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
William
September 9th, 2012
2:00 am
Jarvis Jones played about as well as you can play on defense. We have some glaring weaknesses in the secondary though. Running backs ran the ball tough. A few mistakes that can be corrected. All in all a good win for the Dawgs. Hope everone is alright and not injured for long. We have Vandy in two weeks and that will be a big test. Still will not have Ogletree or Rambo by then. Vandy always plays us tough.
dawg52
September 9th, 2012
2:05 am
we turned a nail-biter into a route against a team that seemingly had us throttled offensively. We got exposed in the middle pass defense when it seemed we were about to lose control of the game. But everytime we faultered, our offense turned it up a notch. Then JARVIS took control of the game and asserted his physical abilities and the game was over. Cant continue to dig our own graves, and expect to come out with same results. However, it was refreshing to see us ramp it up and overwelm the tigers on their own field down the stretch. In perspective….we arent as good as we ended up, and neither is Mizzu as bad as final indicated, but the response our team emitted is refreshing and welcomed. Kudos to Mizzu for taking it to us…..yall are gonna win in this league….the difference in the SEC is that you have play quality ftball every play, every game,against every opponent, EVERY WEEK……..Not gonna gloat, cause it could’ve been us with the long trip home…..just nice to see us respond in a volitale setting, when a moral victory was lookin pretty good there for a while….GO YOU HAIRY DAWGS!!!!!!!
Mark Gants
September 9th, 2012
2:05 am
Don’t know that I would call this an old fashioned beat-down- Mizzou gave UGA all it could handle for awhile. UGA #7,MU unranked. It wasn’t a sure thing- MU can play with you guys-maybe not with #7, but there will be some in the SEC that will pay the price this year.
GTBob
September 9th, 2012
2:05 am
We have Vandy in two weeks and that will be a big test.
Northwestern beat Vandy today without much of a problem. Are you really building them up to be some kind of tough game?
Gregg
September 9th, 2012
2:06 am
Fake punt call was huge for UGA……
NC dawg
September 9th, 2012
2:08 am
Why does BOBO call the same play back to back
he did that 13 times in this game. Whats the purpose? what other OC does that?
Bad Dawg
September 9th, 2012
2:08 am
UGA finished a game in the 4th quarter? Props to Richt and staff. Go Dawgs!
Tech Sucks
September 9th, 2012
2:23 am
Jarvis Jones is the best player on the planet.
7576DAWG
September 9th, 2012
2:32 am
The game went exactly the way I said it would. I said that the biggest thing that Texas A&M and Missouri will find out is to be able to compete with the best in the SEC you have to have DEPTH, as Georgia found out the hard way against L.S.U. last year. I missed the score , I said Georgia wins 31-21 but when a team is in the last 5 minutes of a game and are behind it is easy to score one or two more times because they go for 4TH down in their own territory and throw on every play. Easy for a turn over in your own territory. Many times the end score is not indicative of how hard the game actually was.
I give Missouri credit for a very good game, who played us very tough for 3 Quarters. The outcome was up in the air until the fourth Quarter.
tim
September 9th, 2012
2:34 am
best old man football i seen in 20 years lollllllllllllllllllll go dawgsssssssssssssssssss
7576DAWG
September 9th, 2012
2:40 am
I must give our defensive unit a lot of credit for keeping a very high powered offense down long enough for our depth to take over and win the game. Franklin is a great Quarterback and the defense held him to 25 yards on 20 carry’s. Completely neutralized half of what makes Franklin great, the ability to run the ball. And we did all that missing 4 starters. We will be ready by South Carolina game. We did too many great things tonight to criticize the few negatives that were obvious. They will be addressed by Richt , Bobo and Grantham . Great win as a team.
preferredduck
September 9th, 2012
2:40 am
Hey Jeff, it was Richard Samuel who stuffed the punters rum, shed his block and took him down in an almost one armed fashion, so sheldon Dawson did not make that play, list sayin. Samuel gets a helmet bone, or four from me for that play!!!
j
September 9th, 2012
2:51 am
Pretty upset they left John Jenkins in with only 3 mins left and up by a lot. Please tell me is in ok.
Ben
September 9th, 2012
3:19 am
Does anybody bother to edit your articles anymore? That was painful to read.
Go Blue
September 9th, 2012
3:32 am
Enter your comments here
Go Blue
September 9th, 2012
3:37 am
Congrats to UGA…I thought they would win by 3 and was proven wrong. UGA now has the east wrapped up and can start the game plan in the dome against either bama or lsu. My betting looked good for 3 quarters but that does not make a game
. UGA also changes my prediction on how they would finish in the big 12…….think they would finish at least 3rd now, previously thought about 5th or 6th.
Go Blue
September 9th, 2012
3:38 am
7576…..good call, by the way,
preferredduck
September 9th, 2012
3:48 am
Enter your comments here
preferredduck
September 9th, 2012
4:02 am
Hey LSU 42, I remember an interesting stat from that game. It was 12 total yards offense and 0 first downs for 30 minutes of football. We made the mistake of kicking to the honey badger, who smoked too many honey blunts to come back. We showed bama how to really kill you. Also your great QB this year may get arrested for violating a woman, oh wait in that stayed its common place and nobody calls the cops. You take a QB kicked off of one team basically with a bad rap sheet, classy my man classy.
TossSweep
September 9th, 2012
4:13 am
Some of you are so blind. There are four quarters in football and the offense only played the last one. They couldn’t score a touchdown the entire length of the field most of the night. They were spotted good field position by the defense. To give credit to Bobo the 41 points and say there’s nothing wrong with the offense is a one-eyed Johnson. Defense saved the offense yet again. Mizzou was even more undermanned than Georgia yet they kept the game close ’til the end. We’ll see if the same people praising Richt anf Bobo feel the same way by the end of the season.
Fluffy McNutter
September 9th, 2012
5:15 am
“There is nothing wrong with calling a fake plant, but not at that point of the game.”
Did Pinkel call the fake plant to get advice on whether or not to try a fake punt?
aprilglaspie
September 9th, 2012
5:21 am
Kicked they ass, big-time old-man style. Take that home. Oh, that was home? Morons.
Larry
September 9th, 2012
5:37 am
Hats off to the obviously superior Georgia Bulldogs. Hope you will go on to greater glory this season!
» Blog Archive » Dogs start slow then storm past Missouri – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
September 9th, 2012
5:54 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
GT71
September 9th, 2012
6:31 am
Impressive. Of all the games so far in the SEC, you’ve got to say that UGA has the 3rd best team in the league and perhaps the 3rd best team in the nation. As a Tech grad, this is hard to admit, but dang, those guys are very good.
Congratulations.
Win P
September 9th, 2012
6:35 am
90% of UGA’s games are bad for your health. Regardless of the opponent, UGA manages to keep the outcome in doubt. Want to watch an entertaining game without a preference, watch UGA.
Missouri coach sold out his players
September 9th, 2012
6:37 am
4th and 11th and a fake punt. Missouri players said screw it after that point.
Bama or LSU will destroy GA again. I CANNOT WAIT.
Michael Adams is proud of RIcht because his (Adams) agenda never has been about football.
Missouri coach sold out his players
September 9th, 2012
6:39 am
GT71, to be an GA Tech grad, you are an idiot. GA best team in nation after 2 games. WTF.
Missouri coach sold out his players
September 9th, 2012
6:40 am
check that, 3rd best team in nation.
Missouri coach sold out his players
September 9th, 2012
6:43 am
That picture GROWN MAN FOOTBALL shows what an idiot RICHT is, like the stomp, like the endzone dance, the black jerseys (sp).
Mizzou is a bad team, loses at least 6 SEC games 2012 (Texas A and M will lose 6 SEC games 2012, too.)
September 9th, 2012
6:52 am
It’s still been 1-time in the current 7-year period that we beat a team who came in in the Top 10, and that 7 years’ ago.
AAAAA Columbia Bail Bonds R Us
September 9th, 2012
7:03 am
To the 37 leghumper fans who were arrested for excessive partying and inability to keep their rental cars between the lane lines, we thank you for your business.
Our Offense looked pitiful all night long
September 9th, 2012
7:05 am
All night long, their Mizzou Offense did better against our Defense than we did against Mizzou’s horrible Defense. Aaron Murray threw an interception, caused us a fumble on a pitch that was more like a shot put shove, was sacked several times, over-threw his receivers and failed to establish the run again against that sorry Mizzou Defense, this time, insisting on throwing until the end when the game was simply taken over by Jarvis Jones, already the Most Celebrated Georgia Bulldogs’ Linebacker in our 120-year history.
Special teams were shaky, and we forced Mizzou to throw the ball into our weakness. We were unprepared to play once again, and will NEVER beat the top teams, where our current 0 for 7 vs teams making the Top 10 dates back 7 years’ now.
Mark Richt cannot beat the top teams 0-7 vs teams who made the Top 10 after # 9 Auburn way back in 2006 seven (7) long seasons' ago.
September 9th, 2012
7:13 am
The Richt Apologists will wake up soon, and run in here and tell us how everyone said we’d lose to this 7-6 Mizzou team. Wake me up when we beat a team who makes the Top 10. Who’s next cupcake in line after 3-9 Buffalo bulls and 7-6 Mizzou ? It’s Florida Atlantic who lost tonight to Middle Tennessee State. Then those world-beaters, WINLESS on the season Vandie. Oh boy.
Let’s slap ourselves on the back for beating all these CUPCAKES.
Jarvis
September 9th, 2012
7:14 am
Nice to win but lousy first half. Without Jarvis Jones we lose.
Murray still not looking sharp. Most of his completion were very
short passes.
bobohastogo
September 9th, 2012
7:14 am
If I can sit in my chair and tell you in advance what play Bozo is going to call, then the opposing coach and players know what he is going to call. We need to send in Seal Team 7 to the Butts-Mehre building to get those pictures back that Bozo has on someone. Bobo has to go
Papadawg
September 9th, 2012
7:22 am
Not all Murrays fault. Sure handed Bennet missed at least 3 balls, one a possible TD.
Mark Richt's NCAA Total Offense averages # 51 in the nation all 12 seasons.
September 9th, 2012
7:23 am
# 55 is our 2012 NCAA Total Offense ranking
# 54 is our 2012 NCAA Total Defense ranking
# 54 is our 2012 NCAA Scoring Defense ranking
# 102 is our 2012 NCAA Net Punting ranking
# 54 is our 2012 NCAA Pass Defense ranking
# 84 is our 2012 NCAA ranking for sacks allowed
Tyler Bray is a better quarterback than Aaron Murray, too.
A.J. McCarron is a better quarterback than Aaron Murray, too.
Gator fan
September 9th, 2012
7:23 am
I am a Gator in Atlanta but I have to admit I was pulling for the dawgs last night…that picture…priceless!! Welcome to the SEC Missouri!!
Jeff H
September 9th, 2012
7:27 am
It was Richard Samuels who made the tackle on the fake punt.
SoS 2012 Strength of Schedule
September 9th, 2012
7:33 am
Our SoS is ranked # 59 for 2012.
That’s about who we beat tonight, # 59.
I rooted for Florida tonight, too.
September 9th, 2012
7:34 am
That was an exciting game, and how wonderful that big xii teams Mizzou and Texas A and M both lost their 1st of 6 losses vs SEC teams they both face 2012.
Walter McMillan
September 9th, 2012
7:36 am
Whoever you are Pj you seem to have it all in prospective.
I rooted for Florida tonight, too.
September 9th, 2012
7:37 am
I have to say though that despite the fact that neither Texas A and M nor Mizzou can do better than putting up 6 Losses each vs SEC teams 2012, that the fans at both games certainly looked the part of SEC teams. I am not saying they will beat LSU or Alabama, but that their fans fit-in.
Woofy One
September 9th, 2012
7:38 am
Props to the Dawgs. Mizzou has been appropriately welcomed to the SEC and its “Old Man” football. Sheldon are you sleeping in ?
W Mac
September 9th, 2012
7:40 am
Whoever you are Pj, you have it in prospective.
UGA offense
September 9th, 2012
7:42 am
# 68 in 1st Downs Made 2012, UGA
# 68 in 3rd Down Conversions 2012, UGA
# 99 in Fewest Penalties per game, UGA
Resident Georgia Fan
September 9th, 2012
7:43 am
We’ll see you in Atlanta Turd Ferguson.
Jarvis Jones - The Man
September 9th, 2012
7:45 am
Mizzou double-teamed Jarvis Jones all night long, and held him every play, and despite the fact that the defense was missing 4 Suspended Starters, still Jarvis Jones is the
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK.
Jarivs Jones took over the game, when the game was in doubt.
Why was it again against Mizzou’s “defense” that we never tried to run the football ?
dean
September 9th, 2012
7:46 am
Fire Sid!
Fire Einstein!
Fire kds!
Losers