GAME BALLS - OSU EDITION

Offense - There are many good choices after the outstanding performances turned in across the board, but my game ball goes to SEAN BAILEY. In his first game back from an ACL injury, he led all receivers (UGA and OSU) with 87 yards on 5 catches. He made two clutch circus grabs on third down that sustained drives in critical parts of the game. On his biggest play, he broke the first tackle, tight- roped 47 yards down the sideline before getting caught inside the 10 yard line.

Defense - Again, there were many great performances from which to choose, but my game ball goes to KELIN JOHNSON for his inspired leadership both during the game and throughout the entire pre-season. He had 5 tackles, one key pass break up and an interception returned for 41 yards. His leadership contributed to a successful night for our entire defensive backfield which held OSU to under 200 yards passing and one touchdown while not yielding any big plays to a big play offense.

Special Teams - BRIAN MIMBS. Brian did not know he would be starting at punter until a few days before the game and wasn't even sure he would get all of the punts for Georgia. This shows what good competition will do for the job as he averaged 42.4 yards on 5 punts. His longest was 51 yards. One was inside the 20 and another should have been downed at the one foot line if Thomas Brown had ever played shortstop because the ball hopped right between his legs and into the end zone. Most importantly, on the night, not one of Mimbs' punts were returned by OSU.

Wild Card - This is a ball that goes to a player that did something special even if he did not have the most significant performance of the game. This ball is going to GENO ATKINS rotating in at defensive tackle. Geno made only 3 tackles, but all three were behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, his three tackles for losses resulted in negative 10 yards for the OSU offense. Another way to consider it is that each time Geno tackled their guy, they were 10 feet behind the line. Way to G.A.T.A. Geno!