Pontifications Re. Dawgs-Hawgs Horse Race

1. Caleb King - Welcome back son. I was impressed with how hard he ran. He showed a quick burst and fought for extra yards. But, the thing I appreciated even more was his pass blocking. On several occasions he ate up a blitzing defender and was singled out by the announcers for his exemplary work. Gonna be a great day in the film room for Mr. King!

2. Richard Samuel - Huge fumble, huge redeeming 80 yard TD run. The rest of his night was spent keeping the Arky defense honest so Joe Cox could surgical take them apart. Last week Branden Smith fumbled then took one 61 yards for a TD. I suppose we can accept the long touchdowns as penance for fumbles, but here is a better plan... skip the fumble part and still take one to the house.

3. Joe Cox - I don't feel like doing the research of the actually play-by-play, but it seems to me that on about 4 different 3rd and 3's turned 3rd and 8's, Joe bailed out his O-lineman's procedure penalty. Usually after a game like this one, people say the QB should take his O-line out for a steak dinner... in this case, the O-line should treat Joe to whatever he likes because he made money throws on those 3rd and longs - including the 2 point conversion. Well done Joe, enjoy your dinner on the O-line. And congratulations for being awared the Walter Camp Player of the Week!

4. Michael Moore - Ochodos was our ATM. He was money every time we needed a big third down conversion. He is fearless across the middle and showed great reliability to both be open beyond the stick and to catch the ball. He has boldly stepped into Massaquoi's shoes for this role and he has handled it well.

5. Drew Butler - Butler's last punt was immeasurably huge. With the Dawgs clinging to a precarious 8 point lead, he boomed a 64 yarder that put Arkansas on its own 9 yard line with 5:25. This stuck Arkansas in a deep hole putting pressure on Mallett and firing up our defense. A quick three and out for our defense and a shanked Arkansas punt gave UGA the ball on the Arkansas 30 which led to a Blair Walsh field goal and the finally insurmountable 11 point lead. The Butler did it... he flipped the field when we needed it most.

6. Reshad Jones - His big hit on WR Childs which separated him from the ball at the end of the second quarter gave us the opportunity to get the ball back with 35 seconds - just enough time for Cox to maneuver our offense down the field for 3 critical points to end the half. While the big hit was being reviewed to see if (1) it was a fumble and Vance Cuff TD or (2) just an incompletion forcing 4th down... I was afraid we would hear option (3) "After further review, it has been determined that #9 hit the defenseless receiver much too hard resulting in a personal foul for unnecessary roughness and an Arkansas first down." Finally the zebras let him play football.

7. Rennie Curran - How many times did Rennie make a sure third down tackle just short of the first down marker. That tackling machine knows where the sticks are and is determined to stop them short of said sticks. He is amazing!

8. AJ Green - "Just throw it man, as far as you can."

I now fully believe that as long as we have Rennie Curran and AJ Green, we have a chance in every game we play.

GATA!