Preview: New Mexico State perfect opponent at perfect time for Georgia
Three storylines . . .
Missing persons. Georgia enters the game without its top four tailbacks. Freshman star Isaiah Crowell, Carlton Thomas and Ken Malcome are suspended after flunking a UGA-administered drug test and backup Richard Samuel underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday for an ankle injury suffered in the Florida game. The Bulldogs will go with Brandon Harton, a 5-6, 174-pound sophomore from Reidsville who was awarded a scholarship in preseason camp, and Kyle Karempelis (5-9-180), a freshman walkon from Norcross.
Not-so-special teams. Expected to be a team strength this season, Georgia’s special teams plays is instead among the worst in the SEC, where it ranks in the bottom half if not dead last in almost every category. The Bulldogs will look to shore up kickoff coverage in particular. They gave up 200 yards and a touchdown on five returns against Florida last week and New Mexico State features the nation’s 12th-best return team.
Calling the Hogs. While most eyes in college football will be focused on Saturday’s night’s “Game of the Century” between No. 1-ranked LSU and No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa (8 p.m., CBS), the Bulldogs and their fans will be more interested in what’s happening in Fayetteville, Ark., at about the same time (7:15 p.m., ESPN). There No. 8 Arkansas (7-1, 3-1 SEC) will be playing host to No. 10 South Carolina (7-1, 5-1). A Gamecocks’ loss will give Georgia sole possession of first place in the SEC’s Eastern Division.
A Georgia win would . . .
Be its 7th straight for the first time in a season since 2007
Be its 71st in 90 homecoming games (currently 70-17-2)
A New Mexico State win would . . .
Be its first against an SEC opponent in 14 tries.
Keep an eye on …
For Georgia: Brandon Harton. The redshirt sophomore from Reidsville is expected to get the start at tailback in the wake of the Bulldogs losing four others to suspension or injury this week. Harton (5-6, 174), a lightning quick and shifty runner, earned a scholarship in preseason camp and had actually worked his way up to No. 3 on the depth chart. But a severe ankle injury late in camp sidelined him for the first two games of the season.
For New Mexico State: Taveon Rogers. The Aggies’ senior wide receiver (6-0, 188) from Lancaster, Calif., is a threat in both the passing and return game. Last week he had 7 catches for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns against Nevada. It was his third multi-TD game of the season. He leads New Mexico State’s wideouts with 32 catches for 669 yards and is also averaging 27.5 yards on kickoff returns with a nation-leading two touchdowns.
The numbers game
6
Offensive touchdowns surrendered by Georgia defense in last 6 games
118-23
Aggregate score of Bulldogs three wins over New Mexico State
24
Tackles by Aggies safety Donyae Coleman vs. Nevada last week
The history book
Series record: Georgia leads 3-0
The last time: On Sept. 28, 2002, the Bulldogs fell behind 7-0 before scoring 41 unanswered points. Damien Gary notched Georgia’s first two scores on a 71-yard punt return and a 20-yard pass from David Greene.
The bottom line
This non-conference game comes conveniently sandwiched between rival contests against Florida and Auburn. Meanwhile, New Mexico State is exactly the type of opponent the Bulldogs need at this juncture of the season. The Aggies feature a high-octane offense (419 yards, 30 points per game) and one of the best return games in the country. Meanwhile, they’re giving up 442 yards a game and their rush defense ranks 111th nationally. So Georgia should be able to absorb its personnel losses while having to stay sharp and focused.
– Chip Towers
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
377 comments Add your comment
DawginLex
November 4th, 2011
11:24 am
Thomas, did you run and hide?
Why won’t you answer my questions?
answers don’t fit your agenda?
Or maybe you know they make you look idiotic????????????????
DawginLex
November 4th, 2011
11:25 am
Later boys
I win!!!!!!!!!
Terry
November 4th, 2011
11:25 am
SEC is the best conference in the country, even their cupcakes are better than most teams in all the other conference’s, Before this season started, all I heard was Georgia didn’t have any receivers or a running back to count on, a lot of the people though our defense was suspect, well how did that turn out and all I care about is that they are winning and that’s what they are doing might not be pretty but a win, is a win.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:31 am
Dawgin Lex
No I dont say fire him if he is 11-3 but if doesnt make a change with the OC you will see the same results year after year
I have never said fire Richt; fire Rich thats what is so funny about all you people
I just respond to the stupid moronic posts on here posts like
Richt has 100 wins he is the greatest coach ever at UGA
Richt has control of his team and will right this ship
We win 10 games bla bla bla bla bla BIG DEAL
Just because we lose to FL doesnt mean the season is all that bad
my favorite is Richt will win the national championship in 2 yrs
If you ever read and take notice I just respond to the stupidity with facts and then Im called negative, a troll, a tech or FL fan and the list goes on
You really think looking back after Van Gorder left that Richt is going to win championships here by the way he continues to run things and by what you have seen on the field this year
Be honest
icedawg
November 4th, 2011
11:34 am
Hopefully a “star” will be born. Recruiting a “pounder” should be a high priority. The special teams situation is a crying shame. Could have made a significant difference in the season had they not given up so many easy points.
tell me again
November 4th, 2011
11:36 am
Tbrown is either a girl or a hs kid. No adult writes or reasons like that. Look at the latest list. How is Richt responsible for things like medical dq’s, transfers, academic failures and players who transfer because they are prima donnas? What’s the point there ? There isn’t one. Just irrational ramblings caused by puberty setting in or too much beer cause Mom is out of town. And what about the schedule? It rotates and is made years in advance. Don’t look for a point, there isn’t one. In the paper yesterday it said UGA has one of the toughest drug policies in the country. Some schools don’t even mandate a suspension after the third or fourth offense. . . They leave it up to the AD’ s discretion!
sdiscretion!
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:36 am
Okay… You win. Go polish your “trophy”.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:37 am
LowCountry Moron
Who’s the buffoon the one who thinks the economy will be turned around by legalizing dope even though the American economy has done just fine without it being legalized
The buffoon is you
And whats funny is Thomas Brown posted a comment earlier this morning on yesterdays blog that I remembered you making after the SC game. Now that we have won 6 games; albeit against sorry opponents, your back on the bandwaggon
You really are a buffoon
WDE
November 4th, 2011
11:38 am
Note to Bull Dog nation when you reply to the likes of T.Brown and I-95 it’s like wrestling with a pig, your going to get dirty and for the most part the pig likes it..you folks have a great weekend. Go Dogs!
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:40 am
All of you sound like 12 year olds to me. Then again, I suspect most of you are Georgians.
Don’t matter. We might not beat Bama again, but we’ll be the one’s trying.
tell me again
November 4th, 2011
11:41 am
TBrown you couldn’t have gotten an invite to homecoming. You’re not a UGA alumni. If you are , please let me know your name and graduation date and major so I can be totally ashamed you have a degree from the same university I do.
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
11:42 am
WDE
Have a good’n
Tony
November 4th, 2011
11:43 am
I’m a Tech fan and I will be the first to admit that we began the season with a cupcake schedule. I can’t dog the Dawgs for winning 6 in a row. The bottom line for all teams is about the “W’s. Winning appears to be the Main Thing for all Schools. If the Dawgs had suspended the running backs last week and had lost to Florida, it could have spelled disaster for Richt, especially if they lose to Auburn or even Tech. Most teams if the truth were told would do the same thing, just my opinion.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:43 am
WDE
Always the insults with no facts just your buddies
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
11:45 am
SCAR GO
You have to get there first biggin
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:47 am
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:37 am
LowCountry Moron
Who’s the buffoon the one who thinks the economy will be turned around by legalizing dope even though the American economy has done just fine without it being legalized
Actually studies show that legalizing it could generate $10-15 billion dollars a year for the government. Thats a pretty significant number.
TomahawkMan
November 4th, 2011
11:47 am
Chip,
With all due respect, the last 6 games have been the perfect opponent. All 6 opponents have lost somewhere between 4-6 games, none have a winning record, it’s an easy 7 game stretch.
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:47 am
Just the Facts:
SS > BP
SCAR D > ARKY O
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:48 am
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:40 am
All of you sound like 12 year olds to me. Then again, I suspect most of you are Georgians.
Don’t matter. We might not beat Bama again, but we’ll be the one’s trying
No Lattimore, NO CHANCE at even getting there
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 4th, 2011
11:48 am
“Well by chance they lose this weekend again to South Carolina too, and I am going to take the season off from commenting as tough as it may be. It will be tough but I told my wife that this is going to get outta hand.”
That was the comment he linked….
So what bandwagon did I leave? I think if you can understand my point is that if they lost to SC that the fans, i.e you and Brown, would completely take this blog over and make the blogs essentially unbearable to follow. Which by all accounts you guys have. So again, tell me some great insight?
Also all I read your response about repealing this and repealing that. Prosecute this guy and that guy. Keep your Fox News talking points going. Funny sounds so easy for any of us to type, but yet so impossible for them to inact.
So be it we are on two opposite sides of the streat when it comes to that issue, but know this every assertion you have made about me is wrong. I have owned you in this debate. You attempt to control the spin, but you are week and feeble in this argument. Fox News cannot save you. You have been owned so get on your knees and call Lowcountry Bulldawg your Daddy.
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
11:49 am
Tony,
There seems to be a lot of criticism of Richt and the drug tests. The bottom line is, he didn’t have to test them. He did test them because he suspected they were and obviously was correct. He hasn’t hid anything and it wasn’t about his job. He wouldn’t have doing his job if he ignored it
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:49 am
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:47 am
Just the Facts:
SS > BP
SCAR D > ARKY O
We put up 42, they will put up 50
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:52 am
@ Flat Tire
Study was done MSNBC if you are attempting ot check the facts
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:53 am
I know you guys really really need us to lose – but it ain’t happening.
Hide & Watch!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 4th, 2011
11:54 am
True Dawg Fan
He doesnt deal in facts he deals in the land of oblivion.
Class A
November 4th, 2011
11:54 am
I watched Kyle Karempelis at Wesleyan for 4 years. He is a stellar runner and an even better kid. He’ll do well tomorrow.
And to the blogger named Thomas Brown……buddy, just so you’ll know, i assume that my contribution level is pretty high compared to yours, and just so you’ll know, Richt aint going anywhere anytime soon, so go somewhere else and try to lead your life in the real world.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:55 am
@ SCAR GO!
Yes we need you to lose, AND IT WILL HAPPEN! No Lattimore = no shot against Ark!
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:56 am
Slaw Hawgs on a bun…
Mmmm… Tasty!
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
11:56 am
SCAR GO
I’ll likely be at the AR/SC game. I have been to many there and I can state with much certainty, your c0<ks have their work cut out for them. Fayettenam is a tough place to win
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
11:57 am
class A
I saw him in the playoffs last year, quite impressive. I’m glad he’s a Dawg. Maybe he’ll make a good case to move up on the depth chart
ca dawg
November 4th, 2011
11:57 am
flat tire: by “same results,” do you mean having an offense that scores 31 a game (despite having missed 12 field goals) and ranks 3rd in the conference in total offense at 405 yards per contest? shoot me when that happens.
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:57 am
We ain’t in it ’cause it’s easy.
We’ll miss Lattimore, but losing Stevie was addition by subtraction.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
11:58 am
Class A
November 4th, 2011
11:54 am
I watched Kyle Karempelis at Wesleyan for 4 years. He is a stellar runner and an even better kid. He’ll do well tomorrow.
And to the blogger named Thomas Brown……buddy, just so you’ll know, i assume that my contribution level is pretty high compared to yours, and just so you’ll know, Richt aint going anywhere anytime soon, so go somewhere else and try to lead your life in the real world.
Richt will get the 5 year extension he deserves and that will set the minds of the recruits for 2012 and 2013 at ease since he will be there unitl the 2013 class graduates at least.
Anyone who thinks this is Richts fault doesnt understand football. Bobo needs to get demoted back to QB coach and then fire Garner and put Bobo in charge of Recruiting since he is an excellent recruiter. Then we can actually hire an OC that understands the game.
I encourage all fans to read this article. If Bobo doesnt attempt to implement this scheme tomorrow then he will be gone at the end of the year.
http://leatherhelmetblog.com/2011-articles/november/no-tailbacks-no-problem-go-big.html
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:58 am
True Dawg Fan
10 to 15 billion is nothing but a drop in the bucket when the government spends 10 times that just on healthcare for medicaid and medicare or fixing our roads, or spending on the military and the list goes on
And hey hows the Ga lottery during for the education system in Georgia now you know that wonderful thing that was going to just amazingly help our education system
Funny thing about that. Teachers have been laid off and now you have larger class sizes, several school systems are going 4 days a week just to lessen the burden on the electric bill, I know several schools using text books 20 yrs old.
Also Teachers have had to be furloughed with no pay
But I thought the lottery would help this
You people are stupid; you cant think glorifying things that causes addictions is going to all work out in the end it wont
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:00 pm
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
11:57 am
We ain’t in it ’cause it’s easy.
We’ll miss Lattimore, but losing Stevie was addition by subtraction
Hahaha not liekly, Shaw has much to learn and if he is trying to be a running QB in the SEC he better beef up or he will get broken in half when he finally meets a real defense
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:00 pm
SCAR GO
I expect you’ll find a different team of Razorbacks than you were looking for. You’d better hope defense wins games
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
12:04 pm
ca dawg
By same results do you mean
Under Richt
29-26 against top 25 teams
8-11 against top 10 teams
Never won the SEC east outright but only made it to the SEC championship game because another East team had to lose out
3-8 vs FL 3 wins coming against 3 lousy FL teams
UGA leading in player arrests since 2005
UGA hasent beat a ranked team in 2 yrs
Yea by those results I think so
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:04 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
11:58 am
True Dawg Fan
10 to 15 billion is nothing but a drop in the bucket when the government spends 10 times that just on healthcare for medicaid and medicare or fixing our roads, or spending on the military and the list goes on
And hey hows the Ga lottery during for the education system in Georgia now you know that wonderful thing that was going to just amazingly help our education system
Funny thing about that. Teachers have been laid off and now you have larger class sizes, several school systems are going 4 days a week just to lessen the burden on the electric bill, I know several schools using text books 20 yrs old.
Also Teachers have had to be furloughed with no pay
But I thought the lottery would help this
You people are stupid; you cant think glorifying things that causes addictions is going to all work out in the end it wont
$10- 15B is a lot of moeny and can be used to help lots of projects for the government. And after 10 years thats 100- 150B from a plant. Health care overhaul will never happen. Republicans will block it and eventually a modified way less expensive system will come in place.
dont give me that same old crap about addictions, Pot is not addictive and it has been scientifically proven that its not. It also way more healthy than cigarettes or alcohol. Get a fricken clue before you post about things you know nothing about.
But I guess thats your MO, speak and pray what you said doesnt sound to dumb.
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:05 pm
Thomas Brown go get a life , YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH
Doggie
November 4th, 2011
12:05 pm
Thomas Brown……………. You are Miserable…. Feel sorry for dude.. I’ll pray.
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:06 pm
Have you guys watched Arky play lately? They had their hands full with Ole Miss and barely escaped Vandy.
I hate it for ya, but the only game the Dawgs will play in Atlanta any time soon will be against Tech.
Be a Man about it
November 4th, 2011
12:07 pm
Unless your name is really “Thomas Brown” you are a certified loser for using the name of a college kid and another male at that for your nick name
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:08 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
12:04 pm
ca dawg
By same results do you mean
Under Richt
29-26 against top 25 teams
8-11 against top 10 teams
Never won the SEC east outright but only made it to the SEC championship game because another East team had to lose out
3-8 vs FL 3 wins coming against 3 lousy FL teams
UGA leading in player arrests since 2005
UGA hasent beat a ranked team in 2 yrs
Yea by those results I think so
Get off your high horse. You act like you have never seen a team struggle before. During Richts first 5 years he was unstoppable. We only lost 2-3 away games and barely lost any contests to ranked opponents. But u cant think of it that way bc you are all about what have you done for me lately. Player arrests arent his fault, he cant control every single player on the team 24 hours a day. We have the right players in place for this to go back to the way it was, in the hunt for the SEC and for a NC every year.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:09 pm
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:06 pm
Have you guys watched Arky play lately? They had their hands full with Ole Miss and barely escaped Vandy.
I hate it for ya, but the only game the Dawgs will play in Atlanta any time soon will be against Tech.
Have you seen Vandy play lately??? You are a moron. Move along tech fan
Restore UGA
November 4th, 2011
12:10 pm
@Chip,
Can you please ban Thomas Brown?
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
12:12 pm
True Dawg Fan
“During Richts first 5 years he was unstoppable”
And there you have it
And why was he unstoppable;
I’ll tell you Brian VanGorder You pot smoking democrat who thinks dope will stimulate an economy LOL
And whose job is it to make sure he has surrounded himself with coaches that can coach
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:13 pm
Look man. I hate that we were the ones to crush your dreams this year, but calling me a Techie is a low blow.
It’s only football.
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:15 pm
You’re right flat tire. It’s all them pot smokin’ democrat hippies that make your football team suck.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
12:15 pm
True Dawg Fan
How did the government controled economy of the USSR do?
Love to hear your response to that since you democrats want government to controll everything
Big Dawg
November 4th, 2011
12:16 pm
Thomas Brown is in fact BullDawg and to be honest with you on some accounts what he says does make sense. Does he need to keep posting the same thing over and over. IMHO “NO” but this is still a free country and we still have the right to free speech for a little while longer. Anyways I can still remember when he posted positive things about our Dawgs believe it or not. I guess I date myself back to 2006 on this blog.
Go Dawgs