DAWGS BEAT THE CAJUNS AS THE TODD GRANTHAM ERA BEGINS

First off the Georgia Defense looked solid. Yeah they were playing against UL Lafayette, but they sill had to be in position and make the plays, which they did. They held the Cajuns to just to just 128 Total Yards (with 60 yards of the coming on the lone bad play for the day as Bacarri Rambo got caught looking). In the end Georgia rolls 55-7.

The Cajuns were just 3-16 on 3rd down conversions and 0-1 on 4th down conversions, so its pretty safe to say that The Grantham Era is off to a really good start.

As for Georgia, all eyes were on Aaron Murray, and he did a pretty good job on the day. Getting his first start at Samford Stadium probably had him with some butterflies, but he came out looking solid. He's got a good fastball, mid range shot across the middle, and his deep ball has great touch and accuracy. Georgia has really not seen a good deep ball since the Georgia Vanderbilt game when Matthew Stafford was back in Athens. Murray converted some good 3rd Downs (Georgia was 8-17 on day). Murray on the day was 17 of 26 for 160 yards. He accounted for 4 TDs on the day (3 in the air and 1 on the ground).

(Photo courtesy of Phillip Faulkner)

Defensive Players of the Game:
Brandon Boykin - 1st Interception of the Todd Grantham Era (a very nice snag)
Akeem Dent - Great pressure, 6 tackles, and a very good sack on the day.
Justin Houston - Set the tone early with a couple sacks in the first half
Jakar Hamilton - Providing great pressure on 3rd down early in the 2nd Quarter, Hamilton setup Akeem Dent on a key sack. It was a "1-2 punch" that resulted in the Cajuns calling on the punt team. The Hitman also had a Pick6 in the second half.

(Photo courtesy of Phillip Faulkner)

Offensive Players of the Game:
Kris Durham - Welcome back, Kris! After missing last year, it was good to see Durham back in. A sure handed snag in the end zone got Murray his 1st TD. 5 catches on the day for 83 yards. Durham was #31 in honor of Quintin Banks, who retired from football due to ongoing knee injuries.

(Photo courtesy Jason Vorhees)

Aaron Murray - He threw 3 TDs on the day and pick up another on the ground as time ran out on the 1st Half. Not a bad opening day performance. 1 Pick was his only blemish, but there was a potentials for 2 pics as 1 was flat out dropped by a Cajun.
Shaun Chapas - He picked up right where he left off against A&M in bowl game, great run blocking, good hands out of the backfield, and a TD on the day.

Also, it need to be said that Georgia's special teams in particular the return unit looked phenomenal. They were laying people out with crack blocks. If they keep that up, they will pick up where they left off last year with a number of kickoffs and punts going to the house.

As mentioned above there was just one bright spot for the Cajuns. Late in the 2nd Quarter, Kris Durham got hit right in the numbers, as Murray zipped one right to him on a 3rd down play. The ball was bobbled and ended up a interception for the Cajuns. The very next play was the bomb to Ladarius Green (WR) #89, who is on the John Mackey Watch List (Nation's Best Tight End). I'm sure Grantham will have Rambo running this one off in practice this week. You know Coach was looking for the shutout,

I think most Georgia fans would have like to see a bit more domination up front from the running game. With Ealey out they utilized Caleb King and Carlton Thomas, who combined for 108 yards on 23 carries with 1 TD. But it was very important for Murray to get his legs under him, get comfortable moving the offense, and passing the ball down field. Mission accomplished. Georgia could still using some tuning up on the penalties, as Georgia midway through the second quarter fell victim again to their old ways. They killed a drive with some false start penalties.

Georgia will certainly need Ealey and Green back on the scene as they travel to Columbia next week to face off against the Gamecocks.

UTAH SURVIVES PITT IN OVERTIME AS FRESHMAN BLECHEN STEALS THE SHOW

Going in this game was regarded as "The Best Match Up of the Night", and Pitt @ Utah last night did not disappoint. Utah at home in Salt Lake City is a force to be reckoned with, and Dave Wanndstedt and Pitt found that out first hand last night.

The home crowd was amped and the play was a bit sloppy at times, as the officials really worked it out last night calling 33 penalties. After a scoreless 1st Quarter Dion Lewis opened the second quarter with a TD run, and Pitt was letting the home crowd know about it.

(Photo courtesy of AP/Steve C.)

Overall though, the Utah Defense which ranked very close to the top of Mountain West Conference last year was on point again last night. Utah held Pitt to a lousy 5-14 on 3rd Down Efficiency, and Dion Lewis was effectively done for night

While Jordan Wynn did have one interception in the end zone last night, he still had a very effective outing for Utah. He threw for 283 yards and 3 TDs on the night. While he will need to bring up the completion percentage as he had just 58.3% last night, but I credit the Pitt D on making things difficult for Wynn, who in the end really made things look easy last night.

The Red Zone was a very tough place to be last night for Pitt, and one can not go far in describing last night's Defensive effort without mentioning the true freshman, Brian Blechen. He came up big last night in overtime, as Tino Sunseri rolled right on the first play in OT and stared down his receiver. Blechen made a move on the ball and set his team up for the win by picking off the pass. It was over right there. Utah took possession and muscled it down the field setting up the game winning field goal by Joe Phillips.

(Photo courtesy of AP/Steve C.)

In a losing effort, Pitt's #22 Antwuan Reed (CB & Special Teams) played big. He blocked a punt late in the 3rd Quarter and recovered a fumble. He did get toasted on a big play, but his effort on the night helped keep Pitt in the game. Dion Lewis put up some decent numbers. He got 25 touches and produced 75 yards and 1 TD.


It was truly a wild finish, and it lived up to the hype. Make no mistake, nobody wants to play Utah this year, especially at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT where the Utes have won 18 in a row.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but it is going to be bigtime when TCU comes to Salt Lake November 6th.

SOUTH CAROLINA ROLLS AT HOME 41-13

Stephen Garcia came out last night and put some of the critics to rest. With about 5:45 to go in the 1st Quarter, Garcia dropped back to pass, saw no one open, scrambled off to the right side, and ended up lowering the boom on a Southern Miss D-Back, spun into the end zone for a Touchdown. It was a 22 yard scamper that was definitive Garcia. He set the hard-nosed tone early.

(Photo courtesy of AP/Brett Flashnick)

Lattimore did not start, but he was in soon enough, and it seemed like he had a calming effect on the offense. He ended up having 2 touchdowns on the night, and he looked to be running downhill all night.

The offense for South Carolina got off to a shaky start with a 3 & Out, but they quickly got the jitters out. South Carolina did see Conner Shaw in as promised by Coach Spurrier. He started out in the slot, but by the 2nd half he was leading the team on the field as well. With about 11:22 to go in the 4th, he pitched a perfect pass to DL Moore on a crossing route for a 20 Yard TD pass, which extended the USC lead to 41-6. It was a really nice catch in traffic. Look for DL Moore to be another weapon to step up for Carolina this year.

Garcia finished 16-23 for 193 yards, and while he didn't throw a TD pass, he did have some really nice passes. He had 2 runs in particular that really defined the night, as they were hard nosed fierce plays - where he was delivering the hit on the play. Garcia has some grit, and he led the Gamecocks to victory Thursday night. Alshon Jeffrey had 7 receptions for 106 yards. And true freshman, Mr. Highly Recruited, Marcus Lattimore did not disappoint. Coach Spurrier gave the courtesy start to Sr. Brian Maddox, but Lattimore was in quickly enough on the second drive. Latt had 14 carries and 2 TD, and his presence was unmistakable. The mantle has been passed in Columbia. Marcus Lattimore is the nasty back that Spurrier has been looking for during his stay in South Carolina.

Ellis Johnson's Defense played stout and stellar tonight, really not giving up much of anything in the way of points to Southern Miss.

Georgia better watch out in week 2. These Gamecocks are balanced and they can play.

SO CLOSE YOU CAN ALMOST TASTE IT - PART V

Over the past week or so, we have covered upcoming games for this monster opening weekend of college football. Dubbed "So Close You Can Almost Taste It", read below and you will see why. Below are links to the previous articles, in case you need to catch up:

Thursday Night - 9/2/2010

Friday Night - 9/3/2010

Saturday Afternoon - 9/4/2010

Saturday Early Evening - 9/4/2010


Now that you're caught up let's jump into the night caps for Saturday (9/4/2010).