Carolina is Done, On to Mississippi

The Georgia Bulldogs completed their two game set against schools from South Carolina on Saturday with a 59-0 domination of Coastal Carolina. And while everyone expected the Dawgs to easily dispatch the Chanticleers, they did in convincing fashion which has not been the norm for Georgia against cupcake schools. This was a domination in every sense of the word and it was just what the Dawgs needed after two tough opponents to open the season. Just a couple of quick observations:

• The burst that Crowell had on his first quarter touchdown was ridiculous. This kid is the real deal, both running past people and through them. Let's hope for 20 touches this week.
• The line was dominating. Even though they did not record a sack, they were making plays in the backfield and keeping the quarterback on the run from start to finish.
• Blair Walsh has some issues right now. One second he misses a 35 yards, the next he makes it from 56. One kickoff looks horrible, the next sails through the back of the end zone. We need him to get this right.
• Great game by Shawn Williams filling in at ILB. It makes me feel a lot better about facing Miss State without Ogletree.
• Aaron Murray is struggling right now. He throws into coverage too much and seems to have lost the ability to throw on the run. Wasn't that one of strengths last year?
• Happy to see Ray Drew finally make his debut. He looked pretty good, making a few tackles and getting some good pressure on the QB.
  

Lots of freshmen played and some backups, including Hutson Mason, got some work. Overall, it was a near perfect game between the hedges. This week, the Dawgs head to Oxford for the first of two games against the state of Mississippi. In 2006, Georgia swept Mississippi, but only after struggling in both contests. Ole Miss is coming off a bad loss to Vanderbilt and looks to be the weakest team in the conference this season. Hopefully the Dawgs can pick up their first SEC win of the season and continue the improvements we have seen over the last two weeks.

A couple of other thoughts:

• I attended the most insane high school football game I have ever seen in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night. It was my high school (South Gwinnett) vs. my wife and step brother's high school (Central Gwinnett). The final score was South 63, Central 55. The game featured over 1,300 yards of offense between the two teams, ten turnovers, and about 40 penalties. Apparently, no one plays defense in high school football anymore (I'm kidding, just not in this game). Malaci(sp) Jones, the younger brother of Notre Dame wideout TJ Jones, had like 280 yards and five touchdowns. We need to make this kid an offer.
• Penn State has to score late to beat Temple. Ohio State gets beaten by Miami. And Notre Dame knocks off Michigan State. People want to talk about the SEC East being down, but they need to be talking about the Big Ten getting beat up as well.
• Pitt and Syracuse are joining the ACC...and I don't really care. This definitely feels like a basketball move. The Big East is pretty much dead. The team I feel bad for is TCU, who was finally moving to a major conference only to see that conference dissolve before they get there. Maybe Boise State will them come back to the MWC. With the ACC growing, don;t expect any of those schools to jump to the SEC. West Virginia or Missouri are the most likely candidates for team #14.
• Florida State is back...almost.
  
• What a devastating injury for Justin Hunter of Tennessee. That leaves Tyler Bray with only Da'Rick to throw to. We'll see how is stats hold up.
• LSU at West Virginia on Saturday night in Morgantown is going to be a hell of a scene.

And lastly, I want to mention that Georgia alum Kyle Chandler won the Emmy last night for his portrayal of Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights. I have mentioned quotes from the show numerous times on the blog and it was one of my favorite shows on TV. I was sad to see it end, but glad to finally see Chandler's excellent performance recognized.