Preview: Georgia’s ‘bus’ rolls on seeking 9th straight victory vs. Kentucky
Three storylines
Bus rolls on. The Bulldogs (8-2, 6-1 SEC) arrive at Saturday’s game against Kentucky (4-6, 1-5) having won eight straight games since dropping their first two to No. 5 Boise State and No. 10 South Carolina. The winning streak has been made possible, coaches and players say, by the team adhering to the its credo this season, “Get on the Bus,” as in “get on or get off because we’re rolling on.” That attitude has put Georgia in position to clinch the SEC East title and championship game berth with a victory.
Senior Day. Twenty-four players and four student managers/assistants will be recognized in Senior Day ceremonies before Saturday’s game. Among the seniors that will be playing their last games between the hedges are six starters: offensive linemen Justin Anderson, Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones; fullback Bruce Figgins; defensive end DeAngelo Tyson; and cornerback/kick returner Brandon Boykin. They’re 32-17 over the past four seasons.
Mark Richt’s milestones. By all accounts, a victory today will go a long way toward assuring that Mark Richt will continue as Georgia’s head coach past this season. Richt has just two years remaining on his contract after this season and was not extended coming off his first losing season last year (6-7). A win today would give him his fifth shared or outright SEC East title in 11 seasons and fourth championship game appearance. As East champs, UGA almost certainly will extend Richt’s deal after the season. With 105 wins in 141 games, he would remain third in winning percentage (.745) among active FBS coaches with more than 100 games experience, behind Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and TCU’s Gary Patterson.
A Georgia win would . . .
Clinch its first SEC Championship Game berth since 2005
Be the 33rd for the Bulldogs’ senior class.
A Kentucky win would . . .
Be its third in last six games vs. Georgia and second in row in Athens
Keep an eye on …
For Georgia: Brandon Boykin. The senior cornerback from Fayetteville will be starting his 35th game for the Bulldogs – tops among defensive players – while also returning kickoffs, punts and taking occasional snaps on offense as a running back or receiver. He already owns the school record with 2,469 yards in kickoff returns and, with 30 yards on Saturday, will move to second all-time in the SEC. He needs 250 yards to run down Florida’s Brandon James as the league’s best ever.
For Kentucky: CoShik Williams. The 5-foot-9, 178 pound junior tailback from Hiram has provided a spark in the Wildcats’ running game after a pair of fellow Georgians – Josh Clemons and Raymond Sanders – went down with injuries. In the past four games Williams has averaged 86.3 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns.
The numbers game
4
Georgia’s national ranking in total defense
9
Wins in a row should Dogs beat Kentucky, most during one season since going 11-0 in 1982.
27
TD passes so far this season by QB Aaron Murray, a school record
179
Yards TB Isaiah Crowell needs to become the 12th UGA player to rush for 1,000 yards and only true freshman other than Herschel Walker.
The history book
Series record: Georgia leads 50-12-2, including 24-4-2 at Sanford Stadium
The last time: On Oct. 23, 2010, in Lexington, Ky., Georgia tailback Washaun Ealey set a school record with five rushing touchdowns and Brandon Boykin added a 100-yard kickoff return as the Bulldogs overwhelmed Kentucky 44-31 in Commonwealth Stadium.
The bottom line
A 30.5-point favorite, Georgia (8-2, 6-1 SEC) should win easily to clinch its fifth SEC Eastern Division title under head coach Mark Richt and earn its first berth in the league championship game since 2005. The Wildcats (4-6, 1-5) rank 109th or worse nationally in six statistical categories and are coming off a 38-8 loss to Vanderbilt while the Bulldogs are among the top 10 in five different categories. Expect a big day for quarterback Aaron Murray and the Georgia defense.
– Chip Towers
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177 comments Add your comment
Jborodawg
November 19th, 2011
8:57 am
Burma Shave and Joey…LOL
11-3…T. Brown, I see you’re at it again. I give you points for creativity with your monikers. Otherwise, you’re just tiresome and teejus. Have you tried Prozac? It’s reportedly good for obsessive-compulsive, but not necessarily for schizophrenia.
Burma Shave
November 19th, 2011
9:05 am
“Come over here” Headley says
Not unlike all the rest
We get together all the time
So we can make up little rhymes
JMar Bothwell Bracker Vaughn
We love to get our gayness on.
They come in red they come in black
Headley puts it in my back.
I really like it in the butt
I can’t help my mom’s a …….. mean person.
Go dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!
North ave. faithful
November 19th, 2011
9:05 am
Jawjer dawg if your still out there i just thought i would say i feel your pain. Had 2 surgeries so far, titanium plate in my neck and rods in my lumbar, think long and hard before having these procedures done. some turn out good, some do not. anyway good luck against the cats,and hope you do well with your surgery,
Burma Shave
November 19th, 2011
9:12 am
Wrexie wrexie where are you?
It’s time to stick it in the p o o.
I spend too much time on the net
and then get reamed by guys named Chet.
We go to gay bars on the hunt
My mom has a smelly …. arm pit.
Burma Shave
November 19th, 2011
9:13 am
I < 3 recruiting rankings and obsessing over high school athletes. Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!
Hairy Dawg
November 19th, 2011
9:15 am
We will beat Kens Tuck like a second rate kids teams. That will win East. Then McG needs to extends contract on Coach Richt.
Burma Shave
November 19th, 2011
9:18 am
When the yogurt’s finally gone
I love to trim the lawn.
Not talking about yard work
but where I like for men to slurp.
Jmar ninety nine a lot you suck,
We line up to give your mom a ….. lot of nice things.
I <3 Coach Richt!!!!!
RedandBlackDawg
November 19th, 2011
9:18 am
UGA will not come out flat after the easy win over Auburn last week. They didn’t lose or come out flat after they beat Florida did they. Why didn’t they come out flat after man handling a inferior team from New Mexico then. They know they are playing for the SEC East title today. This game will be over by the start of the second half, and UGA will go conservative in the second half and just run the ball on Kentucky. Kentucky has a pretty poor defense as it is and now they have lost two of their starters to boot. Depending on how much yardage Crowell gets in the first half and how many hits he takes, we could see him get all 179 yards he needs today. They don’t appear at Kentucky to have an answer to a runner and how to stop him, and Murray should also get at least 3 first half touchdowns, making him the ALL SEC QB this year. The defense will play it’s usual shut them down-bend but don’t break type game today, so it will be a lot like a tough scrimmage for UGA. The best part is, we can rest a lot of starters for the game, after the first half, and then they will be ready for their usual beat down of Tech.
GO DAWGS and GATA
Burma Shave
November 19th, 2011
9:28 am
Jackets Gators Hairy Dawgs
We grown men love to slog
Through the web day and night
Because we have no life.
Lawyer lawyers through and through
I really truly dont have a clue.
Opposing fanbases make me sick.
I love to suck a big fat … corndog.
I <3 Crowell. Go Dawgs!!!!
AltamahaDawg
November 19th, 2011
9:29 am
To be sure “nobody” in your house ws talking about georgia playing as well as anyone in the countrythus deserving consideration for the MNC game when the 07′ season closed. But you must have been in a media blackout to say nobody else in the country was. They certainly were till they figured out they needed to change thier tune to fit the agenda.
Personally I don’t think they should have, but not for the reason that aught to matter. Week 2 or 6 is not the issue when it comes to post season. In every sport (except this) how a team is playing at the end of the year is what matters. Also its only logical if you think somebody is rated #4 and the team ahaed of them lose, they have normally moved up. Clearly the voter “arranged” the ranking, and not just voted as they did the weeks before. BUT given the way the BCS works, Moving LSU ahead was in line. We do have conference standings, they do figure into the way the system works (written rule or not).
I do think that Alabama has a stronger argument this year, than UGA 07. But if they don’t win thier division, it would require an unpresidented departure from everything that we know is how it works to put them in the MNCG. Maybe that should be how it works, best teams, but thats NOT how it has been. Maybe we all should hope for that too, because if it’s “getting it right” this year, then it basically admits that in past years, the BCS has just been a fraud.
Joel
November 19th, 2011
10:02 am
Another stat for you:
0- Number of ranked teams beaten by UGA
1- Number of teams with records beaten by UGA
Glenn
November 19th, 2011
10:09 am
In my opinion it will be Alabama-Oregon for the NC and most likely Georgia-Stanford in the Sugar bowl.
Least from the East
November 19th, 2011
10:11 am
go gator,1 2 3 4 5 that dem gator are full of jive,gradilations
Musschump
November 19th, 2011
10:14 am
Gators suck,but thanks for the 3 mil though
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2011
10:31 am
Don’t slip up. Oklahoma State was a 27-point favorite over Iowas State.
zbulldawg
November 19th, 2011
10:52 am
WAY TO GO CHIP TOWERS !!!!!!!!!! NO what if this OR what if that JUST Plain good ole fashion FACTS !!! JUST GET SOME MORE KITTY KAT !! SICK EM
zbulldawg
November 19th, 2011
10:57 am
ALL ABOARD THAT’S GOING A BOARD !!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE BUS IS ROLLING !! ALL YOU RECRUITS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS !!!!! T-H-E B-E-S-T !!!!!!! IS YET TO COME !!!!! GO DAWGS
Bullqueer Bulldawg
November 19th, 2011
11:35 am
There used to be the doubledutch bus…now we have the bulldawg bus. Alll aboard y’all. We be going down to the toolbox after the game to play hide the football with Jason, Marcus, and Bruce.
There once was a lawyer in atlanta
Who never really did like Santana.
He played a game, he got caught
Sucked a big one all for naught.
There are many players, quite a glut
your mom takes it like a huge …. champion.
I <3 my bulldawg recruits!
Joey
November 19th, 2011
11:49 am
Chip, you can’t do something about the moron?
Thanks in advance . . .
duronimo
November 19th, 2011
11:49 am
Criticism of Richt has in the main been justified. That he lost focus and perhaps lost his edge … he has admitted to. So he re-dedicated himself to football. While “complete” games are still few and far between there are signs of better days ahead. I see some long standing problems being corrected (special teams for one) and that’s a sign that he is more involved. And the team seems motivated. The goal is to play at a high level on a consistent basis and it looks like we’re headed in that direction.
Wildcat
November 19th, 2011
11:50 am
UK rolls today!!!!
Bullqueer Bulldawg
November 19th, 2011
11:56 am
Joey you mean like the bulldawgs that spread their vile and filth elsewhere on the ajc? Or how about the blogs they create to contact rival teams’ recruits?
You are a whiney baby
I tell you what, just maybe
If Richt wins, he goes all out
I promise to make you scream and shout.
Just like headley does to me.
Bulldawgs win big, the game will be a bore
Joey it’s too bad your mom’s a big …. lazy person.
I <3 UGA VIII and inbreeding! GO DAWGS!!!!
headley lamar
November 19th, 2011
11:59 am
I just hope we can curtail the drug problem that is rampant on our campus. Who wants to send their 18 year old to a campus full of drugs and gays? This blog alone demonstrates that problem.
bilbo799
November 19th, 2011
2:33 pm
BOBO must go.
Papa Dawg
November 19th, 2011
3:27 pm
I think we got the cat by the tail.
Now, we need to get the tiger by the tail in a couple of weeks in the Dome.
Hunker down, you hairy dawgs!
Mama Dawg
November 19th, 2011
3:29 pm
There will be serious partying tonight in Athens.
SEC Headlines 11/19/2011 Part One | My Blog
November 21st, 2011
7:31 pm
[...] 6. A win currently would bind Mark Richt’s fifth SEC Eastern Division title. [...]