Georgia starts slow, then writes winning script (UPDATED)
If Dogs' comeback wasn't big enough statement, this was.
(UPDATED: 1:15 a.m.)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — By the time this night was over, Georgia had to be more than just somebody else’s memory.
Decades from now, there couldn’t be any warm-and-fuzzy storylines about how some newbie won its first SEC game, because the flip side to that would be that the Bulldogs had lost it. There couldn’t be the tale of how a long-standing program (Georgia) had stumbled in its conference opener for the third straight season, this time falling to a program (Missouri) that some questioned was even worthy of this leap.
But by the time the evening ended, Georgia didn’t have to worry about that. The Dogs had several early hiccups Saturday. They turned the ball over. They committed penalties. They trailed as late as 20-17 with less than three minutes left in the third quarter. Then they changed the script.
The Dogs scored the final 24 points of the game. They scored 38 in the final 30:30 of the game after managing only a field goal in the first 29:30. They won 41-20.
It’s too early to know if Georgia is a great team. But that is how great teams react. They take over games and look like they’re ready for the moment, especially when the opponent looks like it isn’t.
As the game ended, Georgia fans in one corner of Memorial Stadium, chanted, “Old man football! Old man football!” The reference was to the Missouri player who had mocked their style.
Big mistake by the Tigers. Fond memory for the Bulldogs.
“We all heard it — that was great,” quarterback Aaron Murray said.
“”Hilarious,” wide receiver Marlon Brown added.
Defense held Dogs in it until Aaron Murray got going.
It was 3-3 until late in the second quarter. Brown said, “I was thinking, ‘Wow, this really is ‘old man football’ — for both teams.”
But Georgia drove to a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half, and suddenly it couldn’t be stopped. In one stretch they scored on five of six possessions (four touchdowns and a field goal), although the last two touchdowns of the game were gimmes, set up by Missouri turnovers caused by linebacker Jarvis Jones: an interception and return to the Mizzou 1, and a sack and forced fumble at the 5.
“I think we showed people we can play,” Jones said. “In the first half, they threw a variety of punches at us, they showed us everything they had. In the second half we were more comfortable. And we made plays.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers unraveled. It started with their head coach, Gary Pinkel. He called for a fake punt early in the fourth quarter when Georgia led only 24-20. Some might call that the element of surprise. In reality, it was an awful message to send his players. It was like telling them, “We can’t win this playing normal football.” There is nothing wrong with calling a fake punt, but not at that point of the game.
Also, it failed. Punter Trey Barrow was stuffed on a fourth-and-11 run by Sheldon Dawson at the Tigers’ 38. The Dogs converted that into a field goal and outscored Missouri 17-0 from that points.
Jones: “That was a big turning point for us.”
Nobody went into Saturday expecting a blowout win. Georgia showed flaws last week against Buffalo (soft defensive line, off-target quarterback), was missing bodies (four defensive starters suspended) and was playing on the road against a solid opponent that obviously was pumped for its SEC debut.
But the one thing nobody in Athens wanted or expected was a reminder of last season’s first significant test of the season. Remember the Boise State game? The Bulldogs looked outcoached and overmatched physically by a perceived inferior team that night. They trailed 28-7 in the third quarter and lost 35-21.
That’s sort of what it looked like for a half (or more) against Missouri. The offensive line didn’t block well. Murray was off target. He frequently overthrew receivers, and the one time when he underthrew a receiver (Brown), the pass was intercepted — and on the first play after Georgia had recovered a Missouri fumble.
There were other problems. Malcolm Mitchell belatedly and foolishly decided to field a punt on a bounce and in traffic. Of course, he got hit and fumbled. The Dogs finished with 12 penalties, including five false starts. There were dropped passes. Placekicker Marshall Morgan made 52-and 41-yard field goals but missed an extra point and had another ricochet in off the upright.
But defense, despite also having some bumps, kept the Dogs in it until Murray and the offense got going. With Georgia trailing 20-17, Murray completed consecutive passes to Brown (40 yards), Michael Bennett (22) and Brown (11) again, the last one for a touchdown and a 24-20 lead.
Missouri panicked. It didn’t look ready for the moment. Pinkel’s fake punt backfired. It was over.
This memory was all Georgia’s.
By Jeff Schultz
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687 comments Add your comment
Thomas
September 9th, 2012
9:18 am
Mistakes and poor offensive play calling. They better beat the Gators.
air of mendacity
September 9th, 2012
9:24 am
I predict that Mizzou will win a bunch of games this year – so I would not say they are a bad team or no-bodies. As to the D – it will get alot better when we get our starters back. Think about Jarvis with Ogletree to help. And with our safties back, it will change pass coverage completely. Starting to smell like dome match-up with LSU/Bama. Tall order there but winner probably gets into national championship. On offense, we can’t start out so slow as season progresses, or could be trouble against better teams. I don’t mean GT when I say better teams.
Antonio Fargas
September 9th, 2012
9:26 am
BOBO is a terrible coordinator. Murray didn’t play like a leader.
dale morphy
September 9th, 2012
9:27 am
LOVED the shots of Richt hugging Samuel and Jones after they made big-boy plays…that’s leadership. I’m not sure Richt is the best X’s and O’s coach out there, but he brings some other qualities to the table that are just as important. I don’t ever worry that our coach will get caught in some awful recruiting scandal or trolling around town with some co-ed. That said, I think this team is championship caliber RIGHT NOW with a creative and courageous offensive coordinator. I kind of gave up on Bobo tonight. While watching the game I accurately predicted the EXACT play calls in sequence for the first 3 UGA drives of the third quarter. I am a complete football idiot, but I do watch all the Georgia games and I know Bobo’s tendencies. If I can do that, jeez what can the opposing DC do???
guy
September 9th, 2012
9:27 am
Mizzou has a good football team. Great win by the Dawgs. What a tough place to go to with all the hype and honor to be inducted into the SEC. It is an honor to play football in the SEC. There is no conference that comes close and they all know it. That was a great football game.
Tech nerds Dragon
September 9th, 2012
9:27 am
Now let everyone say say it was only MO the show me state
guy
September 9th, 2012
9:28 am
Mizzou would run away with the ACC.
guy
September 9th, 2012
9:29 am
Jarvis Jones put on one of the season great defensive performances.
to all the haters
September 9th, 2012
9:31 am
to all the bulldawg nation how bout them dawgs.We went yo mizzu and put it on them Jarvis Jones is a beast look out cause this season could be something special.And to the haters go dawgs
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:31 am
guy
September 9th, 2012
9:27 am
Mizzou has a good football team.
That was FUNNY
air of mendacity
September 9th, 2012
9:33 am
morphy – I kinda of agree about BoBo and got a bunch of texts from friends who said fire Bobo – that being said – I saw a piece with Gruden talking about Bobo and he thinks he is up at the top of the OC food chain on X and O football. It is not like they are related, so why would he say that about Bobo if it was not a truly held belief.
Mizzou was definitely loading the box to stuff the run – I think alot of our game plan counts on our receivers running after the catch to make first downs
Chris
September 9th, 2012
9:33 am
I think Pinkel called for a fake punt, not a fake plant. Perhaps he did call for a fake plant–it was hard to see from where I was sitting.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:34 am
guy
September 9th, 2012
9:28 am
Mizzou would run away with the ACC.
MIZZOU is a middle of the road team in the All Cissy Conference.
MIZZOU is a bottom tier team in the SEC along with KY, OLD MRS, VANDY, TENN
Tech nerds Dragon
September 9th, 2012
9:34 am
Like guy said MO wins the ACC easy.
air of mendacity
September 9th, 2012
9:34 am
and you are right about Richt – what a great coach in the intangibles. All these other programs with scumbags for coaches – we can rest easy on that front.
Poopdawg
September 9th, 2012
9:36 am
Way to go RICHARD SAMUEL . Big tackle . I have not heard a whiny word from Samuel about his lack of PT. A DGD. I can not wait until the UT – FLA game Saturday. Should be a good one. GO DAWGS!
Tech nerds Dragon
September 9th, 2012
9:39 am
ACC is old Woman’s Football
Dawg229Fan
September 9th, 2012
9:40 am
Just gotta keep fixing the errors (which were a few), and continue to get better every week. Overall good showing, they could have folded their tents and choked but they didn’t.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:40 am
air of mendacity
September 9th, 2012
9:34 am
and you are right about Richt – what a great coach in the intangibles. All these other programs with scumbags for coaches – we can rest easy on that front.
Goof luck in the OUTBACK POULAN PAPPA JOHN WEEDRATER BOWL.
Poopdawg
September 9th, 2012
9:41 am
Chris it was a fake plant . It looked sort of like mistletoe in the punters hand , but I’m positive it was plastic. Then Richard Samuel gave him a big kiss. LOL
Beast from the East
September 9th, 2012
9:42 am
Congrats on a solid road win, Dawgs. I thought y’all would win by about 14-17, but did it a little differently than I envisioned. Jarvis Jones was out of this world. Reminded me of David Pollack with his game-changing plays during crunch time. He may well be the best defensive player in the country.
Enjoy the win!
Cdpridg
September 9th, 2012
9:42 am
Hawk…you are misguided….Mizzou would run the table in develpomental league known as the ACC
PowerDawg
September 9th, 2012
9:44 am
Hey, Jeff…
I didn’t read the other posts, and I may be echoing here, but it was Richard Samuel IV that came up and made that tackle to stop that silly fake punt attempt, not Dawson.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:44 am
Clemson and Fl ST would wax MIZZOU
Russ, the Temporary Mascot now UGA IX
September 9th, 2012
9:45 am
Well, it was a long night and you bet I could feel the pressure. I am so glad to be coming home and when I get back to Athens the first thing I’m doing is going to Sanford Stadium and roll around on the field. That’s how much I missed it. I asked Coach Grantham about some revenue sharing with a little dog and he did not want to talk about it. I will bring it up again when he needs doughnuts.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:46 am
STOP………………..STOP……………………PLEASE
You beat a bad team last night. You make it seem like you beat a team that will finnish in the top ten.
Act like you have been there before…………………….OH, I forgot…………………………It was 1980 and alot of you young bucks were not even born.
Tech nerds Dragon
September 9th, 2012
9:49 am
Clemson and FSU suck. Welcome to SEC.
PowerDawg
September 9th, 2012
9:51 am
Anybody heard the status on big JJ? Left the field w/assistance…and how about Kwame? Shoulder, maybe? Looks like MT gets a lot of reps this week.
Info?
Cdpridg
September 9th, 2012
9:52 am
Hawk…son…i cant think of one single team in the acc that could beat mizzou. What sisters of the poor team do u suppor? Hawk….something for u to ponder……bub. Can you imagine what a program like UGA would do to a conf like the ACC
Doc Dawg
September 9th, 2012
9:55 am
We won the game on the scoreboard, mainly because the Mizzou coaching staff are idiots, but its the same old dawgs… penalties, mental mistakes, strength and conditioning. This has got to be fixed before we play a good team.
MT
September 9th, 2012
9:55 am
Russ, the Temporary Mascot now UGA IX
Russ the walk on, now the starter on scholly.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
9:56 am
UGA…………………………………..Still you have no wins over a ranked team.Go ahead and stick your chest out and have your players going into the stands with their signs. That was classy I guess you have figured, HUH?
Run onto the field against Florida,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,That was CLASSY, Right ?
CoachFishFry
September 9th, 2012
9:57 am
Hey Hawk does your mommy still vomit in your mouth at feeding time? I think so from all the puke you’re spewing here.
Tech nerds Dragon
September 9th, 2012
9:57 am
Hawk…my boy I presume supports the nerds of tech wood avenue. He sucks at life so cut him a break. It is Sunday after all.
CoachFishFry
September 9th, 2012
10:00 am
Nuff said. Hawkie go nurse on Moobs Johnson and leave us be.
Cdpridg
September 9th, 2012
10:00 am
Hawk…yes we will stick our chest out….and when we whip yout teams butt we may even pound it as well….how do u like them apples son??
MontanaDawg
September 9th, 2012
10:01 am
Although we came back from a less than stellar 2.5 quarters, I’m still not convinced these Dawgs can play with the big boys. I still look back at loses to Boise State and Michigan State last season. Murray is still a pretty loose cannon, and we can’t shake stupid penalties. The D looked impressive without 4 key starters, and J. Jones played like I wish all of our boys had played. But we SHOULD run the table with our favorable and relatively easy schedule this year with the talent we have on this team. GO DAWGS!!
jimdawg0524
September 9th, 2012
10:01 am
never ceases to amaze me how little you truly know about football….first of all, crediting Dawson with stopping the fake punt totally disrespects the incredible effort Richard Samuel made to stop that play….it was important enough that Richt himself credited him with the play of the game…secondly, the ball to Brown wasn’t underthrown. it was actually gonna hit brown between the numbers but for the very good play by mizzou’s lb that didn’t bite on the play action and dropped into coverage right in the path of the pass….seriously jeff, you are just another guy who “likes” sports who knows where to put the comma….you really don’t have a clue.
kmedel
September 9th, 2012
10:02 am
First off…yes, for the last time…it was a fake punt, not a fake field goal. Georgia’s Dawson tackled the runner after her ran for about 5 yards. Second…Georgia cannot afford to start out jittery like this each and every game. They come across a top-ranked opponent, they will get clobbered. The key, once again, consistent football. Jarvis Jones played awesome on defense. He was just incredible. Michael Bennett played an inconsistent game. He needs to make those crucial catches. He missed a wide open catch…and had real estate in front of him. I really wish they would get Todd Gurley more in the backfield. He seems to really do a good job…but Malcome had a good game as well. The placekicker…man, does he need practice! Overall…I would give GA a B. Still more room for consistencies! GO DAWGS!
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
10:03 am
Thanks to the State of Georgia for giving us these two players.
Quarterback/tailback Blake Sims (Gainesville, GA) replaced McCarron for the final series. Freshman tailback Kenyan Drake ( Powder Springs, GA) scampered 32 yards on his second career carry for the final score with 1:47 to play.
Earl
September 9th, 2012
10:04 am
We need to find some old leather helmets to run out on the field with.
Hard Truth Soldier
September 9th, 2012
10:05 am
Is it just me, or did ya’ll see Marlon Brown FINALLY show up! This Kid was a beast last night.
MZTigers
September 9th, 2012
10:06 am
Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs. Evidently I watched a different game than you did. Missouri outplayed the dogs on offense and defense. A silly fake punt attempt, and 2 costly turnovers inside the 5 yd line spelled doom for the Tigers. Heck even the “sisters of the poor” can win games when it’s handed to them on a silver platter. Over 400 yds of offense by Missouri against a so called powerful SEC defense. We’ll fix our mistakes, but you just can’t fix stupid. Congratulations. Job well done. You showed those Missourians who’s boss. LMAO
CreakyDawg
September 9th, 2012
10:06 am
Getting all of Georgia’s defensive starters on the field at the same time might take a collaborative effort between Athens-Clarke county PD, and the UGA coaching staff.
air of mendacity
September 9th, 2012
10:07 am
Hawk has got to be GT suppporter. He has the hatred dripping because he supports those losers on N. Ave. That will be a fun game at the end of season – another ass whipping. He doesn’t even have the guts to come out and say for whom he roots.
I was there in 80 and 81 – the 80 dawgs team had a great and underated D. Buck Belue could not complete a pass and Herschel had a bum shoulder yet kept running. It was a simpler time in those days. Players were much smaller and slower.
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
10:08 am
Cdpridg
September 9th, 2012
10:00 am
Hawk…yes we will stick our chest out….and when we whip yout teams butt we may even pound it as well….how do u like them apples son??
Georgia is (25-36-4) against Alabama
BLACKOUT ANYONE ?………………………….2008 was not that long ago. Did you forget ?
MT
September 9th, 2012
10:09 am
Goof luck in the OUTBACK POULAN PAPPA JOHN WEEDRATER BOWL
we’ll se
STOP………………..STOP……………………PLEASE
You beat a bad team last night. You make it seem like you beat a team that will finnish in the top ten.
Act like you have been there before…………………….OH, I forgot…………………………It was 1980 and alot of you young bucks were not even born.
What moron were suppose to not be happy about a victory over a team who had us circled on their schedule?I m not so sure MIZZOU has a bad team, but it was win over an SEC EAST opponent.BTW
I remember 1980 well,matter of fact I remember when Kirby Moore was the starting QB for Vince Dooly, anyway it was a good Georgia win.
Also if Mizzou was such a bad team, why did so many of the football no it alls pick MIZZOU to win.
Earl
September 9th, 2012
10:09 am
TDDawg , Which night there’s been so many. 01Hawk walked in on us one night I told him to get lost and he started crying.
Cdpridg
September 9th, 2012
10:10 am
Hawk….oh a techie wanting to play the bama card….nerd…lol we have OWNED them as well going on 2 decades
01HAWK
September 9th, 2012
10:11 am
WOW…………………………Vandy got beat by NORTHWESTERN.
The CUPCAKE Schedule continues at a stadium near you.