Georgia’s ‘missing’ defense finally shows up big-time
Florida's Jeff Driskel is sacked by Jarvis Jones and Jordan Jenkins. (Associated Press)
It took eight games for the Georgia defense that everyone expected to see this season to finally show up, but when they did Saturday in Jacksonville it was with a vengeance.
Led by a reasonably healthy Jarvis Jones, who racked up 13 tackles (five for loss), three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, the Dawgs’ D held the No. 2 ranked Gators to just three field goals. That made it possible for Georgia to win the game despite Aaron Murray having a nightmare first half in which he threw three picks.
Just think what the score could have been it hadn’t taken until the fourth quarter for Murray to get on track.
Lots of kudos to go around after what Mark Richt described with a bit of understatement as a “pretty big win.”
First of all, let’s hope someone gave a game ball to Shawn Williams, who provided the spark for a Georgia defense that had been underperforming up to now. Credit is also due to defensive coordinator Todd Grantham for calling a very aggressive game, with lots of strategic blitzes that played havoc with the Florida offense.
Georgia didn’t have a big day offensively, making only one of 10 third-down conversions, but that one was the touchdown that put the game away. A big thumbs-up to Mike Bobo for having the courage to put the game in Murray’s hands in the fourth quarter and let the Georgia quarterback keep throwing the ball despite his earlier miscues.
And let’s not forget Malcolm Mitchell, whose tough open-field running and breaking of a couple of tackles was responsible for that 45-yard touchdown pass, or tailback Todd Gurley, who never broke a long one but ground out 118 yards on 27 carries against a really tough Gators defense and scored on Georgia’s first drive.
It’s a great win for Georgia, giving the Dawgs two in a row in Jacksonville and putting them back in control of their own destiny in the SEC East.
It certainly wasn’t a pretty game, with a combined 24 flags and nine turnovers. But, thanks to the fiery play of the Bulldogs defense, six of those nine were committed by the Gators, with Georgia creating a couple of huge end zone take-aways — an interception to end the first half and Jones stripping the ball from Florida’s Jordan Reed as the Gator tight end was headed toward the goal line.
It was the kind of hard-earned slobberknocker victory that resonates through the ages, and it put to rest the idea that Richt’s teams can’t beat Top 10 teams.
Feels great, doesn’t it? But then you know what they say about Bulldogs and Saturday nights …
Feel free to share your own thoughts on the big win over the Gators.
Got something you want to discuss concerning UGA athletics? Or maybe a question you want the Junkyard Blawg to tackle? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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108 comments Add your comment
lol
October 28th, 2012
8:01 am
yeah the “missing defense” was found because a player was man enough to call his team out and motivate them unlike their big softy coach that just sit back and pray to baby jesus. We all know Mark richt can’t motivate a bank robber to rob a bank. who is going call this team out for the next game? next year? The year after that? Fire mark richt? He is nothing special…
Bill
October 28th, 2012
8:03 am
Come on, Haters! You can do better than this. Point out how close the game was and how ugly the win was. Okay, maybe you are just having an off day. Stay in the closet today. You can come out later.
SSI
October 28th, 2012
8:03 am
Perhaps……at this juncture, you should go back and read your column predicting a “Georgia Loss”.
Paul May
October 28th, 2012
8:08 am
Good win for UGA. However, let’s not be short sighted. Were that Alabama, the TO’s and penalties would have killed us. The team has to show more discipline.
STUDENT ATHLETE
October 28th, 2012
8:35 am
This critic apologizes. Great job bulldogs.
gofortwo
October 28th, 2012
8:47 am
A great victory. And while we celebrate, the Mississppi coach is telling his players that Georgia already feels they’ve won the division, let’s go to Athens and spoil their party. Need to keep the defense intensity and Muarry back on track.
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
9:00 am
I’m so happy about beating the gators!! Yea murray did struggle but he did have the winning td pass…and after all he is 2-1 vs fla!!…..gurley was a tough beast going for 119 yrds…..Shawn williams really set the tempo of the day when he killed that gator from getting the first down on 4 and short!!!
The Plain Truth
October 28th, 2012
9:03 am
The 15 worst scandals in college sports:
http://www.wftv.com/gallery/sports/college/worst-scandals-college-sports-history/gq3b/#2097400
Just guess which school is on the list TWICE.
Remember, there’s a reason why UGA is known far and wide as The Cesspool of the South.
UAGrad
October 28th, 2012
9:18 am
Good win UGA. Hope to see you in the Ga Dome.
UA Grad
October 28th, 2012
9:19 am
Like Columbia, SC is a place of beauty. The stadium is on the set of a Saw movie….geeesh.
LDawg
October 28th, 2012
9:42 am
The Plain Truth – one of those “scandals” was 30 years ago (and something probably just about every other football program in the nation did) and the other was on the basketball team 10 years ago. Got anything newer? About the football team?
MAJOR DAWG
October 28th, 2012
10:07 am
Live from Bagram, Afghanistan…..How bout them JUNKYARD DAWGS!!!!! Awesome win for everybody! I went to sleep at 2AM, at the end of the second QTR…tremendous leadership and execution by the DAWG D in the 2nd QTR…simply outstanding. Got up this morning, read the score on the ESPN ticker, and wore RED under my uniform today! BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE!!!!!
Sic’em DAWGS!
rhbDAWG1
October 28th, 2012
10:08 am
Dawg fud – It must be nice to never have made a mistake. You can’t make up for one if you never make one. People who have never played organized football can never understand the EMOTION a successful player MUST have to enjoy that success
OleDog
October 28th, 2012
10:27 am
With his celestial mike in hand I bet Munson called a heck of a game for the the Bulldog heavenly host. I hope one day to hear a repeat broadcast.
OrlandoDawg
October 28th, 2012
10:29 am
It is a great day to be a GEORGIA BULLDOG!
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
10:36 am
I dont know why some of ya’ll say we got lucky! We were not lucky to win this game….fla was lucky we didn’t blow them out!! We out muscled fla…which lsu…sc and the aggies could not do….they were ranked number 2 for reason. So damn it people quit being so negative…and this is coming from one of most negative dawgs out there.lol. when we beat fla its a perfect win no matter the score or how it happened…..My favorite play was when jarvis and swann timed the fla snap and sacked driskell before he could blink his eyes!!! damn what a perfect play call by grantham….just damn awesome
Quit the kool aid
October 28th, 2012
10:42 am
The right team showed up, also the right QB almost did what he does best
ThreatLavel
October 28th, 2012
10:52 am
Haters gunna hate! Go Dawgs! Eat it Florida fans! You ran your mouth all week…hahaha…enjoy your miserable week. All you other UGA haters, must eat you up. Hahaha.
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
10:53 am
No i’m not drinking the kool-aid….i’m chugging the kool-aid bro!!! It’s great to be a GEORGIA BULLDOG!!!
Strat Cat Dawg
October 28th, 2012
11:05 am
The D did it time and time again and never let UF come back. Rambo made two huge plays. Gurley, the true freshman, ran like a pro. Murray came back in the second half and was solid. Mitchell’s yards after the catch on the TD were world class. JARVIS. Way to go, team, it’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!
Russell Hall
October 28th, 2012
11:19 am
Thanks for your column, Bill. Reading it was like watching the game again, but I’m still gonna fire up the DVR this afternoon. It certainly was one for the ages.
GO DAWGS!
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
11:20 am
It’s a shame murray hasn’t shown the brillance he showed at plant fla…..In the first half he was forcing the ball into double and tripple coverage…so i have mixed feelings about his carreer as bulldawg……but murray still has some more games to go…so lets see how he will finish his career out…..the bottom line he didnt put up great stats but he a winner sat night baby….we are 51-5 in the richt era when a tailback goes over a 100 yards…..keeping running that ball hard gurley and we will keep on winning
jaxdawg
October 28th, 2012
11:31 am
We also need to remember that Malcolm Mitchell almost threw the game away by running his mouth like a cheap thug. Get control on yourself, dawgs, and play like men, or you will always be the team that’s ALMOST good enough. A win is a win, but I’m tired of seeing our players act like Miami.
AltamahaDawg
October 28th, 2012
12:06 pm
Way to go UGA punt team!
NCDawg
October 28th, 2012
12:09 pm
It was a slobberknocker… Gillard got his wish and knock the spiff out of some Gators. Murray’s struggles were tough to watch but everyone hung in there and did what it took to win. The penalties sucked but the refs were calling a very tight game. The emotion was palpable. Now we need to learn to harness that and cut down the penalties. The guys need to learn to show emotion and intensity without saying a word. How about growling? How about barking? When the other guy is spouting crap just growl and walk away. Soon they will fear that growl far more than a bunch of probably incoherent words anyway.
Everyone said we had to play a perfect game to beat the Gators. We didn’t and we still won. Strive for perfection Dawgs. Your best is as good as ANYONE’s. Hold that in your heart.
BTW… a stone faced CMR is not placid… he is boiling. Look at his face when he was chewing Mitchell. Not much different than what some of the people here called looking like he was on Prozac. Malcome sure didn’t think he was being soft, he thought he was ever going to play again. He doesn’t show emotion like Muschamp but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.
I can bet you that the coaching staff had chewed the players about their intensity from the first game but it took a player calling them out to get through. Bad coaching… no. Did you listen to your parents? Or teachers? Or any authority figure with more than half an ear? Sometimes it takes hearing the same message from a peer before it registers. Thank god it registered.
Anyway… my 2 cents… and ITS GREAT TO BE A GEORGIA BULLDOG!
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
12:11 pm
I’m not tired of our players acting out of control…..i’m tired of them playing soft….listen this was the Ga/fla game…we hate them and they hate us……a game where their is so much emotion and hatred in the air…..all the penalties were bound to happen….sure we wont be able to win every week commiting so many like last night…but agaist fla i will take any kind of win..ITS GREAT TO BE A GEORGIA BULLDAWG BABY!!!!
joe jenkins
October 28th, 2012
12:19 pm
I know one thing for sure and that is richt is a better coach than will muschamp……We beat fla at their own game….running the ball and special teams….we were killing their guys on kickoff returns…we were hitting them hard….we were faster and more physical at the point of attack than the gators were……I hope the players had gator stew for breakfast this morning…………..go dawgs
daslicksta
October 28th, 2012
12:58 pm
Awesome win……WOOF!!
BigDawg
October 28th, 2012
1:03 pm
Fellow Dawgs I waited till today to make any comments— Coach Richt is to be congratulated on getting some emotions (fire) going yesterday as his team played with intensity for the first time in a while. Which is what I had been saying all along, these are still young men and they feed off of the emotions or lack of emotions. Coach Richt almost acting comatose on the sidelines was having a negative effect which we have seen far too often the last few years and then when any of his assistants showed any emotions jumping on them i.e. Coach Grantham. Defensively they looked like what I had expected all year playing with controlled intensity. Offensively they are still too predictable and Aaron Murray needs to settle down, this coaching staff keeps missing opportunities with this young man as after each of the bad decision he made- no coaching on the sidelines took place, as when the cameras would scan to the Dawgs sidelines Murray would be sitting on the bench. Anyways they did dominate the Gators yesterday which was good to see and now maybe we will see this series being dominated by the Dawgs for the next 20 plus years again.
Go Dawgs
7576DAWG
October 28th, 2012
1:36 pm
14 penalties and 132 yards. Most of it were unsportsmanlike conduct . This could have killed us if Florida didn’t offset most of those penalties with the same penalty. We needed to show some emotion but our Freshmen have got to learn to control that emotion. Great job team.
7576DAWG
October 28th, 2012
1:40 pm
Everybody know what Jarvis did but our other all American showed up ,also. Rambo intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop one drive and then recovered the fumble at the end of the game that bounced into the end zone.
7576DAWG
October 28th, 2012
1:44 pm
Sorry just read that Commings recovered the fumble.
BrizDawg
October 28th, 2012
1:45 pm
It always feels good to beat Florida, but it doesn’t so much feel like the Bulldogs won as the Gators lost. This was an ugly game, and Florida hit more branches on the way down the ugly tree than Georgia. This is not to take away from great effort by the players who made big plays at crucial times. But I am left feeling like winning this game means that UGA will be stuck in the same rut for another couple of years, especially if they manage to take care of business against Ole Miss and Auburn – and the way they have played against mediocre teams this year, I expect those to be much closer contests than they should be. The rut I refer to is Georgia beating awful and mediocre teams, and occasionally exposing a team like Florida as overrated, winning the division because of the poor quality of opponents, but not really being the powerhouse they should be, and consistently losing to good and great teams. I know Florida was ranked #2, but we all know that rankings aren’t really worth anything until the end of the season – they’re basically a popularity contest and used to help garner better TV ratings. I hope I’m wrong – I hope this is the turning point and that UGA is on the ascendancy to becoming great team it should be. But I’m not a believer yet, and frankly don’t believe that CMR is the coach that will take us there. Win the SEC or the BCS Championship and I’ll gladly eat crow. Until then, I’ll dog the Dawgs – they play better when they’re disrespected anyway.
hornblowermg
October 28th, 2012
2:18 pm
so glad to see ssi gator show up reincarnated as truth hurts. you lost. just think how bad it would have been if Michael Bennett and Hutson Mason had played. just whine & whine & whine. we won.
buzzDawg
October 28th, 2012
3:20 pm
The Dawg defense played great and stuffed the run, making the Gators’ Driskel pass – something he is not yet comfortable doing. Now the Dawgs need to use the remainder of the regular season games to tighten up and play consistently because playing Bama in the SEC Championship game could get embarrassing if they don’t. We’ve already been embarrassed once by South Carolina. Enough is enough. We’ve got awesome, talented players. They just need to be focused and play – Bama will.
North Georgia Dawg
October 28th, 2012
3:54 pm
I was impressed with the run defense and the great job they did of swarming to the football and containing Driskel. No doubt Florida could have played a heck of a lot better… but so could Georgia and yet we did not turn the ball over in the second half. Gurley played well and Murray actually played well in the fourth quarter, putting Mitchell is position and MM did the rest. It’s a great day to be a dawg. No matter how many games we win, the haters will show up on this page and post. So ignore those clowns!
Vance
October 28th, 2012
3:59 pm
It was ugly. It was nasty, but man o man was it thrilling to win for a second year in a row over UF. In the tradition of the Erk Russell years the D did the job. Let’s hope we see that “mojo” for the remainder of the season, and that the coaching staff will learn how to instill that passion for every game, which championship teams do.
Ed
October 28th, 2012
4:04 pm
To those Gator fans (and Techies posing as Gators) who say that Georgia didn’t deserve the win, that Florida gave the game away: Thanks! Can you give away next year’s game, too? Hopefully this becomes a habit. Lord knows we’ve gift wrapped a few for you over the years.
There’s no such thing as a bad win over the lizards.
Ed
October 28th, 2012
4:13 pm
And my last post aside, don’t kid yourselves. Georgia physically beat Florida in this game. There were more wounded men in white shirts laying around the field than what you’d expect to see in a hospital wing. One play that has gotten overlooked by JJ’s heroics was the fourth down stop made by Shawn Williams. It was a clean but brutal tackle that reminded me a little of Johnny Henderson slamming the Florida back on the famous “4th and Dumb” play in ‘76 – only more vicious. As was the hit on the opening kickoff. Those set the tone for the game.
Eat it Gators. And same to Techies living vicariously through them. You lost. Deal with it for 364 more days.
LHarding Dawg
October 28th, 2012
4:54 pm
Ugly, there was nothing ugly about that win. It was a brutal war for four quarters.
sprouse27
October 28th, 2012
5:01 pm
Beating the lizards is ALWAYS a good thing! I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Shawn Williams hadn’t (rightfully) called out the Georia Defense. Geogia’s defense looked exceptional yesterday and kept UGA in the game when Murray had yet another big game meltdown. I’m not sure we’re ready to beat the Tide in Atlanta just yet, but yesterday was a huge step forward. Let’s hope that SAME defense shows up every week for the rest of the season. Was awesome to watch and couldn’t have come at a better time. Bravo to the Georgia D…FINALLY!
Skokie Dog
October 28th, 2012
5:08 pm
Welcome back to the blawg, DawginLex. I fully expected to see you on here, crowing about how you were right all along. I readily admit that I was wrong about the ‘Dogs this week, at least the defense. The team showed up ready to play from the beginning of the game, and the defense played well throughout. The U.Ga. offense, however, wasn’t exactly hitting on all cylinders, and that one conversion of a third down play for a first down in the fourth quarter is evidence of some work yet to be done on that side of the ball. Florida turned over the ball SIX times, and Georgia scored SEVENTEEN points. Yes, that’s enough to win yesterday, but how many of us think that that’s precious few points off all those turnovers? And if you can claim that you weren’t expecting U.F. to score a touchdown on that late drive when Jarvis Jones forced the second fumble, then I’m guessing that you aren’t being entirely honest with yourself.
It’s false to call those of us who criticize the coaching staff as “haters.” We comment about what we see, and what we have seen too often has been a team that lacked urgency and cohesion. I’m happy to admit being wrong about this team this week. If the team wins a few more of these meaningful games this decade, I’ll be more inclined to think that the coaching staff is earning its salaries. Whether they do or not, I’m aware that they’re not going anywhere else anytime soon.
HOUDAWG
October 28th, 2012
5:10 pm
Hey SSI …… where are ya PUNK ??????????????
dawgs01
October 28th, 2012
5:17 pm
truth hurts-you are a idiot. florida did not give this game to us. we took it from them. we hit them in the mouth and kept on. at least 5 or 6 of their guys left the game. we set the tone on the opening kickoff and williams hitting that receiver on that sweep on fourth and one set the tone also. Nothing was given to us you are a tool. ESPN makes it sound like florida was just turning it over for no reason the reason was if you watched the game we were playing the most physical football i have watched this yr. it looked like a ravens and steelers game. we were laying the wood. truth hurts go beat your little hotdog until it hurts bc i know you cant get none.
dawgs01
October 28th, 2012
5:22 pm
now florida was over rated i swear haters never quit last week they were gonna wipe the floor with uga now they just are not that good. look everyone knew they were one dimensional including lsu who got straight manhandled by them but they were not over rated then even though they had some more defensive players back for us but we knocked them out of the game. haters hate on people they envy no one hates the average guy that has an average job and ok looking girl they hate on the guy they want to be sounds familiar tech fans
Tman
October 28th, 2012
5:24 pm
You guys get me. Play as hard as you can then once the play is over calm down immediately and dont get a penalty.
That game was full of emotion You cant expect a19 year old to bust his a@# then come down in 2 seconds. I would have done the same thing as Malcolm because he was being taunted all day! You all say Play like your on fire but put the fire out as soon as possible. Most of you never played any kind of sport.
Acworth Dawg
October 28th, 2012
5:50 pm
Hey Yellow Fuzz how does it feel to be ranked 95th in the latest BCS poll “little man”? TEN points behind the mighty Middle Tennessee State. Can’t wait to play you AH’s in November on our way to a BCS Bowl (hopefully).
hHhHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHhahahahahahahahahahahahah
ahHAHAHAHAHhahahahHAHhahHAHhahHAHhahHAHhahHAHHAhHhhHHAAHAHA
hHhHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHhahahahahahahahahahahahah
ahHAHAHAHAHhahahahHAHhahHAHhahHAHhahHAHhahHAHHAhHhhHHAAHAHA
(((((((((((((((( 95th in the NCAA ))))))))))))))))) hahahahahahahahahaha
Dog4Life
October 28th, 2012
6:31 pm
Ed “Gift wrapped a few” ain’t that the gods awful truth. Several times we just flat out handed to fla–karma is a tough nut to understand–just look at the Ol Barn on the plains!!!!
PTCDAWG
October 28th, 2012
6:51 pm
Number 59 Jenkins is something to watch also, with his mentor number 29 Jones watching over him and teaching by example! GREAT!!
WinderDawg
October 28th, 2012
6:56 pm
The Dawgs brought the old fashion physical football to Jax. It’s been a while since a UGA defense was hitting this hard. That’s how you win football games you block and tackle better than the other team! Bring it next week against Ole Miss! Go Dawgs