The sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Buffalo Bulls 45-23 in Sanford Stadium Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Bulldogs improved their record in season openers to 90-26-3. The team is 10-0 in season openers at Sanford Stadium under head coach Mark Richt.
Junior quarterback Aaron Murray started off slowly much like the rest of his team but found his groove in the second quarter. He missed twice on deep throws early on in the game but connected with Tavarres King on a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Murray also connected with Rantavious Wooten on a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter after overthrowing the wide receiver on a deep throw early in the first quarter. The quarterback also threw another touchdown in the fourth quarter to Michael Bennett to put the game out of reach.
Murray completed 15-of-26 passes for 258 yards in the game along with his three touchdowns. King caught six passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, while Bennett caught 5 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Saturday’s game was the first for Wooten after missing most of last season due to a concussion. He caught 2 balls for 45 yards in his return.
While Murray scored three touchdowns, there was another Bulldog that stole the show Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Todd Gurley arrived at Georgia as the second running back in the 2012 recruiting class behind hyped running back, Keith Marshall. He showed he belonged at UGA with a three-touchdown day of his own.
Gurley saw snaps on the team’s first drive of the season and took his second snap ten yards into the end zone, sending the crowd into a frenzy. On his next touch, a kickoff return, he took the ball 100 yards into the end zone, something that has only been done twice in Georgia history. The only other Bulldog to return a kick for 100 yards was Brandon Boykin in 2010. In the fourth quarter, Gurley ran 55 yards to the end zone and displayed a nice stiff-arm move in the process.
“That electrified the fans and it electrified me too,” said Richt when asked about the return. “That was fun to watch. I was proud of him and Coach (Tony) Ball and the entire kickoff return team. You need a guy with bravery to hit it up in there full speed, the ability to break some arm tackles and the speed to take it to the house. He looks like he will be a pretty good return man.”
INJURIES
Wide receiver Marlon Brown missed Saturday’s game due to a left hamstring strain. His status will be updated later this week but it is not believed to be serious. Two-way athlete Malcolm Mitchell missed the game due to an ankle sprain and was seen on crutches during the game. Running back Ken Malcome was removed from the game in the third quarter after injuring his left hand and did not return. Freshman left tackle John Theus left the game in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury. His injury is not believed to be serious and he should be ready to play in Missouri next weekend.
SUSPENSIONS
Despite not declaring their status during the week, Richt said that linebacker Alec Ogletree and safety Bacarri Rambo did not play due to their suspensions. The two violated team rules in the off-season but it was not clear how long the two players would be suspended. Georgia would not provide any updates on their suspensions in regards to next week’s game.
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