First half impressions

Aaron Murray made some freshman mistakes, but has shown some real ability. He got lucky near the end of the second half, but otherwise managed the game very well. There are three touchdowns to his credit, after all.

Murray is 12-for-20 for 133 yards, with one interception (though it should be two).

Carlton Thomas has, as expected, gotten a lot of carries, and done enough to show he should keep getting them when Washaun Ealey comes back. Thomas has 54 yards on seven carries.

Caleb King isn’t too shabby himself, totaling 47 yards on nine carries. Twenty of those yards came on the game’s first touchdown.

Kris Durham is back, notching 78 yards on four catches. Fullback Shaun Chappas has three catches for eight yards (including a TD), but no other Bulldog has more than one catch. I’ll be curious to see if they try to get Marlon Brown or the tight ends more involved in the second half.

The defense has one (very big) blip, but otherwise it’s been stellar. Justin Houston and Akeem Dent have sacks, and Brandon Boykin has an interception – those are the big names. But guys like Darryl Gamble are getting pressure on the ball and making plays too.

ULL has minus-four rushing yards at the half, and 60 of its 69 passing yards came on one play.

In fact, if you take out the long touchdown play (which obviously you cannot), Georgia’s advantage in total yards is 258-5.

Drew Butler averaged 48 yards on his two punts, Blair Walsh made a 52-yard field goal, and Branden Smith had two punt returns that totaled 48 yards, while his blockers had a couple punishing, highlight-reel blocks.

Summing up: Special teams, pretty good.