If that was Murray’s farewell game for the Dawgs, he goes out in style
Aaron Murray hoists the MVP award at the Capital One Bowl. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
If Aaron Murray does decide to leave early for the NFL, his performance in Tuesday’s Capital One Bowl seems to perfectly encapsulate his career at Georgia.
There was the shaky start that saw him throw a couple of interceptions, one resulting in a Nebraska touchdown, and then a record-setting day passing in which the Georgia junior quarterback threw five touchdown passes (and what should have been a sixth) in leading the Bulldogs to a come-from-behind victory.
And all of that against the nation’s top-rated pass defense!
Particularly impressive in his Capital One MVP performance was the 24-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter where Murray, scrambling to his right, managed to find back Keith Marshall down near the corner of the end zone and delivered a superb pass that Marshall did a great job of snatching out of the air. With the PAT, that put Georgia ahead 38-31 on a day that saw the lead change hands four times.
I’d said in my bowl game preview that if the Dogs and Cornhuskers got into a shootout, I thought the advantage would be Georgia’s, and that was based on my confidence in the big-play capability of Murray and Mike Bobo’s explosive offense.
In the end, they lived up to expectations in notching a 12th Bulldog win for only the third time in the school’s football history.
But plenty of others besides Murray deserve credit for Georgia’s hard-fought win over the Cornhuskers.
It took a while for the Dogs to get their run game going, aside from early success with the “Wild Dawg” formation, but ultimately Todd Gurley notched his ninth 100-plus yard game of the season.
Chris Conley scores on an 87-yard pass play against Nebraska. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
The depth of Georgia’s receiving corps stepped up yet again after Malcolm Mitchell had to leave the game in the first quarter with a concussion. Chris Conley caught a remarkable two passes for 136 yards — both touchdowns — and Tavarres King made three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. (TK should have had another but couldn’t hang on to well-thrown ball in the end zone late in the game.)
And then there was the beleaguered Georgia defense, which was shorthanded without starting nose guard John Jenkins and started out the game exhibiting the same trouble defending the run that we saw against Alabama. While dual-threat quarterback Taylor Martinez was held in check most of the day, Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead at times looked unstoppable in the first half.
I’ll be honest: I was mighty concerned when Nebraska opened the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that lasted 5:18 to take a 31-23 lead. Toward the end of that drive, the Georgia defenders already were starting to look a bit tired on a warmer-than-expected day in Orlando.
But with Jarvis Jones (who surpassed David Pollack’s single-season sack record in the game) and Alec Ogletree stepping up the pressure on Martinez and Damian Swann snagging the second of a pair of interceptions, Todd Grantham’s defense shut out the Nebraska offense for the final 25 minutes of the game in as gritty a performance as I’ve seen from a Dawgs defense in quite a while.
Most of that defense is not expected back next season, so that second-half turnaround may be something we’ll have to savor for a while.
However, the bulk of the offense that managed to keep Georgia in this game when things weren’t going so well defensively will be back next fall.
I’m definitely among those fans who hope Murray will be among them.
Feel free to share your own views of Georgia’s New Year’s Day bowl win.
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129 comments Add your comment
beanster
January 2nd, 2013
3:57 pm
I think Murray moves on for several reasons but mainly because there isn’t much more he can do to improve his stock. His abilities and weaknesses are a known quantity and I would bet even AM himself would say that another year in college wouldn’t change the way he will be perceived by pro scouts. I bet he goes in the 3rd round and gets a very nice paycheck for several years before wrapping up his playing days.
Off subject a little, but I can honestly say that I am glad #36’s eligibility has been used up. He may have ignited the fire that fueled the victory over UF this year, but IMO, his DGD status takes a beating with all of the trash talking he does on the field. I am sure Taylor Martinez is no saint but #36’s mouth reflects poorly on the rest of the team. Why he can’t let his play do the talking, I’ll never know. Also, I hope #26 maybe reads this post and decides to keep his mouth closed out there as well.
All in all, that was a really fun season. Congrats to the team and coaches. It’s great to be a Dawg!!
true UGA fans
January 2nd, 2013
4:08 pm
Old UGA alumnus I am, class of 71. UGA when they won the SEC had a leader, capable QB. This idea of Richt’s to throw the ball all over the lot, DOES NOT TRANSLATE into SEC TITLES.
Yes, Murray has the stats. Here s one: 95 TD passes to about 34 PICS!! How pathetic?
Time for Aaron to move on. He is just NOT a championship QB and his below average big game w/l record shows it clearly.
Skokie Dog
January 2nd, 2013
4:16 pm
Bill, I think I speak for lots of us on the blawg when I say that I felt “immense pride” in the ‘Dogs yesterday. Was that “cutting edge” football, or what? They avoided losing to a team that was above average in the Big Ten, just like Michigan State was in the previous season (and we recall how that game ended). Marshall’s catch on that late touchdown was a thing of beauty, and the defense finally stepped up in the fourth quarter. It’s too bad that that group on defense didn’t play up to their talent level as a team for the entire season rather than doing so occasionally, most notably in the Florida game. That’s all from an “energy vampire” for today. Over and out.
Dirty Dawg
January 2nd, 2013
7:31 pm
I think it’s great that Mr Jones erased David Pollack’s sack record…in fact, as far as I’m concerned we can erase Pollack from the Bulldog books altogether. For some time I’ve believed that he must have been told by the ESPNers that he needed to be even-handed in his ‘reporting’ and to not be a Bulldog ‘homer’…and if he wasn’t told to do so, it’s even worse than I thought. I mean you don’t see Palmer or that Carter guy, or any of the rest of the ex-Gators taking another team’s side…and especially if that other team is Georgia. Pollack’s taking Alabama in the SEC game wasn’t necessary and it showed a willingness to throw the Dogs under the bus, then his handling of the ‘credit-card’ bowl gave me the feeling that he fancies himself as some kind of great sports analyst that has to deny his roots in order to be credible. That may make him feel good for a while, but sooner or later he’s got to come home and we won’t forget.
A person SMART enough to know.....
January 2nd, 2013
7:51 pm
Dirty Dwag you sure are crying alot about Pollack. He has to be fair in his reporting. He isn’t doing Larry Munson’s job.
A person SMART enough to know.....
January 2nd, 2013
7:52 pm
Anybody doing a Live Blog for the Sugar Bowl? It will be funny to hear the dwags complain about Florida.
A person SMART enough to know.....
January 2nd, 2013
8:54 pm
looks like Louisville came to play. 14-0
For The Record
January 2nd, 2013
10:46 pm
Bobby Bowden was the head coach of Florida State from 1976 to 2009. That’s a total of 25 years as the head coach of one of the most prominent college football programs in the country. He had a 89% winning percentage during the 90’s alone. But he won only two (2) national championships during his entire tenure. 1993 and 1999.
All of you guys hollering for CMR to be fired need to get out of your mama’s basement and get a freakin’ life!!! Quit being part of the “NOW” generation and get some patience….While your at it, get a better job than the corner QT and let your parents have some “empty nest” time
DawgVoiceofReason
January 2nd, 2013
11:26 pm
Right on, For the Record. Btw 30-10 UL over UF in the 4th. Too bad for ssigator!
Reality
January 3rd, 2013
12:06 am
The “All Cupcake Conference” defeats mights LSU. The “Big Least” defeats Florida. My oh my! How the mightly have fallen!
AJC WRITERS AND SEC FANS: Learn some humility. Otherwise be ready for all other fans of all other conferences to be as horrible as you are!
Dawg Patrol
January 3rd, 2013
4:32 am
All of us Dawg fans learned humility when we played Central Fla. a couple of years ago.
DawginLex
January 3rd, 2013
8:20 am
where is SSIGator this morning?
MT
January 3rd, 2013
8:49 am
TO THE OTHER POSTER POSTING AS MT, I’VE HAD THIS HANDLE FOR FIVE YEARS,
FIND ANOTHER.
Dirty Dawg
January 3rd, 2013
9:00 am
I’m SEC all the way, but gotta say that Louisville’s win last night was as satisfying – almost – as if it had been UGA whippin them Gators. Herbstreit was right on early when he said that Florida was undesciplined…too bad the game announcers didn’t pick up on it. ..and what was the kid that got thrown out of the game doing still sitting on the bench? Don’t they have the same rules as baseball and basketball that they have to ‘go to the showers’? I got the feeling that the officials would have thrown the entire UF team, including coaches, out. I mean who the hell would put up with a bunch of thugs, along with a coach with a bad attitude? I sure wouldn’t.
MT
January 3rd, 2013
9:00 am
The “All Cupcake Conference” defeats mights LSU. The “Big Least” defeats Florida
Big Ten takes it on the chin, Georgia over Nebraska and again SC OVER Michigan.
GTBob
January 3rd, 2013
10:38 am
The mighty SEC bowl season so far:
Florida: Loses to a Big East team
LSU: Loses to an ACC team
Miss St: Loses to a Big 10 team
UGA: struggles against an average Nebraska Team who was blown out in their previous game.
SC: Needs a late miracle to beat a below average Michigan team.
Vandy: Decent win over an ACC team
How could a conference that is so unbeatable with so many top 10 teams do so poorly in bowl games?
RNB
January 3rd, 2013
10:47 am
GTBob, Anyone that knows football understands that in bowl games the records really don’t mean much. It’s a vacation for most of these kids and a disappointment they are not in the big game. There is also the issue where kids are looking at the NFL and are not going to play all out and get hurt. Do you honestly think Louisville could go to the swamp in October and win?
GTBob
January 3rd, 2013
10:57 am
Do you honestly think Louisville could go to the swamp in October and win?
Yes, I do. Florida almost lost to La Lafayette at the swamp. Louisville dominated every facet of the game last night. The game wasn’t even nearly as close as the final score. They were the better team and were much better coached. To argue that Florida didn’t care to be there is just silly. Its a BCS game on prime time television. They just aren’t as good as Louisville.
NCDAWG
January 3rd, 2013
11:17 am
I think the excuses people make for bowl losses are a load of crap. Any time you step on the field you should be ready to compete. If you’re disappointed that you aren’t in the BIG GAME how does LOSING make that any better. Winning is a whole lot more fun than losing. No, there is no excuse for UF to have mailed it in last night. NONE.
NCDAWG
January 3rd, 2013
11:26 am
Most of UF’s problem is a pedestrian offense. There are going to be times when the other team is just ON and you have to be able to step up and out score them. College football is about emotion as much as anything. A good offense that is ON will do damage to ANY defense… you have to be able to score consistantly and neither LSU or UF can do that. If they have to throw the ball they are up the creek. In college football today you cannot expect to be able to just line up and blow people off the ball every game and never develop an even decent passing attack to compliment it. You will have games where you have to throw it to keep up.
The West next year will come down to Bama and Texas A&M… unless LSU gets some imagination in the offense. It is shameful that UF doesn’t have a decent QB.
AltamahaDawg
January 3rd, 2013
2:40 pm
You know UF has fallen on hard times, when thier biggest fans in the world, the trade schooler, are dis-owning them.
HaHa Florida!
January 3rd, 2013
2:41 pm
I know it was only one spectacular catch, but does anyone else think it’d be a good idea for Marshall to split time at WR? He’s probably the best athlete on the field, and I know we’re stacked at WR. However, in my opinion he doesn’t see the field enough because Gurley is such a beast. The thought of a Mitchell, Bennett, Marshall/Conley WR core kind of makes my panties wet.
AltamahaDawg
January 3rd, 2013
2:57 pm
Why line him up at WR, and announce his intentions, if he can come out of the backfield and make that kind of play? You know, so a LB, and not a DB has to cover him.
Reality
January 3rd, 2013
3:58 pm
So typical of ugag fans….
When the SEC does well in bowl games, it clearly shows the conference dominance.
When the SEC does not do well in bowl games, then it is because the kids take it as a vacation and means nothing regarding the team/conference strength.
What hypocrites!
NCDAWG
January 3rd, 2013
4:17 pm
Reality – painting SEC/UGA fans with such a broad brush is just stupid. Go up a little bit and you will see that I called the excuse making a load of crap. Now does that mean that the SEC teams that lost are not good teams? Not necessarily.
On ESPN radio they were discussing UF mailing it in and in that process they agreed that Muschamp certainly did his part in preparing the team, the players just did not perform. Personally I think that UF needs a decent QB in the worst way. If that offense could have put some points on the board then it might have been a different outcome. But we will never know because their offense was pedestrian at best. As a UGA fan, I hope it stays that way.
Desert Fox
January 4th, 2013
11:55 am
The shining stars of the Neb game for GA was its receivers. Not saying the RB’s didn’t contribute, they did, but GA scored all its points on passes. GA was w/o its three top receivers after MM got hurt early in the game. The remaining backups were sensational and throw in the catch by Marshall for a TD was hilite reel stuff. Justin Scott Wesley showed he’ll fill in nicely w/Kings and #15’s departure. They all caught the ball which kept GA in the game and a tip of the hat to the Offensive line for protecting AM and opening holes for the running game. GA has done well in recruiting receivers that can catch. It wasn’t always that way in CMR’s early days. But since the arrival of AJ Green they have selected well. Was a good win leading into next season. Won’t be easy w/the schedule they have and a rebuilt D but if AM stays this offense will keep GA in any game and opponent they play. GTO DAWGS
WDE
January 4th, 2013
3:08 pm
GTBob agreed it is a very strange Bowl season hell Tech won….and Bob UGA won by 3 TD’s hardly a barn burner Bobbie.And how is Michigan more below average this year compared to every other year? Oh I know they lost to the SEC twice in one year…got it !
DawgVoiceofReason
January 5th, 2013
10:17 pm
“True uga fans”,
For a supposed old timer, you are amazingly ignorant about how truly imressive Murray,s touchdown to interception ratio is. Very few qb’s in ncaa history approach that kind of success, much less other UGA qb’s. And he has had two of the best seasons in our history.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 5th, 2013
10:19 pm
impressive