UGA vs Central Michigan wrap. Bonus: Olympic High-Hurdles

I have to admit, I was a little worried heading into Saturday’s game with the Chippewas from Central Michigan.  With conference games starting next week with the South Carolina Gamecocks, I wondered if the Dawgs would be looking ahead and not be mentally prepared for Dan LeFevour and the Chipp’s spread attack.  It only took a few minutes to see that UGA was ready to play.  The score after four quarters:  UGA 56 - CMU 17

 

Matt Stafford and the offense were able to score both quickly and methodically.  The 99 yard drive late in the 3^rd quarter was a thing of beauty, capped off with a 21 yard TD run by Knowshon Moreno.  But what really set fire to the crowd at Sanford Stadium during that drive was Moreno’s high hurdle over a Central Michigan safety.  Knowshon took a handoff from Stafford, cleared the line and took off into the secondary.  Safety Vince Agnew set up to make the tackle, only to have number 24 leap clear over his head.  The kid is just too good.  His ability takes so much pressure off Stafford and the young offensive line.  Just in case you are curious, check out the play here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFtszXrC0R0  Moreno finished the day with 168 yards on 18 carries and 3 touchdowns.  The air attack was also clicking on all cylinders, Mohamed Massaquoi had 2 touchdowns with a long bomb of 54 yards.  The young players got in on the action as well, both redshirt freshman Caleb King and true frosh Richard Samuel had rushing touchdowns. 

 

Not to be outdone, the Georgia defense returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half.  Prince Miller broke up a pass from LeFevour and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs grabbed it on the 22.  Dobbs and a crew of Georgia players took off down the field, 78 yards and 3 hours later Dobbs fell into the end zone.  The only downside of the play was the entire defense was gassed and Coach Willie Martinez had to send in the backups for the next series.  The Chippewas were able to take advantage and pick up a touchdown.

 

Overall the Bulldogs had good effort on both sides of the ball.  I didn’t see the same slack off in this game that occurred with Georgia Southern last week, allowing the Eagles to score 3 late TDs.  I thought Georgia played well in the heat and humidity, and looked ready to begin their meat grinder schedule beginning in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday.  Follow that up with the trip out west to take on Arizona State where temperatures may be in triple digits…and that’s only the beginning.  The schedule is tough, and we’ve lost some key players already, but I’m excited and ready to see how it all unfolds.

 

Stats:

After 2 weeks UGA has scored 101 points, only 7 out of 118 teams in have put more points on the board.  Knowshon Moreno has 6 touchdowns, second only to Javon Ringer of Michigan State.  Stafford’s completion percentage is a tick above 63%, much improved from last year, and has 4 TDs with zero picks.  Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tulsa’s David Johnson are killing it, both have completion percentages above 75%.  The Dawg’s rushing defense is 23^rd out of teams to play 2 games, and 37^th in pass defense.  Don’t read too much into the stats just yet as most teams, Georgia included, have yet to play any real competition.  The perfect example is Florida State, who is near or at the top of all defensive and offensive statistics after pasting Western Carolina 69-0 in their first and only game this season.

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