The Blackout

I listened to Munson call the first half of the game while driving back from Asheville. I was fortunate to get home to watch the entire second half at home.
Munson was amazed at how fired up everyone was for the game. He stated that the crowd was louder than he had ever heard it at Sanford and that, while at capacity, there still seemed to be mobs of people attempting to get in and watch.

Our intensity showed from the get go as Reggie Ball, I mean Brandon Cox, threw his first pass into Kelin Johnson's waiting arms. We had a typical UGA drive (30 yards and stall) that ended with a FG. The War Tigers responded with a FG drive of their own. Richt/Bobo then unleashed Stafford's arm as Bailey and MoMass reigned in TD passes.

We couldn't sustain the energy and allowed Auburn to come back and briefly take the lead. The crowd got back into things and the team pushed the pedal down. The running game finally got going (after stalling in the first half) behind some sensational runs by Moreno and the passing game kept the safeties deep for Auburn. Thomas Brown almost scored on a long scamper but The Plunge (Southerland) took it in as usual from 1 yard out. Georgia ended the game on a 28-0 run and fittingly, with a Cox interception. For his career against UGA, Cox is 34 of 70 with 1 TD and 9 INT. (Reggie Ball was 45 of 104 with 1 TD and 5 INT). We'll miss you Brandon Cox.

The Blackout was highly effective and Richt pointed to the Bowl game as the next time we'll don the Black. UGA is in pretty good position for the post season one way or the other. If UT loses against either Vandy or UK, UGA slips into the SEC championship and we'll get to see a good battle between the Dawgs and (more) Tigers. If UT wins out, we'll finish somewhere 5-8 in the BCS and end up in the sugar bowl (most likely). Considering this was a "rebuilding" year with underclassmen seeing extensive playing time at just about every position (notably QB, RB, OL, TE, CB, S, LB), I think UGA is happy with a shot at the SEC championship or a BCS bowl payout.

The Hawks struggled this weekend, but I wasn't around to watch. And the Falcons decided to eschew a top 5 draft pick for an extra win (didn't they learn anything from the Hawks).

Tonight: The 49ers continue their quest to make the Patriots the most stacked team in the league by getting smoked tonight and giving the Patriots and even better draft pick in 2008.