Crash in Columbia: UGA Escapes With a Win

While most of the country waited for the "Collision in the Coliseum," many college football fans in the Southeast were thinking Columbia, SC was the site of the most important game of the day.

Few believed Ohio State would really play the role of spoiler in Southern Cal's bid for a national championship; But the East Coast's USC, that's South Carolina for those of you that weren't paying attention, had a chance to ruin Georgia's hopes for its first national title since 1980.

But after a preseason number one ranking for UGA, national title talk is old news. What else is old news? UGA always has a tough game in Columbia. Saturday was no different.

Things we saw on Saturday that we've seen before in the annual UGA-USC match-up: Spurrier throwing headsets (for those counting--it was three times), a tight Bulldog team, a close game on offense and defense, and lots of chewed up 'Dawg's fingernails.

The temperature in Williams-Brice Stadium was about as hot as Spurrier's cheeks got as he watched his inept running attack through the course of the game. UGA's defense kept the Bulldogs in this game as the offense had difficulty all day moving the ball against the Gamecock's number one ranked SEC defense.

The big stars, Stafford and Moreno, on paper look as if they had a so-so day. You could say the score reflects that as well, but if you watched the game, you know that while the defense kept them in the game, ultimately the Junior QB, Stafford, and Heisman hopeful (though maybe not after this game), Moreno, won the game for Richt and company.

Stafford threw for a pedestrian 146 yards, completing 60 percent of his passes with no interceptions.

But it was a 17-yard run in the second quarter, eventually leading to a Bulldog field goal, and 30-yard run leading to a Moreno touchdown run for the ages (more on that in a minute) that showed why Matthew Stafford is going to be such a special quarterback.

He showed mobility and toughness on Saturday. The toughness was needed as his line seemed to crack under pressure, allowing four sacks on the day. But Stafford got up each time and came back for more.

He had every reason to be upset with the performance of his line and his receivers (dropped passes plagued them all day long) but he never seemed rattled. It's games like this that have NFL scouts drooling for his arrival and 'Dawg fans praying to Larry Munson for one more year.

Moreno battled for all 79 of his rushing yards, but none were more impressive than his four yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, this on the heels of the Stafford 30-yard run. This was a play that will be remembered all season and possibly beyond.

Moreno took a pitch around the left side that appeared to be swarming with Gamecock defenders, broke three tackles, looked as if he was down once, twice, no three times—seemingly keeping himself up with his fingertips before he dived into the end zone.

It's runs like these that show why he is such a special player and before it's all said and done, if a national title is on his resume, Georgia fans may just forget about Herschel.

Arizona State will be no slouch next weekend (especially after their disappointing loss to UNLV), but UGA has got some work to do before Alabama comes to Athens on September 27.

Richt and the boys need to clean up the penalties, keep the defense fresh, and remind the offensive lineman that their job is to block. A win's a win and the season is certainly not over. Let's remember, it was this same game last year that many folks said is the reason UGA was not in the national championship.

Well they won this time. You don't always get points for pretty, but you do for wins. And as Coach Richt said, this one is graded a win. The Bulldogs escaped the "Crash in Columbia", but the damage and the doubt may stay with them.