Another case of SEC showing up Big 12
Aggies QB Jerrod Johnson runs into a wall of red. (Associated Press)
A few more thoughts and notes about Georgia’s win over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl. …
No one will call this a game for the ages, but Georgia’s 44 points were a bowl record for the Dogs, surpassing the previous high of 41 in the Sugar Bowl win over Hawaii, and Georgia’s six touchdowns matched a record set by the 1941 Dogs in their 40-26 Orange Bowl win over TCU. Not bad considering the offense hardly registered a pulse in the first half. …
What kept Georgia in the game (and with the lead at halftime) until the offense could get on track and begin to wear down a surprisingly effective Aggies defense was the Dogs’ special teams play. If this didn’t drive home the importance of special teams to Mark Richt, I don’t know what would. He has indicated in recent days that he would be amenable to devoting one of the Dogs’ coaching slots to a full-time special teams coordinator. Let’s hope that comes to pass. …
Tight end Aron White has sort of become the Dogs’ stealth star. While most of the media attention has been lavished on Orson Charles, White has been a clutch player. Monday night, he came up big, tying a Georgia bowl record with two touchdown catches and being named offensive MVP of the game. When A.J. Green is covered, White is a good alternative. …
But let’s not forget Michael Moore, who had two big catches for 34 yards and jumped on that fumble in the end zone on a TD that was credited to Caleb King but really should have been Moore’s, as replays showed King lost the ball before he broke the plane of the goal. …
Kudos also to the game’s defensive MVP, Geno Atkins, who had three tackles and a sack and, more importantly, a blocked field goal. Atkins was pretty quiet much of the first half of the season but came on strong in later games. …
Aggies QB Jerrod Johnson finished 29-for-58 for 362 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Dogs, but hardly looked like the player who attracted so much attention for his showing against Texas.
What was the difference? Part of it might have been that his performance against the Longhorns was juiced by it being a rivalry game. But it’s hard not to conclude that a bigger factor was that he wasn’t going up against a Big 12 defense. Georgia’s defensive front harried Johnson all night long and while he made some nice plays, he also looked rattled on more than one occasion and made some bad decisions. Johnson only had six picks all season before this game, but Georgia snagged two and could have had three more. …
Joe Cox was … Joe Cox. Not a great night on those sideline routes and he threw a pick (though this one didn’t produce any Aggies points), but he also made some key throws, including the two touchdowns to White. The fact that he came within one touchdown of tying Matthew Stafford’s season record and yet had a mediocre season overall is kind of mind-boggling. …
Coming back from injury and a lengthy layoff, A.J. Green still led the team with six catches for 57 yards, but he was quite visibly rusty. He seemed to lose track of the ball on a couple of plays, got tackled more easily than usual on a couple of screens, and was visibly bothered when he went up high for one of his patented acrobatic catches but didn’t come down with the ball (though you have to give credit to the Aggies defender for excellent coverage). Perhaps Green’s greatest contribution, however, was acting as a decoy, particularly on one of Aron White’s TD receptions. …
The Dogs’ running game really missed Josh Davis on the line in the first half, with Vince Vance struggling mightily. It wasn’t until Justin Anderson was inserted into the lineup in the second half that Georgia was able to run the ball with authority. And that they did, with Washaun Ealey (not “Early,” Mr. Franklin) having 78 yards on 13 carries, Caleb King having 16 carries for 60 yards, and the Dogs’ fullbacks showing some power late in the game, as Shaun Chapas racked up 43 yards on five carries and Fred Munzenmaier added 20 yards on four carries. Heck, even Cox finished with positive rushing yardage for the night!
Which brings up the nonfactor that A&M defensive end Von Miller, the nation’s sack leader, was in this game. Clint Boling might have drawn flags by jumping early a couple of times, but he did a masterful job of handling Miller, who finished with just four tackles and no sacks. …
Quantity doesn’t equate to quality, as the Aggies offense proved Monday. They ran 92 plays for 471 yards, the most offensive plays ever against a Mark Richt Georgia team, and yet were held 14 points under their season scoring average, and that last touchdown was against the Dogs’ scrubs when the outcome already had been decided. Again, Big 12 football vs. SEC football.
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312 comments Add your comment
Spike
December 29th, 2009
3:39 pm
Don’t hate me spell police. I meant “idiot”. I am a lousy typist.
steve
December 29th, 2009
3:41 pm
GTFan,
It’s really simple. In a sport where perception is everything, you need for your own conference to succeed. Why do you think Ohio St. will never again be considered for the NC game if they have only a single loss? Or USC? Why do you think LSU got in with a 2 loss year? Because it is perceived that OSU and USC play in weak conferences. So if you want the best for your team, you should want their conference to do well. It is really not that hard to understand.
UGA Grad
December 29th, 2009
3:44 pm
We are proud of UGA.
We are proud of our conference.
What’s so hard to understand? The more the conference wins, the better we all are. I don’t see that as hiding.
So I guess you don’t hide behind the ACC basketball record?
dwdawg
December 29th, 2009
3:44 pm
It really wasnt’ Joe Cox that was the problem, it was the lack of defense until the GT game. Cox as a scapegoat is unfair.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
December 29th, 2009
3:48 pm
Tech nerds “sunning with exotic, beautiful women”!!!!!!!! Call Hollywood. Revenge of the Nerds VII!!!!
RambleWrecker
December 29th, 2009
3:48 pm
We clearly have the better team and program. Head-to-head means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
3:48 pm
steve,
I understand the wanting to have a better strength of schedule if you are trying to win a national championship. That makes sense. Thats not really what im talking about. Im talking about 7-5 teams waving the conference flag when other teams in their conference have a good season. Im talking about winning a bowl game against a bad team and chanting S-E-C instead of their own team name. It just makes no sense. I really get the feeling that the middle to bottom tier SEC teams care more about the conference then their own team for some reason. GT plays in a great basketball conference. That doesnt make me root for Duke in their out of conference games. I hate Duke and I want them to lose every game.
Noise
December 29th, 2009
3:50 pm
Cox is/was a good QB. Not a great SEC QB, but a good one
Mike P
December 29th, 2009
3:50 pm
You beat a 6, now 7 loss team. Enough with the we beat someone big! The big 12! You were a 7 point fav. You were suppose to win!
Brucemac
December 29th, 2009
3:52 pm
GT Fan, we have a flawed bowl system or did you think we actually play for a championship on the field? The more the SEC wins the better the bowls we go to, (see 10 bowl teams this year). When there is a tie in the flawed system at the top, the SEC wants to be selected for that BCS Championship (see this year again). We don’t make the rules, we just dominate the result. If you are not pulling for the ACC then you don’t understand the system. I can go over it with you again if you are slow.
How2fish
December 29th, 2009
3:52 pm
Atlanta Aggie..you want some cheese with that whine…Dude…but I would take heart your team never quit and they have a TON of freshmen and underclassmen playing so yeah the future should be looking up…but remember you may rival Texas in a couple of years..but best ya’ll stay away from the SEC…we will put a pop knot on your head big enough to hang a tire on.if you need confirmation to that just ask that backup QB he is still hearing voices..
a and m quit
December 29th, 2009
3:53 pm
after that KO return.
steve
December 29th, 2009
3:53 pm
Where you are proven is wrong is evident on youtube. It’s not just the “middle to bottom tier” SEC teams chanting “S-E-C,” it’s the teams’ fans that are winning the championships doing it as well. Do a Google search and see for yourself, but I suspect you already knew that.
WonderDawg
December 29th, 2009
3:54 pm
The nerds are right, Dawg fans. We shouldn’t get carried away with our last two victories over “creampuffs”. Tone it down already!!!
hahahaha!!!!!
December 29th, 2009
3:56 pm
leave it to a pathetic Tech fan to pretend like they don’t understand this whole “wanting your conference to do well” stuff.
GTfan, you are only making this idiotic argument because your conference is a complete embarrassment!!!
How2fish
December 29th, 2009
3:57 pm
GTFan something the Bug village as a whole has trouble getting their buggish heads around .The concept that going to a bowl is only the first step….winning said game is the point of the exercise..we went to a bowl the last 4 years and won…the Bugs alas did not.
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
3:58 pm
@Brucemac
So what you are saying is that you are trying your best to make the SEC look better so that Florida and Alabama can win more championships? Thats why you chant SEC after bad bowl games? That is awfully nice of you. And no, I dont care at all how the rest of the ACC does. My team cant control it and its not worth worrying about. I care about how my team does.
Red-n-Black
December 29th, 2009
3:59 pm
GTEvan
Why would we want to downgrade with your backs? WE RUN THIS STATE – Nuff said.
confused
December 29th, 2009
4:00 pm
weird how Tech fans desperately try and convince UGA fans how bad their team is and how they can’t even compete in the SEC, yet UGA has just as many BCS wins as the entire ACC combined. Hmmmm…………….
WonderDawg
December 29th, 2009
4:02 pm
God Almighty, did you read the nerd who was “sunning with exotic, beautiful women?!?!?! Now that is funny right there, I don’t care who you are!!!
South FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation
December 29th, 2009
4:03 pm
GTFan….UGA fans, SEC fans, or real college football fans do not hide behind anything! They stand in front of it proudly! Nor is anyone rooting for another team rather than their own in head to head competition. What this shows is a mutual respect, which is lost somewhere when you really don’t know anything about the game itself or ever actually played a sport yourself…you are one of the exact people I was referring to earlier. You really just don’t get it do you? It’s called Pride! That is something that someone has when they are proud to be affiliated or a supporter or 1. a University 2. a Conference 3. the most NC of any conference in FBS over the past 10 yrs. It’s called domination! And that does carry over into other sports as well….If we were talking about basketball you may get it, a little bit….but we’re not. Sorry! As a GT fan, why would you not be proud of UNC, Clem, UM, or any other school in the ACC for handling their biz in their bowl games??? I was disappointed as not only a Dawg fan, but as a SEC fan to see UK go down to Clem….as a fan of the sport of football, I am a fan of SEC Football because I am a UGA Football fan. I think it all correlates pretty well. But I can try to understand where your coming from if you don’t understand, because I guess loyalty, dedication, passion, and pride are not things that are tough in those damn text books you eat breakfast to….which is what seems like all you NERDS live by….like freekin robots! And I still pull for you freekin NERDS when you play most you games! Don’t ask me why…because readin bs like you wrote makes me want to slap you in the head with a 2×4! Get a clue you freekin DA!
WonderDawg
December 29th, 2009
4:03 pm
UGA HAS AS MANY BCS VICTORIES AS THE ENTIRE acc!!!!!!!!!
Brucemac
December 29th, 2009
4:08 pm
GT Fan, Bowls equal money. Money equals facilities, Facilities equal wins, Wins equal more money and more prestige and more everything. And yes, we pull for each other so Bama, LSU, and now Florida wins the NC because someday it will be our team. It matters not to me who you pull for, just thought maybe you could understand it if explained properly. I now see you are a typical Tech fan and there is no hope. I apologize to everyone else on here for waisting space tying to have a logical discussion with a Tech fan.
give it up
December 29th, 2009
4:10 pm
Stop wasting your time on GTFan. He knows good and well why the fans of the best conference in all of sports want their teams to do well. He’s bitter, angry and jealous that he’s stuck with the All Cupcakes Conference.
hmmm.....
December 29th, 2009
4:11 pm
Well my links showing how LSU players and fans, and UF fans, were all chanting “S-E-C” magically disappeared, but whatever
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:11 pm
South FL
Lets say that Florida St or Miami become a powerhouse like they used to be and start winning championships left and right. I should feel good as a Ga Tech fan because of this? It makes no sense. Taking pride because you are in a random collection of teams, some of which are doing well is pathetic. The only reason teams do that is to try and make themselves look better when they arent doing very well.
Wisdom
December 29th, 2009
4:12 pm
GT WAS a 1 loss team .
74 UGA grad
December 29th, 2009
4:13 pm
Let’s be honest here, folks: A&M is one of the worst bowl teams this season (lost by 28 to Arkansas, 48 to Kansas State & 55 to Oklahoma, and beat exactly one decent team — Texas Tech).
Georgia had no business being in Shreveport. All things considered, the ‘Dogs were probably the best of the 7-5 SEC teams, and were playing in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl because of a second half meltdown to a clearly inferior Kentucky team.
A good case can be made that at this point, Georgia is the No. 3 team in the SEC, considering how LSU and Ole Miss finished out the season. Given what they did to the ‘Dogs, Tennessee could probably also make that case.
This was likely the least talented team Richt has had, and the 8-5 record is about what the talent level warranted, although 9-4 is more likely what the team was capable of.
Other than QB & DT, the ‘Dogs will have an abundance of returnees at every position + the 2 kicking studs. If Murray comes even close to being as good as his rep, there is no reason the ‘Dogs should not be back among the SEC elite in 2010.
Not pre-season top 10, but definitely top 20 caliber. Other than QB, the only question on offense is whether a few of the WRs can step up and take some of the pressure off AJ. Rogers is talented, but looked pretty raw in Calhoun’s championship game.
With a veteran line, 2 decent TBs, 2 quality TEs, a solid FB and Green, the breaking in process for whoever wins the QB job shouldn’t be that difficult, especially if the receivers can limit the number of drops that hurt Cox’s numbers this season.
No Shreveport for the ‘Dogs in 2010.
bill
December 29th, 2009
4:14 pm
GTFan,
Say FSU and Miami do become good again. Wouldn’t you love for your team to have a shot at knocking off an undefeated, or defending National Champion? Don’t you think that would benefit your team greatly in the polls? Use your head man and stop deflecting from the fact you play in a crap conference
hahahaha!!!!!
December 29th, 2009
4:15 pm
Notice how GTFan is ignoring the fact that UF and LSU fans (even the players) were chanting “S-E-C” during their NC games. What a loser
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:16 pm
hmmm…..
Now find me some links of Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, or any other conference chanting their conference names after a game. It doesnt exist because SEC fans are the only ones that care. Teams in other conferences accept their bad years and hope their team gets better. They dont chant to make themselves feel better.
teet
December 29th, 2009
4:16 pm
74 UGA grad,
Wasn’t UGA in the Weedeatter Bowl because the Gator Bowl screwed everything up by taking FSU?
4WhatIt'sWorth
December 29th, 2009
4:17 pm
Iowa 23 gt 16
hmmm.....
December 29th, 2009
4:18 pm
GTFan,
You were proven wrong and a liar. Deal with it. Besides, they apparently don’t let you post links on here. But you said it was just the middle, to lower tier SEC teams doing it, when it is in fact not the case.
OWNED!!!!!
wall
December 29th, 2009
4:18 pm
Iowa – 38 GT – 17
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:19 pm
bill,
Of course I want my team to beat a good team. I want my team to win every game. Doesnt necessarily mean I will root for that team to beat anyone else. For instance, I will not root for Virginia Tech to beat anybody, even in a National Championship.
SEC
December 29th, 2009
4:20 pm
We get it GTFan. You’re jealous and we don’t blame you one bit. You saw first-hand how competing in that “little pond” doesn’t prepare you for games with even a small fish (this year) in the “Biggest Pond.”
4WhatIt'sWorth
December 29th, 2009
4:21 pm
GT Fan,
We can’t help that you are an Idiot. But don’t worry, we will not hold it against you….
NOT!!!!!
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:21 pm
hmmm…..
What I said earlier: “I really get the feeling that the middle to bottom tier SEC teams care more about the conference then their own team for some reason.”. I never said the top teams dont do it too. Call me a liar all you want if it makes you feel better, but it helps if you learn to read.
Brucemac
December 29th, 2009
4:22 pm
GTFan, the Clemson fans and players were chanting ACC on national TV the day before yesterday. I guess they get it at Clemson.
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:24 pm
Yes SEC im really jealous that I care more about my team then my conference.
GTFan
December 29th, 2009
4:24 pm
@Brucemac,
If you dont know the reason why Clemson was doing that then you are an idiot. They were making fun of SEC fans.
4WhatIt'sWorth
December 29th, 2009
4:25 pm
GT Fan,
Your Team SUCKS!
genius
December 29th, 2009
4:26 pm
Good call GTFan. It would really benefit Yech if they beat an 0-7 Va. Tech team. Great rationale you got there. You are definitely a Yech fan.
South FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation
December 29th, 2009
4:26 pm
GTFan….if FSU and UM have to go through GT every year to get to that NC game then how is that a random connection??? That is a direct connection! If they start racking up NC’s then that only makes the ACC look better and stronger as a whole! How does that not make since! FSU dominating the ACC for so many years made the other schools step up their efforts in the programs…although adding UM, BC, and VT didn’t have the immediate effect that they hoped but it very well could down the road! UF has to go through UGA every year to get to the top….and a good number of years LSU and Bama do too. That is UGA’s chance to knock off some of the perennial top teams in the nation. GT gets to go against UM, FSU, VT most, if not every year…if GT was to knock off those teams on the regular….guess who’s on top…GT! How does that not make since? So you want every team in your conference to win every game they play…except when they play your team…and you obviously pull for your team all the time! I at least hope you do!
bears
December 29th, 2009
4:27 pm
Even UCLA fans were chanting “Pac 10 football” in Knoxville this year. GTFan is clearly a moron
Preston
December 29th, 2009
4:28 pm
SEC, give us a break. We don’t pick who we play in bowl games. We got what we deserved this year but most of the time we get screwed. Especially in 07′ when we got stuck with Hawaii. At least UGA takes care of business 90% of the time in bowl season and doesn’t get humiliated like Alabama/Utah or Florida/Michigan. Sure would’ve been nice to see UGA/USC a couple of years ago.
Brucemac
December 29th, 2009
4:28 pm
I am sorry for being an idiot, I forgot that Tech fans can read the minds of Clemson fans.
GTFan < mentally retarded squirrel
December 29th, 2009
4:29 pm
Obviously this puke is a bitter ACC fan that is more interested in making excuses for his pathetic team and conference than talking about anything of substance. He’s a flamer, let him be.
Tech football 2010
December 29th, 2009
4:33 pm
I predict it will be a loooooooooooooong, and more normal, season for the tools next year. After all of Gailey’s all-ACC everything guys leave after the Orange Bowl, Paul “turkey neck” Johnson is going to be left with garbage. And they actually have a semi-difficult schedule next year, for Yech anyway.
5-7 next year, if they are lucky