Just Like Football!

The Georgia men's basketball team defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last night, 73-72. This was the second straight victory for Georgia over Tech in basketball, but Georgia's first win at Tech in nearly a decade. The victory comes just two weeks after the Dawgs defeated the Jackets on the football field. 2010 has been a rough year overall for Georgia athletics, but there's hope that the basketball team could help turn things around.

2010 was a tough year for Georgia football and baseball. Both programs who during the last decade have consistently ranked near the top of the rankings fell hard during 2010. The football team finished 6-6 and will head to the lowly Liberty Bowl to close out the year. The baseball team, who had played in the College World Series during the last 3 even year seasons (2004, 2006, 2008) struggled through what many consider the worst season in Georgia history. The Dawgs finished 16-37 overall with a dismal 5-23 record in SEC play. 2010 was also a tough year for Georgia's most dominant sport, women's gymnastics. The Gym Dawgs had won five consecutive national championships coming into the 2010 season. But the retirement of legendary coach Suzanne Yoculan combined with graduation of a number of stars lead the team to miss the NCAA finals.

But there is hope for Dawg fans. While the football team did struggle this fall, they managed to turn a 1-4 start into a bowl appearance. Aaron Murray will return next fall and is poised to become the next great quarterback in the SEC. Georgia baseball had another great recruiting class and junior outfielder Zach Cone is considered one of the best players in the SEC. But leading the charge for Georgia sports in 2011 may be the men's basketball team. At 6-2, Coach Mark Fox's team is off to a strong start with both losses coming in close games during the Old Spice Classic tournament. Trey Thompkins is just now getting healthy and will only improve throughout the season. The Dawgs have also managed to do something twice this season that they failed do all season last year, win a true road game.

The SEC will be tough, with Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida all looking strong. But if the Dawgs can split home and home with them and win the games against the weaker teams out west, the Dawgs could be headed back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007.

GO DAWGS!!!

It’s Not My Fault: Aaron Murray

Through the first five games of the 2009 season, the Georgia Bulldogs compiled a 3-2 record. This included shootout victories over South Carolina and Arkansas where the Bulldogs put up big offensive numbers. However, the two losses early that season saw Georgia struggle to score points against Oklahoma State and LSU. Senior quarterback Joe Cox had shown flashes of brilliance, but often tried to do too much resulting in interceptions.

In 2010, freshman Aaron Murray has stepped into the starting role. As the only new starter in the preseason depth chart, many were concerned about an inexperienced player under center. While the Dawgs have struggled to a 1-4 start, Murray has actually been a bright spot for the Georgia offense. A quick comparison between Murray’s stats from the first five games of the 2010 season against Cox’s stats from the first five games of 2009 provide further proof that Aaron Murray has certainly not been the problem for the Georgia offense.

Joe Cox – First 5 Games of 2009

Pass Attempts: 144
Pass Completions: 85
Completion Percentage: 59%
Yards: 1,209
Yards per Attempt: 8.4
Touchdown Passes: 11
Interceptions: 6

Aaron Murray – First 5 Games of 2010

Pass Attempts: 132
Pass Completions: 80
Completion Percentage: 60.6%
Yards: 1,100
Yards per Attempt: 8.3
Touchdown Passes: 8
Interceptions: 3

Aaron Murray has attempted 12 less passes than Cox had at this point in the season, but has completed a higher percentage for nearly the same yardage per pass attempt. While Cox clearly has an edge in touchdown passes (11 to 8), remember that he threw 5 of those in the shootout victory over Arkansas and also threw for twice as many interceptions during that period. When you factor in rushing statistics, Murray’s number look even better when compared to Cox.

Through 5 games, Murray has rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked 12 times. Through 5 games in 2009, Joe Cox had a negative total for rushing yards and had failed record a touchdown. While Murray has been sacked 12 times in 5 games, Cox was only sacked 11 times all season in 2009.

At this point in the season, Aaron Murray would be my pick for offensive MVP. Keep in mind he has compiled these statistics without the services of AJ Green for 4 games and Kris Durham for one game. Georgia certainly has a number of problems on offense, but Murray is not one of them.