UPDATED: MVP Aaron Murray leads Georgia to 45-31 win over Nebraska in Capital One Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. – Aaron Murray would not say whether he had played his last game as a Georgia Bulldog – Alec Ogletree did, by the way – but whatever he decides he knows he’ll go into his next season off a win for a change.
Murray, a junior who is contemplating early entry into the NFL set a Georgia bowl record with five touchdown passes and threw for 427 yards overall to earn Capital One Bowl MVP honors and lead the No. 7 Bulldogs to a 45-31 come-from-behind victory over Nebraska Tuesday at Citrus Bowl Stadium. Murray was at the offensive controls as Georgia lost its previous two bowl games.
“It was an awesome game and I’m definitely very excited to get a win,” said Murray, who also set Georgia’s single-season passing record with 3,544 yards. “I don’t know what it feels like to go into an offseason with a win, so that in itself feels great. But it was great to get a win for these seniors and great to get 12 wins. As for the future, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m just enjoying the moment right now.”
Georgia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo said he’ll sit down with Murray to talk about his future on Monday. Meanwhile, Murray said he’d return home to Tampa to discuss his options with his parents. The underclassman deadline to declare for the draft is Jan. 15.
Ogletree, a junior linebacker who led the Bulldogs with 13 tackles on Tuesday, said after the game he is definitely going to make the jump to the pros. He and outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, also a junior, both project as first-rounders. Jones did not announce a decision on Tuesday, however.
The 2012 Bulldogs (12-2) become just the third team in UGA history to win 12 games in one season. They the 1980 national champions (12-0) and the 2002 SEC champions (13-1). Georgia has won 22 games over the last two seasons.
“Well, it’s more fun to win than to lose,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We’d lost the last two (bowl games) and we were getting kind of tired of that. We’ve worked so hard to get better from that 6-7 year (in 2010). We didn’t win the SEC Championship but we certainly performed a lot better . . . and we wanted to win this bowl to prove – maybe to ourselves – that we were one of the best teams in the country. So I’m just thankful for the victory.”
It didn’t come easy. The Bulldogs, who had jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead on an early safety and touchdown, found themselves trailing 31-23 late in the third quarter. But Georgia’s defense limited Nebraska (10-4) to only one second-half score and Murray rallied the Bulldog’ offense.
Murray led them on a 79-yard scoring drive to tie the game. After three straight Todd Gurley runs – the freshman paced the Bulldogs’ with 125 yards rushing and a touchdown — Murray hit Tavarres King on an 11-yard completion for a third-down conversion. Georgia was 12-of-17 on third down for the game.
On the next play, Murray connected with a diving Chris Conley on a 49-yard touchdown pass to bring the Bulldogs within two with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. Georgia elected to go for the two-point conversion and Murray made good on it with laser pass to Rhett McGowan over the middle that tied the game at 31-all.
The game-winning play came with Murray scrambling toward the right sideline early in the fourth quarter. He directed a tightly-covered Keith Marshall to change his route and head toward the end zone down the sideline. He hit Marshall with a nifty back-shoulder throw that resulted in a 24-yard touchdown and a 38-31 Georgia lead with 14:52 to play.
The outcome still hung in the balance, however. Georgia’s defense stopped the Cornhuskers near midfield and forced them to punt. Taking over at their own 15, the Bulldogs faced third-and-12 from their own 13 when Nebraska sent a full-house blitz. But Georgia had a perfect call played – a tunnel screen to Conley, and Murray had the presence to withstand the pressure, avoid a deflection, and hit Conley in stride as he streaked across the middle of the field. Conley ramled 87 yards untouched a touchdown and a two-score lead.
“That was a designed play,” said Conley, who finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on two catches. “Coach Bobo did a great job on the play-calling, recognizing the house blitz. Murray made that check at the line, made a great throw and all I had to do was catch and run.”
Murray wasn’t sharp early. He threw interceptions on two of Georgia’s first three possessions, including one that Nebraska linebacker Will Compton returned 24 yards for a touchdown. But he was extremely sharp when it mattered, completing 7-of-8 passes for two touchdowns as the Bulldogs’ turned a tie into a 14-point lead.
“It definitely was a tough start with a couple of picks early,” Murray said. “But they were early on and we knew there was a full game ahead of us and we were still in the game. It was great after that second pick to come out and have a nice (75-yard) touchdown to Tavarres.”
Murray’s 427 yards on 18-of-33 passing tied his career record as a Bulldog. The yards, the five touchdowns and the 87-yarder were all Georgia bowl records. He also set the school record for TDs in a season (36) and total offense (3,548 yards) and added to his record for career TD passes (now 95). He narrowly missed a sixth touchdown strike, which King couldn’t haul in in the end zone in the game’s final minutes.
Murray closes out his junior season with 3,893 yards on 249-of-388 passing and 36 TDs with 10 interceptions. After the game, Georgia fans chanted “one more year” to Murray as he accepted his MVP trophy in an on-field ceremony shortly after the game.
Murray wouldn’t say but did let it slip that he is “gonna miss the best fans in the country.”
Whether that’s now or a year from now will be determined later.
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304 comments Add your comment
Woofy One
January 1st, 2013
5:55 pm
Offensive battle until the defense stepped up late in the game. A nice win overall and another exciting game.
short memories
January 1st, 2013
5:56 pm
Glad for the win in spite of our coaching, Its nice to have superior athletes who can overcome poor coaching, clock management and discipline. Marc Richt should talk to Mike Smith about how to handle penalties. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it. Also if it were not for coaching refusing Murray’s plea to spike the ball, we might be in the national championship game.When the going gets tough our coaches choke every time. Thank you to the athletes
Nimrod Dawg
January 1st, 2013
5:57 pm
Gentlemen, you saw today why the Georgia defense is so highly rated. When you have a team full of future NFL players led by a genius coordinator, you get a product that is nothing short of perfection. We are fortunate to have witnessed it.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
5:58 pm
Sflanagen,
Mason is more accurate than Murray and his arm is not as strong. But you are correct in he can’t extend plays like Murray. Mason will be a fine qb I think but we just don’t know. Murray is one of the best to ever wear the G. But people can’t understand that. And I would like to ask when will people give Bobo the credit he deserves? Other than the carolina game the offense was unstoppable. 37 points a game. Does anyone have a clue what it takes to do that join the SEC
T'VILLE DAWG
January 1st, 2013
5:59 pm
All you people complaining about Murray go do something useful like plugging your exit hole with your thumb. He has a 70% completion percentage. You people no doubt liberals would complain if Herschel ran for an 80 yard touchdown on every play. Do you want the university to give you a hand out too.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:00 pm
Short memories …..you are an fool. I wish your memory was short enough to forget you are a supposed Dawgs fan
Kenny Powers
January 1st, 2013
6:01 pm
I believe Murray and Richt were part of a team that beat a top 25 team…UGA has a very nice team, especially on the offense side of the ball…back-up receivers were gamers today…what a nice way to end the season…
Spoiler Alert
January 1st, 2013
6:03 pm
@dawglova–Amen. I was not by any means a Bobo fan before this season. But hard to argue w/ a literally record setting season. The guy deserves a raise based off of this season. He’s young everywhere but QB and arguably WR but even there we have had to depend on young guys and other inexperienced players.
Bobo deserves A LOT of credit this year. That being said, I do wish he would focus on using Marshall as a shock play runner which I believe would be most effective spelling Gurley within the same series.
But no real complaints w/ Bobo this year.
T'VILLE DAWG
January 1st, 2013
6:04 pm
Shut your pie hole and enjoy something in your miserable lives.
FB
January 1st, 2013
6:06 pm
Nice comeback win. We have to get better against the run.
great win
January 1st, 2013
6:08 pm
Thanks Coach Richt, and team. A very satisfying win.
dmr
January 1st, 2013
6:08 pm
Statistically, Nebraska had one of the best pass defenses in the Country. Murray threw a couple of bad picks, but he was also shorted a touchdown when T.K. let a perfectly placed pass slip right through his hands.
All in all, tip your cap to these Bulldogs who gave us an outstanding 2012 season. In my humble opinion, we have seen the last of Murray, Tree, Jones, and Geathers, along with many other great senior players, in a Bulldog uniform. Tip your cap, raise a glass, and send these Bulldogs out with class!
Kim Bassinger
January 1st, 2013
6:08 pm
@The Other Lake Dog
There is no way AM is better than David Greene! DG was the ultimate 4Q QB. ALWAYS brought the Dawgs down the field and scored AM is a great QB no doubt one of the best we have ever had but DG was THE BEST and I have no ties to the guy. I want to see Hutson Mason next year – I watched him at Lassiter as I was a Walton Dad and he is very good… more accurate on the long ball and more consistent than AM. We are blessed with several great QB’s and don’t forget Lamay he is top notch.
Mark (another one)
January 1st, 2013
6:09 pm
UGA’s only problem this year was defensive line depth. Losing Aubry Jones exposed it. Losing Jenkins made it worse.
That said, my only issue today was the big mouth who told TV that Mitchell was out for the game. Richt said it correctly at half time, we don’t comment on injuries. That would simply aid the other team. Then at the end of halftime, the field announcer asks Pelini if he will make any adjustments knowing Mitchell won’t play. Bo said he hadn’t known that.
Why help the other team, and why violate team policy and Mitchell’s privacy?
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:09 pm
I think we will see more of Marshall doing some different things like the wildcat today. I am not a huge fan of the wildcat but it was a different look. I think Marshall was banged up a little most of the season and with a young line having both backs in at the same time while probably taking out a tight end just wasn’t in the plans. I think you will see it next year with both backs having ahead under their belts.
Congrats coach Bobo
January 1st, 2013
6:09 pm
Greatest offensive year in Georgia history. Most offense in history of the Capital One Bowl. Terrific job this year by coach Bobo. thanks very much Coach
sflanagan21
January 1st, 2013
6:10 pm
Destin Dawg are you sure you were at the right game? So the 30 yard perfect pass to Lynch, the double pump bomb to TK,the 49 yard pass to Conley, the 2 pt roll out pass to McGowan, the back shoulder pass to Mitchell and then the perfect blitz read to a split screen pass for a 87 yard TD were all just heaved up TD’s to the receivers huh!
Give the kid credit, dang he threw 428 yards for 5 TD’S and TK knows he should have caught that last perfectly thrown pass to him in the end zone and that would have gave AM 6 TD passes with 450 plus yards of passing against a pretty good pass D! Yea he started out slow but so did the entire team, maybe ABC told them to keep it interesting for the first half.
People STOP the hating on AM, he is an ELITE QB and if you don’t see that then you have NEVER played a down of football in your life. I was an average HS QB and NO I’m not a recruiting coordinator but I’m not BLIND either…
Murray please come back
January 1st, 2013
6:11 pm
Aaron showed why he beat out Mettlenberg. (anybody watch LSU’s dismal offensive performance against Clemson?) thanks Aaron for ignoring the Tech fakers on the blogs. We love you, and what you stand for and hope you come back. If so, the offense may just lead us all next year.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:11 pm
Kim lemay won’t even be a dawg next year. Two years in and he still can’t grasp the offense. And the SEC ain’t lassiter
Tampa Gator
January 1st, 2013
6:12 pm
Woof….
Adams was quoted by ESPN yesterday as wanting to play for Bryant Young, the DL coach at Florida. Adams wants his mom to come with him to Gainesville on Saturday to meet all the Florida coaches. Demarcus Walker is also considering a switch from Bama to the Gators….and will make his final decision after meeting with Muschamp and the coaching staff after the UA game. Seems that maybe Adams and Walker will be in Gainesville at the same time with Demarcus Robinson this weekend. Should be interesting to see what comes out of this weekend for the Gators.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:13 pm
He also did this against the best pass defense in the country. Opposing qbs completed less than 46% of passes all year.
Geechy Dan
January 1st, 2013
6:13 pm
mike bobo was The best GA QB since Buck Belue….and (showing my age) fran tarkenton his offensive skills set still shows as Offensive Coordinator..
A very satisfying year
January 1st, 2013
6:14 pm
This was one of the most enjoyable Georgia years ever. 12 wins. 2 losses against 2 top ten teams, nothing to be ashamed of. The Tech guys will be all over this praying for Murray to leave and hoping against hope that Coach Richt will retire. Thanks coach Richt for everything you stand for and a high qulaity program.
CommonSense
January 1st, 2013
6:14 pm
Quarterbacking is all about reading defenses and getting the team in the right play. Less about arm strength and speed. Reading D’s comes mostly from being in big games games and experience. Mason will have the same learning curve as most other rookie QB’s. Murray is there already so if he comes back we will have a much better chance of winning games against SEC teams next year.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:16 pm
Commonsense,
Way to provide…….common sense. Amazing how uncommon sense really is
Crazy Uncle Joe Biden
January 1st, 2013
6:18 pm
Finally. Seven months of silence from the UG morons.
GT77
January 1st, 2013
6:18 pm
Just peachy for UGA…and we get to keep Johnson as HC…thank you Santa
Tampa Gator
January 1st, 2013
6:19 pm
T’Ville Dawg….
I am glad south Georgia is not the center of the universe from which all thinking evolves.
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:19 pm
I wish more people on this blog had your common sense. But that is not a lot of fans strong point. Fire Right, Bobo is a joke, help Murray pack…its unreal. How can so many “fans” of football know so little
Crazy Uncle Joe Biden
January 1st, 2013
6:20 pm
but the tards in SEGA shore thank it is th cenner of th lil ol uniberse.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
January 1st, 2013
6:21 pm
UGA place kicking, D line, and takling fundamentals have to improve to the next level next yr for UGA to be a contender again in 2013.
Crazy Uncle Joe Biden
January 1st, 2013
6:22 pm
contender? ha.
Murray Please Come Back 2
January 1st, 2013
6:23 pm
Murray please come back,
I think your on to something, anyone who doesn’t want Murray back is either a moron or a Tech fan on the UGA blog. Fakers!!!
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:23 pm
I really hope that when Rich retires that Bobo is still here to become the next head coach but I am afraid someone will give him the opportunity to be a head coach elsewhere. And they will show all of you that you couldn’t be more wrong about what a fine coach he is
Game Changer
January 1st, 2013
6:23 pm
Very good year and bowl game. Somehow UGA has to beat top ranked teams, has not happened.
2013 first few games will set the tone, hope to be watching Mason, tired of Murray failures against top teams. 2012 has two highlights: 1. BLOW OUT BY SOUTH CAROLINA AS OUR QB DID NOT SHOW 2. SLIPPED BY FLORIDA BECAUSE THEIR QB PLAYED WORSE THAN OURS
Todd Grantham defense is terrible.
BigForBama
January 1st, 2013
6:25 pm
This loyal Crimson Tider rooted hard for the Bulldogs today, and am extremely proud of the game they played.
LakeDawg
January 1st, 2013
6:26 pm
Kudos to Bobo and Murray. UGA probably has the best offense in the country. Grantham and the defense leave much to be desired.
sflanagan21
January 1st, 2013
6:27 pm
dawglova, we can agree to disagree that Mason is more accurate than AM. The point I was trying to make is that I would rather have AM back than to have Mason come in and have take a few games to get on “Real Time” speed with his receivers. I watched Mason play in HS and he is VERY accurate but going from throwing accurate in HS and college practice to throwing accurate against Clemson and SC’s D next year is a different MONSTER!!! No doubt in my mind that Mason will be a good QB when his chance comes but give me AM for another year PLEASE!!! And your RIGHT Bobo deserves CREDIT!!!
Murray Please Come Back 2
January 1st, 2013
6:27 pm
There it is… Game Changer is a Tech Faker!
Buckeye
January 1st, 2013
6:27 pm
Enjoy basketball season dogs!
Whiznot
January 1st, 2013
6:28 pm
Murray should go pro but I don’t think he’ll be drafted. Kellen Moore is twice the QB Murray is and no team drafted Kellen.
Jim
January 1st, 2013
6:30 pm
Out coached as usual. Can’t get set on D. Running, off tackle, on 1st and 2nd and throwing on 3rd at the end. We just have too many players to lose to Nebraska.
DAWG13
January 1st, 2013
6:32 pm
Enter your comments here
RNB
January 1st, 2013
6:32 pm
Today’s game showed the way Georgia will have to win next year. Just don’t see the defense being better and they were not that good this year. LSU and Clemson added to the schedule. Can you say maybe 8-4?
Coffee Bluff DAWG
January 1st, 2013
6:33 pm
If Murray comes back and has a great yr UGA will be in a position to win the SEC championship again.
He’ll have a ton a receivers – Conley, Bennett, Mitchell, and TEs Lynch and Rome.
DAWG13
January 1st, 2013
6:35 pm
Great win for Georgia over a good Nebraska team. We will have a lot of young guys playing next year, many freshman coming in probably. Our O could be off the chain THIS fall. YES this Fall.
Aaron Murray was all class today. That was one super performance today and all those back up receivers who had to step up did so. Great job Coach Richt. Great job SEC!
dawglova
January 1st, 2013
6:35 pm
Whiz not you cannot be serious about kellen Moore being better
noseknows
January 1st, 2013
6:36 pm
Congrats to the defense the second half – nice adjustments. Van Gorder never would adjust at half (coming from one of their All American FS). They may all be gone (mostly) but it was fun watching them.
Joe L
January 1st, 2013
6:36 pm
Aaron did good in bowl game. He can go pro now. We want Hustson Mason to led bulldogs.
DAWG13
January 1st, 2013
6:37 pm
GT77
good win for tech yesterday