Georgia Bulldogs Shine in Tempe, A Recap From the Desert

Go west, young man.

The Georgia Bulldogs have resisted that urge for the past few decades. Two thousand miles for a regular season game? Sounds a little out of our travel range. No thanks.

Georgia's non-conference game with Georgia Tech, and their neutral site game with Florida have kept the Dawgs close to home in the past few years. It's hard to give up that home gate every other year. So save that travel money for bowl games!

But this season was different. Arizona State hosted the Dawgs this past Saturday, and a National TV audience was invited. A Bulldog crowd estimated at 20,000 or so made the trip as well—and it was worth it.

Georgia rebounded from a slow start and took care of business 27-10. Stafford to Green was repeated by Brent Musburger on numerous occasions. Knowshon took flight again, and nailed the landing. The Defense made the Sun Devils running game non-existent, leaving the Sun Devil fans with little to cheer about.

The Dawgs missed out on a few scoring chances, and once again had way too many penalties.... But overall, it was a great win.

Last week I gave you the "Top Five Reasons Georgia will Beat Arizona State."

Let's review.

1) PAC 10 is over-rated

2) SEC play prepares teams for games like this one

3) Georgia's Defense must play better, and will

2) Mark Richt (Road Warrior)

1) Stafford and Moreno will be on the bus

So how did I do?

1) The PAC 10 may not be over-rated at all.  Take USC out of the picture and they may just be bad. Boise State took care of Oregon to add to the list of disappointing losses for the PAC 10. Nobody in the league appears to be on the same level as USC.

2) SEC play definitely prepares you for tough games. Road games in the SEC are always rough. Georgia plays well on the road, and they were ready, no doubt about that. Thankfully the next two big test for Georgia are at home in Athens.

3) Georgia's defense did get better. As a matter of fact they held the ASU offense to four yards rushing. They put pressure on Rudy Carpenter and kept the passing game in check. Georgia's linebackers appeared to be ALL over the field.

4) Mark Richt improved his road record to 27-4. Since Richt put Knowshon into the starting lineup the Dawgs have not lost. Richt recently made the statement, "Whose the idiot that red-shirted that guy?" These road Dawgs took it to the Sun Devils in Tempe.

5) What can you say about Stafford and Moreno? 

Stafford was effective, completing 16 of 28 passes for 284 yards. How many times did you hear the phrase "big time arm?" Stafford improves to 21-4 as a starter.

Moreno was... well, he was Moreno. Maybe this will be the week that the Heisman hype finally takes "flight"... Moreno is special. This offense will only get better as the offensive line continues to improve each week.

So what did I miss?

1) AJ Green welcome to the big time! This freshman was incredible. Stafford to Green could be big over the next 2 months. We knew it was coming. It was fun to watch.

2) The ASU crowd must have been stunned when UGA exploded in the second quarter. There was a lot of red mingled into that home yellow.

3) Curran and Ellerbe were everywhere. Curran is a sophomore!!

4) Special teams looked good. The blocked punt was nice! I would love to see Knowshon get loose on one of those punt returns. Maybe this will be the week.

That's my recap. Hope you add your thoughts. This win will hopefully propel the Dawgs into this Saturdays match-up with Alabama with a lot of confidence. Sanford Stadium will be buzzing.

Check back later this week when I give you, The Top Five Reasons Georgia will beat Alabama....