Dogs upset Tigers!

Georgia crushes Auburn 37-15.

In what looked improbable after suffering losses to Vandy and Kentucky, Georgia shocked Auburn and scrambled up the BSC picture with a dominating win. After watching the Dogs play sound football in all phases of the game, one could ask, "Where was this team all year?" But maybe it's just best to enjoy a big win over a evil rival.

The GOOD:
Just about everything. The Dogs set the tone early with big catches, a long pass and an early score and then followed it up with sacking Brandon Cox early- possibly reinjuring his ankle. Gant, Johnson, Oliver all got to Cox and when they didn't Tra Battle was busy catching most of Cox' passes. Battle had 3 INTs in the first half (one for a TD) and Paul Oliver added a 4th. The defense kept Auburn off balance most of the game. The Dogs Defense held Auburn to 171 yards, (35 in the air) and did not allow a 3rd down conversion!
Stafford looked sharp in the air (14 of 20 for 219 yards, 1 TD) and made big time throws to Bryant and Harris. Stafford was also effective on the ground, 7 carries for 83 yards and 1 TD. Kregg Lumpkin ran strong and avoided more than a few potential losses and led the Dogs with 105 yards and 1 TD. The receiving corps had a miraculous game without a notable drop ball. The Dogs put up 446 yards of offense, far more than their season average.

The BAD:
As good as Stafford was, he still had trouble protecting the ball and had 2 fumbles on runs that would have kept drives alive. He finally figured it out in the 4th quarter and got down after gaining a big first down. At times, Auburn moved in pretty big chunks on the ground, but thankfully when they got so far behind, they turned to the passing game which never got going.
We had a blocked PAT.

The UGLY:
Really the ugliest thing was Cox' performance, but since we are talking about the Dogs, the only things that really stood out was a couple of stupid penalties, including the celebration penalty after Battle's INT return for a TD. It's hard to complain, but it did set up a big kick return that led to Auburn's first TD which sent chills of a potential Volunteer-like let down.

Overall, the Dogs were spectacular and basically played out of character for the '06 season. But credit Coach Mark Richt and the team for coming out to play against a good Auburn team and a hostile crowd. You have to think as good as Georgia looked in this game, finishing with a win over the Geek Tech is a definite possibility.