Georgia Football: Grading the Bulldogs Game vs. Florida

The second half of the 2011 season for the Georgia Bulldogs has begun and they picked up where they left off.

They got a big win over the Florida Gators and have a really good chance to finish the regular season with a 10-2 record.

It was not a perfect game by any means, but the Bulldogs outplayed the Gators and are keeping pace with the South Carolina Gamecocks for the SEC East lead.

Here are grades to hand out for the Bulldogs in their win.

Quarterbacks: B-

Murray has had better games and in the game against Florida, there was a time where he missed on nine consecutive passes.

But he did throw two huge touchdown passes—which were both called on fourth down—and he did run the ball effectively when he needed to.

Murray still has work to do in order to take that next step, but he is the leader on this team and they will only go as far as he will take them.

Running Backs: B

In order for the Bulldogs to defeat the Gators, they had to run the ball downfield.

The Bulldogs were able to do that, as they rushed for 185 yards on 49 carries.

Isaiah Crowell suffered a shin injury, but he was still able to rush for 85 yards on 18 carries.

But the story of the game had to be Richard Samuel, as he scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and his hard running showed he really wanted to take it to the Gators.

Receivers: B+

Because Murray only had 169 yards through the air, the receivers did not have big numbers. But they made plays when the team needed them the most.

Tavarres King caught a touchdown pass on a fourth-down play in the third quarter, and Michael Bennett also pulled down a touchdown catch in the second quarter, which was also called on fourth down.

It was also good to see Orson Charles get in the mix with four receptions for 31 yards.

Offensive Line: B-

The offensive line did a good job opening holes for the running backs and giving Murray time to make some key throws.

The only complaint is they had trouble picking up some of the blitzes the Gators came up with, which caused Murray to be sacked three times.

Not a perfect day for the offensive line, but they were able to move the Florida defensive line when they needed to.

Defensive Line: A-

The defensive line knew they had to get after an injured John Brantley in order for them to have a great day. They did that, as Brantley was sacked by DeAngelo Tyson and Abry Jones.

John Jenkins also played well for a suspended Kwame Geathers, as he tallied two tackles.

The defensive line also was big in stopping the run because the Gators only gained minus-22 yards on the ground.

Linebackers: A

Let's put it like this: This defense would not be the same if Jarvis Jones was not on this team. He was huge in the win with five tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble.

Michael Gilliard and Alec Ogletree also played well. Gilliard led the team with six tackles and Ogletree tallied five sacks and forced one fumble.

Defensive Backs: B+

The only mistake the defensive backs made was they let the Gators score a touchdown on a 4th-and-19 play in the first quarter, which was possibly due to blown coverage.

But overall, they played a strong game and were all over the Florida receivers. Brandon Boykin had two pass breakups while Jordan Love and Bacarri Rambo each had one.

It would have been nice to have Shawn Williams in the first half, but they were able to play well without him. Williams played in the second half and recorded one tackle and recovered a fumble.

Special Teams: D-

All I'm going to say about the special teams is they need a special teams coach. Not a new special teams coach, just a special teams coach, because Georgia does not have anyone on the staff that focuses strictly on special teams.

If they don't get the special teams issues corrected soon, they will lose one of the next four games.