Thank goodness for A.J.!
On a night when Georgia continued its penchant for turnovers, Joe Cox looked thoroughly ordinary and a well-coached Arizona State defense made the Dogs’ running game largely ineffective, the amazing A.J. Green again torched ASU for big play after big play and put his team in a position to win.
He even blocked a field goal attempt!
And still the game came down to the foot of Blair Walsh, who was mobbed by his teammates after kicking the winning field goal as time expired.
An otherwise mediocre night on offense by Georgia was countered by a gutsy effort on the part of the Dogs’ defense, which battled the odds when the Sun Devils were given a short field by the turnovers. Willie Martinez’s players came up big when it mattered on ASU’s last drive.
It was a night that raised a lot of questions, which probably won’t be answered until next week against LSU. Was this just an off-night for Cox and the Georgia offense, or is this what the Dogs look like when faced with a good defense? Time after time, ASU put eight men in the box to stuff the run and dared Georgia to pass. Aside from Green’s heroics, it was mostly a successful strategy.
What did you think? Should Georgia fans just accept an ugly win with gratitude, or did the continued turnovers and the Dogs’ inability to run the ball consistently concern you as much as they did me?
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92 comments Add your comment
Saint Simons
September 27th, 2009
10:06 am
hahahahahahahahahahahaha going to be along yr for uga!!!!!!!!!!
Catsfly
September 27th, 2009
10:11 am
Excuse me WofA, but is this not AJ’s 2d year, thus two and out! And, what makes you so confident that AJ will be back in 2010?
1eyedJack
September 27th, 2009
10:11 am
I’ll take the VICTORY!
I think we played much better than we looked.
Coach Richt is definitly “living right”.
Turnovers should be a major concern at practice. We have dodged some bullets but pick 6’s cannot be defended. Cox hopefully just had an off game.
I think our running game is missing big Trinton more than we could have hoped.
We are major young at the skill positions but major talented. Wait until the light bulbs come on. AJ is the master at getting position on the defender.
You don’t lose 6 draft picks to the NFL and immediately become better.
Much better pass rush. Thank you Justin and Geno. I wish Curran could stay eligible forever.
LSU looked extra “ordinary”.
UT looked extra “ordinary”.
Tebow woke up in wonderland. Maybe he will gear it down the rest of the season. At least think about it.
Go DAWGS!!
BullyMack
September 27th, 2009
10:12 am
If I ever have to listen to Brock Huard again in my life I want someone to rabbit punch me in the ears until they bleed.
olddawg
September 27th, 2009
10:14 am
does the bama defense remind anyone else of the junkyard dogs of old? Could it be because Kirby Smart is their dc? How did we miss out on that?
Staff Promised to Buy ME a New Pair TOO!
September 27th, 2009
10:16 am
Yet another powerhouse has their national title aspirations dashed by the Mighty G!
jake
September 27th, 2009
10:18 am
Pretty pitiful effort. And embarrassing to see them jumping around after the FG. They should have beaten that team by four touchdowns. Play-calling was terrible. If ASU had a decent quarterback, they could have done some real damage.
One good thing: actually saw a UGA defensive back knock down a pass, and it was a freshman — Rambo.
Ultimately, it looks like the Dawgs have taken on the mild and mannerly characteristics of their coach. Which is wonderful in young men, but not what you want in a football team.
Dawg85
September 27th, 2009
10:36 am
Sorry Catsfly. This is AJ’s second year. He played as a true freshman. According to the rules he can’t declare for the draft until after his third year of college (regardless of whether he redshirts or not). He will be back in 2010.
AJ got ripped off by the Pac 10 officials on that no call touchdown. He clearly dragged his right toe and his left came down after. The PAC 10 replay official made a quick call too. How about some away cooking!
Hard to get a read on the game. I think the rain and the field affected both teams. They both looked like they were running in slow motion at times.. Joe looked like his wrist might have been bothering him but I haven’t heard anything about it.
GaDawg
September 27th, 2009
10:37 am
Good Job DAWGS!!! from a true fan
Go DAWGS!!!
Chris
September 27th, 2009
10:38 am
Those of you crediting our defense with a good performance last night need to go back and watch the game again. Our best defensive player was Arizona State’s QB!!
olderdawg
September 27th, 2009
10:38 am
Saint Simons………..
why dont you get off the Dawgs blog and go to H*** or the blog of whoever you do like.
I was always taught………If you cant say something nice or positive, Keep you mouth shut !!!
Tombo
September 27th, 2009
10:41 am
typical Richt coached game – undisciplined play (turnovers, penalties, burning timeouts to avoid delay of game) makes a close game out of what should have been no contest. Can we please find one person who can catch a punt without bobbling it or diving to catch it? Who cares about their returns…let’s start by securing a catch every time. CMR and staff continue to find ways to make us average with poor fundamentals and questionable play calling. Somebody tell Bobo that he can mix up run and pass on the SAME drive instead of trying to be all run or all pass on the drive. I still think Willie is a bad coach, but the defense played a lot better.
dawgfanatic24-7
September 27th, 2009
10:46 am
I think some of our players need to spend more time thinking about what they need to do rather than dancing to songs that are playing in the stadium. After the game I looked over and noticed about seven players on the cheerleaders platform dancing/showboating in front of the fans. If I were the head coach and saw this lack of class those players would be running all weekend. Makes me sick!
outkasted
September 27th, 2009
10:46 am
whats so embarrassing about a win… i guess LSU should be embarrassed since they only beat miss. st. when everyonr thin ks their talent is so superior… if they (az. st. had a qb this and that blah blah bullshyt…lol) there is always a complaint…i guess we got to sack the qb on every down intercept every pass and score everytime we get the ball… run the ball to the house and every throw should be a td pass…. my goodness we’re 3-1 and 2-0 in conference… win and move on… my only concern is the offensive line with all the flags either holding or false start… defense good job….
Dr M
September 27th, 2009
10:56 am
We’re coming along. LSU should be #4 coming in- cut the TO’s, pressure Jefferson, find a way to beat them and we’re in good shape heading toward the Ugly Force…
MississippiDawg
September 27th, 2009
10:57 am
I agree with GoDawg and OlderDawg….and ask yourself this question and BE HONEST…when you looked at the schedule in the Spring…what were your expectations at this point? 3-1….worst case 2-2?. Realistically, 3-1 should be considered a success with this young team…we have played a bery tough schedule and it only gets tougher from here….Stop the complaining, this team needs and deserves our support. Go Dawgs!!
Darindawg
September 27th, 2009
10:59 am
I’m with PJ…..we won and I’m happy. The D looked good. Washington and Houston seem to be solving our problems with getting pressure on the QB. Rambo is the real deal….needs more playing time. We got a lot of positives that I’m excited about. YES, Green is the best in the nation. We’ve also got the best all-around kicking game in the nation. Walsh is money and Butler is the best punter in the biz. Stop the turnovers, keep working on the penalty thing and let the O and D come together at the same time…..we’re 6-1 when we head to the WLOCP.
LifelongDawg
September 27th, 2009
11:06 am
Nothing I saw gave me reason for optimism. We could easily go 9-3 and finished unranked. This is one of the least impressive “good” teams in the nation. I’m glad for the win, but I’m disappointed in the team’s execution (again). Apparently these Dawgs just aren’t that talented across the board. AJ Greene is the best receiver in the country. He deserves better than Joe Cox. And the defense didn’t play well, regardless of the score. These guys cause some real head-scratching.
olddawg
September 27th, 2009
11:10 am
good point miss. dawg. 7 ranked teams fell yesterday, most of them to unranked teams. We need to enjoy our wins and be thankful we can pull out a win even when our offense is playing uninspired ball. We may be in for some big losses in the future, but let’s wait u ntil they happen to mourn them.
masdonjamie
September 27th, 2009
11:13 am
Lots of love for the defense from the media today. It makes me want to PUKE!!! did you guys not watch the same game as me. 7 yards a carry on the sweep. The only thing that saved us was ASU’s inabillity to catch passes. Then the part you don’t see on t.v. Rennie Curran and Reshad Jones – our quote-unquote stars of the defense were more concerned about dancing between timeouts then concentrating on assignments. Next play was a 10yd gain by ASU – I wonder if they werevdancing?
PsychoDawg
September 27th, 2009
11:44 am
I think that One Eyed Jack and Old Dawg make very good points. I have always supported the Dawgs and although I could use some games when its not a nail biter till the last minute, the team is still playing well enough to put out a W.
I am just hoping that we can have a few games when the Offense from the Arkansas game can be on the field the same week as the Defense from the Arizona State game (minus the turnovers)
If any of you are old enough to remember the Dawgs of the 50’s and 60’s when Bear Bryant coached Bama……we frequently lost or the teams under Dooley when we frequently beat UF. The point is……. any team can win on any Saturday and i think thats what keeps us interested and watching these young men on the gridiron.
Dr M
September 27th, 2009
11:45 am
Checking the updated team stats, Georgia is last in the SEC in turnover margine (-9) and last in number of penalties/game (10.2). And we’re 3-1! Our play has been pretty good overall, sometimes excellent, except for those two areas. What would happen if we improved to where we were in the middle of the pack in TO margin and penalties? Hmmm… Would this not seem to be a job for the coaching staff, those guys who know a lot more about the game than we do?
PsychoDawg
September 27th, 2009
11:51 am
Great Point Dr. M. If only we can take care of that before next Saturday, I believe we could surprise the Bengals from the Bayou.
molardog
September 27th, 2009
12:06 pm
I agree with tchance….Bobo knew we would win this game with a conservative strategy, therefore he didn’t see a reason to get too creative and play all the cards….IF his offense has problems dropping the ball, that falls on the position coaches who are probably sweating abit about their futures…maybe not though..
K-Town Dawg
September 27th, 2009
12:17 pm
And here I thought this was supposed to be a rebuilding year before the big push in 2010. I realize our team isn’t perfect, but I’ll always take the win.
To the “fans” who always have something to complain about, I would say Delta is ready when you are! I mean we thought going into the season 10 wins would make for a great season given the losses in talent from last years team, so while you should hope for more I would not expect it. I vividly remember the Donnan years and most of them we were just hoping to win 8 games because you could ALWAYS count on losses to UT and UF. So if you are not happy with “our” team feel free to leave and cheer for another. You can always put on that sweatervest and go root for the buckeyes or put on the jorts and root for the gators. Bandwagon indeed!
K-Town Dawg
September 27th, 2009
12:22 pm
Saint Simons,
We are still 2-0 in conference, how’s that working out for the bugs in the Almost Competitive Conference? BTW your next opponent nearly beat LSU this weekend, the same LSU team that I saw beatdown the jackets 38-3. Have you picked out the rock your going to hide under next week?
Ed
September 27th, 2009
12:25 pm
This is a 3-1 team that could mature into an SEC championship contender or bungle their way into a 7-5 season.
If they continue to lose the turnover and penalty battles, then forget it – you can’t beat the top SEC teams that way. Turn those stats around, and this team can play with anybody.
olddawg
September 27th, 2009
2:56 pm
I agree with you completely Ed!
DBalcer
September 27th, 2009
2:57 pm
I was there at the stadium last night and I am proud of the Dawgs. The conditions were awful. The weather affected both teams. Our defense looked great. I can’t believe all the people who are down on the team. Sometimes I wonder if they really are Dawg fans at all. This team doesn’t not ever quit. That is a big deal and one that will keep us in games. We have not played any cupcakes. I can’t wait until next Saturday. I also hope something is done about the no penalty call on that ASU player.
icedawg
September 27th, 2009
3:35 pm
The D came through. The O did what it had to do to win. You gotta take each week as it comes. Who knows, maybe one weekend they may put a complete game together. As long as they find a way to win that it all that really matters.
11Dawg
September 27th, 2009
3:37 pm
The fact that we are something like -8 in turnovers and still 3-1 is nothing short of a miracle.
Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2009
4:18 pm
Wow!!! We had a defensive stand against Arizona St. ( a pathetic offense) who will probably be less than 500 in a terrible conference. Our defense is simply pathetic and soft. Its just plain painfull to watch after so many years of watching great defenses. Its P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. It kills me to say that as a dawg fan but its true and your kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
icedawg
September 27th, 2009
4:44 pm
Dawg Fan, you can live in yesterday. It’s gone. You gotta deal with the present. We’re 3-1, with wins over what appears to be, early season, not so strong teams. So what. Each Saturday each team has to prove itself. The football bounces in funny ways. Things don’t always turn out the way that you think they will. So, hopefully the Dawgs will have a few surprised up their sleeve. If not, hopefully they’ll make the changes they need to make in order to improve.
eltrompoDAWGSfan
September 27th, 2009
5:20 pm
I agree with what someone said earlier, I could not believe the refs took away the OBVIOUS td pass to Green from Cox towards the end of the game. With that td, the margin of victory only increases. It was so obvious Green got a toe inbounds, anybody could’ve spotted it. Who was the ref talking to on the review anyway???
GO DAWGS!
LSU is next(for Florida)
September 27th, 2009
5:23 pm
Florida’s monster defense will shut Green down all day.
Dawg Days
September 27th, 2009
7:37 pm
I lllooovvveee the Dawgs. AJ Green ROCKS OUT LOUD!!! He definitely got that touchdown. Those refs might have been looking at toes, but not his toes. That sucked…. OUT LOUD!!! Does Cox stick with a play even when he has more open receivers? Even my mother could see the open receivers down the field. I guess we will find out what kind of team we have next Saturday. Hopefully the D is here to stay, just not the turnovers or the penalties or the interceptions or the dancing… did I forget anything?
georgiadawgg
September 28th, 2009
8:49 am
georgia will be 3 and 2 next week.They are not good they are just lucky,lucky,lucky.
robodawg
September 28th, 2009
10:06 am
You have to throw when a team commits that many defenders to stopping the run. Burn them enough times with the easy first downs and they’ll have to drop back into coverage to stay in the game. The question to address is why was our passing game so ineffective?
shards1967
September 28th, 2009
10:28 am
Let us reflect on the A State game. UGA had the thing well in hand until COX and Caleb did their sloppy thing. Caleb King is a second or third string string back at any other SEC school and on a great SEC team he is about a 3rd or 4th r. back. He is very tentative. True, at times, he shows some nice stuff but over all, he is not a full time heavy duty back. Neither is R Samuel. They lack the core fundamentals of a great SEC running back.
UGA will be in trouble in every game left, expect T Tech and even in that game, UGA will struggle, due to apathy by the players. This is a very, very mediocre football team. It is gonna turn ugly.
The coaching staff is burned out and we need a major overhaul of it. The nuclear star O. players are in Athens, but we need head hunter safeties and c backs and a bevy of huge, fast D linemen. Need better linebackers, too. Martinez has not recruited any great D players to my knowledge.
UGA, class of 73
Vick=Dog killing thug
September 28th, 2009
11:02 am
What was the Logan Grey one play thing ? That was plain silly and made UGA/BOBO look bad.
Prince got burned quite a bit. Cant we do better than that ?
But we won and I still support my dawgs..
Kyle H
September 28th, 2009
2:03 pm
Dawg fans:
Those of you that thought the D played lights out didn’t watch the same game that I did. The only reason that ASU wasn’t able to throw the ball was that their QB wasn’t accurate and their wideouts couldn’t catch. There were a ton of drops in that game for ASU. Don’t be fooled into thinking our secondary has magically improved a week after giving up 400+ passing yards. We were not very good against the run. All they did was the QB read, and he never did keep the ball, you’d think Willie would have noticed that and played the RB.
The FB run up the middle worked the 1st time, not the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 5th time…
Our rushing game was pathetic especially considering that was supposed to be our strong suit.
Thank god for AJ Green.
That being said:
I think we play our best game against LSU.
loel
October 1st, 2009
8:05 am
GA is already ahead of where the “know it alls” said they would be… so be thankful. What past coach in Georgia’s past had had more success than Richt. Who has had the program higher. When all opponents regard GA as a BIG game. What does that tell you???? Now I felt GA would win the LSU game before the season started and still do. GA has dominated LSU for years now. LSU lost 5 games last season….What about that????