Archive for November, 2012

Georgia and Butkus Award finalist Jarvis Jones will be chasing bigger, faster players in trying to stop Georgia Tech's spread option than they were with Georgia Southern. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – Georgia did a pretty good job of slowing down Georgia Southern’s spread-option attack this past Saturday. The Eagles managed 302 rushing yards and 19 first downs. But that turned out to be more annoying than agonizing as the Bulldogs cruised to a 45-14 victory.

Enter Georgia Tech, which runs essentially the same offense. But any notion that Georgia will be dealing with the same challenge is incorrect.

Yellow Jackets’ coach Paul Johnson is considered the modern-day guru of the spread option. And with the athletes Tech will bring to Sanford Stadium, for Georgia’s defenders it will be like going from minor league to major-league pitching.

“He knows it so well that he doesn’t even need a call sheet,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said of Johnson. “It’s in his brain and he’s …

Continue reading Georgia’s options limited when it comes to stopping Tech’s offense »

Move over Summitt and Auriemma, scoot over Krzyzewski and Smith. You need to make room for Georgia’s Andy Landers.

The Bulldogs’ 43-year women’s basketball coach gained entry into an exclusive club with the Lady Bulldogs’ 94-57 win over Savannah State Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Including his time at Roane State, the only women’s basketball coach Georgia has ever had now owns 882 career wins.

Following is a complete report from UGA Sports Communications on Landers’ landmark achievement:

ATHENS – Stegeman Coliseum witnessed history on Tuesday night, as Georgia’s Andy Landers became only the eighth head coach in basketball history – men’s or women’s – to record 800 wins at one Division I institution.

Landers, now in his 34th season as Lady Bulldogs head coach, joined a list including women’s head coaches Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma and men’s coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith. Landers, who is still the only full-time women’s basketball coach the University …

Continue reading Georgia’s Andy Landers cements his place in history with 800th win »

Slowly and surely, Georgia's Aaron Murray is climbing higher in the record books and into the conscience of the NFL talent scouts. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – It may have been a lighthearted gesture from a personal friend or it could have been the firm conviction for a former NFL coach and pro football analyst. Whatever it was, Tony Dungy got a lot of folks’ attention with his answer via Twitter to a question about whom Kansas City should take as its first pick in the NFL draft.

“I would take Georgia QB Aaron Murray if he comes out,” Dungy wrote on Monday.

It didn’t take long for Dungy’s opinion to make its way to Murray.

“I’ve had everyone ask me about that,” Murray said Tuesday afternoon before the Bulldogs’ practice. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m not worried about that until after the season and then I’ll sit down with my family and make the best decision for myself and my future. I’m having too much fun right now. This season has been awesome. We still …

Continue reading Notebook: Tony Dungy’s comments place Georgia QB Aaron Murray into NFL discussion »

ATHENS – Kansas State coach Bill Snyder emerged from the Wildcats’ locker room after his No. 1-ranked team had just been dismantled by unranked Baylor 52-24 this past Saturday night and he fell on the proverbial sword.

In his postgame remarks, Snyder talked about not handling well his team’s situation. And by “situation” he wasn’t talking about blocking and tackling the Bears that night in Waco. He was talking about the Wildcats’ place among the BCS contenders and all that comes with it.

“I don’t think we handled the situation as well as we should have been able to,” Snyder told reporters after the game. “It had nothing to do with young guys wanting to be successful. They wanted to play well; they wanted to play hard; they wanted to win. We just couldn’t handle the environment as well as we could.”

Suffice it to say, Georgia coach Mark Richt doesn’t want to find himself in a similar situation following the Bulldogs’ game against Georgia Tech Saturday at Sanford Stadium. His …

Continue reading Intensity of rivalry, upsets of last weekend help keep Tech foremost on Georgia’s mind »

ATHENS — Once again, Georgia coach Mark Richt and the Bulldogs spent most of their day Tuesday deflecting questions about acronyms such as BCS and SEC and guiding discussions instead back toward the immediate task at hand, which is trying to beat archrival Georgia Tech and slow down the Yellow Jackets’ spread-option attack.

Get used to it. This will be the Bulldogs’ tact going forward. And it’s the right way to handle their situation, what with Tech coming to Athens and everything on the line and all.

“After what happened on Saturday, it’s a little bit easier for us,” said senior linebacker Christian Robinson, referring to the upset losses of No. 1 Kansas State and No. 2 Oregon this past weekend. ” You know that if we handle our business, there are no worries. We’re not worried about other people any more. It’s completely on us and it’s on everything we do from this point on. Our focus is completely on Georgia Tech because this is the game. Nothing else matters at this …

Continue reading As for maintaining focus on Tech, Bulldogs simply referencing this past weekend »

Georgia strong safety Shawn Williams (36) intercepts a pass intended for Orwin Smith during last year's game at Georgia Tech. Williams' "soft" comments are credited for reinvigorating the Bulldogs' defense this season. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

By RYAN BLACK
For the AJC

ATHENS — Shawn Williams doesn’t want anyone to say he saved Georgia’s season.

The Bulldogs’ senior strong safety said Monday night the defense was always capable of playing the way it has for the last four weeks, during which it has allowed only 33 points. Speaking to reporters for the first time since Oct. 22 — when he made his now-famous comments about the defense playing “soft” — Williams says he’s ready to move on.

“I don’t care if it got everybody stirred up or whatnot, but we’re looking past that now,” he said after Monday’s practice. “We’ve got Georgia Tech, so we’ve got to go out and get another win so we can keep them rolling.”

Williams acknowledged the Bulldogs’ defense is “playing …

Continue reading Notebook: Georgia’s Shawn Williams downplays his ’soft’ comments, keeps focus on Tech »

Georgia would be an underdog against Alabama in the SEC Championship game but, if the Bulldogs pull an upset there, would be favored over Notre Dame in the national title game.

That’s the early word from oddsmakers.

Todd Fuhrman, former sports oddsmaker at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, said Monday that he projects Georgia as a 7-point underdog to Alabama in the Dec. 1 SEC title game. But if the Bulldogs beat Alabama in the Georgia Dome, they would be a 4-point favorite over Notre Dame in the Jan. 7 BCS title game in Miami, said Fuhrman, now senior market analyst for betting information services provider Don Best Sports.

RJ Bell, of sports betting news website pregame.com, sees it similarly. He projects Georgia as a 7-point underdog to Alabama but views the Bulldogs as 1-point favorite if they play Notre Dame.

All of this could be altered by what happens Saturday, of course.

Notre Dame, No. 1 in this week’s BCS standings, closes its regular season at USC and needs a win to …

Continue reading Oddsmakers have UGA as underdog vs. Bama, favorite vs. Notre Dame »

By late Saturday night, Atlanta was awash in Stanford Cardinal fans.

Word had spread that Baylor was in the process of handily beating BCS No. 1 Kansas State and that Stanford was in a close game with No. 2 Oregon, all potentially good news for the Georgia Bulldogs’ hopes of reaching college football’s national-championship game in Miami.

The closing minutes of Stanford-Oregon became must-see TV for Bulldog Nation.

By the time Stanford kicked a field goal in overtime to win 17-14, the metro-Atlanta audience for ABC’s telecast had grown gradually to 338,000 households from about 80,000 at the start, according to Nielsen ratings figures.

The game posted an overall rating of 8.9 here, meaning 8.9 percent of Atlanta’s TV homes — about 200,000 homes — tuned in on average. That was the sixth highest rating for the game among the nation’s 56 largest markets.

But for the final hour, the game garnered a 12.5 rating in Atlanta, including a peak of 14.7 in the last 15 minutes — extremely …

Continue reading Oregon’s loss was must-see TV for Bulldog Nation »

Atlanta's Tony Parker, who chose UCLA over Georgia and several other schools last spring, is averaging 6.7 points and 12.5 minutes per game for the Bruins. Both teams are playing in New York City tonight. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

What’s little ol’ Georgia and its work-in-progress basketball team doing up in big ol’ New York to face storied Indiana and its No. 1-ranked Hoosiers?

Well, exactly what coach Mark Fox wants.

Certainly it’s not ideal that the Bulldogs (1-2) are heading into the bright lights of the Progressive Legends Classic tournament with one of their younger and less experienced groups in a while. But since taking over Georgia’s basketball team, it has been Fox’s philosophy to get his program on the biggest stages possible as often as possible.

“When I came to Georgia, I felt like we needed to get in as many national events as we could and get on television as much as we could because I just thought we needed to establish a presence,” said Fox, who came to …

Continue reading Basketball Bulldogs in Big Apple to face No. 1 Indiana »

By RYAN BLACK
For the AJC

Continue reading Georgia’s Mark Richt refuses to look into future; focusing solely on Georgia Tech »

The scores from Eugene, Ore., and Waco, Texas, reverberated loudly across this state,  seemingly putting the Georgia Bulldogs two victories away from playing for college football’s national championship.

Saturday night’s losses by previously No. 1 Kansas State (to Baylor) and previously No. 2 Oregon (to Stanford) triggered a celebration among Georgia fans and a shakeup of the Bowl Championship Series pecking order. In the latest BCS standings, released Sunday night, Notre Dame moved to No. 1, Alabama to No. 2 and Georgia to No. 3.

That means, BCS analysts agreed, that if Georgia beats Georgia Tech and Alabama beats Auburn this week, then the winner of the Dec. 1 SEC Championship game between the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide would play for the national title.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings, to be released Dec. 2, earn berths in the title game, which will be played Jan. 7 in Miami. Georgia has not played for a national championship in the BCS era and last won the …

Continue reading UGA moves to No. 3 in BCS standings, within reach of national-title game »

And just like that, Georgia controls its own destiny for a national title shot.

Same for Alabama. That’s the end result of Saturday’s BCS chaos.

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No. 1 Kansas State (52-24 to Baylor) and No. 2 Oregon (17-14 in overtime to Stanford) went down in major upsets. That means No. 3 Notre Dame will move up to No. 1 in next week’s BCS standings and No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Georgia should slide up right behind at 2 and 3, respectively.

If the Bulldogs (10-1) and Crimson Tide (10-1) can get to the SEC Championship game unscathed — each must survive rival games against Georgia Tech and Auburn, respectively, next Saturday …

Continue reading After Saturday upsets, Georgia can get national title shot by winning out »

THEY SAID IT

“It was a very good game. It was hard-fought. Georgia Southern has an outstanding football team. They run their offense well. They’re well-coached, even the little things like sprinting to the other side at the end of a quarter. They have a plan for everything, and they execute it well.”

Georgia coach Mark Richt on his impressions of the Eagles

“We were just shooting ourselves in the foot. We were driving the ball, but kept committing penalties or turning the ball over, which helped them stay in the game. We need to work this week to correct that and be sharper.”

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray on the Bulldogs’ slow start

“It just took us some time to get comfortable with what they were doing and what plays they were going to run. Once we got comfortable, I thought we played a pretty good game. It definitely will help [playing Georgia Southern the week before Georgia Tech], but we have to come back to practice this week and work. This was a good test, but we have …

Continue reading Jarvis Jones: ‘It’s week by week and we can’t get ahead of ourselves’ »

Georgia's Todd Gurley found the going tough against Georgia Southern, but he managed 68 yards, which made him the first true freshman since Herschel Walker to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – It wasn’t really a big day on the field for Georgia tailback Todd Gurley — he finished with a modest 68 yards rushing on 15 carries — but it was a big day in the history books.

The 6-foot-1, 218-pound running back became the first Bulldogs freshman to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Herschel Walker did it in 1980. Walker had 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading Georgia to the national championship that year. With three games still to play, Gurley now has 1,041 yards and, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, 13 scores.

“Having Todd Gurley — and I like to throw Keith Marshall in there, too, because Keith has really had a fine true-freshman season, too — they’re definitely two important impact players …

Continue reading Notebook: Todd Gurley gets 1,000 yards, ‘Gurshall’ runs past Herschel »

Georgia flanker Chris Conley takes off up field en route to a 33-yard touchdown sprung by the block of fellow receiver Rantavious Wooten. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – It wasn’t as easy as it may look on the scoreboard.

No. 5 Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-14 at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. But for one half at least, the Eagles had the Bulldogs worried.

The teams had played to a tie at 7 through the first 23 minutes and the Bulldogs were clinging to a 10-7 lead inside the final two minutes of the first half with Georgia Southern threatening to score a go-ahead touchdown. But the last 90 seconds of the half changed the course of the game.

Georgia Southern’s Trevor McBurnett was called for a personal foul for a chop block on noseguard Kwame Geathers on a run that would have made it first-and-goal inside the 5. Instead, the penalty backed up the Eagles to the 22 and kicker Alex Hanks missed the 37-yard field goal attempt.

Aaron Murray made the Eagles pay. …

Continue reading No. 5 Bulldogs take care of business, dispatch Georgia Southern 45-14 »

Say this for WSB Channel 2: The Atlanta television giant likes its Bulldogs

Not only did the station step up to broadcast Georgia’s 1:30 p.m.  game today against Georgia Southern — SEC guidelines allow members to produce one game per year outside the league’s contracts with CBS and ESPN — but it also will be providing UGA content throughout the day Saturday.

• At 10 a.m., coverage begins with “Bulldogs Gameday,” WSB’s regular, weekly, hour-long program dedicated to the coverage of UGA athletics.
• At 12:30 p.m., the station will air a special edition of “SportsZone,” which will provide pregame coverage up until the 1:30 p.m kickoff. The show will be anchored by Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein. He will be joined by Channel 2 Action News anchors Jovita Moore and Fred Blankenship, and former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley will provide his insight and analysis
• At 1:30 p.m., game coverage begins at 1:30 p.m.. Veteran sportscaster Bob Neal and former Georgia player DJ Jones …

Continue reading Channel 2 excited to bring UGA-Georgia Southern game to TV viewers »

Missed opportunities, such as this drop by Malcolm Mitchell inside the 5-yard line against LSU in last year's SEC Championship game, is what has the Bulldogs so excited about their BCS possibilities this season. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – When it comes to the BCS championship race, Georgia coach Mark Richt refuses to talk about it. He won’t even acknowledge that the it’s nice just to be in the discussion. This past week he dodged questions about it like spitballs flying across a classroom.

“I don’t worry about it,” said Richt, who will lead the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs into Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern. “I don’t, because I can’t control it. If you worry about stuff you can’t control, you’re really wasting your time and you’re going to make yourself crazy a little bit. I can only control what we do on a weekly basis.”

But that hasn’t been the case with Georgia’s players. While they’re clearly focused on Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern …

Continue reading Georgia Bulldogs face Georgia Southern with one eye on SEC, BCS races »

ATHENS – For Georgia, the first half of the Progressive Legends Classic was hard. The second half figures to be a lot harder.

The Bulldogs fell to 0-2 in the tournament with a 62-60 loss to Southern Miss in overtime Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Now the Bulldogs (1-2) head up to New York City for the “championship rounds” of this 12-team, four-game event. There, in the sparkling confines of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Georgia will face No. 1-ranked Indiana Monday night. They will play either No. 13-ranked UCLA or Georgetown on Tuesday, depending on which teams win.

To say the early outlook for Georgia this season is bleak wouldn’t be strong enough.

“We haven’t played well out of the gate, but we have a lot of opportunities in front of us,” Georgia coach Mark Fox. “It’s a game at a time and, with this group, it’s a day at a time. There’s so much to learn from this game. I thought that all of our freshmen, who I thought really hurt us the last time out, were all …

Continue reading After falling to Southern Miss in OT, Bulldogs head to New York to face No. 1 Indiana »

In this week’s edition of “Back Porch Chats,” CineSport’s Brian Clark and I talk about Georgia’s preparations for Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern and how the Bulldogs are focusing on the task at hand in the midst of their BCS pursuits.

Continue reading Back Porch Chat: Bulldogs keeping focus on Georgia Southern, limiting BCS talk »

Quarterback Aaron Murray and wide receiver Tavarres King (12) are excited about the Bulldogs' offensive possibilities against Georgia Southern. (UGA photo by Perry McIntyre, Jr.)

UGA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

ATHENS – To date, most of the conversation regarding Georgia’s game against Georgia Southern on Saturday has been about the Eagles’ triple-option offense. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Bulldogs’ offensive players, who would like it to be known they can advance the football a little themselves.

Wide receiver Tavarres King’s eyes lit up like he was wide open on a go-route when asked if he thought Georgia might have some big-play opportunities against their FCS visitors this Saturday.

“Well, I think so,” he said, grinning wide. “We’re pretty strong out wide and at the quarterback position. We should have a good time out there on Saturday.”

The reality is, Georgia’s needs its offense to have a big day. Again, because of the ball-hogging style of offense that Georgia …

Continue reading Notebook: Bulldogs’ offense needs to stay hot vs. Georgia Southern »

By the way, Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period for NCAA basketball. And the Georgia Bulldogs took full advantage.

Bulldogs coach Mark Fox on Wednesday announced the signing of JJ Frazier, a point guard from Glennville, and Juwan Parker, a shooting guard from Tulsa, Okla. Both will help address Georgia’s backcourt needs after it loses seniors Sherrard Brantley and Vincent Williams after this season. CLICK HERE to read more about the the newest Hoop Dogs.

Frazier is beginning his senior season at Faith Baptist Christian Academy in Ludowici. He averaged 26.2 points, 4.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game last season for the Crusaders, who won 33 games in 2012. The 5-9, 160-pound guard is considered the state’s top prospect at his position in the Class of 2013.

Parker is currently a senior at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. He averaged 20.5 points and 9.4 rebounds as a junior at Washington, which won Oklahoma 5A state championships in …

Continue reading Georgia basketball addresses backcourt needs by signing JJ Frazier, Juwan Parker »

Georgia freshman tailback Todd Gurley (3) celebrates his 11th rushing TD of the season, which came against Auburn this past Saturday. (AP photo)

ATHENS — With 27 yards rushing against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Todd Gurley can become only the second true freshman in Georgia football history to go over 1,000 yards in a season. And it’s not beyond the realm of possibility Gurley could still catch that first guy on the list.

Gurley would need to average 160.7 yards in the Bulldogs’ final four games to run down Hall of Famer Herschel Walker. But that likely won’t happen because of the “Gurshall” phenomena, and “Gurshall’s” going to blow past Herschel this week anyway.

“Gurshall” is the nickname dreamed up by receiver Tavarres King for Georgia’s combination of freshman tailbacks, Gurley and Keith Marshall. Together they’ve accounted for 1,595 yards and 17 touchdowns. Walker’s freshman record set in 1980 was 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“I had no idea about …

Continue reading Notebook: Todd Gurley eyes 1,000 yards while ‘Gurshall’ runs past Herschel »

ATHENS – You’ll get no wishy-washy answers from Georgia’s defensive players when asked how they feel about playing Georgia Southern and its vaunted triple-option attack this Saturday. Cornerback Sanders Commings probably summarized their sentiments most succinctly.

“It sucks, to be honest,” said the senior from Augusta.

Now add in the fact that the Bulldogs will be facing this exact scheme for two consecutive weeks. The Eagles run the same “spread option” system that Georgia Tech has perfected under coach Paul Johnson. Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern’s head the last three years, worked for Johnson at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech going back to 1997.

So the good news is facing the Eagles in Game 11 should prepare Georgia well for facing the Yellow Jackets in Game 12. But the bad news is while the Bulldogs will be deeply mired in the intricacies of reading and reacting to the “counter trey” for the next two weeks, they’ll do so knowing they’ll face nothing of the sort in …

Continue reading Back-to-back triple options ‘probably not ideal’ preparation for SEC Championship »

ATHENS — Georgia’s John Jenkins swears he doesn’t know if he has an insurance policy on himself against career-ending injury. But the projected NFL draft first-rounder told reporters Tuesday he planned to check on it this week.

Playing Georgia Southern will do that a defensive lineman. The Eagles, who play the Bulldogs Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium, run the exact same triple-option offense that Georgia Tech runs to such great effect. Their head coach, Jeff Monken, has been with Tech coach Paul Johnson since they were running the “spread option” together at Georgia Southern back in 1997. And an integral part of that system is the cut block.

So with their SEC Championship goals on hold for now, the Bulldogs will get two weeks worth of being blocked at the knees. Preparations started with a rare full-pads practice Monday night and coach Mark Richt said Tuesday they might practice in full pads all week. All of it is to prepare for array of cuts and chops they will …

Continue reading They said it: Georgia Southern’s cut-blocking already on minds of Dogs’ defenders »

Tackle Mark Beard (79) celebrates with Keith Marshall after helping spring the freshman tailaback for a 62-yard touchdown run against Auburn. (UGA photo by Wes Blankenship)

By Ryan Black
For the AJC

ATHENS — Mark Beard’s most difficult assignment against Auburn on Saturday had nothing to do with blocking oncoming defenders.

The Georgia left tackle’s biggest issue didn’t even occur in the game itself: He had to figure out how to distribute tickets prior to kickoff. With his cousin, LaDarius Owens, playing for the Tigers, the pair had to figure out which family member would use what ticket. They wound up splitting their allotment evenly.

Beard made it a memorable experience for his family, as the Alabama native made the first start of his Georgia career against his favorite team from childhood.

“You can never be perfect,” he said after Monday’s practice. “I messed up a couple of times, but I think I played a pretty good game.”

Beard and Owens shared a brief conversation on the …

Continue reading LT Mark Beard’s performance in first start ‘beyond good,’ coaches and teammates say »

Georgia's David "Boss" Andrews (61), a sophomore from Johns Creek, graded out at 88 percent with six "dominator" blocks against Auburn. (UGA photo by Perry McIntyre Jr.)

ATHENS – The “Boss” of Georgia’s offensive line was named offensive lineman of the week on Monday.

David Andrews, who has been nicknamed “Boss” since his youth football days in Atlanta, played like a man in charge in Georgia’s 38-0 win over Auburn this past Saturday. Andrews, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound sophomore from Johns Creek, graded out 88 percent and recorded six “dominator” blocks and three knockdowns. He anchored a line that helped the  Bulldogs roll up 497 yards against the Tigers and limited them to only one sack of quarterback Aaron Murray.

Murray passed for 208 yards and three touchdowns and tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each rushed for more than 100 yards in the win, which clinched the SEC Eastern Division title. Much of Andrews’ good work came against fellow Georgians Jeff Whitaker and …

Continue reading Georgia’s ‘Boss,’ David Andrews, named SEC O-lineman of week »

The Georgia-Georgia Tech football game on Nov. 24 will kick off at noon, the SEC said today.

The game, in Athens, will be televised by ESPN.

CBS chose the Alabama-Auburn game for its 3:30 p.m. SEC telecast on Nov. 24.

Continue reading Georgia-Georgia Tech game time set »

A few notes from Mark Richt’s Sunday evening conference call:

• Asked if he plans to discuss with his players the possibility that Georgia could be in the BCS title game picture if it wins out (and gets some considerable help): “Quite frankly, we’re not doing that right now. We know we’re playing in Atlanta (the SEC Championship game). We know that’s settled right now. But we know there’s a lot of work in the meantime, which is the job of getting better on a daily basis. … We know we’ve got some work to do as far as playing Georgia Southern this week, too. That’s really where we’ve got to be thinking and keeping our minds. Because if you don’t do that, all that other stuff doesn’t mean much.”

• On the challenge of defending against the triple option, which Georgia’s next two opponents (Georgia Southern on Saturday, Georgia Tech on Nov. 24) run: “We’re going to play defense so completely different than how we’ve been playing it all year long. Everything changes. The …

Continue reading Notes from Mark Richt’s conference call »

The SEC, which has won college football’s past six national championships, will be shut out of this season’s title game if the latest Bowl Championship Series standings hold up.

Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M on Saturday dropped the Crimson Tide from No. 1 to No. 4 in the BCS standings, behind three undefeated teams — No. 1 Kansas State, No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Notre Dame — and ahead of No. 5 Georgia.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings, which will be released Dec. 2, meet for the national title Jan. 7 in Miami.

The latest standings, released Sunday night, hardly shut the door to the title game for the SEC. But for an SEC team to get there at this point apparently would require that two of the top three teams, all of which are 10-0, lose a game in the next few weeks.

If that happens, and if Georgia and Alabama win their final two regular-season games to carry 11-1 records into the SEC Championship game, the winner of the Dec. 1 game in the Georgia Dome could move into the …

Continue reading BCS standings: Kansas State No. 1, SEC out of top 3, Georgia still behind Bama at No. 5 »

UGA linebacker Christian Robinson (45) and cornerback Devin Bowman celebrate with fans after 38-0 win at Auburn clinched SEC East championship Saturday night. (AJC photo/Brant Sanderlin)

AUBURN, Ala. – Georgia’s football team heartily celebrated its SEC East-clinching victory over Auburn late Saturday night, first by rushing to a corner of the end zone to share the moment with a large contingent of joyous UGA fans and then by “going crazy” — quarterback Aaron Murray’s description — in the locker room.

“It’s huge to win the East in back-to-back years,” Murray said. “It’s not an easy thing to do.”

Even so, Georgia players and coaches said their celebration was accompanied, if not subdued, by thoughts of larger goals still within reach: winning the SEC Championship game in Atlanta and, if a lot of things fall their way, playing in the BCS title game in Miami.

“We had fun celebrating the victory, winning the East,” UGA coach Mark Richt said. “But I think there is a little …

Continue reading Dogs: Winning SEC East is nice, but not enough »