Carolina: What I took from it

I'm certainly late in my thoughts on the game so I'll give a quick list of what I liked and what I didn't like regarding Saturday's game in Columbia.

What I liked:

(1) We beat Carolina.

Many don't take Carolina that seriously in the Bulldawg nation, but I consider them to be one of our biggest rivals.  This may be because I'm from the border city of Augusta where you are either a Georgia or a Carolina fan.  I always take delight in beating a Carolina team, no matter the circumstances.  I don't care whether it's ole' slobber knocker Holtz or Spurrier, I want to beat Carolina every year.

(2)  We beat Spurrier.

To add to my earlier comment, it is that much sweeter when Spurrier goes down in flames.  As the infamous Shaq would say "How's my ass taste?".  Spurrier was such a dick for so long to so many schools that I take great delight in seeing it handed to him like he never thought.

(3)  Blair Walsh.

Mr.  Walsh was in my list of concerns before the game, but he hit two big field goals in his first SEC road test.   Anybody remember Andy Bailey's shank at the Auburn game in 2004?  None of that for Mr. Walsh.  Well played, sir.

(4)  Matthew Stafford

Say what you will about his lack of yards or touchdown tosses, this man singledhandedly kept us alive on Saturday.   He made plays with his legs and that throw that he completed on third and forever to AJ Green for a first down is a throw half the QB's in the NFL can't make.  You can see that he's very comfortable in this offense and he has taken his game to another level this year.

(5) Knowshon's 79 yards

Have you ever seen a more gutsy 79 yard performance?  Behind a suspect line and receivers that must have soaked their hands in butter the night before, Knowshon willed his way to 79 yards against one of the best defensive front 7's we will face all year.  That TD run was a thing of beauty.  Nevermind the leap over the CMU player, that TD run may have been the best run of his career at UGA.

What I didn't like about Saturday:

(1) Kickoffs

We continually kick the ball short of the end zone when we have the ability to boom it through and constantly give great field possession to our opposition.  This might not matter early in the season, but if we give the short field to teams with great offenses, we will get shredded.

(2)  The penalties

How many times can we shoot ourselves in the foot?  This team needs to get disciplined and disciplined soon or these penalties are going to cost us a game or two down the road.

(3)  The officiating

This goes both ways on this one.  That might have been the worst officiating I've ever seen in an SEC game.  Seriously, we can't get both playclocks to run simultaneously???

(4)  Willie Martinez's "Cover Two"

For the love of everything that is holy, can we please pressure the QB and give up on this bend but don't break defense??  Seriously, Chris Smelley picked us apart in the second half.  Let me repeat that.  A QB named Smelley ripped our secondary to shreds in the second half.  'Nuff said.

(5)  The dropsies

I thought we got over this part of the way through last year.   Looks like Tripp Chandler is reverting to his old ways and passed them on to the usually sure-handed Kris Durham.  Come on guys, this is D-1 football, those are passes you should catch in your sleep.  AJ Green is putting you guys to shame.

All in all, this was quite the ugly game that we've come to expect in recent years versus Carolina.  Once again the Ole' Ball Coach had his team very ready to face Georgia.  If Carolina played like this against everyone else they might not be 522-525-44 in their history.  In the end, a win on the road in the SEC is a win is a win.  It might have cost us style points, but I think we've gained so much more by facing adversity this early in the season and realizing teams aren't going to just lie down because we're Georgia.  Hopefully, CMR beats that point into his players' heads and we come out with a vengeance next week in the desert.