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Saturday, November 8, 2008

Live Blog: UGA vs. UK

FOURTH QUARTER:
-- Cobb has no problem finding running room again, and Tony Dixon follows with a 14-yard TD run. SCORE: Kentucky 31, Georgia 28.

-- Two interesting stats through three quarters: Running yards: UK-178 yards, UGA-98 yards. Punting: Georgia has four punts averaging 26 yards.

-- Matthew Stafford finally connects with A.J. and picks up 42.

-- The defense didn't show up. The O line has not played well. The special teams have been a disaster. Knowshon Moreno, on the other hand, is having himself a day. He just ran 18 yards for his third TD of the game. Drive: 2-40-:37. SCORE: Georgia 35, Kentucky 31.

-- So mark this up on your list of stuff that would never happen at Sanford Stadium: A football was being tossed around the stands, which had the fans thoroughly excited. Eventually the ball made it to a UGA fan, though. The UK fans begged him to throw it up to the second deck. The UGA fan threw it to security on the field -- a nicer spiral than some of Matthew Stafford's I might add. The crowd booed him heartily while he raised his arms in triumph.

-- And the special teams nightmare continues. UK's Winston Guy brings the kick straight up the middle 97 yards to the UGA 3. He was miraculously brought down by Drew Williams before scoring.

-- And on third down, Randall Cobb plows 1 yard into the end zone for the Kentucky score. Drive: 3-3-1:19. SCORE: Kentucky 38, Georgia 35. Chick-fil-A Bowl here we come!

-- If you'd like to see an interesting number, go back and check how many consecutive TDs Georgia's opponents have scored in the red zone. Consider it a homework assignment.

-- Well, at least Georgia Tech lost.

-- Justin Fields was carried off the field after the kickoff. That's gotta be a disappointment to the TV folks in Savannah who interview him after every game.

-- Nice call by Bobo. Reverse to A.J. picks up 28, after Stafford threw a fantastic block to open it up.

-- Pass to Massaquoi is complete, but he fumbles the ball. Recovered by Kentucky. Georgia's D has been soft all game, but they need a stand here.

-- And that's exactly what they did. Great penetration on all three plays. Cobb had no time to throw. Just a great stop. Now explain why that was so hard the previous 50 minutes of action.

-- Hard run by Knowshon. Then Chris Davis -- who has been out a majority of this game -- was flagged for a personal foul. Seriously, can this team be any less disciplined? There is just no excuse for this stuff anymore.

-- Stafford goes deep to A.J. on the next play. A.J. had a step on David Jones, but the ball was a touch overthrown.

-- Stafford's next pass goes to Massaquoi who has a first down.... and fumbles AGAIN. That is completely unlike Mo, but those two fumbles have been killer. Fumble caused by Micah Johnson. UK will start at its own 38. (Play is under review.)

-- Alfonso Smith picks up 9 on first down. Georgia was allowing an average of 64 yards per game on the ground before LSU, but has allowed more than 175 in each of its last three. How do you explian that?

-- I have no problem blaming most of this on the Georgia D, but Randall Cobb has really looked sharp. UK fans should be encouraged if he weren't their best QB, WR and RB. I mean, the guy can only do so much.

-- Another third-down conversion for Kentucky on a Cobb-to-Kyrus Lanxter. Say what you want, Kyrus Lanxter is a great name. Speaking of which, has anyone seen John Conner?

-- Gamble had Cobb in the backfield, but Cobb escaped for a 2-yard gain. Gamble was furious with himself -- as he should be.

-- Dixon lost the handle on the football on third down and lost four -- a lucky break for Georgia. Brings up fourth-and-11. Mathsay in to punt. Logan Gray deep.

-- Here we go. This is the ballgame.

-- Redemption, thy name is Massaquoi. Stafford hit Mass on a slant and he took it 78 yards to the Kentucky 7. That, my friends, is what Georgia is missing when it doesn't have any other seniors on the field. A lot of players wouldn't come back so quickly from those two fumbles, but the coaches had confidence in him, Stafford had confidence in him, and Mass got the job done.

-- Ouch... sack on Stafford. Sam Maxwell had his shoestrings and brought him down. That hurts.

-- Third-and-11 for Georgia. If Bobo runs a QB draw, he should be fired on the spot. Mass has a career-high 11 catches for 191 yards.

-- Samuel and Moreno in the backfield... Moreno in the slot... Stafford evades tons of pressure and finds Green in the end zone for the TD... Green had four blue jerseys around him. That may have been both the dumbest pass and greatest pass of the season for Stafford. Wow. Drive: 4-85-2:01. SCORE: Georgia 42, Kentucky 38.

-- Tremendous pursuit by CJ Byrd is the only thing that kept David Jones from breaking another long return for UK. He followed Jones from one sideline to the other and gave his teammates just enough time to get to him.

-- Drew Williams was taken off the field by trainers after the play.

-- Chant from UK fans: "Yes we can! Yes we can!" Cobb agrees. A 29-yard pass play to Maurice Ginter.

-- Nice tackle by Asher Allen on second down on a slant play that gained six. Could've been a lot more. Third-and-2.

-- Pass defended nicely by Reshad Jones brings up fourth-and-2. This is the game... And if this doesn't sum up Georgia's season. They had the play stopped and Jarius Wynn grabbed Cobb's facemask to keep the drive going. You'll remember Wynn last was seen overturning Prince Miller's INT in the first quarter against Florida with a roughing the passer flag.

-- Demarcus Dobbs! He leaps up on the first down pass and makes a one-handed grab for his second INT of the year. That might well be the biggest play of the year for Georgia. Heading down to the locker room now. Heck of a game.

THIRD QUARTER:
-- Another third-down conversion for Kentucky. This is really not encouraging for the UGA defense. After last week, you would have expected them to want to prove a point. Instead, the Wildcats are on the verge of putting up their highest score against a BCS opponent since beating Louisville in August.

-- And here come the pretzels! ... I mean boos. The fans are mad that Geno Atkins wasn't flagged for a late hit after pushing Tony Dixon out of bounds. The play was a loss of three and finally the Dawgs' D held, bringing Lonas Seiber in for a field-goal try.

-- Kick is good. 12 plays, 43 yards, 5:43... SCORE: Georgia 21, Kentucky 17.

-- I'll give Richard Samuel this: I thought after last week it might be time to pull him off kick returns, but the kid runs hard.

-- Georgia's O line is really not holding up well. Josh Davis is still in the game, too, which leads me to believe that Chris Davis' hip is not doing well. Cordy Glenn has moved to the left side and Josh Davis is on the right.

-- Third-and-19 and the call is.... a middle screen! Mike Bobo, ladies and gentlemen. He'd like to remind you, the 10:30 show will be EXACTLY the same as the 12:30 show.

-- The Wildcats brought the rush and blocked Mimbs' punt easily. UK's ball at the 10.

-- Randall Cobb runs 9 yards for the TD. This kid is hard to bring down, I'll say that, but UGA doesn't look like they could bring down anyone at this point. This performance by the defense is now officially embarrassing. Drive: 1 play, 9 yards, 11 seconds. SCORE: Kentucky 24, Georgia.

-- A third-down completion from Stafford to Mass was huge. A three-and-out there could have been ballgame. Georgia needs a momentum shift. And a touchdown.

-- Twelve-yard catch for Kris Durham. Still no receptions for A.J. Kentucky is blanketing him.

-- Michael Moore just hauled in a 22-yard reception on beautiful catch. He's really looked sharp today.

-- 21-0 North Carolina. Not a good day for football fans in Georgia. No word on the Albany State score though.

-- Knowshon avoids approximately 104 tackles and rumbles 20 yards for a TD down the far sideline. Drive: 8, 80, 4:10. SCORE: Georgia 28, Kentucky 24.

-- So Jay Adams says we should try to make friends with the attractive members of the UK sports information staff. I say that's a good idea. Five minutes later Kelin Johnson is talking them up and they are loving it. Damn, Kelin Johnson!

-- I can only assume the run defense has suffered from a lack of Andrew Gully since the first drive.

-- Nice stop by the Georgia D. Where has this been for the past 30 minutes of action?

-- Ugly, ugly play by Prince Miller who went back on a great punt by UK, had the ball bounce off his hands and into the end zone, forcing him to bring it back out -- which he barely did -- setting UGA up at the 2. Georgia's return men have been brutally inconsistent this year -- much like the rest of the team.

-- On third-and-8, Knowshon has a beautiful run that nets seven yards. Georgia will now be punting out of its own end zone, and after a smart timeout by UK, into the wind.

-- Kentucky was inches away from blocking another one and Mimbs shanked it, got an awful bounce and netted 18 yards. Wildcats ball at the UGA 30.

END OF THE THIRD: Georgia 28, Kentucky 24.

HALFTIME:
-- A UK student booted a 27-yard field goal for some some sort of prize. Not sure exactly what, but I'm assuming it was a night out at the strip club with Billy Gillespie. Anyway, I think Richt asked the kid if he wanted to be his new kicker. I mean, if it worked for Mike Leach, it can work for Georgia.

-- Some halftime stats of note: Rushing yards: UK 126, Georgia 67. Time of possession: UK 17:31, UGA 12:29. Third-down conversions: UK 5-of-9 (and 2-of-3 on fourth), UGA 2-of-5. No catches yet for A.J. Green.

-- Wyoming 13, Tennessee 0.

SECOND QUARTER:
-- Three straight incompletions to start the second quarter, none of which were particularly close to being caught. A.J. Green's route was cut off on third down, and he sort of half-heartedly begs for a flag that didn't come.

-- Alfonso Smith gains 12 on his first run, giving him 38 yards already for the game. What happened to Georgia's run D? That one yard allowed against Tennessee seems like an awful long time ago.

-- Rod Battle stripped the ball from Cobb on a QB keeper and Georgia recovered at the UK 37. Big play by Battle to halt UK's momentum.

-- Fourth straight incompletion by Stafford, again overthrowing Green. And in an completely unexpected turn of events (sarcasm alert!) the next play was a toss sweep to Knowshon that went nowhere.

-- Here's how confident Richt is that Walsh can still kick a FG in the wind: He's going for it on fourth-and-6 from the UK 33. Stafford's pass forced Green to lay out and he couldn't come up with it, turning the ball over on downs. So after Battle's big turnover, Georgia picked up a whopping 4 yards and zero points.

-- Gamble is in the game for the first time. Some questions in the press box on whether there was a reason he didn't see the field in the first half.

-- Cobb keeps it and has wide open space up the midde to midfield for a gain of 12. Georgia's run D has been poor against an offense that hasn't put up 21 on a BCS conference opponent since Week 1. That won't bode well against a team like Tech.

-- Consecutive first down runs follow to give UK a first down at the Georgia 23. Richt is furious and calls a time out. Looked like Richt was a bit more involved in that defensive huddle than Willie was.

-- Randall Cobb finds plenty of room up the middle again and picks up a first down to the Georgia 2. The only thing this guy does well is run, so why hasn't Georgia been looking for it?

-- Cobb bounces it outside, completely fooling the Georgia D line (Akeem Dent dove back inside on the play) and walking in for the TD. This is an absurdly poor performance by the D. Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 4:56. SCORE: Georgia 14, Kentucky 14.

-- Note to Tech fans: UK has 129 yards on 27 carries so far.

-- A celebration penalty backed up the kick and Georgia should have had the ball at the UK 47, but a block in the back flag backed them up.

-- No worries -- Stafford to Michael Moore for 46 yards down the sideline. Interesting side note: Kelin Johnson is sitting a few seats down from me and he cheered the play, which drew the ire of everyone else in the press box. Hilarious.

-- And finally it happens! Stafford to Shaun Chapas for the sophomore's first TD of his career! And in typical Chapas fashion, the press box announced the TD for "Shane Chapas." SCORE: Georgia 21, Kentucky 14.

-- Georgia had UK in a third-and-8 on the next drive, but allowed a dump off to Tony Dixon for a huge gain in which Gamble was flagged for a horse collar to add 15 to it. This is no different than the team that played last week. UG-LY.

-- Gamble brings down Cobb on third-and-2 for a loss of six. That's Georgia's first third-down stop in a while. Timeout Kentucky.

-- Randall Cobb lost the handle on the football on fourth down and went nowhere. There was room to run though had he not fumbled.

-- Fun note of the half: Wyoming 7, Tennessee 0. Can they fire Phil Fulmer again? How much to get David Cutcliffe to quit at Duke right now?

-- Georgia's two-minute drill before the half didn't look too sharp. Stafford has made some big plays this game, but the O line has not blocked particularly well. He's done a good bit of running around behind the line to buy time.

END OF HALF: Georgia 21, Kentucky 14, Tennessee -6.

FIRST QUARTER:

-- Nice return by Richard Samuel. Maybe he's getting the hang of this.

-- Knowshon runs for 22 on the first play of the game. That puts him over 1,000 for the season -- just the second back in UGA history to have consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. No doubt it's a bit bittersweet for him given last week's loss, but no reason it shouldn't be appreciated just as much.

-- Matthew Stafford completes a 29-yard TD pass to a wide open Mo Massaquoi. That was easy. Good to see Georgia come out strong. This could get ugly. Drive stats: four plays, 64 yards, 1:45. SCORE: Georgia 7, Kentucky 0.

-- Battle and Gulley are the two starting DEs.

-- Alfonso Smith has gotten off to a decent start with two good runs on UK's first drive. Smith had a nice game in the Wildcats' win over Georgia here two years ago, but it was Tony Dixon -- the fifth-year senior -- who had the winning TD.

-- Asher Allen and Akeem Dent combined on a sack on third-and-1 to force the punt.

-- Side note: I nearly ran over Vince Dooley as I was walking into the men's room. Let's just say the facilities at Commonwealth Stadium are a bit cramped.

-- Moreno ran for seven on second down, then caught a pass from Matthew Stafford for 34 yards and came out of the game. Richard Samuel was the first back off the bench and picked up four on his first carry.

-- Regardless of what coaches say, it was Caleb King's awful blocking -- highlighted by the sack of Stafford in the red zone -- that has moved Samuel up the depth chart. King is immensely talented, and quite possibly he'll be the Dawgs featured back next year, but after a full red-shirt year and nine games into this season, he should be better at pass protect now.

-- Knowshon rumbles six yards through defenders for his 12th rushing TD of the season. Walsh boots the PAT. Scoring drive: 7 plays, 73 plays, 3:19. SCORE: Georgia 14, Kentucky 0.

-- Fans have to be happy with this start. Eleven plays, 138 yards, two TDs so far. Oh, and UK has three yards on three plays. It's the Andrew Gully effect!

-- Come on, Blair. I thought we had moved past this. His kickoff went out of bounds, giving Kentucky the ball at the 40.

-- Justin Houston is in at DE now. No sign of Lomax or Demarcus Dobbs so far.

-- Randall Cobb took the handoff on first down for UK, then was the QB on second, throwing for a first down.

-- CJ Byrd with a tackle in the backfield of Smith on third-and-1. That's the second time already Georgia's D has stopped UK on third-and-1. Now why couldn't they be that aggressive in the red zone against better teams?

-- Wildcats go for it on fourth - the raucous crowd of, oh, I dunno, 75 people, were on their feet and the excitement worked. John Conner had the run. Insert your own "Terminator" joke here.



-- John Conner must not get a first down. The future of the world depends on it.

-- UK will once again go for it on fourth down from the Georgia 7. UK basically ran the same play again for a gain of 5 to set up a first-and-goal from the 2.

-- Demarcus Dobbs is in the game now. Still haven't seen Lomax on the field.

-- Tony Dixon runs it in from three yards out for the TD. Considering how awful UK's offense has been, that's got to be a bit discouraging for the Dawgs' D. Consecutive flags on UGA made the PAT take an hour-and-a-half, but nevertheless, UK pulls to within 7. Drive: 15 plays, 60 yards, 6:24. SCORE: Georgia 14, Kentucky 7.

-- UK returns the favor and kicks off out of bounds giving Georgia the ball at the 40.

-- Josh Davis is in at left guard. This may just be a standard rotation, or it could mean Chris Davis' injured hip is bothering him.

-- END OF FIRST -- Georgia 14, Kentucky 7.

PREGAME:
A few important pregame notes:

-- As Mark Richt suggested Thursday, Jeremy Lomax did indeed make the trip.

-- It's cold. Very cold. And windy.

-- No sign of Dicky Lyons Jr. on the sideline. Bummer.

-- I like the press box here. Nice and close to the field. Not like Jacksonville. I hate Jacksonville.

-- Watch the first drive of the game for Georgia. A touchdown means a big day. A three-and-out could be a long day. And a Blair Walsh missed field goal... well, you don't wanna know what that means.

-- Captains: Rennie Curran, Geno Atkins, Mo Massaquoi and Benjamin Boyd.

-- Dannell Ellerbe is starting at LB, and Andrew Gully is starting at defensive end. Yup, you read that right.

3 comments:

SmoothJimmyApollo said...

Shawn Chapas!!!

Hobnail_Boot said...

GATA, Kelin.

Hey David, which O lineman was limping off the field on Georgia's last drive of the half?

David Horne said...

Hobnail boot is the greatest screen name I've ever seen -- Larry Munson must be proud -- and as for the game, geez it's frustrating seeing a team like UK keep up with the Dawgs because of all the mistakes we made. Nothing that beating the snot out of Auburn won't cure though...

http://www.sportsbythenumbers.com/