No Gurley, No Problem?

Before I get into my recap, there's one important thing you should know about me.  I'm a realist.  I'm not a warm and fuzzy, optimistic person always dreaming up fairy-tale endings, but I'm not doom-and-gloom either.  I'm happily in between.  I am a logical thinker and I use facts and past experiences to draw conclusions about current situations.  So that's why when Uncle Dave texted me in the first half about the game, the conversation went something like this:

Uncle Dave: Isn't that Hutson Mason some kind of QB!

Me: So far so good!

Uncle Dave: LOL you're a hard woman sweet niece

Me: If Georgia has taught me anything, I've learned it ain't over til it's over.

Exactly one hour later in the second half...

Me: See what I mean now?

My hesitation to start celebrating early after a dominant first half had nothing to do with Hutson Mason (more on him later), but more to do with the fact that I've seen too many times complacency blow a lead and end in heartbreak.  We do live in Georgia, after all.  (Side note: My life's goal is to find whoever cursed all sports teams in Georgia and make them reverse it.)

Saying all that, here are my thoughts:

Hutson Mason averaged 10.5 yards per attempt yesterday!! He had some beautiful long passes (but Gurley still holds the title of longest pass of the year to date, ironically), including one over the middle to Bennett and a few to Chris Conley.  I still don't think he has a very strong arm, but he makes up for it in his accuracy.  Sometimes when he throws down field he doesn't quite throw it out in front of the receiver, and the guy has to slow up a little to make the catch.  But he still places the ball where his receiver has a play on it, and no one else really does.  He's really settling in to his skill set and playing with confidence, which has led to great results.  So, I, Sarah Rainey, would like to formally apologize to Hutson Mason for making fun of his girl arm.  There is one thing I would like to see him work on, however.  I noticed especially this week that he does really well on plays where he takes the snap, counts to three and throws almost immediately, but any time he has to search for a receiver and take more time, he struggles.

Chris Conley uses the Force.  He talks about it in this video.  Conley became the first receiver this year to have over 100 yards in a game, because he's awesome. But if he ever gets tired of football, I'm hiring him to follow me around and narrate my life.  Seriously, move over, Morgan Freeman.  Just for fun, check out his Star Wars video.

Nick Chubb is the real deal.  Two weeks in a row, this kid proves that he can get the job done.  He rushed for over 200 yards yesterday (only a few yards shy of Gurley's personal record), and had 161 yards after contact.  Ridiculous.  Crazy thing is, he's been sitting at fourth on the depth chart at that position.  FOURTH.  Behind three other now-injured or suspended players who are supposedly even better than he is.  In conclusion, we're doing pretty well recruiting running backs, and Nick Chubb can handle the job until everyone else is back.  And even then, I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of him.

Mike Bobo called a beautiful first half. Yes, we came back in the second half and tried to just run the clock (unsuccessfully).  That's a great strategy, if you can get a first down or two.  Problem is, they expected it and were able to keep us from really doing that, and were in turn able to make a bit of a comeback.  But in the first half, I was especially impressed with the calls he was making.

The defense is on a mission. Ever since Gurley Tonya Harding-ed everyone and left Georgia fans singing choruses of "WHY ME???!!" the defense has really stepped up.  We now have the best turnover margin in the nation, and are looking like a totally different unit from the first couple of games.  Jeremy Pruitt has taken what was last year one of the worst defenses in the country, and turned out a scary-talented group of guys (when everyone's focused).  He shuffles everyone around to different positions, changes schemes a lot. and has slimmed everyone down to produce a defense that's quick and fresh for all four quarters.  So basically, he's never allowed out of Athens now.  HOWEVER, the defense was very sloppy in the second half.  It looked like they let their foot off the gas a bit, and Arkansas took advantage.  We held them to 161 total yards in the first half, but by the end of the game had given them 422.  Moral of the story: DON'T GET COMPLACENT.

Other random thoughts:

• Jordan Jenkins is the most underrated player on defense.  
• Failed to mention above, but Hutson Mason has also improved on not tipping off the defense with his eyes.  
• That targeting call was one of the best examples I've seen.  Clearly called that one right.  And the hit either pumped Mason up or knocked him loopy, because he looked super jazzed for the next few plays after that.  
• Todd Gurley is still leading the SEC in rushing yards, even having missed the last two games and only playing six snaps against Troy.
• Game Day is not allowed anywhere near any city we play in the rest of the year, and everyone needs to keep overlooking us as a contender and predicting us to lose.  We play SO much better as underdogs. 

Looking ahead:

• Missouri embarrassed Florida this week, which normally would make me feel pretty good about our chances (and just in general, because I HATE FLORIDA).  However, it is a rivalry, and the Florida game is always a whole different beast.  
• In our favor: Keith Marshall presumably could return for this game (He did practice last week, in a non-contact jersey.), as could Sony Michel and even maybe Gurley.  
• While Missouri managed to win big, they only had 119 total yards and seven, that's right, SEVEN first downs.  They scored a touchdown on a punt return, a touchdown on a kickoff return, and monopolized on Florida's SIX turnovers.  
• Lucky for us, we have Isaiah McKenzie, who is a bold and speedy return guy, and a defense who has as of late been doing a great job at forcing turnovers.  
• But like I said, I'm not planning the victory party yet (even though Florida fans are freaking out on Twitter and have already recorded their loss against us).
• Best Tweet related to this game was from a fan saying she was going to donate to UGA every time Florida's opponent scored a touchdown until Muschamp was fired.  I think that's a great plan.

Gurley update:

Still no news, but here is a picture of Gurley wearing a "FREE GURLEY" shirt.  

Rumor has it that Gurley himself is telling people he will be back for the Florida game.  Do with that what you will.

And until next time...