Georgia Coach Richt: We made enough mistakes to lose.

Georgia vs. Auburn

Saturday, November 15, 2008 – Auburn, Alabama

Final: 17-13

This is the second week in a row that Georgia escaped with a road victory over an SEC opponent. “The keys to this game were perseverance, guts and sticking together,” Georgia Coach Mark Richt said. “Neither team played good enough to win. We both made enough mistakes to lose.” One other “key” to winning this game was a bobbled snap on a PAT by Auburn – if not for that failed conversion, Auburn could have opted for field goal attempts instead of trying to convert on fourth down (twice) late in the game.

Well, Georgia did come out on top – here’s a look at how the game went:

14 Auburn was (14) yards from an upset win in The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. After driving the ball 66 yards on 11 plays with less than two minutes on the game clock, it all came down to a fourth-and-one from the Georgia 14 for Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns. He tried to hit Ben Tate in the end zone, but his pass was long and Georgia got the ball back with one tick left on the clock.

30 Auburn drove the ball (39) yards on nine plays and took 4:17 off the game clock after Georgia scored the go-ahead touchdown with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter. The Tigers stalled, however, at the Georgia 21, where they failed to convert on fourth-and three.

35 Mario Fannin scored on a (35) yard touchdown run that gave Auburn a 13-10 lead with 11:05 left in the game. The run capped off a drive that took 11 plays and covered 90 yards – and included a fourth-and-one conversion on a sneak by quarterback Kodi Burns.

81 The number of yards (81) receiving for A.J. Green. He caught five passes, but none were more important than his final catch of the day – it came just minutes after Auburn took the lead, and it went for 17 yards and a touchdown that proved to be the winning score.

131 The number of yards (131) rushing for Knowshon Moreno. He ran the ball 22 times and he also caught four passes for 58 yards, including a screen that Moreno took for 35 yards and a touchdown for Georgia’s first points of the game.

215 The number of yards (215) passing for Matt Stafford. The Georgia QB was 15 for 24 and was good for a pair of touchdowns. The Auburn defense was unable to pick off any Stafford passes, but Stafford did fumble the ball on his own 36 with only 2:26 left in the game. It could have been costly, had he not recovered the ball as well. Stafford said afterwards, “They are a very good football team and they play us tough every year. It’s a rivalry game, so you never know what can happen.”

Game Notes: Actually, with Georgia’s play this year “you never know what can happen” seems to be the mantra of every game. The all-time series between Georgia and Auburn is now 53-51-8 in favor of Auburn, but the difference in points is a mere 49 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Up Next: Georgia vs. Georgia Tech (November 29)

MMA Numbers in the News – All about 91

By Zac Robinson, Sports by the Numbers co-author

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91 According to an article at UFC.com, UFC (91) will mark Mike Goldberg’s 100th event. He joined the promotion at UFC Japan – Ultimate Japan 1 on December 21, 1997.

91 Interestingly enough, Goldie’s first UFC event featured Randy Couture in a decision over kickboxer Maurice Smith. Now one hundred events later, Couture is featured again, this time against a monstrous wrestler, not a striker. Goldberg said of the main event, “The irony of it all. My hundredth UFC is Randy Couture once again fighting in a heavyweight title match.”

91 Dana White, in the below interview at ESPN, said when asked about the pay-per-view buys for UFC (91), “About a million two, we think we’re going to do 1.2 million buys on this fight...”

91 MMApayout.com reported that Countdown to UFC (91) on Spike TV drew only 537,000 viewers, well below the shows average of just over 608,000. This prompted the site to wonder if it was cause for concern since they have found a correlation between Countdown and actual Pay-per-view buys.

91 How bout a 91 that isn’t about UFC 91 (from MMAJunkie.com) - the record (9-1) of UFC lightweight Matt Grice. The former University of Oklahoma wrestler has been out of action for 13 months, since a Fight of the Night decision victory over Jason Black at UFC 77. Not because of an injury or rift with the organization. After the bout he requested and received something of a leave of absence from the UFC in order to attend the Oklahoma City Police Department Academy. Now he’s ready to fight again and a lot of fans look forward to his return.

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Sports by the Numbers MMA

Stoops: Sportsmanship over BCS points is "the right way to play it"

Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M

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Saturday, November 8, 2008 – College Station, TX

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Final: 66-28

It wasn't until Penn State lost that I actually paid attention to OU's game vs. the Aggies from Texas A&M. I knew the top three in the Big 12 would win, Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma, but I didn't expect Penn State to lose. Since they did, the whole BCS is up for grabs. And here is why:

Alabama will have to win a Conference Championship, and that's hard to do in the SEC. Oklahoma will beat Texas Tech, guaranteed. USC, Florida, Texas, and Penn State will all have one loss. That means that Oklahoma and the rest of the nation will have to start campaigning. And I thought the election was over. Silly me.

Problem is, Bob Stoops doesn't do that very well. He isn't Urban Meyer and he won't beg for votes. He even gave up yesterday on BCS Style points when he felt the game would turn embarrassing for the Aggies. "There are still sportsmanship issues that you do your best to handle," he said. "I just think that's important. We played hard, let it go for three quarters. What did we have? 62 points?" Stoops added, "You just have to choose sportsmanship over BCS points. To me, in the end, it's the right way to play it."

Oklahoma fans hope 66 points were enough to sway some voters.

SBTN Numbers for OU vs. A&M

6 The number of times (6) OU has scored over 50 points this season. The only other Sooner team to score fifty or more seven times was their 2003 squad. Also, the number of consecutive wins (6) Oklahoma has over Texas A&M.

29 Rounded time of possession (29) in minutes for OU in Saturday's contest. Believe it or not, the Aggies held on to the ball for over 31 minutes and still got killed 66-28.

320 Number of passing yards (320) completed by OU's Sam Bradford. The Heisman hopeful threw for four TDs and ran for another.He leads the nation in most touchdowns scored.

328 Number of rushing yards (328) tallied by Oklahoma vs. the Aggies 26 yards on 29 carries. Ouch!

473 Number of points (47.3) that OU is averaging during the first half in their last three games. Against Texas A&M, the Sooners put up 38 points after one half of play.

666 The ranking (6) of the Sooners before dropping (66) points on the Aggies. It will be interesting if the Sooners jump past Penn State in the rankings after the Lions lost a nail-biter to Iowa.

Next up for the Sooners is a November 22 meeting with the No. 2 team in the nation, Texas Tech. Should be a great game.

Stafford: Green is a candid dude with some ups . . .

Georgia vs. Kentucky

Saturday, November 8, 2008 – Lexington, Kentucky

Final: 42-38

I will be the first to admit it – when Georgia was the preseason #1, the games I circled on my calendar, the ones I expected to be great, or that were of great significance, did not include Georgia at Kentucky. Oh well . . . this season has been anything but predictable, which this weekend proved yet again. Penn State’s loss on Saturday opened the door for Florida to win out and claim a berth in the BCS title game, which stings, because that same scenario could easily belong to the Bulldogs right now. Well, every Georgia game is still meaningful, and the game against Kentucky, as it turned out, was one of the most exciting of the season. Here are some of the numbers that tell the story . . .

2 The number of fourth quarter fumbles (2) Georgia lost vs. UK on Saturday. After UK scored a touchdown with 13:38 remaining to take a 38-35 lead, Mohamed Massaquoi coughed the ball up on consecutive possessions. Massaquoi would have lost a lot of sleep over Saturday’s game except . . .

77 On Georgia’s next possession Massaquoi caught a Matt Stafford pass that was good for (77) yards and set up a first-and-goal at the UK seven yard line. Knowshon Moreno got the ball inside the five on the next play, but then Matt Stafford was sacked and the Bulldogs faced a third-and-goal from the 11 . . .

139 Stafford was 17 for 27 passing vs. UK, but he had completions that went for 34, 42, 46, and 78 yards – an average of (13.9) yards per attempt on the day. Only two of his completions went to freshman sensation A.J. Green – but as Stafford was scrambling on third-and-goal, and nearly sacked, it was Green who he found for the winning score. It was no ordinary catch. Green leaped high into the air, surrounded by three UK defenders, and came down with the ball. Stafford said afterwards about Green, “He’s a candid dude with some ups. He went up and caught it, and he was so calm and cool.”

163 The number of all-purpose yards (163) for Knowshon Moreno. He ran the ball 22 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns – and he also caught three passes for 40 yards. With 1,113 yards rushing on the season, Moreno is not only the leading rusher in the SEC, but he is the first Georgia player since Herschel Walker to surpass 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

288 The playing weight (288 lbs) of Georgia sophomore DE Demarcus Dobbs, who after preserving Georgia’s victory by snagging a Randall Cobb pass with one outstretched hand, said, “I told myself it’s time to make a play. Some of the coaches say I have the best hands on the team.” Okay, I’d like to know exactly which coaches say that . . . and if they keep a straight face or not. Seriously though, the play of the game was A.J. Green’s catch . . . at least until Dobbs made his interception with :51 left on the clock and UK on Georgia’s 13 yard line.

376 The number of yards (376) passing for Matt Stafford. His career high total included eight receptions, 191 yards, and a touchdown for Mohamed Massaquoi. Stafford found the UK secondary much friendlier than the Gators secondary was a week earlier. He tossed three touchdowns with no picks vs. UK, after tossing three picks with no touchdowns vs. UF.

Game Notes: Georgia gave UK all kinds of chances in the second half. Brian Mimbs had a punt blocked that set up a UK score from Georgia’s nine yard line in the third, then at the end of the quarter he muffed a punt that went just 18 yards and set up another UK score with a drive that began at Georgia’s 29 yard line. Georgia took the lead again in the fourth, but on the ensuing kickoff Winston Guy returned the ball 96 yards to set up a touchdown from Georgia’s four yard line. Then came the two fourth quarter fumbles – and after Georgia regained the lead yet again, a 15 yard face mask penalty negated what would have been a game-winning stop on a fourth-and-two and gave UK quarterback Randall Cobb new life at the Georgia 13 . . . which explains why Dobbs felt it was “time to make a play.”

Up Next: Georgia at Auburn (November 15)

Mark Richt to media: Give Florida and Alabama credit

Georgia vs. Florida

Saturday, November 1, 2008 – Jacksonville, Florida

Final: 49-10 (loss)

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2 The number of losses (2) for Georgia after suffering a devastating blowout vs. Florida on Saturday. The preseason #1 is 7-2 overall but only 4-2 in the SEC – and both losses have been embarrassing. Coach Richt admitted, “It’s hard to deal with but you’ve got to get right back to work and get ready to play.”

5 The reigning Heisman recipient Tim Tebow accounted for (5) touchdowns for FL. Last year he was beat up and sacked six times by the Georgia defense – this year, well, give him credit. He scored a season high three rushing TDs and tossed for two more.

39 The final outcome was so bad that the (39) point margin of victory was only one point shy of Florida’s largest ever in this series – a 47-7 win back in 1996. The 39 point difference can be attributed to a lot of things: “We did a lot of shooting ourselves in the foot and did not take advantage of the opportunities that we needed to,” said Coach Richt. Such as: a failed (and questionable) onside kick, two missed field goals, a Moreno fumble, inopportune penalties (one that negated a Georgia interception of a Tebow pass), interceptions, and a failed challenge (resulting from a bad spot).

42 Florida scored (42) unanswered points after a Blair Walsh field goal made it 7-3 in the second quarter. It was 49-3 before Joe Cox hit Aron White for a 19 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

188 The number of yards (188) rushing for Knowshon Moreno in last year’s edition of The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The result was an enormous victory for Georgia and a punishing spring for FL. The Gators did 188 push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches – one for every yard Moreno gained in last year’s game – during spring workouts. This year Moreno rushed for only 65 yards on 17 carries and did not reach the end zone.

265 The number of yards (265) passing for Matt Stafford. He was 18 for 33, but Georgia did not score a touchdown with him on the field. Stafford was sacked twice and tossed three interceptions. One of the biggest blows of the game was a Joe Haden interception that he returned 88 yards to Georgia’s one yard line. It came in the third quarter with the score only 14-3, but Tebow put it across the line one play later and the rout was on.

Game Notes: There was no bulletin board material in the build up to this game and there were no stunts such as Georgia’s excessive celebration last year – but Florida’s Urban Meyer calling two timeouts while holding a 49-10 lead in the final minute of the game certainly stirred things up. Meyer said he did it to give back Emmanuel Moody a couple of extra carries – but no one is buying that. Coach Richt downplayed it, saying, “They can use as many as they want. It’s in the rules. They used their timeouts, and they have a right to do that.” On the subject of being blown out twice this season by SEC rivals, Coach Richt said, “Give these other teams credit. I think when the season is over history might prove those two teams are the best teams in the country . . . at least two of the top five anyway. We had a chance to be one of those with a victory in either one of those games.”

Up Next: Georgia at Kentucky (November 8)