Georgia tight end Aron White jumps onto Georgia tailback Knowshon Moreno after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla., during the Capital One Bowl.
Orlando, Fla. — Georgia head coach Mark Richt could sense his offense was putting too much pressure on itself in the first half of Thursday’s Capital One Bowl. As the series went on and yards became harder to come by, halftime was a welcome relief for the coach.
Despite accruing a paltry 118 yards and six points, Richt preached patience to his group of talented offensive players.
“I think we had a couple mistakes early,” Richt said. “We began to press, we began to make it a bigger deal than it was.”
While Richt credited MSU’s defense for part of his team’s struggles, a change in schemes in the second half opened up the Bulldogs’ attack. Coaches stretched the field by calling more screen passes for sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno and the team’s wide receivers, which led to several first downs and a clearer center of the field.
The change helped junior quarterback Matthew Stafford, named the game’s most valuable player, warm up to 14-of-17 passing for 179 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
“All I told the offense was, ‘Just don’t make it harder than it is. Just protect the ball and get after them. Just do what we do,’” Richt said.
Sack masters
While fans and pundits have plenty of good to say about Georgia, one negative statistic has nagged Bulldogs defenders: Sacks.
Entering Thursday, Georgia was averaging less than 1.5 sacks per game and was ranked 93rd out of 119 teams in the category. But as the saying goes: Better late than never.
MSU passers were sacked six times Thursday for a total loss of 40 yards, a season-high for the Georgia defense.
“It was rewarding for us because people were saying all year that we couldn’t get pressure on the quarterback, so we had something to prove in this last game,” said senior defensive end Corvey Irvin, who had three tackles and an 8-yard sack.
“We played with our hair on fire. We played with emotion and a great enthusiasm out there as a defense. When we play as a defense, I don’t believe anyone can stop us.”
Spreading the wealth
In addition to getting a 10th win this season, Stafford came into Thursday’s game with another goal: Getting wide receivers Mohamed Massaquoi and A.J. Green enough touches to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards this season.
Entering the game, Green, a freshman, needed 49 yards while Massaquoi, a senior, needed 90. While Stafford sent off the team with a 10th win, his pair of wideouts came up empty-handed for the 1,000-yard mark. Both Green and Massaquoi recorded one catch, for 12 and 10 yards, respectively.
Instead, Stafford targeted junior wide receiver Michael Moore and Moreno the most, connecting with each on six passes for a combined 160 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get Mohamed and A.J. that 1,000-yard receiving year, but both of them did a heck of a job,” Stafford said.
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