Georgia Football: Aaron Murray Wows Crowd as Bulldogs Roll, 55-7

Georgia football fans couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. In front of a sold-out Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs were able to answer the two biggest questions Georgia fans had going into the year.

Will the 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, be successful? Does Aaron Murray have what it takes to be the future at quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs?

Both questions were answered with a resounding "Yes" as the Dawgs outgained the 'Cajuns 377 yards to 128.

The Georgia defense was able to record three sacks and forced three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by newcomer Jakar Hamilton, a junior college transfer who was one of the highest rated JUCO safeties in the country.

On offense, Aaron Murray had fans on their feet every snap. Murray completed 17 of 26 passes for 160 yards, however his performance was more impressive. Murray had three dropped passes, one being a drop of a deep ball in the endzone by Logan Gray, and another being a fluke pass that bounced off the chest of Kris Durham and into the hands of a Louisiana player for an interception.

Murray's throws were all very accurate, and his only two mistakes were really a forced pass over the middle to Orson Charles early in the game and a deep throw away that died in the wind and was nearly intercepted in the endzone.

Murray showed off some impressive mobility, which included a long touchdown run of 21 yards as time expired in the first half. Overall, Murray proved he has quite a presence for a redshirt freshman.

The offense was sharp for most of the game. A lackluster start and a fourth quarter run by the second team offense took away from an otherwise dominating performance.

Wide receiver Kris Durham, who filled in because A.J. Green and Tavarres King were both held out of the game, led the team in receiving with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. At 6'5", Kris Durham is an experienced receiver who spent the last two seasons on the sideline with injuries.

As a senior, Durham could use his size and trustworthy hands to become a very reliable complement to A.J. Green, who should get back on the field for next week's game in Columbia.

Durham, who wore the No. 16 through his career, switched to No. 31 this season to honor teammate Quintin Banks, who chose to surrender his spot on the Georgia football team due to lingering knee injuries that plagued him his entire tenure with the program.

It was definitely great to see Durham in the spotlight, and it will be exciting to see how impactful of a player he can be as the season goes along. Marlon Brown, Logan Gray, and tight end Orson Charles all had at least two receptions to help the Dawgs offense.

The running game statistically was solid, however there was considerable inconsistency with the performance of the offensive line and tailbacks. Caleb King had an impressive 20-yard touchdown run, but other than that was ineffective with 47 yards on 10 carries. Carlton Thomas gained 61 yards on 13 carries, and showed off some serious elusiveness.

The running game definitely didn't look perfect, despite compiling 184 yards on a five-yard per carry average. Fans will definitely be looking for more explosion from the running game in the coming weeks, which should get a boost as soon as Washaun Ealey returns from suspension.

Defensively, the Dawgs were great. Senior defensive end Demarcus Dobbs and junior linebacker Justin Houston did what they set out to do with quarterback sacks, and Brandon Boykin, Sanders Commings, and Jakar Hamilton all recorded interceptions.

Georgia's defense showed exactly what fans wanted to see with the new scheme. Defensive backs are finally pressing receivers, and linebackers and defensive lineman are finally getting to the quarterback.

The defense is no longer sitting back and reacting, but instead playing with a proactive "attack" scheme that pushes up field, as Todd Grantham promised. The results were impressive; however, Georgia's real defensive litmus test will come next weekend against Steve Spurrier's wide open offense.

The special teams were everything we expected them to be. Blair Walsh connected on field goals of 48 and 52 yards, and Drew Butler was accurate punting the football. Brandon Boykin only had one chance to return a kickoff, which produced no notable results, however Branden Smith was very impressive on punt returns.

Grading the Performance

Offense: B+. Even with the running game stalling a little Aaron Murray was able to go through his reads in long passing situations and complete his throws. The ground game will have to be more of a staple though if Georgia is going to succeed this year. The return of Ealey and more practice time from the offensive line should iron that out.

Defense: A. The only negative on defense was a long touchdown pass given up by Bacarri Rambo. The only time Louisiana had success, including on their scoring pass, was when they rolled the pocket. It will be interesting to see if teams down the road pick that up on tape.

Special Teams: A. A running into the kicker penalty and some sloppy kickoff coverage were the only bad moments on special teams. Blair Walsh continues to establish himself as one of the best kickers to play between the hedges.

Standout Players

Aaron Murray: Murray proved he has a lot of talent. He might want to cut back on the gutsy run plays when he gets to SEC play, but you can tell the kid has tons of confidence to go with his ultra-talented skill set. Not a bad first game for the 19-year-old.

Kris Durham: The experienced senior had been counting the days since the last time he played for Georgia. It was over 700 days ago. I think it's pretty safe to say his motivation and seniority makes him a valuable asset, not only to the passing game but as a team leader.

Vance Cuff: I could have picked a lot of players for the third spot here, but I'm going with the senior Vance Cuff. Cuff didn't have a lot of stats, but his early performance against pass plays really impressed me. I like his physical presence, which definitely compliments his 4.3 speed. I'm excited to see what this senior corner does with a starting role in his final year with the red in black.

Road to Atlanta: SEC East Power Rankings

*I'm going to try to be as neutral as I can with this first ranking, not giving the benefit of preseason rankings to any of the teams.

1) South Carolina: The Gamecocks offensive line finally blocked for quarterback Stephen Garcia, and the result was a decisive 41-13 victory by the Gamecocks. You can tell this team is way more talented than we are used to seeing. Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery are one of a kind weapons the Gamecocks have at their disposal. South Carolina had the best quality win of Week 1.

2) Georgia: Aaron Murray showed he's got a lot of the intangibles to be a star at UGA for the next few years, and the defense looked very good. The Dawgs' real test will come next week as they travel to South Carolina to face Spurrier.

3) Tennessee: Got to hand it to them, nobody expected Tennessee to be as impressive as a 50-0 win, granted against an FCS school in UT-Martin. Nevertheless, the Vols showed off, including racking up an impressive 332 rushing yards.

4) Florida: Okay Florida fans, calm down. You are probably going to light this up because a Dawg fan is putting the No. 4 ranked team in the nation so low. No worries, Florida should climb the list in a jiffy, but eight fumbles and under 300 yards of offense against a team considered one of the worst in the FBS? The Gators are better than that. Expect them at the two or one spot on this list by next weekend.

5) Kentucky: Good opening win for new Kentucky coach Joker Phillips. The Wildcats have the talent, especially on offense, to be a giant killer. They won't win every game they play, and will likely lose half of them, but they should have a realistic shot at winning each week. That could turn into a few season destroying upsets.

6) Vanderbilt: Didn't expect a win for the Commodores, and they didn't get one against Northwestern. Should be a long year for Vanderbilt as they sink back to the bottom of the SEC. Larry Smith was a bright spot with 240 passing yards, completing 19 of 33 attempts, and recording 48 rushing yards.


Check in on Thursday as I observe the Georgia vs. South Carolina rivalry.