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
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:17 pm
Me… I’m all for going back to the feudal system.
Or at least something modeled after Communist Red China.
I just hate working folks – don’t you?
LHM1509
November 4th, 2011
12:19 pm
“…and one of the best return games in the country”
Felt good about this game until I read this!
SCAR GO!
November 4th, 2011
12:22 pm
Don’t matter if UGA loses this one. Auburn’s the loss that puts the 9″ nail in the coffin.
Keith Olbermann parody
November 4th, 2011
12:23 pm
And now, a special comment:
Mr. Richt, you played Crowell in the Florida game knowing that he had tested positive for drugs. HOW…DARE…YOU…SIR!!
If you have any humanity left, if you have any respect for the university that you claim to love, if you have even the tiniest shred of decency in your Bible-thumping body, if you care about the pain that you have put the administration, the athletic department, the Bulldog nation, the University of Florida, the organizers in Jacksonville, the SEC, the NCAA, your family, and the entire nation through, RESIGN, SIR!!!
Good night, and good luck…(fade to black, next show featuring a liberal loon begins)
TomahawkMan
November 4th, 2011
12:29 pm
UGA has had a 7 week bye period, no winning teams since 2nd game.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:42 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
hahahahahahahahahahahha how uninformed are you??? When did I ever say I was a Demomcrat??
I am a Republican through and through. Always have been. Also didnt say anything about me smoking pot. thats just your crazy assumptions running wild.
Did you really compare legalizing pot to the former USSR?? hahahahahahaha thats hilarious. Letting the government control pot doesnt harm anyone and if you thik it does please tell me. It would create a massive influx of jobs across the country. It would release thousands of people from jail whos only crime was pot, that in its self would save the US billions of dolalrs. Maybe you should try and look at the whole picture instead of assuming its just a way for the governtment to control something else.
Really you think Brian Vangorder had something to do with it?? No Sh!t, but Richt WAS calling the plays then and our offense was incredible. We didnt have a weakness then, David Greene kept us solid on offense and David Pollack kept us in it on the defensive side.
roughrider
November 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
Question of the day: Would CMR have suspended the running backs if we were playing Auburn this weekend?
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
Keith Olbermann parody
November 4th, 2011
12:23 pm
And now, a special comment:
Mr. Richt, you played Crowell in the Florida game knowing that he had tested positive for drugs. HOW…DARE…YOU…SIR!!
If you have any humanity left, if you have any respect for the university that you claim to love, if you have even the tiniest shred of decency in your Bible-thumping body, if you care about the pain that you have put the administration, the athletic department, the Bulldog nation, the University of Florida, the organizers in Jacksonville, the SEC, the NCAA, your family, and the entire nation through, RESIGN, SIR!!!
Good night, and good luck…(fade to black, next show featuring a liberal loon begins)
youre an idiot
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
roughrider
November 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
Question of the day: Would CMR have suspended the running backs if we were playing Auburn this weekend?
Yes
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:46 pm
Keith, you need a real job , do you think that Richard Samuel helped win that game not Crowell.And our bad ass defense. SO GET OVER IT
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:47 pm
TRUE DAWG FAN , IF YOU ARE A TRUE FAN YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO ASK THAT
FtWorthDawg
November 4th, 2011
12:49 pm
To be honest I am glad these kids are getting a chance to play at tailback. Maybe they won’t take a game like this for granted and run hard every play. Maybe it will give the O-line some extra incintive to run block a little better than normal against a team like NM State with those guys in the backfield. I have seen our guys get down for games like this too often and with Auburn next week and the USC-Arkansas game to follow, there is no telling where these kids heads will be come game time. But I know whose heads WILL be in the game come tomorrow …. Harton & Karempelis , no doubt!
stinger
November 4th, 2011
12:51 pm
I hope to god UGA wins the east cause I wanna see BAMA/LSU put some good ole fashioned woop ass on
the pups. After TECH “ROLLS the dawgs back to athens.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:52 pm
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:47 pm
TRUE DAWG FAN , IF YOU ARE A TRUE FAN YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO ASK THAT
I didnt ask it. I merely responded yes bc its a dumb question.
ARdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:53 pm
SCAR GO
Don’t fool yourself with what you thought you saw AR versus Ole Miss or Vandy. If anything else it should prove to you that AR can put some points on the board when they need to. Those games were on the road too. I don’t wish you guys any bad luck. May the best team win but, I sense you are grossly underestimating your opponent. Not generally a good thing
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:53 pm
stinger
November 4th, 2011
12:51 pm
I hope to god UGA wins the east cause I wanna see BAMA/LSU put some good ole fashioned woop ass on
the pups. After TECH “ROLLS the dawgs back to athens.
hahahahahahaha Tech is going to get destroyed by UGA. Ur offense is laughable and so is your defense.
Thomas Brown
November 4th, 2011
12:54 pm
i wet my pants
Thomas Brown
November 4th, 2011
12:54 pm
now i go poo poo
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:54 pm
I wish the best for these young men who have practiced hard and now a chance to play . GOOD LUCK HARTON & KAREMPELIS
Thomas Brown
November 4th, 2011
12:56 pm
True Dawg Fan your coaches offense is the joke. fire the high school coach.
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
12:57 pm
True Dawg fan OK sorry
Dontavius Supremo
November 4th, 2011
12:58 pm
Do any of you people have a job???
John Galt
November 4th, 2011
1:00 pm
I have my staff tracing the posts of Thomas Brown and Flat Tire back to their originators.
When I am done I will provide their real names and addresses to the real UGA fans.
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
1:00 pm
Yes I in sales
gomdawg
November 4th, 2011
1:01 pm
Yes I’m in sales Sorry
Actually
November 4th, 2011
1:02 pm
Actually Thomas Brown makes some great points.
I evaluate Mark Richt’s accomplishments relative to what he has to work with.
That has something to do with what he inherited, but far more to do with Georgia’s day to day realities.
I don’t care what Vince, Ray, Or Jimmy D. Pyramid did at Georgia……accepting mediocrity then is no reason to now.
UGA is the second biggest school in the SEC
UGA is one of the three best academic universities in the SEC
The State of Georgia is easily the fourth best recruiting state in America.
UGA has nearly free reign on any kid they want in State provided UGA isn’t performing horribly (which they NEVER should given their advantages)
Georgia doesn’t have another power in state. That is Tech’s fault because they stopped making football a priority 25 years ago. Tech could be much better if they chose to. But the reality is UGA is the only thing in UGA’s way in the state of Georgia
UGA’s facilities are second to none
UGA’s balance sheet is second to none
UGA’s college experience is second to none
Athens is second to none as a college town.
Georgia’s conference affiliation is second to none.
Georgia’s built in TV revenues/contracts and ability to be seen nationally are second to non (Maybe to ND & Texas with their own networks)
Georgia has a long history of being consistently pretty good. But that’s because our fanbase is more concerned with a great party and watching technicolor clips of #34 with Munson in the background than they are with DEMANDING excellence. Alabama, may be a bunch of obsessive rednecks with nothing else to do, but they win at the highest level fairly often because they Demand it. When Florida started demanding it, they became nationally relevant.
Richt is not a great coach. He’s a decent coach and a great man, and represents our university in fine fashion, which is sadly a rare thing and the main reason I’m not clamouring for his dismissal. But make no mistake, he’s not a great coach and Georgia could and should do better.
We lose as favorites 4 times as often as we win as underdogs.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:02 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
12:53 pm
True Dawg Fan
You got a study from MSNBC and your calling someone an idiot for making fun of your hero Keith Oberman
Yea that makes you a democrat
And no I didnt compare legalizing pot to the USSR. Read what I said
I said how did the government controlled economy of the former USSR do since you democrats want more government control
hahahahaha bc I watched a documentary on MSNBC makes me a democrat wow, you truly are a dumb@$$.
The government controling pot doesnt equate to a government cotrolling the whole economy. You are comparing apples and oranges. And the only the the government would control is the price and the taxes that they apply to the sale of it.
And once again not a democrat, very much a republican. Vote only Republican. I think Obama is a moron and is ruining the country. More government control is never the answer. But like i said before they wouldnt be controling much of this trade.
Seriously if you want to debate something then do some research and stop just typing whatever comes to mind, it will make you appear less dumb than you really are.
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:03 pm
Looks like Justin hHouston has been passing around some more fat spliffs at UGA. Join the RB spliff club today!
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:03 pm
You got a study from MSNBC and your calling someone an idiot for making fun of your hero Keith Oberman
Im calling him an idiot for saying Richt should resign bc he knew about the tests before Florida. Had that idiot read anything from the past couple of days he would see that the reults got in on Tuesday and they were immediately suspended.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:04 pm
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:03 pm
Looks like Justin hHouston has been passing around some more fat spliffs at UGA. Join the RB spliff club today!
Wow did that take you 3 days to come up with?? Move along moron
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:05 pm
Maybe our RB’s can go up to lower Manhattan this weekend and join the Occupy Dope smokers.
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:07 pm
True Dawg fan….stay off the kool aid idiot!
Actually
November 4th, 2011
1:08 pm
Further……
The state of Georgia is more relevant now than 25 years ago.
Georgia was in the high teens population wise in 1985, now they are 8th or 9th.
Georgia was also about middle of the road in Total state GDP 25 years ago, they are top 12 now and rapidly moving up the list.
Point being……the state of Georgia is far more populated……..and populated with more wealthy people than it was 25 year ago. Richt has a different reality than Vince had, who was Georgia’s last “good” coach.
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:08 pm
Better to Dope than Grope. Just ask Zach.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 4th, 2011
1:08 pm
Just a little FYI…
Character Maters = Fart TAR
Actually = Thomas Brown
Just keeping them honest.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:09 pm
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:07 pm
True Dawg fan….stay off the kool aid idiot!
Why because my team has won 6 in a row? Or bc we have a top rated defense in the country? Or bc we will end up in the SEC title game??
Move along retard unless u have an intelligent arguement to make.
FYI your jokes are about as dumb and pointless as you are. (Yes we all know you are a nerd)
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:10 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 4th, 2011
1:08 pm
Just a little FYI…
Character Maters = Fart TAR
Actually = Thomas Brown
Just keeping them honest.
thanks for the heads up!
Fools Gold
November 4th, 2011
1:11 pm
This football program hasnt changed all that much from the last 3 years. Same ole same ole.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:14 pm
Fools Gold
November 4th, 2011
1:11 pm
This football program hasnt changed all that much from the last 3 years. Same ole same ole.
U cant be serious? This is college football, 3 years means 3 new recruiting classes, 3 graduating classes, 3 group of juniors leaving early for the NFL. Last time I checked we didnt have Knowshean, Stafford, or Green anymore.
Character Matters
November 4th, 2011
1:14 pm
Mark Richt rather you dope than grope .I guess this stems from his Miami days
Actually
November 4th, 2011
1:17 pm
I assure you I’m not Thomas Brown.
I don’t agree with all his arguments on Richt’s culpability to teenagers acting like idiots.
Actually
November 4th, 2011
1:19 pm
…………but, I do ardently agree we underperform relative to our resources.
Fools Gold
November 4th, 2011
1:23 pm
Like I said nothing much has changed. True Dawg = moron
Keith Olbermann parody
November 4th, 2011
1:24 pm
@True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
youre an idiot
Thanks for the constructive criticism, it seemed funny at the time.
Now go screw yourself.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:26 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
1:17 pm
True Dawg Fan
For the last time Im not comparing pot to the government controlled USSR
Im comparing the desire of you beloved democratic party who wants the US under more government control and Im saying how did that work out for the USSR
Now on another note you want to take credit for our top rated defense when it was fans like you, Altamaha Dope, Low Country Moron and many others boo hooing when Richt finally made a smart decision and fired Willie Martinez
Wait he didnt make that decision; he was told to or else
Laughable
Once again dumb@$$ not a democrat but you cant read clearly. I also addressed your theory on more government control but I guess you missed that too. Never have I ever stated for government control in fact im for less government control. But with the sad state of the economy I am open to comprimises such as legalizing something that can be used as medicine to a vast array of patients. It is also a viable renewable source for paper and is more efficient than deforrestation.
As for Martinez, I was the happiest person in Bulldog nation when he got canned.
Wonder how much of this you will misread and then make a dumb comment about!
Rationale
November 4th, 2011
1:27 pm
I think there are a bunch of men on this site that need to take a Midol.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:28 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 4th, 2011
1:19 pm
True Dawg Fan
Oh and last time I checked this inept coaching staff couldnt win big with Stafford Moreno Mo Mass and Greene on the same team
Oh and last time I checked I was addressing the person saying this team hasnt changed in 3 years, which it clearly has, new players, new defense, etc.. But I owuldnt expect you to really understand anything at your monkey like intelligence level.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 4th, 2011
1:29 pm
Fart Tar
Is all over the place, grasping at straws. Yesterday it was China, then it was USSR, now it is Willie Martinez. All I wanna know is who really was on that grassy knoll in ‘63? I mean at the rate you are bouncing and with your superb knoweldge and wisdom you can surely enlighten us all. O yeah…I am still your Daddy.
True Dawg Fan
November 4th, 2011
1:29 pm
Fools Gold
November 4th, 2011
1:23 pm
Like I said nothing much has changed. True Dawg = moron
hahahaha you are an absolute idiot. Do you even understand what you are saying??? Clearly not, I hope you arent able to procreate another retard such as yourself.
baddawg
November 4th, 2011
1:30 pm
Harton = Barry Sanders