Still Searching

Aaron Murray is making his third trip to Jacksonville as the UGA starting quarterback. After a rough first half his freshman year, he has been pretty strong in what used to be termed the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, bringing Georgia back from a 21-7 hole to force overtime in 2010 and rallying Georgia from a 17-3 hole to win last year. 

But Georgia’s quarterback is still searching for that elusive signature victory. Murray is without a landmark victory that years from now Georgia fans will reminisce over at tailgates before lumbering to Sanford Stadium. 

As good as Murray has been, Georgia fans are still let unsatisfied as he has never delivered on the big stage. He will likely leave Georgia with multiple passing records, but he doesn’t have David Greene’s win over Tennessee from 2001 or the win over Auburn in 2002. He doesn’t have DJ Shockley’s win over LSU in 2005 or Matt Stafford’s wins over Auburn in 2006 and 2007 and Alabama in 2007. 

Murray has a golden chance Saturday to seize that victory with No. 3 Florida waiting for Georgia down in Jacksonville. Win that game and Murray will likely lead Georgia back to the SEC Championship game for the second time in a row, something only the aforementioned Greene has pulled off at Georgia. A win over Florida would give him two for his career, something Greene, Stafford, Shockley or Joe Cox (joking) could never pull off. 

The crazy part is, I remember saying something very similar when Murray was set to face South Carolina earlier this year and LSU last year and Boise State last year. Murray keeps yakking on the big stage. Georgia fans are hoping he can play like he has in the second half of the last two Georgia/Florida games for four quarters. If he can and he gets some help from his defense, Murray will finally have his signature victory. 

A Case of UGA Acid Reflux

Watching the Georgia/South Carolina game a few weeks ago, something struck me and I immediately became sick to my stomach: I had seen this before. As I watched Jarvis Jones fail to make an impact in Georgia’s blowout loss to the Gamecocks, I was transported back to Halloween weekend 2008. I watched that day as future first-round pick Knowshon Moreno was a non-factor as Georgia was blown out by a top-10 team. Moreno appeared to take himself out several times during the game to seemingly save himself for the NFL. Many Georgia fans still shake their head at Moreno’s actions (or inaction) and wonder what would have happened if he had gone full-out.

That is not to say that Jones took himself out of the South Carolina game or is saving himself for the NFL. He looked like he wasn’t giving 100 percent towards the end of the game, but afterwards, injury news broke. Over the bye week, word came out that Jones was more injured than he let on, and it is possible that he will not suit up against Kentucky because of various ailments. Georgia would likely rather have Jones on the field for next week’s Florida game over the Kentucky game. 

At the end of the day, the sickening part is a first-round lock failed to make an impact in the biggest game on the schedule to this point. Can Georgia still win the SEC East? Yes. But a big game from Jones against South Carolina could have done some big things for the program, much the same way a big game from Moreno in 2008 could have done some big things for the Georgia program. Alas, Georgia fans had to be wondering, haven’t we seen this before all throughout the South Carolina game. Hopefully for Georgia fans, they will be saying the same thing next week in regards to Jones’ performance against the Gators one year ago. That is the kind of repeat performance the Bulldog Nation wouldn’t mind seeing again. 

Georgia Will Survive Sans Bennett

The loss of wide receiver Michael Bennett is certainly significant for the University of Georgia offense. Bennett was the team’s leading receiver this year with 24 catches, 345 yards and four touchdowns through the team’s first five games. He snared two scores in the second half against Tennessee, allowing the Bulldogs to pull away from the Vols, but late in Tuesday’s practice, Bennett tore the ACL in his right knee and will require season-ending surgery. 

Bennett was part of a five-wide set that Georgia flashed early in the season, and the formation would have certainly helped against South Carolina as Georgia attempts to snap a two-game losing streak to the Gamecocks this Saturday. 

That being said, though, wide receiver was perhaps the best position for the Bulldogs to suffer a season-ending injury because the receiving corps is so deep. Marlon Brown has 17 catches for 272 yards and three scores so far this year while Tavarres King has also recorded three touchdowns and 307 yards on 16 catches. Rantavious Wooten and Chris Conley have each shown some positive flashes and Malcolm Mitchell will now likely see his offensive snaps increase. Factor in Arthur Lynch and Jay Rome at the tight end position, and Bennett’s loss, while it hurts, isn’t as bad judging from the outside as it could be. 

Aaron Murray seemed to build a fine rapport with Bennett over the last season and one half, but now Conley can step into the fray and perhaps take Bennett’s catches. Wide receiver was a deep position that just got a bit shallower, but if Mitchell returns to the offense in a larger capacity, not much figures to be lost at the playmaking position.