Monday, November 30, 2009

Good, Clean, Old Fashioned Win


I'm going to venture about a half-step out on a limb and say I'm probably not the only member of the Dawg nation who thought the final four regular season quarters would ultimately result in a paraphrasing of our entire season. I went so far as to venture we may even lose by a ridiculous four plus touchdowns. Amazingly, and by what I can only assume was the grace of Erk, it didn't. In fact, it was far from anticipated blowout I had predicted in the early afternoon hours on Saturday. Had our fallen compatriot UGA VII made it to season's end, he would have assuredly gone to be with his brothers when the clock showed zeroes with our boys on top by 6. And if that didn't finish him off, the 300 plus rushing yards we managed to accumulate would have certainly done him in.

I for one can say there is no way in the world I could have ever seen the game turning out the way it did. A victory, while a bit far-fetched, wasn't completely out of the question, as it never is in a rivalry game of this magnitude. But that way it was done, not even Nostradamus could have foreseen. Had you shown me these stats:

Rushing Yards: 339 - 205
Passing Yards: 76 - 135
Turnovers: 1 - 2
T.O.P.: 30:03 - 29:57

I would have asked two questions. How in the world did we manage to rush for 200 yards, and how did we manage to keep the ball for half of the game? Then, had you told me our boys were the ones on the plus side of the possession and the ones with 300 yards rushing, I would have laughed, very obnoxiously. In fact, had I not seen it happen with my own two eyes there's a good chance I still wouldn't believe it to be true.

But as the old adage goes, I guess it's better late than never. Our preseason "best offensive line in the country" finally decided to make an appearance, albeit in the final regular season game. Throughout the game the hogmollies up front were forming holes wide enough UPS could deliver through and consistently pushing defenders five and ten yards off the ball. Throughout its entirety we saw the type of game we have become accustomed to seeing from our Red and Black clad boys.

For the first time this season we also seemed to stick with what was working on the offensive side of the ball. We didn't get fancy, but then again, we didn't need to. Bobo saw we could run it, so run it we did. Both backs set career highs on the ground by the second quarter, and Cox had the best quarter of his career in the first 15 minutes of the game. (*editors note: Cox didn't attempt a pass in the first quarter) It wasn't flashy, but it was effective.

Defensively, we played better than what was expected, though we did give up a few long pass plays due in no small part to missed tackles at or near the line of scrimmage. However, any time you can limit the leading rusher in a triple option system to 41 yards, you have to feel pretty good about your performance. Let's just hope one game doesn't make everyone forget the rest of the season. Also, not to be the naysayer, but you should remember Yech was still in a position to win the game in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, and very well could have if Reggie Ball, rather, Demaryius Thomas could catch the easy ball, and if CPJ didn't completely abandon the option that got him to that point.

All in all, it was a flat out good game. According to Chris Lowe and the boys at ESPN, it may have even been good enough to save us from the Toilet Bowl. The "experts" in the know have us back in ATL for the Chicken Bowl against VT, which would be a rematch of a few years back. Now it's just a waiting game.

Thankfully, all that bowl stuff can wait, and for GA fans, we get bragging rights for another 364 days. As Washaun's tape and Caleb's arms said, "We run this state". For one of the few times this year, it really is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg! Go Dawgs!

No comments:

Post a Comment