Outback Bowl: Grading Georgia's Loss Against Michigan State

The Bulldogs knew they had to play their best football against Michigan State in order to win the Outback Bowl. And while they did make some good plays on offense, defense and special teams, they made some costly mistakes which determined the outcome of the game.

The Bulldogs came away on the short end of a thrilling game, and they have a lot of work to do in order to take the next step. Their work includes beating the top teams in the country, winning SEC titles and competing for national championships.

Here are some grades to hand out for the Bulldogs in their loss to the Spartans.

Offense

There was some good from the offense, but there was plenty of bad.

Despite scoring 30 points, the Bulldogs only tallied 339 yards and only 51 of those yards came from the ground.

The Bulldogs also committed three turnovers, all by Aaron Murray, which the Spartans used to their advantage.

Murray did play well, throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns, but the running game could never get going, and the offensive line had fits with the Spartans front seven.

The Bulldogs have some work to do in order to be one of the better offensive teams in the country. They will have the talent next season, but they have to learn to play as one, effectively using that talent.

GRADE: C-

Defense

The defense played well at the beginning but wore down towards the end.

They were able to limit the Spartans to 73 yards rushing and forced Kirk Cousins to throw three interceptions.

But Cousins was able to make plays at the end of the game, and the offensive line for the Spartans did a good job keeping him upright.

Overall, the defense played well but didn't make the plays at the end of the game.

Had they came up with a stop on the Spartans' final drive in the fourth quarter, the other unit that I'm about to talk about would not get the grade I'm about to give them.

GRADE: B-

Special Teams

Blair Walsh had an opportunity to win the game in overtime with a mid-range field goal but missed it wide right.

He had a chance to take the game to a fourth overtime with a another field goal try, but it was blocked by the Spartans' defensive line.

Special teams has hurt the Bulldogs during the season, and it finally cost them in one of the biggest games of their season.

However, credit had to go to Brandon Boykin for scoring on a 92-yard punt return in the second quarter.

Also, credit has to go to Walsh. He had a great career but struggled his final year as a Bulldog.

Fans may not realize it now, but he was one of the better kickers in UGA history.

GRADE: D+

Coaching

Here's what the fans are thinking. The coaches for the Bulldogs were too conservative and needed to be more aggressive when it comes to making tough decisions on offense.

Richt went for it on 4th-and-1 in the first quarter and came up short. Richt also made the decision to have Walsh kick a 42-yarder in overtime, but once again, came up short.

Richt was not conservative when he needed to be, and he should have been more aggressive toward the end of the game.

The coaching staff had some great calls, but the bad calls will be the ones fans will remember until the fall of 2012.

GRADE: C-

Overall

What it comes down to is the Bulldogs should have beaten the Spartans, and it really should not have been close.

But due to mistakes on offense and lack of execution on special teams, the Spartans rallied from 16 points down and came away with their 11th win of the season.

The Bulldogs will need to learn from the mistakes they made in the Outback Bowl because despite playing in one of the better games of the bowl season, they did not play the way they would have liked.

GRADE: C-