One of the areas of the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs that will be a focal point in their first contest will be the passing game, and particularly the efficiency of Matthew Stafford. Stafford, who is considered a candidate to be the first quarterback taken in the NFL Draft if he decides to leave school after this year, has come under criticism from some. The critics point to Stafford’s touchdown-interception ration and completion percentage for his career as evidence that he is not a national championship-caliber quarterback. However, they fail to point out that those numbers look that way in part because Stafford was forced to play a lot as a true freshman when he finished the season with seven touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 52-percent completion percentage. Stafford improved last year and looks to have taken another step this year.
“He’s really dedicated himself this offseason,” said wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. “He’s put in a lot of work. He’s done all of the right things, all the little things that it takes to be a leader and a great quarterback.”
In turn, the receivers will be watched as well, but that does not worry Massaquoi. “We are a very talented group,” Massaquoi said. “We have been out there working hard [and] we’re eager to play and perform.”
HIGHLY RANKED
Despite the team finishing the season ranked No. 2 last year in the AP Poll, there is some shock that the Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today/coaches’ polls to start the season. An even more surprising ranking occurred in ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit annual Herbie Awards where he ranked Bulldog senior defensive end Jeremy Lomax the third best end in the country. Lomax, who has 43 tackles and 5.5 sacks for his career, was ranked higher than Oklahoma’s Austin English (the reigning Big 12 sack leader), among others. He is grateful for the love from Herbstreit.
“It was surprising,” Lomax said. “It was a great gesture by Mr. Herbstreit and I sure appreciate it. But I’ve still got to play.”
Fellow Georgia defensive end Roderick Battle, who is among those competing with Lomax for one of the starting end spots, was happy for his teammate. “That’s a great thing when people are acknowledging your work,” Battle said. “I’m proud of him.”
Battle and Lomax, along with the other Georgia ends, will look to continue the Bulldogs tradition of edge pass rushers with Marcus Howard being the most recent example. Howard and his team-leading 10.5 sacks are off to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, but Lomax still expects his unit to shine. “The D-line came into this year wanting to lead the SEC in sacks for the second year in a row,” Lomax said. “I believe one of the sack leaders again will be [on] the D-line. So that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Lomax and Battle were bothered by injuries in fall camp, but are ready to play against Georgia Southern. Defensive end Neland Ball, however, has been ruled out of Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury.
MORE DEFENSE
When the Georgia defense face the Georgia Southern offense on Saturday, it will be like they are facing two teams. Eagles head coach Chris Hatcher is a protégé of former Kentucky and current New Mexico State head coach Hal Mumme, so he knows about the passing game. As head coach of Division II Valdosta State, he orchestrated several high-flying passing attacks. Last year in his first season at Georgia Southern, however, he inherited a mobile quarterback and relied heavily on the running game. This year he has two quarterbacks in Lee Chapple and Antonio Henton with each offering a different skill set. Chapple prefers to stay in the pocket, while the Ohio State transfer Henton can be dangerous outside of the pocket.
“[They] looked more like West Virginia last year in [their] style of offense,” said Bulldog head coach Mark Richt. “Now, they’re going to try to play a two-quarterback system, so they’ll have a little bit of what they had last year and a little bit of the [passing system].”
Richt also said that strongside linebacker Akeem Dent and weakside linebacker Darryl Gamble are the two players that have been cross-trained behind Dannell Ellerbe at middle linebacker. With injuries to Charles White and Marcus Washington, one of them will assume the position when Ellerbe is out of the game.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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