John David Mercer, USA TODAY SPORTS
It was bound to happen. After opening the season with three out of four games against top-10 opponents, the Georgia Bulldogs were set up for a letdown on Saturday as they visited their Southeastern Conference rival, the Tennessee Volunteers, in Knoxville.
All seemed to be in order for Georgia early as the Bulldogs built a 10-0 lead after one quarter, and owned a 17-3 advantage at the half. However, the third quarter was all Tennessee, and the Vols tied the game at 17 heading to the fourth quarter. After Georgia took a 24-17 lead, Tennessee scored two touchdowns in a row to lead 31-24 with only 1:54 left.
And when it appeared that Georgia would lose and take themselves out of contention for the BCS, Aaron Murray again came to the rescue. Murray drove his team down the field, and he hit Rantavious Wooten with a two-yard touchdown pass with just five seconds remaining in the game.
Georgia would go on to win 34-31 in overtime, but Murray’s clutch play is the story once again this week. Think back three weeks, when there were questions about Murray’s toughness, about his ability to win the big game, and about his ability to beat a Top-10 team. In the Bulldogs’ last three games, Murray has answered those questions and more. He is becoming Mr. Clutch for Mark Richt and the Georgia team.
That’s good news for Georgia because they are suddenly becoming thin at the running back position. Sophomore stud Todd Gurley missed Saturday’s game, and his running mate Keith Marshall suffered a tough injury in the win over Tennessee.
That left J.J. Green to carry the load, which he did, rushing 17 times for 129 yards in the game. However, Green is just a freshman, and asking him to be the man out of the backfield may be too much.
Georgia hopes to have Gurley back next week, but that remains to be seen. One guy that will be there is Mr. Clutch, Aaron Murray, who will keep Georgia in the game. And if it’s close at the end, he’ll make a play to win it.
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
Related:
Georgia Bulldogs Suffer Devastating Loss with Keith Marshall’s Knee Injury
Georgia Bulldogs: What We Learned In Week 5, What To Look For In Week 6
Georgia Bulldogs Face Favorable Schedule Rest of The Way
