Georgia Bulldogs Football

By Mark Schlabach | ESPN.com

ATLANTA -- Thirty-seven days from now, No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Alabama will play in the Discover BCS National Championship Game in Miami.

We can only hope the contest between two of college football's most storied programs will be half as exciting as Saturday's SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome.

Because if you ask college football fans who live in places across the Southeast, many might argue they watched the national championship game between two SEC teams Saturday night.

And they might be right.

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By Dave Miller

While a Notre Dame-Alabama matchup in Miami on January 7 would arguably be the most-anticipated BCS National Championship game of all-time, a rematch of the Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia following the 1980 season would also be an exciting way to cap off a tremendous 2012 college football campaign.

With their win over USC last week at the L.A. Coliseum, the Fighting Irish booked their ticket to South Beach and will play the winner of the SEC Championship game between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs.

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Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia last won the national championship in 1980, beating Notre Dame 17-10 in a Sugar Bowl attended by President Jimmy Carter and dominated by a freshman running back named Herschel Walker. But in the 31 seasons since, the Bulldogs have only come close a couple times. In 1982, Georgia was undefeated and ranked No. 1 heading into the Sugar Bowl but lost to Penn State. The following year, a home loss to Auburn in mid-November prevented the Bulldogs from playing for the title.

Since then, there have been a bunch of nice-looking nine and 10-win seasons at Georgia, but not many true contenders... read more

By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP Sports Writer)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- The Georgia Bulldogs collected a trophy at midfield for another win over their state rival, then got some encouragement from the governor in their quest for a bigger reward.

No. 1.

Aaron Murray threw two touchdown passes, Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each ran for a pair of TDs, and third-ranked Georgia stayed right in the thick of the national championship race with a 42-10 rout of Georgia Tech on Saturday.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is about to face a triple option offense for the second straight week -- and the fourth time overall. And that means the past three years at the college level, because they don't do it at the NFL.

"No, we didn't see it there," Grantham said, with a wry smile.

The key question for Grantham and his unit this week is whether a second straight week against the triple-option -- Georgia Southern last week, Georgia Tech this week -- will make a positive difference in defending it.

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by Paul Newberry, Associated Press

ATHENS — When Oregon and Kansas State both went down, Aaron Murray whooped it up as much as any Georgia fan.He knew what that meant for the Bulldogs — a shot at the national championship.“I’ve never screamed so much at the television and prayed so much in my life,” Georgia’s star quarterback said Tuesday. “It was definitely an exciting night. We were screaming, high-fiving, hugging, group hugs. It was a lot of fun.”

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By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP Sports Writer)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Even with Georgia Southern on the verge of a halftime lead, Aaron Murray wasn't worried.

He knew No. 5 Georgia was too good to let this one slip away.

Murray threw four touchdown passes, Todd Gurley became only the second true freshman in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards, and the Bulldogs bounced back from a sluggish start to blow out lower-division Georgia Southern 45-14 on Saturday.

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With an eye on the scoreboard and the BCS standings, No. 5 Georgia will step out of its normal routine for a couple of weeks to play a pair of throwback teams.

First up, small-college powerhouse Georgia Southern.

The Bulldogs, who have already locked up a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game, should have no trouble adding another win to their record on Saturday. Even so, this apparent mismatch could provide some useful guidance on how Georgia will handle its regular-season finale against another neighborhood rival, Georgia Tech.

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By CHARLES ODUM (AP Sports Writer)

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Georgia was almost as methodical and businesslike in its postgame celebration as in its dominant, balanced win over Auburn.

The Bulldogs are saving a bigger celebration for a bigger game.

Aaron Murray passed for 208 yards and three touchdowns, freshman tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each ran for more than 100 yards and No. 5 Georgia overwhelmed Auburn 38-0 on Saturday night, sending the Bulldogs back to the SEC championship game.

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Auburn remembers being where No. 5 Georgia stands: a win away from the SEC championship game with a national title still within grasp.

It was only two years ago, after all. Before the Bulldogs' impressive rise and the Tigers' dramatic fall.

Georgia (8-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) can clinch its second straight trip to the league championship game with a victory over Auburn (2-7, 0-6) on Saturday night.

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By CHARLES ODUM (AP Sports Writer)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- One of Mark Richt's oldest trick plays gave Georgia the lift it needed to remain on track for a shot at the SEC title.

Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes and No. 7 Georgia overcame a slow start to beat Mississippi 37-10 on Saturday and move one win away from a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

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By Sports Network

The seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs continue their quest for a spot in the SEC Championship Game, as they play host to the Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday afternoon.

After winning just two games a year ago, Ole Miss has turned things around in 2012 under new head coach Hugh Freeze, winning five of their eight games and it is just one win away from becoming bowl eligible. After losing 16 straight SEC games dating back to 2010, the Rebels have now won back-to-back games in conference, defeating Auburn (41-20) at home and Arkansas (30-27) on the road.

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By MARK LONG (AP Sports Writer)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Shawn Williams' criticism will be remembered as a challenge.

And No. 12 Georgia responded better than anyone could have expected.

Five days after Williams ripped his defensive teammates for playing too soft, the Bulldogs turned in their best performance of the season - one that will go down in Florida-Georgia lore.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- This seems familiar: Georgia in a big game against a border-state rival, each team in control of its destiny in the SEC. A game where the coaches don't have to say anything for motivation.

It was the case three weeks ago, and Georgia failed miserably, blown out by South Carolina. But through little effort of their own, the Bulldogs are back in the hunt, and this week it's Georgia vs. Florida, in another game of high magnitude.

Coach Mark Richt was asked Sunday if he wanted his team to take any different approach than it did three weeks ago... read more

By GARY GRAVES (AP Sports Writer)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- As Aaron Murray was told about his record-breaking numbers, the only ones that mattered to him Saturday night were on the scoreboard.

Georgia 29, Kentucky 24.

Murray threw four touchdown passes to become the Georgia's career leader, with the first three crucial in rallying the No. 13 Bulldogs from deficits three times. The junior finished 30 of 38 for 427 yards.

Most importantly, Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) stayed within reach of East-leading Florida entering next week's showdown against the Gators (7-0, 6-0) in Jacksonville, Fla... read more

LEXINGTON, KY. — The University of Kentucky football team might be catching a break this weekend with the news that Georgia’s star linebacker, Jarvis Jones, hasn’t practiced and appears doubtful to play Saturday against the Wildcats because of an ankle injury.

Jones is a 6-foot-3, 241-pound junior who is widely considered a top-five overall NFL prospect — and maybe even the No. 1 pick. Playing in just five of six games for the 12th-ranked Bulldogs, he ranks third in the Southeastern Conference in tackles for loss (91/2) and sacks (51/2) and fourth in the FBS in forced fumbles (3) to go with an interception and nine quarterback hurries... read more

by GARY GRAVES,AP Sports Writer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Georgia is looking to get back to its winning ways after a week off when the No. 13 Bulldogs meet Kentucky Saturday night.The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) were routed 35-7 at South Carolina in their last game, a loss that made their quest to win the East Division tougher. The loss featured defensive breakdowns, an ongoing problem for the Bulldogs — Georgia has given up 89 points the past two games.

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By SETH EMERSON

Mark Richt stood up at the conclusion of his postgame press conference, and there was a loud clang. The chair the Georgia head coach had been sitting in had fallen to the floor.

“Whoops. I’m glad I wasn’t in that chair,” Richt said.

But Richt and his team had already been decked pretty hard.

This game, so anticipated and important for the Georgia football program, turned out to be an embarrassment. No. 6 South Carolina had its way from the start with the fifth-ranked Bulldogs, running away with a 35-7 win.

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by Patrick Schmidt

Georgia is heading to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Saturday aiming to end a two-game losing streak to their SEC east rival and keep their national title dreams alive with a big road win.

Georgia got into a shootout with Tennessee last week and needed 52 points to escape with a win, but the 44 points surrendered to Tennessee raises questions about how a talented defense could allow so many points. Certainly a team is not going to win many times when giving up that many points, but the defense was opportunistic as they forced three turnovers late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory... read more

By Marc Weiszer

ATHENS, Ga. — If all of those touchdowns fifth-ranked Georgia put up in the first five games could be bottled, the Bulldogs certainly could use some for Saturday’s game at No. 6 South Carolina.

Points for Georgia in Williams-Brice Stadium have been a precious commodity.

Georgia (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) has averaged 14 points in its past eight games there and hasn’t topped 20 since 1994.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS -- There is a high school off an interstate in the low country of South Carolina, called Goose Creek, which this year has one of the top football teams in the country. Its star receiver and defensive back, Tramel Terry, is committed to play at the next level for Georgia.

It’s a recruiting coup in the Palmetto State for the Bulldogs. But, these days, it is also an exception.

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By SETH EMERSON

THENS, Ga. -- The preparation began for Jordan Jenkins long before he even donned a Georgia football uniform. It would occupy his thoughts fairly often.

"In high school I always used to think about Marcus Lattimore: I got to get ready for Marcus Lattimore," Jenkins said.

And now Jenkins, a freshman linebacker from Harris County High, along with his compatriots have to get ready for Lattimore, and try to finally beat him.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley were stars as Herschel Walker watched.

Alec Ogletree was sterling in his season debut, and Bacarri Rambo had his moments too.

And, in the end, Georgia won and stayed unbeaten. But it got quite a scare from Tennessee, holding on for a 51-44 win.

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Both Georgia and Tennessee have high-powered offenses.

Their Southeastern Conference matchup on Saturday in Athens, Ga., will likely feature plenty of passing as Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Tennessee’s Tyler Bray are two of the most gifted quarterbacks in the league.

Bray also has two excellent receivers to work with in Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- This is a week of transition at Georgia practice: Malcolm Mitchell is working back on offense, and Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree -- from all appearances -- are getting ready to play.

The latter two have been suspended the first four games, and the team still won't confirm they will play on Saturday against Tennessee. But a few players have let it slip that they're back, and the fact Mitchell is working back on offense is another sign.

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By Seth Emerson

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia entered the day an unbeaten, but not unblemished, football team. It had passed its biggest test, but had still yet to put together a complete game worthy of its No. 5 national ranking.

That changed on Saturday. It changed in a big way.

Meanwhile, the Todd Grantham-James Franklin undercard was won by Grantham in a big way.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- Todd Grantham walked in for his customary media session on Tuesday, took a seat, and smiled. The Georgia defensive coordinator then tried to pretend he wasn't the center of this week's storyline.

The questions came, and Grantham answered them matter-of-factly:

No, he has not run into Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin since their postgame shouting match last year. Yes, Grantham thinks Franklin is a good coach. But no, Grantham has no apologies or regrets.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- Back in May, when the Georgia-Vanderbilt game was still months away, Bulldogs coach Mark Richt had no problem talking up the importance of last year's brouhaha.

"It was an interesting exchange, I'll say that," Richt said of the postgame shouting match between his defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, and Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin. "I don't think we'll have much trouble getting jacked up to play the Vanderbilt Commodores this year, I'll tell you that."

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By Marc Weiszer

The Southeastern Conference’s top team in total offense resides in Athens.

The second-highest scoring team does, too.

Piling up yards and points against a schedule thus far of Buffalo, Missouri and Florida Atlantic certainly isn’t the same as doing it against No. 1 Alabama or No. 2 LSU, but No. 5 Georgia has reason to be encouraged by its offensive showing after scoring 40 or more points in its first three games for the first time in program history.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- At some point on Saturday, Georgia freshman linebacker Josh Dawson will encounter Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin. It's likely that they will be friendly. They may even hug.

But it will still be awkward.

Franklin will see the player that he thought was going to play for him. For seven months last year Dawson was committed to Vanderbilt. But he flipped to Georgia on signing day, leading to a thinly-veiled public shot by Franklin.

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By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP Sports Writer)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- For Aaron Murray, the individual records are just a bonus.

The Georgia quarterback has his sights on a title.

Murray passed for a career-best 342 yards and accounted for four touchdowns - two passing, two rushing - to lead the No. 7 Bulldogs back from another slow start for a 56-20 rout of Florida Atlantic on Saturday night.

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Florida Atlantic is assured of setting one Sanford Stadium record Saturday night: The Owls will pocket the largest paycheck of any visiting team in Georgia football history.

Georgia will pay Florida Atlantic $1 million for making the trip to Athens — a reflection of the rising cost of scheduling presumed easy victories against FBS nonconference opponents that don’t require a return engagement on their campus.

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By Sports Network — The Sports Network

The seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs open a three-game homestand this Saturday night when they entertain the Florida Atlantic Owls in non-conference action from Sanford Stadium.

FAU is 1-1 on the young season, following a 7-3 win over FCS foe Wagner in the opener, and a 31-17 setback to Middle Tennessee last weekend. The loss to the Blue Raiders counts in the Sun Belt Conference standings, where the Owls are hopeful for a better showing than last year when they went winless (0-8) en route to a dismal 1-11 record overall... read more

By Sports Network — The Sports Network

The seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs open a three-game homestand this Saturday night when they entertain the Florida Atlantic Owls in non-conference action from Sanford Stadium.

FAU is 1-1 on the young season, following a 7-3 win over FCS foe Wagner in the opener, and a 31-17 setback to Middle Tennessee last weekend. The loss to the Blue Raiders counts in the Sun Belt Conference standings, where the Owls are hopeful for a better showing than last year when they went winless (0-8) en route to a dismal 1-11 record overall... read more

By David Ching | DawgNation

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia cornerback Sanders Commings and outside linebacker Chase Vasser have been reinstated from their two-game suspensions and will be back in the rotation Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

Commings had a tough time watching last weekend's game against Missouri from home, but the senior said the humiliation he dealt with in the eight months since his offseason arrest was more difficult to endure.

Georgia coach Mark Richt suspended Commings after he was arrested in January on simple battery and domestic violence charges after a dispute with his girlfriend... read more

ATHENS, Ga.(School Release) --- University of Georgia junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has been named the Walter Camp National Player of the Week for the second time in his career following his performance at Missouri, according to an announcement on Monday.

The league also announced that Jones was honored as the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week after his outing against the Tigers.

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To call Georgia an overwhelming favorite for Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic wouldn’t do enough justice.

The Bulldogs are favored by 43 points, the largest point spread for Georgia over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since Vince Dooley’s final season as coach, according to Brandon Pertner of Phil Steele Publications, which keeps records of point spreads dating back to 1988.

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By R.B. FALLSTROM (AP Sports Writer)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Aaron Murray hit Marlon Brown for two of his three touchdown passes, the second for the go-ahead score as No. 7 Georgia recover from a shaky start with 32 second-half points that spoiled Missouri's SEC debut in a 41-20 victory on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0) trailed 17-9 early in the third quarter before turning Missouri's SEC debut into an unsatisfying initiation for the Tigers (1-1, 0-1) and a sellout crowd of 71,004 clad in yellow and waving yellow pom-pons.

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ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Tavarres King will be snapping a few pictures when he trots onto Faurot Field.

He always does before he plays in a stadium for the first time.

"I love going to new places," the Georgia receiver said Tuesday. "I love looking at new things."

This is certainly new.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- It was this month last year that the SEC announced the addition of a 13th school, and Georgia football coach Mark Richt was asked for his immediate reaction.

"You would think if they're joining us, you'd think there'd be at least another one joining somewhere along the way," Richt said on Sept. 25, 2011. "It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out in the end."

It shook out this way: Richt was right as Missouri became the 14th member of the SEC, and on Saturday, Georgia visits Missouri in that program's conference debut.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- Mark Richt tried to treat Todd Gurley's three-touchdown debut with a casual attitude.

Gurley, the freshman playing in his first college game, ran for 100 yards and returned a kickoff 100 yards for score, and No. 6 Georgia overcame a sloppy first half to beat Buffalo 45-23 on Saturday.

Gurley didn't start but may have emerged as the Bulldogs' future at tailback with eight highly productive carries, including scoring runs of 10 and 55 yards.

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ATHENS —

The Bowl Championship Series era began with Mark Richt coaching in the national title game for three straight years.

As offensive coordinator at Florida State, Richt made trips to the championship tilt from 1998 to 2000.

He became coach of a Georgia program that hadn’t won a Southeastern Conference title since 1982.

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By SETH EMERSON

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia freshman Jordan Jenkins (Harris County) got his first jolt of reality when he arrived on campus this summer.

"I knew it was going to be hard," the linebacker said. "But when I first got it I was actually shocked, because we got a playbook about this thick -- and that was just for camp."

Now the season is upon the Bulldogs, along with presumably a new playbook, Jenkins and most of his fellow freshmen are hit with a new reality: They better get ready to play.

This year's signing class was not the most hyped in recent Georgia history... read more

When Isaiah Crowell was dismissed from the Georgia Bulldogs after being arrested on felony weapons charges, the door opened for several Bulldog running backs to earn significant playing time.

So far during fall camp, however, nobody separated from the pack.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Richt may be leaning towards taking the running back-by-committee approach.

“There’s not a lot of separation,” Richt told the newspaper. “I think they’re all going to get their opportunity to play throughout the year... read more

By David Ching | ESPN.com

ATHENS, Ga. -- Perhaps no factor is more important than stability when measuring the strength of a brand -- and Georgia has that with Mark Richt helming its football program. Entering his 12th season at Georgia, Richt is tied with Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe and Missouri’s Gary Pinkel for the seventh-longest tenure among FBS head coaches. And after surviving the dreaded hot seat last season and winning his first SEC East title since 2005, Richt signed a contract extension that could keep him in Athens through at least 2016. The combination of football tradition -- Georgia has won at least 10 games in seven of the last 10 seasons -- social opportunities at one of America’s top party schools and a strong academic reputation make Georgia an easy sell for Richt’s coaching staff... read more

Jim Donnan, head coach for the Georgia football team from 1996-2000 and winner of four bowl games in five seasons, is facing fraud charges for his connection to a Ponzi scheme, according to a report from Mike Morris of the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

[Securities and Exchange Commission] spokesman John Nestor said in a statement that Donnan and business partner Gregory Crabtree of Proctorville, Ohio, conducted the fraud through a West Virginia-based wholesale liquidation company called GLC Limited, which was supposed to be buying leftover merchandise from major retailers and reselling the items... read more

BEN / MAY 22, 2012

Georgia State football faces a full slate of FCS opponents and a traditional SEC power in 2012 and as we do each Spring, we speak with bloggers, beat writers or hard core fans of the programs we will see on the gridiron this Fall.

This week we check in on the Richmond Spiders and were joined John O’Conner of the Richmond Times-Dispatch to discuss the Spiders rough 2011, who is emerging from the QB battle and what Spider who will likely be most popular in the Georgia Dome in late September.

John O’Connor: At a private school such as Richmond, depth is always an issue (very few walk-ons who develop into contributors because of cost of attendance)... read more