Dusting the Devils: UGA Addresses the Nation

The rush of wind you heard on Saturday night was the collective sigh of relief of the 'Dawg nation.  Eyebrows were raised last week with the tricky win against South Carolina. And this week, a long trip from home to what was believed to be a hungry Arizona State Sun Devils team gave Bulldog fans some anxiety.

Incidentally, if you haven't heard, this was the longest regular season road trip since 1960.  But ventures out of the Southeast should become more common as the Bulldogs are slated to play Oklahoma State next season and plan to travel to Colorado in 2010. 

A lot of question marks, rising from last week's game, and a long cross-country trip were causes for concern for Richt and company heading into the game on Saturday night. But as the dust in the desert settled late Saturday night, a lot of answers began to emerge.

Georgia managed to match the 99 degree heat in Tempe with some heat of its own.  The final score, 27-10, is not as convincing as the game proved to be. The Bulldog defense suffocated the Sun Devils running game, allowing four yards on the evening.

The offense started slow but Stafford engineered an explosion in the second quarter. Moreno rushed for two touchdowns and freshman A.J. Green had his coming out party. The UGA offense introduced a new weapon to the nation in Green who ended the night with 159 yards receiving and one touchdown.

All week, prior to the game, Coach Richt expressed the desire to get Green more involved in the offense. We saw flashes of his ability in previous weeks, but clearly the freshman was waiting for the biggest stage in this young season—the nationally televised Saturday night game—to show what he was capable of.

A few messages were sent to the rest of the college football fraternity on Saturday, but perhaps the biggest one was that Green is a force to be reckoned with. Shut down Knowshon Moreno and the running game—or try to (153 yards and two touchdowns for Moreno)—and Stafford and Green will hook up and make defenses pay. The Georgia Bulldogs offense just got a little more dynamic on Saturday night.

The UGA defense was dominant—national championship caliber—and gave highly-regarded ASU qb, Rudy Carpenter, fits all night long. He never seemed comfortable and the Bulldog's invaded the pocket all game long. They contributed four sacks on the night, led by the emerging linebacker, Rennie Curran. Curran was all over the field registering nine tackles and one sack.

But don't pencil in the 'Dawgs for the national championship game just yet. The o-line showed improvement, but Stafford still needed to use his mobility as he was flushed from the pocket more than a few times.

They managed to slow the two talented ASU defensive ends, but there's still cause for alarm regarding this patchwork line. There are some tough defenses looming and their play needs to solidify.

The lack of discipline has to make you scratch your head. Twelve penalties (104 yards) and three fumbles (none lost) expose this team's youth and lack of maturity at times. There are whispers that the immaturity shown off the field sometimes translates to the same come game time.

Many will argue that this was a statement game for the Georgia Bulldogs. They certainly rose to the challenge of a solid non-conference team, but just how good are the Sun Devils? Are they still the team considered to be best supporting actor to USC's leading role status in the Pac-10? That doesn't look to be the case. And when Richt had the opportunity to really make a statement, he seemed to look the other way.

In the fourth quarter, leading by 14, the Sun Devils stopped Moreno three times on the goal line. The Bulldog players clearly tried to convince Richt to go for the touchdown.

Richt declined, instead opting for the safe field goal, saying to his team on the sideline, "you had your chance, we're doing this my way." It may be your way Coach, but you do get points for style in college football. A touchdown there would have put an emphatic exclamation mark on the game. A real statement, if you will.

The question needs to be considered: What would Stoops or Meyer have done? Something tells me they would have gone for the TKO instead of just the KO. Georgia is going to need some TKOs if they expect to make it through the SEC schedule unscathed and convince voters that they deserve that priceless number two ranking. Alabama will be a fine, fine place to start.