Georgia has given J.J. Green his unconditional release, and that’s a good policy – student-athletes aren’t chattel. It’s a tough policy to stomach though when, as the Senator points out, that policy isn’t reciprocated and puts Georgia at a disadvantage. Where have we heard that before?

As for Green, he was an important part of the story in 2013 and a big reason why Georgia won at Tennessee. But considering the course he’s said to be choosing, that’s about as far as the pleasantries will go.

It was a very important Sunday for Georgia’s basketball teams. Within the span of six hours at Stegeman Coliseum, both teams posted their most significant wins to date in this young season. The men blew open a tie game at the end of the first half and had to hold on to beat 5-1 Colorado 64-57. Thornton was solid inside, and Frazier was perfect from both the field and the foul line. Frazier’s contribution off the bench was necessary because starting guard Kenny Gaines left the game early in the second half with a shoulder injury on a hustle play. Gaines should be OK, and he’ll have two weeks to recover before Georgia’s next game.

Two hours after the men’s game ended, the #19 Lady Dogs took the court against #16 Michigan State. The Spartans survived an overtime challenge from Georgia Tech on Thursday and were playing their first road game of the season. Georgia took control of the game from the start and raced out to a 23-point lead behind effective defense and an energetic tempo. Things became sloppy at the end of the half though, and Michigan State ended the period on an 8-0 run. They had erased a double-digit deficit against Tech and seemed poised to do the same in Athens. The visitors made several runs in the second half to close within single digits, but Georgia responded each time to push the lead back to a more comfortable margin. Michigan State eventually drew within five points, but Georgia was clutch at the foul line in the final minutes. With the 69-60 win, Georgia’s undefeated season continues, and the Lady Dogs became the first team in the nation to reach 10 wins.

Both programs have an extended break ahead for exams. Neither team will play until the weekend before Christmas, giving the players a chance to finish the semester and rest up from the first month of the regular season.

Offseason changes have already begun for the Georgia football program. Longtime staffer and recently installed strength coach Joe Tereshinski Jr. will step down after the bowl game.

Tereshinski played for Georgia from 1972-1976 and started at center from 1975-1976, serving as a captain of the 1976 SEC champions. He joined the Georgia staff in 1982 and has served in a number of roles before he was tapped to head the strength and conditioning program after the 2010 season.

There are a number of theories as to why Tereshinski might step down now, but it’s also the case that he’s put in over 30 years with the program and might just be ready to enjoy his pension and move on. Tereshinski has also been in charge of the video and game analysis, and he’s been the organizer of the year-end Gala since 1998. Through his longevity, Tereshinski has had an important role passing down the traditions and rivalries of Georgia football to each new group of players. Georgia might and probably will find a better candidate to head the strength program, but they’ll have a much bigger job finding someone who can teach the love of the school and the team that Tereshinski had.

Another defensive back is out the door. Brendan Langley spent 2013 as a cornerback, moved to receiver for 2014, and moved back to the secondary when attrition took its toll. Now Langley is a part of that attrition: citing playing time, he’ll be looking to continue his career at another school.

Langley saw his first start of 2014 in the shutout of Missouri, and we were encouraged by how well the secondary performed and looked with him in the lineup. But Langley’s role in the secondary diminished as the season continued, and he wasn’t a factor in the final few games. Langley, a 4-star prospect in the 2013 class, was considered an important piece of the recruiting class when he flipped from South Carolina in November of 2012. He made four starts out of the gate as a true freshman in 2013 but eventually gave way to a rotation of other cornerbacks.

Like many, I stood there unable to move for several minutes after Huston Mason’s interception ended the game. Going back and watching the scene on the broadcast confirms what I remember: a stunned crowd and team trying to make sense of what happened. I’m still trying. To help focus myself, I’ll reply to a handful of tweets I sent out just before the game.

Three questions. 1) Can we limit Tech’s big play *passing* game? Big part of what they do.

— dawgsonline (@dawgsonline) November 29, 2014

I asked this question for two reasons: first, big pass plays helped Tech jump out 20-0 on Georgia last year. I wondered if Johnson would test Georgia’s secondary again. Second, Tech came into the game with one of the top-ten rated passing attacks (a spot ahead of Georgia, in fact.) Though they were completing just over 50% of passes, they were getting a lot from the passes they did complete.

As it turned out, Tech’s passing game played only a minor role in the outcome. They completed 6 of 16 passes for just 64 yards and one score coming at the end of the first half. But it’s the split that tells the story. Tech attempted just two passes after halftime. As with Florida completing just 3 of 6 pass attempts, Tech didn’t need to throw in the second half because their running game was functioning so well.

The Georgia defense did a fair job against the run in the first half, but they couldn’t sustain it. Whether it was fatigue, the return of bad habits, or Tech finding and exploiting a weakness, Georgia’s line was overmatched against the dive. Though Ray Drew played the game of his life, the dive often went off-tackle to the side opposite Drew where the defensive linemen were less effective. Georgia’s interior linebackers recorded a staggering number of tackles, but many of those came chasing down a guy who had broken through the line. Tech put together a string where five out of six drives went at least eight plays. Georgia had only three possessions in the entire second half (true, there was a nice fumble return in there too.) That’s a lot of time for the defense to be out there, and they just couldn’t get off the field. It became classic option water torture.

2) Both teams are similar in takeaways/giveaways. Tech has scored on turnovers in 3 of last 4. Can we keep the turnover margin in our favor?

— dawgsonline (@dawgsonline) November 29, 2014

Oh did turnovers play a part in the game. Georgia’s three red zone turnovers were crippling. Tech’s two fumbles led to 14 Georgia points. I’d go so far as to consider the blocked placekicks by both teams as turnovers. There were huge swings in momentum all day. It must’ve made for an entertaining game for neutral watchers. Tech and Georgia fans had to be dizzy. For Georgia, both fumbles came when backs made extra effort near the goal line. With so many fumbles bouncing back Georgia’s way throughout the season, the ledger adjusted itself at the worst possible time.

Can we get off to a better start and get out ahead this year? Make the most of every possession.

— dawgsonline (@dawgsonline) November 29, 2014

Both sides of the coin in that tweet. Yes, Georgia got out to a much better start this year. They marched down the field with relative ease, scored, and then forced Tech to punt. Georgia’s defense was playing well enough that the Dawgs had a fair chance to go up by three scores in the first half. They never trailed until late in the 4th quarter. But then there’s the “make the most of every possession” detail. Georgia had seven possessions inside of the Georgia Tech 40 that generated a total of 17 points. Five of those possessions resulted in only three points. The three red zone turnovers are obvious enough, but two other scoring chances were significant. The outstanding field position earned on the possession after Swann’s fumble return resulted in two yards gained and a blocked field goal instead of a two-possession lead. The five futile cracks at the endzone after Morgan’s brilliant fake field goal set the stage for the dramatic finish.

It’s a compliment to Mason that his legacy is still incomplete. Some big stages remain, especially today.

— dawgsonline (@dawgsonline) November 29, 2014

Ugh. Is it a cop-out to say that Mason’s legacy is still incomplete? Or would ambiguous be the better choice of words? It would have been much more tidy of course had Georgia’s final touchdown held up, but the interception that ended the game is burned in our memories now – never mind that it was his first interception since Vanderbilt. Even before those moments, the game was a mixed bag for Mason. He missed a couple of third down throws that should have extended drives. But given the ball with two minutes and incredible pressure, he orchestrated what should have been the winning drive.

A year after Mason passed for nearly 300 yards in Atlanta, Georgia’s approach to the passing game on Saturday was much different. Pass plays were short and intermediate and heavy on screens. That was fine so long as the running game was working – the space was there for a short pass to turn into more as it did for Chubb on the opening drive. But as Tech tightened up against the run (and Georgia’s line became less effective), there wasn’t much of a response from the Georgia offense. We didn’t see a real test downfield until an incomplete pass just beyond Conley well into the third quarter. We didn’t even see Conley targeted until the third quarter. Georgia’s senior receivers – Bennett and Conley – combined for 12 catches, 182 yards, and a touchdown in Atlanta a year ago. On Saturday Conley didn’t record a catch until Georgia’s final drive of regulation, and Bennett was shut out. Not to take anything away from Malcolm Mitchell’s outstanding game (holding on to that go-ahead touchdown was no small thing), but I just can’t process that two accomplished senior receivers weren’t a bigger part of the plan. I don’t put that on Mason or Bennett or Conley, and it’s not as if the final passing stats were that far from a typical 2014 Georgia game. And, again, the offense generated enough scoring chances to win. The approach just had a very strange feel to it.

Not much to note from the game, and that’s a good thing. Georgia tidily put the game away by the end of the first quarter. While that seems like a minor point and probably doesn’t mean much going forward, it’s more than some playoff contenders can say for their performance on Saturday. You mainly want to come out of these games intact, and Georgia seems to have dodged a bullet on the injury front. We’ve got bigger fish to fry this week, so we’ll make this quick.

• We’ve secretly replaced Lee Greenwood with Kenny G. Let’s see if anyone notices.
• I was glad to see Charleston Southern bring the band and let their whole program experience a game at Georgia. The Western Carolina coach was passionate about what these games mean to FCS programs, and we know there were several Georgians on the CSU team for whom this opportunity had extra meaning. We haven’t seen any whining “open letters” yet from the CSU camp, so we hope they all enjoyed the day.
• We only saw Chubb for a brief moment, but the long touchdown and the abuse of a would-be tackler was all anyone needed to see before it was time to go back in bubble wrap.
• Speaking of physical runs, Hicks made the most of his single carry. After he bounced off the line and went outside, Hicks wasn’t going to be denied the endzone.
• Charleston Southern didn’t record a sack, but Mason several times had to elude an oncoming defender and make a play on the run. His touchdown pass to Justin Scott-Wesley was such a play – Mason was flushed to the right by a defender who had gotten past Jay Rome, and Mason led Scott-Wesley nicely for an easy catch.
• Mason looked as sharp as he has all season, and it was good to see him take a few shots downfield. It would have been nice to connect with Mitchell a few times – that combination seems like the missing piece for a Georgia offense that’s already very potent, but it just hasn’t come together yet.
• Ramsey (8-for-12) also looked better than he did in his other extended action versus Troy (4-for-8). The interception wasn’t a great throw, but his touchdown pass to Rumph had some nice touch.
• Enjoyed seeing Rumph and Scott-Wesley make the most of their days with touchdown receptions. Scott-Wesley had his first receptions of the season after a long road back from ACL surgery, and Rumph showed some nice elusiveness on an early catch that he turned into a first down.
• The day belonged to Conley. After some disappointing drops against Auburn, the senior had two touchdown receptions including what could likely be Georgia’s catch of the year. The Redcoats saluted him with the Star Wars theme – a very nice touch.
• We all know how electrifying McKenzie can be in the return game, but he’s still making some freshman mistakes. The returners had to be frustrated by the rugby punts, but it would have really sucked for the top returner to go down with a bad injury trying to field a meaningless second-half punt. He’s also dropped some very catchable passes in back-to-back games, and those are plays he’ll need to make to avoid being pigeonholed as just the return guy.
• Jordan Jenkins had another disruptive game. There aren’t many Bulldogs playing better right now.
• The starting defense performed well and largely kept the option offense from generating many big plays. They were forced to adjust after Sanders went out, and it was a small silver lining that Parrish and Bowman got a lot of work against that kind of offense.

Finally, thank you to all of the veterans in attendance on Saturday and also to those involved with the ceremonies and tributes. Fans were impressed, moved, and humbled by the stories of valor and sacrifice.

We know Georgia needs Missouri to lose one of its final two games. But how likely is that to happen?

Thankfully, the Football Study Hall has put hard numbers to the likelihood of Missouri running the table. The Tigers have a 22.1% chance of going 2-0 against Tennessee and Arkansas which means that Georgia has about a 78% chance at this point of winning the East. Not a sure thing, but very strong odds.

There’s more: they also run the numbers for the three contenders remaining in the West and give Alabama a 79.2% chance of coming out on top – even slightly higher than Georgia’s odds in the East. When you combine the likely outcomes in both divisions, we currently have about a 62% chance of a Georgia-Alabama rematch in the Dome.

Yesterday’s extreme cold pushed the Georgia football team indoors to the multi-purpose facility added as part of the most recent Butts-Mehre expansion. That facility has a turf surface but only about 20 yards of space, making it useful only for walk-throughs. It was not intended to be an indoor practice facility (IPF.)

Several coaches, most vocally Jeremy Pruitt, used the occasion to put pressure on the administration to complete a proper indoor practice facility.

“This is gonna be the last football team at Georgia that’s gonna have days where they don’t get better because of not having an indoor facility. Because I know our folks upstairs are gonna get it done,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt explained that he had used the lack of a facility against Georgia in recruiting, and other coaches would continue to do so. “I’ve been on the other side when you recruit against Georgia, and when you don’t practice you don’t get better, so that hurts player development.” Studies have shown that these facilities don’t get used as much as you’d think, but as the stakes start to get much higher in terms of the rivalry game and a possible postseason, every day counts.

It’s rare to see a coach challenge the administration like this, particularly a coordinator. Even linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said, “It’s amazing we don’t have one.” I doubt Pruitt was going rogue though – Mark Richt might not like to air laundry in public like that, but Pruitt is more than happy to speak for the staff.

We know that the wheels are turning – the athletic department approved $400,000 just a couple of months ago for a location study. According to Seth Emerson, “UGA hired an architect for the project last week.” The next step is an update for the board in February. That’s not exactly a glacial pace in the academic world, but it’s also not something on the fast track to be completed in time for next season.

(N.B. the location study isn’t a minor thing. So much hangs on the site selection for this facility. There are tradeoffs between cost, scope, and utility for a facility built near Butts-Mehre versus one out on the Milledge property.)

Pruitt’s challenge and short timetable naturally prompted a response from Greg McGarity. “We’re moving as quickly as possible, but it’s impossible to be ready by 2015. There’s just so much to do.” That seems reasonable – even if the board settles the location, scope, and cost issues and approves the project on the spot in February, it’s not very likely that a project of any size or usefulness could be built in the six months remaining before the season.

At any rate, the project is moving forward and it will happen – perhaps not at Pruitt’s preferred pace, but it won’t be long either. Pruitt’s message was intended much more for recruits than McGarity anyway. It’s no coincidence that the staff is being very public about the coming facility after a chilly weekend on which Georgia hosted one of the most star-studded collection of prospects to visit Sanford Stadium. They’re responding to the messaging that’s being put out by other schools and feedback they’ve received from prospects.

Apparently Georgia’s response is being received loud and clear:

UGA getting a inside facility ??

— Chauncey Rivers (@Rivers_Cinco) November 19, 2014

If the Kentucky game last week was Mike Bobo’s magnum opus for this season, Auburn was Jeremy Pruitt’s. The Georgia defense has played statistically better games and shut out two other opponents, but they’ve never come up so big against an offense of the quality they faced on Saturday. With nearly everyone expecting a shootout, this was instead every bit the overwhelming Georgia win that we saw the last time an Auburn team running the Malzahn offense visited Athens in 2011.

At the risk of sounding nonchalant about another stellar rushing performance, Georgia’s offense lived up to their end of the shootout. It would have been news if Chubb and Gurley weren’t spectacular. They didn’t score quickly with explosive plays (not for lack of trying), but it was more of a steady, consistent buildup towards the final score. Once Georgia got the opening they needed thanks to a fumbled punt return, the Georgia running attack began its stranglehold on the game. Blocking on the edge was excellent from the tackles, fullbacks, tight ends, and receivers, and a national audience now knows who David Andrews and Greg Pyke are.

Georgia was able to take a more deliberate approach to its offense as the game wore on thanks to the defense. Everyone buckled up for the anticipated track meet following Auburn’s opening drive, but the Georgia defense started making stops. There were several big moments for the defense, but the most important might have been Auburn’s second possession. Auburn’s early success and the bad breaks and penalties that cost Georgia three scoring opportunities on their first possession had me a little concerned that we’d soon be looking at 14-0 and digging out of a hole for the rest of the game. After moving the chains, Auburn got seven yards on a first down carry to set up 2nd and 3 – a distance which is almost an automatic conversion for this offense. Instead, Georgia stuffed Cameron Artis-Payne on second down and stopped him just short of the marker on third down. Facing 4th and 1 from their own 37, I was honestly surprised when Malzahn sent the punter out. The Dawgs won a small victory against this offense, and Auburn didn’t cross midfield again in the first half.

It’s water under the bridge now, but things really did seem to hang in the balance midway through the first quarter. You can see Georgia’s slow start in the win probability, and no points from their first two possessions didn’t bode well when we all expected that Georgia would have to keep pace in a high-scoring game. That first defensive stop and then the fumble recovery gave the offense the cover and then the spark they needed to post three straight scoring drives to end the half and gain control of the game. Most of us expected Auburn to catch fire at any time and get back into the game, but the Georgia defense did an outstanding job of making sure that never happened.

One of my big concerns coming into the game was Georgia’s ability to stop the run with a smaller secondary. Georgia had both the plan and the execution to defend the run:

• The line had one of its best games occupying blockers so that the next level of defenders could, in the words of Mark Richt, “clean up.” The skill players often get the credit in an explosive offense, but we saw how important a dominant lineman like Greg Robinson was for Auburn. Florida’s offensive line was able to push the Georgia front around, and Auburn wasn’t. There’s more to the defense than that, but it’s an essential starting point.
• With the line doing its job, the linebackers had to actually make the stops. Last year Ramik Wilson had a remarkable 18 tackles at Auburn. He was a little less productive this year, but he and Herrera still combined for 20 tackles. Herrera, with 12 tackles, one tackle for loss, and an interception, was outstanding.
• Pruitt addressed three problems by using Leonard Floyd at times in the “star” role usually played by a defensive back. First, he found a way to get Jenkins, Carter, and Floyd on the field and use that abundance of talent and speed at outside linebacker to counter Auburn’s elite skill position talent. Second, the move changed the nature of Floyd’s assignment – he was less responsible for containment, something with which he struggled against Florida. Third, the move shored up Georgia’s lighter back five by putting a 6’4″ 230 lb. outside linebacker where we usually see a 6’0″ sub-200 lb defensive back.

You can see the results in the stats: last year, two of Georgia’s top four tacklers against Auburn were safeties. This year, only one of Georgia’s top five tacklers (Swann) was a defensive back. Jordan Jenkins from the outside and Toby Johnson from the inside each accounted for six tackles. With Herrera and Wilson cleaning up what got past the line, there was a lot less pressure on the secondary to provide run support.

Auburn really missed leading receiver Duke Williams. Not only did his injury limit what Auburn was able to do downfield – they didn’t complete a pass longer than 20 yards until garbage time – but the diminished passing threat let Georgia risk Floyd at star to bolster the run defense where he might’ve struggled in pass coverage. Auburn was able to hit a few passes in the middle of the field to move the chains, but the deep balls that had been so effective for them earlier in the season weren’t there.

Just a few more things…

• The staff let us know right away that we wouldn’t see a repeat of the timid approach to the Florida game. They surely anticipated a higher-scoring game as well and came out swinging. It wasn’t just the fake punt (really nice play, by the way). The deep pass to McKenzie on third down was a high risk/reward play. 15 of Georgia’s 19 pass attempts came in the first half, and several of them were shots into the endzone.
• Georgia’s two most exciting plays of the night were touchdowns that were called back. Gurley’s kickoff return put a cattle prod to a crowd that had been deflated by Auburn’s first score, and the crowd had no reason to pipe down for the rest of the game. Chubb’s touchdown-that-wasn’t was the kind of individual highlight that moves a guy from the Best Supporting Actor category to leading man status. Chubb paid homage to that effort with another tackle-shedding stroll on the final touchdown of the night.
• Going back to Chubb’s touchdown-that-wasn’t, the play featured Chubb and Gurley in the backfield. We had seen that earlier in the game with Chubb at the fullback spot in an I-formation, but on this play each flanked Mason in the shotgun. Gurley sprinting to the left drew a lot of attention, and Chubb was open on the middle screen with a path down the right sideline. It was a very nice play that took advantage of the attention that must be paid to Gurley while getting the ball to Georgia’s other backfield weapon.
• Malcolm Mitchell’s two catches for 13 yards might be the most unassuming significant contribution of the night. With other receivers struggling to hold onto the ball, Mitchell came up with two very difficult catches that led to 14 of Georgia’s 17 first half points. Mitchell’s touchdown reception came on a quick slant where the safety leaned inside just long enough for Mitchell to come open underneath the cornerback. Georgia needed a play to cash in on Auburn’s fumble and tie the game, and they turned to their best receiver. It took a perfectly-thrown pass, and Mitchell still took a good hit before falling into the endzone. Mitchell’s second catch didn’t score points or even move the chains. On 3rd and 7, Mason was flushed from the pocket and rolled right to avoid pressure. I thought he was trying to throw the ball away, but he found Mitchell low and along the sideline to pick up six yards. That tough completion turned a sure field goal attempt into a fourth down decision for Mark Richt, and Nick Chubb soon thundered into the endzone to give Georgia a 7-point lead.
• Malkom Parrish started the game with a big hit on the opening kickoff and all but finished the game with a forced fumble. It was more of him than we’ve seen in a while, and it’s always a good thing to have a guy in the secondary who likes to hit. And if we’re talking about hitting, it’s a joy watching Tim Kimbrough make tackles. Every time.

Many of us are focused on the big game Saturday, but Georgia’s men’s and women’s basketball teams open their 2014-2015 seasons on Friday evening. The Lady Dogs will take the Stegeman Coliseum court at 7:00 against Morgan State. Meanwhile, the men will start the season in Atlanta against Georgia Tech, also at 7:00. The Dawgs have lost three in a row to their rivals, and this game will set the tone for a season in which the Dawgs are expected to take a step forward. The women are right back in action on Sunday at 1:00 in an important nonconference game against TCU.

Expectations

Georgia’s second place SEC finish last year was a pleasant surprise, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a weak nonconference performance and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. The Dawgs did make it into the NIT and hope to use that postseason experience as a building block for this year. Georgia returns all but forwards Donte’ Williams and Brandon Morris. Kenny Gaines and preseason All-SEC selection Charles Mann anchor an experienced backcourt, and freshman Yante Maten is expected to have an impact down low. The Dawgs were fifth in the preseason SEC picks. With so many players returning, Georgia should be expected to improve on their 2013-2014 season and make a case for an NCAA Tournament berth.

The Lady Dogs lost just a single player, guard Khaalidah Miller. They come off a fairly lackluster season where they finished in the middle of the SEC pack with a losing conference record. Georgia did eek into the NCAA Tournament to keep their appearance streak alive but were bounced in the first round. The Lady Dogs start the season with a jam-packed roster of 16 players. They’ll look to use this depth to their advantage by pushing a frenetic pace on defense. Erika Ford and Krista Donald are the lone seniors, and there is experience at every position. Wing Mackenzie Engram could have the biggest impact of six newcomers. One of Andy Landers’ first priorities is finding a point guard to replace Miller. Georgia is again expected to finish towards the middle of the standings, but enough experienced talent returns to make a push towards a top four finish.

Recruiting

Both the men and women opened the fall signing period with a pair of additions. The men welcomed Athens guard Will “Turtle” Jackson and forward E’Torrion Wilridge from Texas. Andy Landers inked sharp-shooting guard Amber Skidgel and JUCO wing Shanea Armbrister.

When a win is so decisive, we tend to blow right by it, especially with such a big game up next. Kentucky has dropped several games after a fast start, but this was still a team that had defeated South Carolina and hung with the #1 team in the nation just a few weeks earlier. Georgia fans have fresh memories of close calls in Lexington, and no one knew how the team would respond after the flat performance in Jacksonville. Fortunately, the team seems to have had an easier time with that than I did. The Dawgs scored 21 points in both the first and third quarters and pulled away for a 63-21 win over Kentucky. The 63 points were the most scored by a Mark Richt team against an SEC opponent.

Nothing too organized here…just some more thoughts from a very enjoyable win.

• It didn’t take long to start seeing the differences from last week’s Florida game. A kick return unit that had blocked so poorly in Jacksonville opened up an expressway-sized lane for Isaiah McKenzie on the opening kickoff, and Georgia’s return specialist went 90 yards untouched. We hadn’t heard much from McKenzie – or the return game in general – for several weeks, so it was a nice shot in the arm to get 14 points directly from an area of the game that was pretty dismal just a week ago.
• Hutson Mason wishes every opponent wore Kentucky blue. A year ago Mason took over against the Wildcats after Murray’s injury, and Mason threw 13-for-19 with two touchdowns – one passing and one rushing. That wasn’t a bad debut for a backup who came in cold off the bench. Now the starter, Mason was efficient, smart, and accurate in his best performance yet. It wasn’t all easy tosses – Mason and his receivers tested the limits of the field, and it took a combination of precise passes, sure hands, and agile footwork to complete several of Georgia’s passing touchdowns.
• Mason made a difference from the beginning. Chubb’s first run lost yardage. Mason picked up eight yards on his own on second down to set up a manageable third down. He found Bennett in close quarters to move the chains, and the Dawgs had their first of eight third down conversions.
• It’s easy to underrate the week-to-week improvement in Georgia’s offense. Kentucky is, after all, a step down in class from Florida on defense, and the Wildcats really began to look like a team that hadn’t had a bye week since September 20th. All that said, you rarely see that level of execution even against the worst opponents, much less against a team on the brink of bowl eligibility. Georgia was perfect on third downs, didn’t turn the ball over, never punted, and got points from every drive on which they didn’t take a knee.
• Defense was a little more of a mixed bag. Georgia’s run defense still showed some of the same issues that caused them problems against Florida. Kentucky popped off a long touchdown run in the second quarter not so much because of the horrible containment we saw a week ago but because a senior inside linebacker missed the tackle. Not great, and Herrera needs to make that tackle, but also not a sign of a structural flaw in the defense. Georgia struggled a bit with Kentucky’s power formation – the diamond backfield which featured two blocking backs.
• The Dawgs had better success against Kentucky’s passing game. Kentucky posted only 139 yards through the air – just 4.5 yards per attempt. The yardage and completion percentage were season lows for their decent quarterback, Patrick Towles. Georgia’s line was able to tee off on the pass after opening a 25-point lead not long into the third quarter, but the pressure was effective from the outset.
• Even with some difficulty stopping the run, the defense had its moments. The three-and-out on Kentucky’s first series allowed Georgia to build on the momentum from the opening kickoff and establish the double-digit advantage they’d enjoy for the rest of the game. Holding Kentucky to a field goal after the Wildcats recovered a short kickoff was very important at the time and preserved a two-score lead. Of course the interception to open the second half was big. Kentucky closed the first half with a score, and they started the second half with a chance to get within four points. There was probably some luck involved on the tip, but credit to Corey Moore for being alert enough to make a difficult catch just inches from the turf. Those are plays Georgia didn’t make last year.
• I’ll be honest – I had written off Rumph. We knew he wouldn’t be redshirted, and I figured he wouldn’t see the light of day again. In his first action of the season, he led the team in receptions and yardage. We saw how his size is a big advantage on two catches: one where he used his body to essentially “post up” a defender and then later when he outjumped the defender and turned the catch into a long reception. If he’s available for the rest of the season, he’s an intriguing matchup problem on the outside.
• Speaking of impact receivers, Mitchell continues to round into form. His first touchdown of the season was a nice throw and catch in stride on a route that a healthy Mitchell will win every time. My favorite though was a tougher catch that Mitchell made low and along the sideline. That’s the reliability that made him such a dangerous target earlier in his career.
• As the Gurley suspension ends, I don’t know what more we can do to appreciate Nick Chubb. Whatever praise we give him, it seems as if it’s not enough. Even in the Florida loss, he was a bright spot and put up more yards in Jacksonville than any Georgia back since Moreno in 2007. He’s been consistently excellent even as defenses began to key on him. His 671 yards in these four games tops the season total for all but 13 ball carriers in the SEC.
• And welcome back to Sony Michel. Michel quietly posted 84 yards of his own, and it was almost cruel to see a rested Chubb trot on the field towards the end of a drive. The offense just seems to open up more with Michel available, and he can be used in the backfield or in the slot. One thing we didn’t see at Kentucky: Michel might be Georgia’s best operator of the wildcat offense.
• Dinged-up or disciplined? The theories about why Leonard Floyd saw so little time at Kentucky abound. There’s no doubt that Floyd played poorly against Florida, but he wasn’t alone. Lorenzo Carter made the most of the start; it had been a while since we had heard much from him.
• Chubb, Michel, Carter, McKenzie – all freshmen. Blazevich notched his first touchdown reception and followed it up with another. That’s going to be a nice core to have around.

Six weeks ago, the Dawgs were said to rely too much on a single player. With that player unavailable, the team went on a four-game road trip and posted a 3-1 record. A freshman tailback emerged as a star, and the senior quarterback was a steadying leader. The defense made progress but showed the frustrating inconsistencies of a unit dealing with both talent and experience issues. It wasn’t enough to keep the team in the national playoff picture, but the Dawgs return from the road and the Gurley suspension with a realistic shot at the division title. Now it’s time to put it all together and finish out the regular season at home.

As expected, Saturday’s winner used an unstoppable running game, a solid defense, and superior special teams to open up a significant lead. It was just the wrong team doing those things. The style of play we had seen Georgia perfect over its five-game winning streak was turned on its head. Florida rolled up 418 yards on the ground and rolled off 31 straight points to upset Georgia 38-20. The loss ended Georgia’s three-game winning streak in the series and knocked Georgia from the top of the SEC East.

In 2010, Florida used the bye week to install an up-tempo, run-heavy offense that rotated quarterbacks and put the Georgia defense on its heels. Those Gators had lost three straight with an anemic offense, and they exploded in Jacksonville for 450 yards of offense which included 231 on the ground. The desperation worked, Florida won the game, and Georgia’s woes in Jacksonville continued.

But that Georgia team was 3-5 in the SEC, and they’d eventually post the only losing record under Mark Richt. Florida’s sudden success on offense was dramatic, but the Dawgs had already lost four games before falling in overtime to the Gators. The 2014 Georgia team that was left flat-footed on Saturday was a very different team – they had only dropped one game, they were on top of the SEC East, and they were on the periphery of the playoff contenders. For this team to be left without answers by some basic zone running plays is enough to shake the foundation of everything you thought you knew about this Georgia team and season.

So I understand why a lot of the reaction since Saturday night has been more of an existential crisis than anything resembling an actual accounting of what happened. I can only give the “Georgia being Georgia” line so much time before moving on though. There were football reasons why Georgia lost the game in all three phases, and I’m a lot more concerned with getting those fixed while there’s still time to salvage the season. The Dawgs face several good teams still, and two of them can run the ball better than Florida.

Many of us expected that kind of test of Georgia’s rushing defense from Arkansas. The first series in Little Rock wasn’t much different from what we saw in Jacksonville. But after Arkansas went to the air on their second series, they never had much of a chance to establish the run again. Turnovers and Georgia’s lead forced a different approach. Without Georgia’s offense applying much pressure to keep up, Florida could afford to be patient with a slow start, and eventually those runs started to pay off. Georgia got sloppy and allowed runs to bounce outside. They got little to no push to disrupt the runs before they got going. The turnovers on which the defense had thrived all season weren’t coming, and the offense failed to capitalize on the one turnover the defense did generate.

When Desmond Howard cautioned against putting all of our hopes in Nick Chubb, this was the kind of game he had in mind. This is what the Georgia offense looks like against a competent defense without turnovers or favorable field position priming the pump. Chubb’s fumble was untimely, but otherwise he had an impressive Jacksonville debut. The Dawgs needed contributions from elsewhere, and those were few and far between. The passing game didn’t get going until the game was in hand, the lack of tailback depth finally showed itself, and Georgia couldn’t sustain the early drives that could have opened up a larger lead while Florida was still searching for its first points. Georgia lost the game in the second and third quarters as Florida made its move, but Georgia also failed to win the game in the first quarter when bigger things were there for the taking.

In 2011, with the weight of Florida’s dominance in Jacksonville still weighing on the program, the Dawgs scored two touchdowns on difficult and risky fourth down passes. Back then it was Mark Richt supposedly coaching for his job, and it showed in the decisions that were made. “I know it was just a ballgame, but it seemed like a lot more than that,” Richt explained. On Saturday the Dawgs faced 4th and at most 3 yards to go on three occasions in the first quarter with field position near midfield or better. They punted twice and attempted a field goal into the wind. And why should they risk it? The last thing you want to do against a struggling offense is to help them out with good field position. If this was the Florida offense and Georgia defense of several weeks ago, it makes sense to take no chances with the offense and wait for the Florida offense to shoot itself in the foot. Florida made the bold and desperate moves this year – at the macro level by changing quarterbacks and the offense as well as the micro level with the fake field goal call. When Florida stepped it up after the fake field goal, Georgia couldn’t muster much of a response either on the field or on the sideline.

• The sequence leading up to Florida’s fake field goal was almost as fascinating as the score itself. On first down, Harris cleanly fielded the errant snap and gained about six yards back on his own. If he just dives on the ball or has the slightest trouble recovering the ball, it changes the rest of the series. Toby Johnson made a nice individual play to limit Harris’s gain on second down. The 11-yard gain on third down sets up the opportunity for the fake field goal. If the Dawgs stuff that run anywhere near the line of scrimmage, it’s at least 4th and 15.
• Georgia’s rushing defense came into the game one of the conference’s statistical leaders, but that position was always a little deceptive. The Dawgs hadn’t faced many teams that could run the ball well. Arkansas was the exception of course, and we’ve already discussed what happened there. But if you think back to the second half of the South Carolina game or Georgia’s difficulties with Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd – there had been some shaky moments for the Georgia rushing defense. No team had been able to stick with that approach for an entire game, but Georgia’s struggles to stop Florida on the ground didn’t happen out of nowhere.
• The one turnover that Georgia’s defense caused came on one of Georgia’s few run blitzes. Damien Swann blitzed outside the left tackle. He didn’t get in there to blow up the play, but the distraction of an oncoming defender seemed to cause hesitation for Harris at the mesh point. The exchange was mishandled, and Georgia had their lone takeaway.
• I can’t find a positive thing to say about special teams. There might’ve been a late de-cleater on a late kickoff return. I don’t know what’s up with the punters – Richt is doing one of his frustratingly vague things and not saying more than “consistency,” but even poor punting took a back seat to the return game. I try to make it a policy to avoid calling out walk-ons, but the Florida coverage unit was on Georgia’s return men after little more than token resistance.
• I’m disappointed that Georgia didn’t try to make Harris do more. While most of Florida’s runs looked like read plays, they were more likely called runs. Harris is more than capable of getting his yards – we saw that on a key third down conversion, but Georgia didn’t do much to test his decision-making or passing.
• And that 2010 Florida team that discovered an offense against Georgia? They went 2-2 the rest of the regular season, beating only Vanderbilt and App. St. With games left against South Carolina and Florida State, Muschamp is still very much on the outside looking in, and that makes this loss even worse.

Finally, this tweet really resonated. Those three straight wins seem like a distant memory now.

After 18 losses in 21 years, 3 in a row feels far away right now. This feels much more 19 for 25 than 3-1 last 4 years. #dawgs #ScarTissue

— KanuDawg (@KanuDawg) November 1, 2014

This isn’t going be very popular.

Four games is an appropriate suspension for Todd Gurley, and it could have been much worse.

The NCAA announced on Wednesday that Todd Gurley will remain ineligble for an additional two games. He’ll be eligible to return on November 15th when Georgia welcomes Auburn.

(Gurley) must sit a total of four games, or 30 percent of the season, for accepting more than $3,000 in cash from multiple individuals for autographed memorabilia and other items over two years. Gurley, who acknowledged violating NCAA rules, must repay a portion of the money received to a charity of his choice and complete 40 hours of community service as additional conditions for his reinstatement.

You can’t talk about this stuff without caveats, so here goes: yes, I think a college player should be able to make money from his or her name and likeness. I support the so-called olympic model to that end. But the current NCAA rules and their hypocrisy are no shock to anyone, and especially should not come as a surprise to Georgia fans who got a good education in improper benefits with A.J. Green. It’s dumb, and at least the incident has put momentum behind institutional efforts to change the rules even as legal (O’Bannon) challenges chip away at them anyway.

The Basics

The NCAA has a sliding scale of games missed for receiving improper benefits. It goes from 10% of a season for a small amount, 20% for a few hundred dollars, and at least 30% for an amount over $700. That’s why A.J. Green got four games. Most of us have the $400 figure in our heads from earlier reports and rumors, and that was the basis for a 20% (two game) suspension. If the investigation revealed payments of over $3,000, then four games would be the minimum applicable suspension. There are exceptions (see Marcell Dareus), but the NCAA considers “mitigating circumstances.”

Community Service

The requirement of 40 hours of community service stood out. Usually improper benefits must be repaid in full. Requiring Gurley to repay an amount over $3,000 would have been (even in the context of this discussion) ridiculous, so the decision reduced the repayment to a smaller amount to a charity of Gurley’s choice and added the community service requirement. Unless you think Gurley can come up with a couple of thousand dollars in the next two weeks, this seems like a fairly unconventional but reasonable out.

This isn’t a legal judgment – Gurley isn’t forced to complete the community service unless he wants to restore his eligibility. It can’t be said strongly enough – the option for community service is a good thing if you want to see Gurley play for Georgia again. Had the NCAA required repayment/donation of the full $3,000+, I wouldn’t expect Gurley or any student-athlete to have that kind of money on hand, let alone part with it. The burden of the community service is harsh, but it is manageable if Gurley really does desire reinstatement.

What about FSU…

The comparisons to Winston and even Manziel are impossible to avoid. There are two key differences in the Gurley case:

1. There is evidence or an admission that Gurley received money.
2. This is an NCAA issue, not a legal one.

If you’re pissed that Winston can get away with a couple of arrests or criminal investigations, your issue is with the criminal justice system and FSU rather than the NCAA. There is no NCAA rule requiring a student-athlete to be suspended for being arrested (thank goodness) or for being a boorish jerk. Yes, there are tons of other players whose autographs can be purchased. We wink when they claim that they received no money – we can’t prove that they did. Unfortunately in this case that proof existed.

The Appeal

This is the really interesting part to me. UGA says they will appeal the decision. I’m sure that’s probably done as a matter of routine, but the basis for the appeal confuses me. Georgia submitted their findings to the NCAA a week ago. Did the NCAA act on new or contradictory facts? The NCAA indicated that they requested additional information from UGA over the weekend after the University applied for reinstatement. What came out of that additional information? If Georgia’s application for reinstatement included the admission of a $3,000 improper benefit over two seasons, the appeal doesn’t seem to have much ground to stand on. And if Georgia agreed with the amount in question, why in the world would they expect a two-game suspension to suffice?

Open records should be fun reading down the road.

Georgia’s role

Here’s where it could have been much worse. Some fans are upset that Georgia and Gurley are getting hammered for their cooperation (see the Winston/Manziel complaints), but that’s exactly the opposite of what happened. These violations allegedly occurred over several seasons, involved several parties, and involved amounts well above the minimum for a four-game suspension. Georgia won’t have to vacate any games, and they’ll have their best player back for the stretch run because Gurley was honest and the school was cooperative.

Additional withholding was strongly considered because the violations occurred over multiple years with multiple individuals and the student received extensive rules education about the prohibition of receiving payment for autographs. However, the university’s due diligence in its investigation and the student’s full disclosure of his involvement in the violations were factors in not imposing a more severe withholding condition.

…if he returns

At least the uncertainty is over. The suspension is finite and known, and the team can prepare for the next two games. The question now is whether Gurley decides to return. He could avoid the repayment and community service and just walk, and his draft status won’t suffer. The Heisman is off the table now. Gurley would be returning for his teammates and their shared goals. Selfishly, I hope that’s enough to compel him to take the steps that will be required before his eligibility can be restored. Gurley’s one of the few parties that knows all of the facts, so I doubt that the ruling surprises him. That he’s continued to practice and attend class is an optimistic sign.

UPDATE: It’s about as good as you can get without a statement from Gurley. Via Anthony Dasher, Mark Richt said today that he has “no doubt” that Gurley will return to finish the season.

Richt said there's no doubt that Todd Gurley will finish with honor and is excited about finishing the season with his teammates

— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) October 29, 2014

The CFP selection committee will release its first rankings this evening. There will be breathless analysis, indignation, and charges of SEC bias / antipathy. What should Georgia fans expect?

I have no idea. The Dawgs will be ranked near the top. Not at the top, not in position for a playoff spot, but not at the bottom either. It doesn’t matter.

I take that back – it does matter in the sense that the initial poll will tell us not only the teams between Georgia and a playoff spot but also the criteria and thought process the committee will use throughout the rest of the season. More interesting will be the fluidity of the rankings as the year goes on. Will the committee hold its initial top four in a king-of-the-mountain style until one of them loses, or will they be willing to move teams in and out as resumes change?

I don’t know why they’re releasing rankings before the end of the season. It’s a form of transparency I guess, and Lord knows it will create a torrent of discussion and argument. As we said when the idea of a selection committee was put forward, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. A playoff, and a selection committee to determine the participants, isn’t new ground for college athletics. It’s how just about every other college sport does it. Instead, along with the help of the playoff’s media partners, we turn a fairly bland and routine committee process into show, and we’ll do it for the next six weeks or so.

I’d recommend to ignore it all, but that’s impossible as an engaged fan. You will be hit over the head with the rankings, the evaluation of the rankings, and the evaluation (informed or otherwise) about the process of arriving at the rankings. Just do yourself a favor and don’t put much energy into it. If Georgia wins out, they’ll be a 12-1 SEC champion, and then they’ll earn a playoff position. It’s not much more complicated than that, and it’s really the only way Georgia can – and should – end up in the playoff.

The possible return of Todd Gurley is obviously welcome news for Georgia’s chances against a tough November schedule that includes three of its biggest rivals. With the SEC East title still up for grabs, the Dawgs need every man on deck. Gurley’s return wouldn’t mean the end of Nick Chubb’s role – the two complement each other well. We saw right from the opening game of the season against Clemson that Georgia can pound with both Chubb and Gurley, and having one or the other relatively fresh for the fourth quarter is a big advantage for Georgia.

Having Gurley available also gives Georgia some options with the rest of the backfield. We can’t wait for Sony Michel to be back out there, but there’s less pressure now to accelerate his return. Mark Richt wasn’t confident about Michel’s availability for the Florida game, and we could see Michel held out until Auburn. Keith Marshall’s return has been delayed, but he’s practicing again. It’s reasonable that the backfield with which Georgia started the season could be back together by Auburn if not Kentucky.

One exciting realization strikes you as we think about the Georgia offense going forward: we still haven’t seen a complete cast of characters. When Gurley and the other backs were healthy, the receiving corps was missing some key members. Now with Mitchell and, to a lesser extent, Scott-Wesley back in action, several tailbacks have been sidelined. Mitchell hasn’t had a breakout game yet, but just his presence on the field has allowed Georgia to realign its passing game. Mason now has a full set of receivers and – coincidence or not – has looked a good deal more confident in Georgia’s last two games. He’s passed for 3 touchdowns, run for two scores, and done it at a 70% clip with no interceptions. We could soon see a backfield that features four outstanding backs as well as a group of receivers headlined by Conley, Bennett, and Mitchell. That was the promise of the 2014 offense, and I hope we can get a glimpse of it in some significant upcoming games.

If there’s some uncertainty among the backs and receivers, it’s the readiness of Marshall and Scott-Wesley to play this season. Their 2013 injuries were significant, and it’s been a long road back. Marshall, though cleared to play, seemed to struggle in limited action earlier this season. Scott-Wesley saw even less time against Missouri and didn’t record a catch. With Chubb showing that he can more than handle the job, we haven’t abandoned the idea of a redshirt for Marshall yet.