http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090928/SPORTS0202/909280305/1028/sports0202
BATON ROUGE — Georgia football coach Mark Richt may have recognized some things when he watched LSU’s film Sunday night. Something similar was probably happening at LSU coach Les Miles’ movie night.
Both defenses have had their problems against the pass. Georgia is 11th in the Southeastern Conference in that category and 90th in the nation with 243 yards allowed a game. LSU is 10th in the SEC and 48th in the nation with 198 passing yards allowed a game.
Both offenses have struggled to run. Georgia is 11th in the SEC and 90th nationally with 112 yards a game, while LSU is 10th in the SEC and 74th nationally with 130 yards a game after mustering just 30 on 31 carries Saturday. At the same time, each offense has had its moments and when needed has gotten the job done.
What team is best, or least worst, at various parts of its game will be discovered Saturday when the No. 4 Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) play at No. 18 Georgia (3-1, 2-0) at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Each team dodged bullets Saturday against two-touchdown underdogs with LSU holding off Mississippi State 30-26 with a goal-line stand in the final minutes, and Georgia getting a 37-yard field goal from Blair Walsh as time expired to beat Arizona State 20-17. Each team has done that throughout this season.
“We have certainly been tested,” Richt said Saturday night. “We have had to exert every ounce of energy to win these last three ballgames. There is no doubt about that.”
After losing to then-No. 9 Oklahoma State 24-10 in its opener while rushing for just 95 yards and passing for 162, Georgia won three wild ones — 41-37 over South Carolina, 52-41 at Arkansas and Arizona State.
Likewise, LSU let Washington and Vanderbilt hang around until the fourth quarter before game-clinching touchdown drives before the Mississippi State thriller.
“The good news is, at the very end, we’ve been winning,” said Richt, whose offense is 10th in the SEC and 74th nationally with 357 yards a game. “We’d like to remove some of the drama if possible.”
LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, whose unit is last in the SEC and 105th nationally with 310 yards a game, said virtually the same thing after the Tigers’ win on Saturday.
“We keep finding ways to win,” he said. “We score when we need to.”
Each team got game-changing plays Saturday from two of the most talented players in the country — 6-foot-4 wide receiver/kick blocker A.J. Green of Georgia and 6-3 safety/punt returner Chad Jones of LSU.
Green caught eight passes for 153 yards with a 56-yard touchdown and a terrific catch in traffic for a 36-yard gain that set up the game-winning field goal. He also blocked a potential, game-tying field goal before that.
Shreveport Times
9/28/09
