Not many people saw that coming. But some of us could feel that coming. The general and seemingly safe consensus was this edition of the Georgia-Auburn series would be a back and forth slugfest. But as the week wore on there was this feeling in my gut that the Dawgs could finally put together a complete and thorough game.
But boy, it was really nice to see it play out before my eyes.
- The crowd was fantastic. After a week of wardrobing back and forth, the stadium looked amazing and the fans really brought their complete A game too. The temperatures didn't alter the enthusiasm one bit.
- (I do have one gripe about the piped in sound, but I'm going to save that for tomorrow so we savor this completely and thoroughly.)
- And Pruitt's boys brought their A game as well. The linebackers played fast and disciplined, a stark contrast to two weeks ago. Herrera and Wilson were everywhere and Floyd seemed to respond well to the week off with four tackles and a sack. Jenkins was his usual disruptive in the backfield self. Just dominating.
- Marshall running the ball was really what scared me going in. I could imagine times where we had everything covered but he alluded one defender and gashed us repeatedly. But that never happened. The defense held him to 41 yards, well below his season average.
- A lot is being made about the tailbacks, deservedly. But my offensive points start with Hutson Mason. That guy came to play. The receivers didn't have their best collective effort. But Nama and I kept remarking at how spot on his passes looked. He and Bobo challenged Auburn deep and Mason put it on the money. Even though many of the pass plays didn't pan out, it really set the tone for the game Auburn's defense was faced with from the outset.
- And then Chubb and Gurley went to work. 290 yards later the Tigers' defense was reduced to rubble. The offensive line continues to get better each week and even when the run play was stuffed up, the pile moved forward and not backward.
- Chubb passes the 1000 yard mark for the season. And he's done that with just five starts now...as a freshman. Safe to say his Heisman campaign for 2015 has officially kicked off now?
- A little anxious about Gurley's injury, but he appeared fine walking off the field and from what I could see afterwards. We should know more later today after Richt's teleconference.
- And I admit I was little surprised to see Gurley get so much work. He had 29 carries, showing little signs of fatigue as the game wore on. But his 146 yards helped him pass Garrison Hearst in career rushing yards. Considering how much time he's missed for various reasons that's just impressive. He'll officially end his career as the second best all time in Georgia history, right where he belongs.
- Perhaps the biggest key to the game was the way the team responded to two huge special teams plays being called back. Raise your hand if you can remember a time when that sort of thing would've crushed a Georgia team's emotions. Simply an outstanding job by the coaches to keep the team focused and executing the game plan.
- And another tip of the cap to the coaches for using that time out on fourth and one to come up with a play and the stones to get the first down instead of a field goal attempt. The result, a touchdown.
There's so much more. I'm looking forward to watching the replay at some point today (while in a much warmer environment) to relive it all again. It was an incredible win. Texas A&M didn't put the cherry on the top for us, but it was sweet nonetheless.
Go Dawgs!
