has been a team effort and that’s what it will take to beat LSU this weekend . GO DAWGS JUNKYARD DAWGS ARE COMING
Delbert D.
November 30th, 2011
1:06 pm
Speaking of QBs, I did some research on Heisman winners between 2007 and 1986 and notable players were on the official list the same year. The emphasis is on who went on to NFL success. Many nominees are left out; for example there were 7 vote-getters between Crouch and Freeney in 2001]. Wait and see on the 2011-2008 classes.
2007 – Tim Tebow [Matt Ryan]
2006 – Troy Smith [Calvin Johnson, Ray Rice]
2005 – Vacated
2004 – Matt Leinhart [ Adrian Peterson, Alex Smith]
2003 – Jason White [Larry Fitzgerald, Eli Manning, Philp Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger]
2002 – Carson Palmer
2001 – Eric Crouch [Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers]
2000 – Chris Wienke [Drew Brees, Ladanian Tomlinson, Michael Vick]
1999 – Ron Dayne [Vick, Brees, LaVar Arrington, Shaun Alexander]
1998 – Ricky Williams [Donovan McNabb, Champ Bailey, Torry Holt]
1997 – Charles Woodson [Peyton Manning]
1996 – Danny Wuerffel [Orlando Pace, Warrick Dunn, Peyton Manning]
1995 – Eddie George [Peyton Manning, Warrick Dunn, Keyshawn Johnson]
1994 – Rashaan Salaam [Steve McNair, Warren Sapp]
1993 – Charlie Ward [Marshall Faulk]
1992 – Gino Torretta [Marshall Faulk]
1991 – Desmond Howard [MarshallFaulk]
1990 – Ty Detmer [
1989 - Andre Ware [Emmitt Smith]
1988 – Barry Sanders [Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders, Derrick Thomas]
1987 – Tim Brown – [Craig Heyward, Thurmond Thomas, Chris Spielman, Emmitt Smith]
1986 – Vinny Testaverde [Jim Harbaugh, Brian Bosworth, Cornelius Bennett]
DawgJohn
November 30th, 2011
1:31 pm
2005 comes to life again!!
DawgJohn
November 30th, 2011
1:35 pm
Hey Purple…….check out the the total record between Ga and Fla……No biggie ….who cares? Just like this year……..it’s over……but hey, we can only go up in this game Saturday. Imagine losing the SEC and they tucking your tiger tail between your legs when two teams unable to win their conference vie for the BCS Championship. I’m good with it…..great teams…….but it is going to feel like crap if we pull another 2005 against you. What other SEC team has a lifetime winning record agains you? We have our voodoo dolls out. Prepare to be pricked!!
DawgJohn
November 30th, 2011
1:42 pm
Hey Tim, It’s because Craig James is an idiot! He can hardly get two words out of his mouth without screwing up. Just ask Mike Leach. ESPN does some great things and they have some super personalities associated with them. Where they came up with James is a mystery to all sports fans. He is such a joke. He is pitiful. Gosh, I actually am starting to feel sorry for him. No one should be that pathetic!
DawgJohn
November 30th, 2011
1:43 pm
Please forgive me for my Craig James sin! It just jumped out of me!!
DawgJohn
November 30th, 2011
1:50 pm
Craig James and Gus Malzone’s wife would make a great couple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe Hautzinger
November 30th, 2011
2:47 pm
I am trying to become a guest contributor to B/R but since my comments usually upset the royalty of college football (SEC) I think I am being ignored. I made this comment originally after BSU defeated Georgia in the season opener. I have now updated this short article as Georgia has won the SEC East.
Anarchy – Georgia is going to win the SEC
The conventional wisdom is seeking a return match between Alabama and LSU in the national championship game. These pundits are assuming that LSU is going to defeat Georgia in the SEC Championship game. However, Georgia is on the right side of history and the BCS is going to slip further into disarray.
“Why?” you say. Simple, one needs only to look at history.
During the 2009 season a highly touted Oregon team opened their season at Boise State. Oregon’s offense was supposed to overwhelm the BSU defense. Oregon did not score a first down until halfway through the third quarter and ended up losing to BSU 19-8. Oregon then went on to win the PAC-10 championship.
Fast forward to the 2010 season and a very good Virginia Tech team opened their season with BSU and lost in the final seconds. After the defeat the experts were saying that VT was going to finish in the bottom of the ACC but instead they went on to convincingly win the ACC by going undefeated.
This year the Georgia Bulldogs opened their season with a game against the Broncos. The Bulldogs lost by two touchdowns and some said they were “manhandled” by the Broncos. Manhandled is the wrong word. Arguably, Georgia was bigger, stronger and faster than BSU but thanks to a brilliant game from Kellen Moore, they were kept off balance by the crafty Broncos. Predictably, UGA has gone on to win the SEC East and are destined to win the SEC.
Yep
November 30th, 2011
3:02 pm
Saw scalpers prices are dropping for game….Other than the writer mentioning Alabama fans trying to get rid of their tix…One thing the writer missed on was the fact that every freaking sportswriter in the nation has already put LSU and Bama in the national title game, rendering this meaningless for one team in the game other than pride. Campaigning of the so called experts have hurt the marketing of SEC Champ. game
G-Dawg
November 30th, 2011
4:09 pm
Valdosta was picked as Titletown in a national contest by ESPN.
IF you never been there, then you obviously dont know what you’re talking about!! Its a pretty fun college town!!
DawgByte
November 30th, 2011
5:21 pm
I will pulling for Georgia. I honestly don’t believe we’ll win the game. This is one game I’m not stressed about, because we’re playing an undefeated team and during the course of the season beat all our major rivals (Lamecocks are not really a rival), so it’s been an ultra satisfying season for me. I’m very happy for Mark Richt. He’s a class act and deserves success!
Secone
November 30th, 2011
6:15 pm
Do they offer Spelling101 (or something close) at LSU harold? It is MASSACRE not MASSACURE!
5150 UOAD
November 30th, 2011
7:33 pm
g-dawg……………Titletown for High School Football. You shouldn’t leave Athens or Atlanta to party in Valdosta. Savannah yes but not Valdosta.
Energy Vampire
November 30th, 2011
7:40 pm
That oompa loompa wont be able to see over that big LSU D line either…… 42 – 9 Bengals!
RedandBlackDawg
November 30th, 2011
7:44 pm
True SEC East Champion,
Impressive record there. Just too bad you are sitting home and watching the SEC championship isn’t it? Next year, UGA will leave no doubt who the real SEC EAST CHAMPION is. I of course expect you to come up with something like injuries, new QB, or something else. Just think though, this year all you had to do was beat Auburn, but darn, you couldn’t do it. We had to show you how, to the tune of 45-7.
Good teams have depth, so why didn’t yours?. Why wasn’t your QB more prepared to step in for Garcia? You know, the same QB that Spurrier said at the beginning of the season, needed a year to learn before he would be ready. Why didn’t you have a runner that could step in and not take time to learn, when Lattimore went down? The same thing happened last year, because you ran the guy to death, and you got the same results this year.
Two weeks ago, a more deserving and better team became the SEC EAST DIVISION CHAMPS, and it wasn’t you. Perhaps you could learn some humility, but I don’t think you will. You will just have to wait until 2012 to find out if you can dethrone the champs now.
GO DAWGS and GATA
@ True SEC East Champs
November 30th, 2011
9:00 pm
Well I guess if USC were the true champs they would be playing LSU this weekend HUH? How did you lose to Auburn? tisk tisk
kme
November 30th, 2011
9:27 pm
Preston: I am way with you, man….Harold and gspot…I am going to take it to them myself…
I want GA to beat the ukw out of LSU…and I am keeping their quotes as well…so, IF GA can beat LSU…provide the upset…man oh man…will I ever through it into their face…and besides,
Preston…I will NOT be sarcastic to your face, either…I will be FOR REAL!
dawg555
December 1st, 2011
12:14 am
I have a question for all of you, and it’s downright serious. My nephew is being heavily recruited by several schools as a WR and in the summer he decided to commit NC State. He can run (4.4), catch (go see that catch), block and tackle. Should he take his official visits? And he has the grades….
dawg555
December 1st, 2011
12:29 am
Here’s the one handed catch http://www.gpb.org/sports/football/match/2011/11/18/class-aaaaa-playoffs-round-2-game-5. Go to 2:16 to see the remarkable catch! Lassiter is in the final 4 for state championship
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