Georgia Bulldogs Bite Tennessee, 20-12: Ups, Downs and All-Round vs. the Vols

Coming into Saturday evening's big SEC East showdown against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, many felt that the Georgia Bulldogs were streaking toward a fizzle. People were buzzing in hushed tones. The fanbase was brimming with confident caution. Throughout the Bulldog Nation, the faithful were dubiously optimistic about their team. The environment surrounding the 'Dawgs, from attitudes to expectations, was like a giant oxymoron personified.

On the one hand, Georgia was red hot. After dropping their opening two games to ranked opponents, Boise State and South Carolina, they had hammered out three straight victories and found themselves, almost miraculously, tied for the division lead. Many felt that the program's ship had been righted and that order was in the process of being restored.

Accompanying that aura and outlook of positivity, however, were undercurrents of skepticism and, perhaps, a sense of inevitable and impending doom. Because of their struggles over the past two seasons, many prognosticators and fans remained anywhere from lukewarm to cool on the Bulldogs. They doubted whether or not the win streak had answered all of the doubts surrounding the soundness of this edition of the 'Dawgs and had evidenced that their shortcomings had been ameliorated.

Many still questioned the quality of their wins. Others wondered aloud whether their previously sieve-like defense would be able to weather a substantial passing attack, such as they would see in the nation's No. 11 passing attack at Tennessee. Led by their rising star, sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray, the Volunteers, playing on national television in front of the home folks with "Rocky Top" in the background, seemed a threat to blast the skyrocketing expectations of the Dawg Nation out of the sky and bring them crashing back down to earth. 

But, that's not how Saturday night unfolded. The Dawgs came out of the gate strong and then settled into a 6-6 draw with the Vols after the first half of play. In the third quarter, Georgia capitalized on a Tennessee turnover for the game's first touchdown, then launched a 3-play, 93-yard blizkrieg drive late in the quarter to swell the lead to 20-6.

The Bulldog defense swamped the Vols running attack and then played like rubber, bending but not breaking against Tennessee's passing attack. Tennessee scored a late touchdown to close to within eight, but Bruce Figgins blocked the PAT, forcing the Vols to onside kick. The attempt bounced out of bounds and, with it, the Volunteers' chances of a comeback.

Let's take a look at the ups, downs and all-arounds of the Dawgs' big win over Tennessee Saturday night.

Up: Richt Reaches the Century Mark as Top 'Dawg

Mark Richt won his 100th game as the head coach of the University of Georgia in Knoxville Saturday night. Only two other UGA coaches, Wally Butts and Vince Dooley, father of the coach that Richt defeated Saturday, have attained that milestone.

While Richt has had the advantage of coaching during the era of the 12-game regular season, he attained the century mark in victories in significantly fewer games anyway, as Saturday night's contest was just his 136th as the Bulldogs' coach. Butts, who won 140 games at the helm of the Dawgs between 1939 and1960, won his 100th at the 151 game mark, while it took Coach Dooley 149 contests to reach them. Vince Dooley went on to post 201 victories between 1964 and 1988, when he moved to the Athletic Director's post full time.

While demanding Georgia fans would have loved to have seen the feat accomplished in Sanford Stadium sometime during last season, the milepost victory is one that few coaches stick around, whether by choice or not, to reach these days. Congratulations to Coach Mark Richt on his achievement.

Up: Big Win Instead of Big Blowout

While Tennessee led the series with Georgia 21-17-2 before Saturday, neither team had a real history of home field dominance. The Volunteers held an 11-8-1 edge in Knoxville, while Georgia was 10-7-1 in Athens.

The Dawgs, however, had been kicked around rather thoroughly by their coon-skin capped neighbors to the north on their last two trips to Neyland Stadium. They had dropped their last two games in the land of the orange and white checkerboard end zones by a combined score of 80-34.

Last night's victory was the Dawgs' second straight over the Vols, and it re-established the tradition in this series of the host treating the visitors far too hospitably.

Up: Bobo Diversifies the Offensive Portfolio

Even though Georgia managed but two field goals in the first half Saturday night, the Bulldogs had moved the football steadily, and fans were pinching themselves. Had Mark Richt taken the offensive play-calling duties back over without an annoucement? Had their been a re-shuffling of the staff, a new coaching hire that had flown completely under everyone's radar?

Nope. There was Mike Bobo in the press box, appearing to do the same thing that he as been doing since 2006. But wait. Some of the things that fans were seeing, some of the plays that were being called and the situations they were being called in, they just didn't make sense. They were just, well, just too creative and unpredictable, for lack of better adjectives.

It began with passes on first down. Totally out of character our Bobo. It continued with the insertion of the speedy cornerback Brandon Smith at tailback, a No. 1 for No. 1 swap as he subbed in for the starter, Isaiah Crowell.

Following that were waggles, or bootleg passes, where Murray faked handing the ball to the tailback and then reversed and rolled out in the opposite direction looking for a wideout coming back to the ball or a tight end dragging across the field. 

In between, Bobo had Murray call his own number, as the quarterback draw was repeatedly employed. Though Murray had only 19 yards rushing on the night, they came at critical points and kept the Volunteer defensive backs and linebackers wondering in coverage.

Tennessee was expecting and had obviously strategized to shut down Crowell running between the tackles. So what had this "new" coordinator prepared to counter with besides the bootlegs? Time and time again, Georgia handed the ball off to either Crowell or Carlton Thomas, only to have the blocking actually set up for the back to change direction and run away from the initial pursuit. The zone cutback' yielded some nice gains.

And on 4th and short? What was up with the toss sweep to get the speedy Crowell to his comfort zone on the edge quickly? Who would have imagined Mike Bobo making such a call?

While the ingenuity did not lead to the creation of an unstoppable offensive juggernaut on this night, it did keep the Vols surprised, guessing and on their toes. Dawg fans can only hope that the bout of imagination that Mike Bobo "suffered" from on Saturday night in Knoxville is a long-term malady that leaves him permanently afflicted.

Up and Down: No Errant Passes for Recently Aaron(t) Murray (That Vols Caught)

Before Saturday evening, Aaron Murray had thrown six interceptions through five games, This is not good, nor is it what people expected from Murray, projected by many to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation before the season got underway,

In addition, two of his interceptions had been returned for touchdowns, one by South Carolina and one last week by Mississippi State. 

Against the Vols, Murray completed 60 percent of his passes for 227 yards. On his short throws, the ones that picked up key yardage and kept the Dawgs moving, he was on the money when he needed to be.

Thanks to Marlon Brown sticking his left hand in to prevent a Vol defender from making a pick, Murray threw no interceptions against the Volunteers on the night.

The bigger story Saturday night were probably the passes that Murray didn't complete. Repeatedly, Bulldog receivers either crossed up and/or streaked by defenders and got behind them. And repeatedly, Murray overthrew them. Except for the big gain on which Malcom Mitchell tweaked his hamstring, Murray just couldn't find the distance on his throws.

All in all, it was a relatively average performance for Murray, one that could have been a monstrous one that broke the game wide open had he been able adjust his sights a few clicks in the direction towards accurate.

Up and Down: Tavarres King Almost Has Breakout Games 'Dawgs Expecting

Coming into the season, many people, including King himself, thought that Tavarres King was the heir apparent to the "go to" receiver role vacated by AJ Green's departure for the NFL. During his first seasons, and especially during 2010, King had shown signs of brilliance. Some wondered, however, if his sheen had been due in part to the one-on-one coverage he had become accustomed to living in the shadow of the opposition's laser focus on trying to shut down Green.

Through the first five games, this imminent stardom had yet to shine upon King. In the opener against Boise State, he was, for all extent and purposes, a no-show and a non-factor. While he had some better moments since then, the junior had still not realized the role that he and others had envisioned for him. Instead, he had taken a backseat, remaining outside of the spotlight that was being shined upon true freshman Malcolm Mitchell.

Saturday night, King led Bulldog receivers with five catches, trailing only Mitchell, who had a 71-yard catch in the second half, in yardage. It was a big night for King as Murray's primary target. Unfortunately, it could have been a career night. King was open deep a number of times, only to be overthrown by muscled-up upon Murray passes. At least a couple would have likely gone for scores had they been on target.

For Georgia, hopefully Tavarres King's "almost" game of a lifetime bodes a bigger role for him in the Dawgs' passing attack in the second half of the season.

Up: Defense Rise to Challenge, Bending but Not Breaking

Georgia's defense came into Saturday night's game ranked No. 7 in total defense, a ranking that evidenced the obvious improvements made by Todd Grantham's charges since he took over as defensive coordinator. Many, however, questioned whether or not they were for real. Would they be able to withstand an assault by a serious SEC passing attack?

On the night, Tennessee rang up 290 yards passing against the Bulldogs, 251 by Vols starting quarterback Tyler Bray and another 39 by Matt Simms, who came in after Bray left with an injury late in the fourth quarter. On the ground, however, the Dawgs yielded a stingy, Alabama-like minus 20 yards rushing.

Most of the Volunteer passing yards, however, came underneath Georgia's deep coverage to tight end Mychal Rivera and freshman tailback Marlin Lane. Marquee receiver Da'Rick Rogers had 71 yards but was largely kept under wraps.

In the end, the Bulldogs completely took away the Tennessee running game, forcing the Volunteers to beat them doing what they do best: throwing the ball. When the last whistle sounded and the lights were dimmed in Neyland Stadium, they couldn't do it. Not on this night. Georgia's secondary bent but never broke. The defense gave up two first half field goals and a touchdown when the deal was all but sealed.

Grantham's Growlers just may indeed have turned the corner on the road to becoming good, really good.

Down: Injury Bug Slowed the Dawgs

Two injuries slowed the Bulldogs versus Tennessee on Saturday.  

On a run to the edge in the first half, a Vol defender put a helmet on Isaiah Crowell's right arm in an attempt to dislodge the ball. He succeeded, but the ball rolled out of bounds still in Georgia's possession.

Crowell, however, was the worse for wear, and after falling on the wrist on another rushing attempt, the freshman spent much of the rest of the half on the sideline.

After being evaluated and taped at the half, he returned to action in the second half. While he finished the night with only 58 yards on 19 carries, Crowell did have two second half touchdown runs, one tough run that he punched in from the 1-yard line early in the third and a sweet 17-yard run, perhaps his best to date, for six late in the same quarter.

As for Malcolm Mitchell, he was quiet much of the first half, an obvious target of the Vols secondary. Late in third quarter, Murray connected with him on a 71-yard pass. The fleet Mitchell appeared to have steps on the defender but was run down from behind. The replay showed what everyone saw as he limped to the sideline. While racing end zone bound, he sustained a hamstring pull that kept him from the remainder of the contest.

Dawgs fans hope that neither of these injuries will be lingering, as these two Bullpups have developed into major cogs in the Georgia offensive attack.

Up: Excuse Me, No. 57, but What Was Your Name Again?

The Georgia Bulldogs have had an all points bulletin out in hopes of locating who may have abducted their star placekicker, Blair Walsh, or who might have knowledge of his whereabouts, because early in the season he just hasn't been, well, Blair Walsh.

Through five games, Walsh was batting .500 on his field goal attempts. Over the past two seasons, he had been 87 and 90 percent accurate, and he had made 78 percent of his kicks on his career. Kicks that were normally automatic for Walsh, and in the minds of Georgia fans, just haven't been.

In the first half Saturday, Walsh staked Georgia to leads twice, with a 35-yard first quarter kick and a 23-yarder in the second. As usual, he was perfect on his PATs, having missed only once in his career.

Though both FG attempts were chip shots by Walsh's standards, what was important is that they were successful. Boosting the kicker's confidence is critical for Georgia as they pursue the SEC East title. One of these close Saturday contests that the Bulldogs find themselves in will be won or lost by Walsh's historically accurate right foot.

Down: The 'O' Still Has Troble Maintaining Mo

In sports, how you come out of the gate is important. Getting off to a quick start and getting a jump on your opponent is often critical to the game's outcome.

However, over the long haul of most games and the course of a season, consistency and how you finish games is crucial as well. A surprising number of games are not decided until the final quarter.

While scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, Georgia's offense still sputtered coming down the stretch, putting no points on the board again in the game's final period. Through six games, Georgia has scored but 32 points in the fourth quarter. In the last three, all SEC games, Georgia has but a field goal, coming three games ago against Ole Miss.

Perhaps the most positive achievement for the offensive unit in the second half was controlling the football. Georgia had the ball for about six and a half minutes more than Tennessee over the course of the game, much of that margin coming in the second half. Tennessee had a slight edge in time of possession going into the locker room at half time.

This trend raises questions regarding the unit's stamina or its lack of a killer instinct. Another possible explanation is cautious, conservative play calling with the lead, which Georgia has held going into the last quarter in each of the last three games.  

Either way, the inability to put points on the board and finish teams off in crunch time is cause for concern and has to be addressed in the critical remaining league games if Georgia is to vie for the division championship.

All-Around: It Was a Good Night to Be a Bulldog

Fans excited, but skeptical, riding the bandwagon with one foot still on the ground. On the road for a big SEC contest against a hated rival. The opponent's strength is something you've struggled with over the last couple of seasons. Hostile crowd. Hostile venue. So much orange everywhere that one might wonder if Halloween had come early. Lots of reasons for the bubble to burst.

But it didn't. The Bulldogs did what needed to be done to win a huge game and to keep pace with South Carolina and Florida atop the SEC East. The offense did just enough to win, and the defense forced the Volunteers into their strength and then beat them at their own game in their own backyard.

For an embattled coach, whose seat had been white hot after the season's first two games, it was time to smile, to celebrate and to take the Gatorade bath and enjoy it. After all, he reached a milestone that fewer and fewer modern coaches do, not at the same school anyway. Despite all the questions and criticism, Richt has run off 100 victories at a rapid pace by any standards. He can be proud, as can Georgia folks everywhere should be proud of him.

But on Monday, it will all begin again—the good and the bad. After all, in sports and especially in big-time college football, it is a "What have you done for me lately?" world.