It was a game that previous Georgia teams struggled with. Not just against Vanderbilt, but against lesser teams in general. At times, you might think that it was a signature of the Richt Era in Athens, playing down to teams that had no business being in a game against Georgia.
However, Georgia gave a clear indication that it is a different team in 2012 on Saturday night.
Georgia dominated Vanderbilt on a night where all phases of the Bulldog football team seemed to work in perfect harmony. Georgia's defense was spectacular, with Jarvis Jones creating the havoc that we have come to expect from him on a weekly basis.
Aaron Murray continued his wonderful season by showing off his accuracy all night long and throwing a couple of touchdown passes.
And for me, the most exciting thing of all: the two freshman running backs, Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall rushed for a combined 215 yards and 4, yes that is right, 4 touchdowns! Tailback U is back, and we have the pleasure of watching these two fantastic young men make fantastic plays for the Bulldogs for the next three (maybe 4 if we are lucky) years. Marshall broke a long 52 yard touchdown run where he ran right past the Vanderbilt defense. Gurley looked like a beast shrugging off tacklers as he scampered 26 yards for a touchdown.
There was nothing to be critical of in Georgia's win on Saturday night, and now it is time to look ahead to the next few critical weeks for the Bulldogs.
Obviously, you can't overlook Tennessee coming to Athens next weekend. Tyler Bray has a lot of talent, and the Vols are going to be desperate for an upset that would keep them in the conversation for the SEC East, but after seeing the way Tennessee struggled with Akron for 3 quarters, not to mention the way they fell apart, at home, against Florida last week, you have to think that Georgia will find a way to win that game.
A win against Tennessee would set up a game of historic proportions against South Carolina on October 6th in Columbia, South Carolina. It is hard to think of an adjective to properly put the magnitude of this game in perspective.
There will be plenty to write about this game next week if Georgia takes care of business against Tennessee, but I will go ahead and throw this out there.
Georgia can not lose this game if they want to play in the SEC title game. Last season, Georgia managed to lose to South Carolina, but still went to the title game because the Gamecocks lost to Arkansas and Auburn. South Carolina will probably lose at LSU the week after they play Georgia, however, I would not expect them to lose another SEC game. Yes they have to play Florida the week after they play LSU, but I'm not sold on Florida being at the same level as Georgia and South Carolina at this point. A win against South Carolina would mean that Georgia would have a chance to clinch the SEC East championship against the Gators on the 27th of October.
The next 5 weeks might be the biggest, most exciting weeks of Georgia football that we have seen since... well maybe since I have been alive (1985). This team's motto for the season (chosen by the players) is Our Team, Our Time, No Regrets. Take care of business against Tennessee, and this team will have a chance to prove that is their time indeed.
GO DAWGS!
No comments:
Post a Comment