"Well, That Was Fun"--Mark Richt

After watching yesterday's Georgia game against Tennessee (several plays over and over again so that I could understand what had just happened), I made a list of possible titles for today's post:

• Shootout at Sanford
• Georgia Scores Points with Gurley Man
• No Worry for Murray
• Bad Day for Tyler Bray
• Sucks to be a Volunteer in Athens
• Red Coats Tire of Playing University Fight Song
• Yum, Yum! I Smell Turnovers!

I chose as my title Mark Richt's post-game quotation: "Well, that was fun."

Yes, it was.

It was fun watching Todd Gurley race down the field like his pants were on fire. It was fun watching Keith Marshall sprint 75 yards to goal. It was fun watching Damien Swann's turnover and the successful two-point conversion with a completed pass to Downtown Marlon Brown.

Lots of Dawgs had successful plays last night, which is why I think the team's success this year is teamwork, not reliance on one player. Yes, Jarvis Jones (26) is a powerhouse, but I didn't hear his name on the loudspeaker very much yesterday. Todd Gurley (3), Keith Marshall (4), Michael Bennett (82), Tavarres King (12), Marc Deas (23), Damien Swann (5), and John Theus (71) all had their share in the Dawgs' victory yesterday. Even my favorite #22 Richard Samuel IV (not to be confused with fellow Bulldogs Richard Samuel III and Richard Samuel Jr.) got in on the action yesterday.

I'm noticing that Samuel gets one play each game. He now reminds me of two seasons ago when second string quarterback Logan Gray would get one chance on the field to spell then quarterback Joe Cox (whatever happened to him?). I started calling him One Play Gray. I could start calling Georgia's #22 One Play Samuel. It doesn't have the same ring to it as One Play Gray, but then again, it wouldn't make sense to call him One Plamuel Samuel.

Yes, the game was fun. It was also weird. In fact, another possible title for this post could have been "Weirdness." For instance...

Special Teams:  Yes, they're special all right--special in the sense that we never know what we'll get from them. I couldn't help remembering Stephen's comment last week:  "Extra points are an adventure for Georgia this year." So true. Apparently the same applies to Tennessee. For example, in this play, Tennessee's pooch kick landed right in the middle of the big G, where Marc Deas pounced on it gaining Georgia possession.

Then there was Tennessee's attempt at a 28 yard field goal, which went wide to the left and made me wonder if Blair Walsh had snuck into Tennessee's locker room and suited up.

Georgia had its weirdness also. For instance in the fourth quarter, the special team set up for a punt but then rushed into a regular offensive formation to drive the ball. But their change of mind delayed the game and cost them a penalty, so they ended up punting 36 yards. I had to rewind that one two times to figure out what was going on, and still, I ended up asking, "Huh"?

Tavarres King's Near Miss:  It took officials almost ten minutes to decide whether Tavarres King had actually scored in the second quarter. When did his knee go down? Before or after the ball hit the line? Did it really hit the line or not? Where exactly was it? And if he didn't score, where was the line of scrimmage? Thank goodness for slow-mo instant replay. Without that we'd probably still be watching the officials scratch their heads. But the weirdness to me was not the analysis of that play. It was Tavarres King's reaction to it. That man has a tongue a mile long! He must be part snake!

Hair Dos (and Don'ts):  My loyal readers (all three of them) already know my opinion about long hair on a football player. I never understood why Jarvis Jones, Marlon Brown and Todd Gurley want to sport their hair extensions during football season, leaving them available for opposing players to grab. Not only that, but hair poking out of a helmet just looks bad. And then I noticed Tennessee's #84 Patterson. He has long hair, but he keeps it bunched up under a little sock.

Now, I still think that hair do leaves a little handle out the back of his helmet for Bulldogs to grab, but at least his braids aren't flopping all over his shoulder pads like the legs of some mutant octopus. At first I thought Tennessee's head coach Derek Dooley had required the hair sock for all his players. But then I saw other Volunteers with the octopus thing going on under their helmets, and that just demonstrated to me that at least in the hair department, Tennessee's Patterson has more sense than Jarvis Jones does.

Fans' Fashion Sense: This was more cute than weird, but one Georgia fan was dressed up like Waldo. I hope somebody got a long shot photo of him in the crowd, because that would have made a good jigsaw puzzle.

I also heard the sports announcer say that Barbara Dooley, wife of former Georgia head coach and AD Vince Dooley and mother of Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley, came to the game wearing pair of pants with one red leg and one orange leg. I would like to have seen that. I couldn't find a photo of those pants, but I did find a photo of her in this jacket.

Well, I declare.

So Georgia's victory over Tennessee was fun for lots of reasons. Next week the Dawgs take on the Roosters as Georgia travels to Columbia to meet Carolina. That'll be a fun game to watch too because Davis will be home for the weekend, and I can watch the game with him.

Go, Dawgs!