For the first quarter of the Tennessee game, Georgia looked exactly like the number 5 team in the country, and then something happened. It was almost like Georgia forgot how to play.
Turnovers can kill a football team, and on Saturday turnovers were the only reason that Tennessee even sniffed at Georgia's heels. Georgia was the far better team, but they gave Tennessee 7 points on Murray's pick 6, and they gave Tennessee a short field twice and both times, Tennessee scored touchdowns.
The rest of the game went about like I expected. Bray made some good throws, but you could just tell that the talent level of Tennessee's skill players isn't up to the level of the elite teams in the SEC. The surprising aspect of the game, was the fact that Tennessee ran the ball with great success against the Georgia defense. Whether the defense's problems can be contributed to the return of Ogletree and Rambo for the first time this season, or whether it is a flaw going forward in the season will play itself out over the next few weeks, but I will keep my faith in the Georgia defense.
Offensively, Georgia looks prolific. Through five games, no one has slowed down Georgia's two freshman for even a quarter, let alone an entire game. While the level of competition will begin to go up as the season progresses, there is no reason to think that Georgia's 1-2 punch won't be able to step their game up as well.
Aaron Murray isn't perfect, but he is an excellent quarterback who can win games, not just manage them for Georgia. For the first time this season, Murray showed a glimpse of the accident prone guy that cost Georgia the South Carolina game, and even the LSU game last season. Relying on the running game is the smartest course of action against the best teams in the SEC, but Murray will have to play within himself and not force things as the season progresses in order for Georgia to win the big games.
Georgia fans shouldn't over analyze this game. All that matters is that Georgia won the game and now they move forward. Georgia didn't play their best, but they still won, and that is what championship teams do. Maybe Georgia got their bad game out of the way, because they will need a complete game this weekend at South Carolina. I will have a lot more to say about this game this week, but for starters, it is vital that the coaches, players, and fans realize how important this game is this weekend. It is the biggest game for the program since Georgia played Florida in 2002.
Isn't it nice that Georgia is back in the position to play games like this again? Hard to remember the 6-7 season of 2010.
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