I love pleasant surprises.
I have to admit right off the bat, I was extremely pessimistic coming into this weekend's game. I figured if we were able to pull off a win, it would be by a very narrow margin. Never did I expect we would exhibit a display of total domination that would end in our first road shut-out win vs. an AP-ranked team in school history. The best part about the win? It was a beautiful display of teamwork and heart. A complete team effort.
I'm a Gurley girl all the way. Like the rest of the country, I think the kid has incredible talent. But I was also one of those people who thought he was our team. In my opinion, he single-handedly won us most of the games we've played this year. When Mason couldn't come through or our defense was falling apart, Gurley was Gurley. This week proved me wrong. This team came out ready to fight and win for a friend whom they loved and respected, and to prove to America that they are more than Gurley's assistants.
Here are my thoughts on various aspects of the game:
Where did this defense come from, and can we keep them? You could tell right away that the defense came to play. They were putting pressure on Maty Mauk all day but kept him contained, and that strategy worked well for them. In his defense, if I were being chased down by Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins, and Lorenzo Carter constantly, I'd probably throw 4 interceptions too. Actually, I'd probably just play dead. But that's neither here nor there. Anyway, it was clear that the defense's game plan was to make him throw, and wait for him to mess up a time or two. Or four. Mauk is known for his ability to scramble out of trouble and pick up yards with his legs, so the defense did an excellent job at keeping him from achieving that. Kudos to the secondary for monopolizing on Mauk's mistakes. Not only did they come up with 4 picks, there were times during the game that Mizzou's O-line was giving Mauk FOREVER to throw it, and he apparently never could find an open guy. The Pruitt Effect is definitely working for us.
I'm a Gurley girl all the way. Like the rest of the country, I think the kid has incredible talent. But I was also one of those people who thought he was our team. In my opinion, he single-handedly won us most of the games we've played this year. When Mason couldn't come through or our defense was falling apart, Gurley was Gurley. This week proved me wrong. This team came out ready to fight and win for a friend whom they loved and respected, and to prove to America that they are more than Gurley's assistants.
Here are my thoughts on various aspects of the game:
Where did this defense come from, and can we keep them? You could tell right away that the defense came to play. They were putting pressure on Maty Mauk all day but kept him contained, and that strategy worked well for them. In his defense, if I were being chased down by Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins, and Lorenzo Carter constantly, I'd probably throw 4 interceptions too. Actually, I'd probably just play dead. But that's neither here nor there. Anyway, it was clear that the defense's game plan was to make him throw, and wait for him to mess up a time or two. Or four. Mauk is known for his ability to scramble out of trouble and pick up yards with his legs, so the defense did an excellent job at keeping him from achieving that. Kudos to the secondary for monopolizing on Mauk's mistakes. Not only did they come up with 4 picks, there were times during the game that Mizzou's O-line was giving Mauk FOREVER to throw it, and he apparently never could find an open guy. The Pruitt Effect is definitely working for us.
Other notable defensive observations:
- Brendan Langley was back on defense and looked really impressive. After last season's issues, I'm happy to see him have some success at that position. I'm hoping to see more of this from him in the last half of the season, especially with our receiving corp healthy again.
- Quincy made CherCo proud!
- Our defense held Missouri to 147 total yards, which is only a few more yards than Chubb racked up on his own.
- Missouri only reached Georgia territory four times during the game, and three of those times resulted in turnovers.
- Jordan Jenkins' comment about the reaction on defense to the Gurley news:
We really took it upon ourselves. We didn't lose anybody on defense. There is no excuse for us not to go out there and play hard and show how much hard work and dedication we have on this team.
Read the rest of his comments here.
Nick Chubb is a machine. I mean, we all knew he could jump really high. We all knew he was good at running through people. What we didn't know was how good he would be at handling the responsibility and strain of being our main ball carrier. I'd say he performed pretty well. The monstrous 18 year-old had a ridiculous 38 carries, which is more than Gurley has ever had in a single game. He never really broke through with a long Gurley-like run, but he definitely got the job done. He got better as the game went on, and he never really showed signs of fatigue from all those carries. Also, it never gets old watching him carry the other team's defense with him for a few extra yards each play.
Not to be overlooked, Douglas played a great game, too. Bless his heart, Brendan Douglas stands on the sideline ready to go every game, behind Gurley, Marshall, Michel, and Chubb, but this weekend he showed everyone that there's no need to worry--in worst-case scenarios like we faced this week, he's more than capable of getting the job done for us. And he can jump pretty high, too.
I may owe Huston Mason an apology. Granted, I still don't think he has a very strong arm (averaged about five yards a completion today) and I could still be overly critical if I wanted to (because I'm extremely stubborn and hardheaded), but he got the job done today doing his thing. I think Mason deserves a great deal of credit for stepping up and being a leader on an offense that wasn't being given much credit as a unit without Gurley. Mason completed 22 of 28 passes, including a beautiful touchdown pass to Michael Bennett in the corner of the endzone. He was accurate and efficient in most of the passes he threw, and his passing game opened up the run for Chubb and Douglas. Hutson Mason's strength is his accuracy, but sometimes I think he gets in his own head too much and stresses over the kind of QB he isn't and that's where his mistakes come from. You do you, Huston. You do you.
Overall, Mason not only came through on the field, but also gave a heartfelt speech before the game to get the team in the right mindset to go out and do what needed to be done. My favorite quote from Mason's speech, as relayed by Mason in a post-game interview:
I had a lot weighing on my heart and this game meant a lot and I didn't feel like the Lord brought us here to fail or to bring us up short.
Read the rest of his comments here.
Mark Richt doesn't get nearly enough credit for the job he does for this team. I've never understood people calling for Richt to be fired. Even in our not-so-successful years, I never thought there was a better coach out there, or a better role model for the young men on the team. Mark Richt realizes what we all seem to forget sometimes: There's more to life than football. He uses his position to make a difference in the lives of his players. He knows that for most of these guys, they will move on from football after college, and he works to prepare them for that future just as hard as he works to prepare his future NFL stars. He leads by example to show his team how to stay calm under pressure, how to react to criticism, how to react with things aren't going their way, and how to win gracefully. This is a coach who draws people from all over the country to his team because of his leadership style. Parents can't feel too badly about sending their sons to play for him, either. He lets his morals guide all his decisions, and always has his players' best interest in mind when making these decisions. This is also what draws the criticism from a lot of outsiders. You see players at UGA all the time getting in trouble and missing playing time for things that, at other schools, you would never even hear about. But ignoring or hiding mistakes is not the Georgia way. The Georgia way involves a certain level of integrity that other schools lack, which helps players learn from the mistakes they do make. Hence the A.J. Green suspension. A.J. Green's story is a familiar one nowadays. Accused of receiving "illegal benefits," A.J. Green straight up admitted to the "crime." Because that's the Georgia way. Mark Richt recruits players who are honest, driven, and have integrity (with the occasional exception, who will eventually end up at Auburn). And most of the time, they end up paying for it. If A.J. Green had taken Johnny Manziel's "Prove It" approach, he probably would have seen similar results. But, as Richt (and most of his players) knows, at the end of the day having integrity is more important than winning a football game.
Closing Thoughts:
- Kimbrough can tackle.
- SO HAPPY not to have to listen to Verne and Gary this week.
- As well as we played this weekend, we still made mistakes that need to be addressed before Arkansas. (We recovered 3 of our own fumbles, one in the endzone.)
- Touched to see that Gurley wasn't replaced as a captain, and that the team really came together to show their support.
- I would have loved to see Mason have more than 158 yards with as many completions as he had, but if he keeps winning this way I can't really complain.
- Having the Gurley chaos happen so late in the week, the coaches didn't really have much time to change their game plan offensively, which we all know was designed around #3. The players and coaches handled the situation extremely well, and displayed great play-calling and decision making throughout the game Saturday with this in mind.
- My favorite thing about Maty Mauk isn't his uncanny knack for completing passes to the other team, or even his gorgeous flowing locks, but this one instance where he did what we all wish we could do: forcefully shove Steve Spurrier.
Looking Ahead:
- Mark Richt says Keith Marshall may be back next week, and that Michel could be ready to go by the Florida game.
- Arkansas, while having lost 15 SEC games in a row, shouldn't be overlooked. They're better than their numbers show.
- Mark Richt says Gurley will continue to practice with the team, although he missed last Thursday's practice to give the team a chance to prepare without him.
Gurley Side-note:
- Based on the following things I've read, I'm starting to feel a bit more optimistic about Gurley's return:
Senior cornerback Damian Swann said he has spoken to Gurley since the suspension, but didn't want to divulge anything. He said Gurley was in good spirits, and hoped to be back.
"I think he'll be back," Swann said. "I think we'll get him back in the near future."
"I wouldn't say it's anger. We do feel some type of way," Swann said. "We know how much Todd means to us. We know how much he means to the whole Dawg Nation. So when accusations come out and we don't know if it's true, and a guy gets suspended for a whole game, now you're taking him away from what he loves to do. It could've happened to anybody. But you know, we're gonna learn from it. Hopefully everything works out the way we want it to work out."
While some players said they didn't know all the details of the story, Jenkins didn't hide that he did. Nor did he hide his feelings about it.
"The way everything went down, and the way the guy ...," Jenkins said, not completing his thought. "I think that's really jacked up. The fact that people are out there that would do that, after hearing all that I don't wanna sign anything for anything else. It's a jacked up situation."
- Basically, the consensus among the players closest to Gurley seems to be that they think he'll be back soon. Hutson Mason even speculated at a quick return based on things he's heard coaches saying around the locker room. Richt, of course, is staying tight-lipped about the whole situation.
- The NCAA is never logical, though, so I'm trying to stay cautious.
My crazy Gurley theory that will probably end up being completely wrong:
Based on these quotes by teammates who are close to him, it's obvious that there's way more to this story than we know. IF Gurley really did violate rules that could keep him out multiple games, I don't think he'd give his teammates false hope. They all know the rules. If he made thousands in this deal he would miss the rest of the year. None of his close friends seem to think that's going to happen. So, in my opinion, either he made $400 and the suspension last week will settle everything, or he was completely framed. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it comes out that this guy told Gurley he needed autographs for some sort of charity, and then completely set him up. Hence the guy not having any video of money being exchanged, and Jordan Jenkins' emotionally-charged quote. Time will tell. I only hope that it works out in our favor this time. And that the idiot who is behind this has a really crappy hiding spot.
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