Georgia Bulldogs Football: Revisiting 2002's Game Against The Auburn Tigers

On November 16, 2002, the Georgia Bulldogs still had plenty riding on a win over their oldest rival—the Auburn Tigers. Georgia came into the game ranked No. 7 in the nation, with the SEC's best redzone defense, and a hungry second-year coach in Mark Richt.

The team was facing a red hot Auburn team who, with names like Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, Karlos Dansby, and Travaris Robinson, were not lacking in the talent department.

Their potent offense was ranked first in the conference and the Tigers led the league with 28 rushing touchdowns.

Add to that, Auburn was carrying the bragging rights in the series—riding high on a three-game winning streak entering the game.

The Tigers were also ranked 24th in the nation and had, eight times prior, played spoiler to Georgia's bid for an SEC title. They felt confident that they could do so again—despite the fact Georgia was favored by two points.

The Bulldogs had endured a crushing loss to the Florida Gators in the two weeks prior, ending their shot at an undefeated season, but that made their resolve to win this game that much stronger because a loss would place their fate in South Carolina's hands.  They didn't want to see their first chance at an SEC title slip away based on a tie-breaker that failed to go their way.

The game turned out to be one for the ages.

Despite the shoddy performance of Auburn quarterback, Jason Campbell, who had two first half interceptions, the Tigers led 14-3 at the half—due in large part to the hard running of Ronnie Brown and a Georgia offense that couldn't seem to get out of their own way.

However after an ankle injury to Auburn's Ronnie Brown, the defense seemed to find it's groove against the Tigers running game. Even more, the offense started finding some success against Auburn's secondary. The combination of the two translated into 14 points for the Bulldogs in the third quarter.

By the start of the fourth, the score was 21-17 and, for a time, that looked like it would be the last points either side would score.

The Tigers defense got tighter in the fourth, forcing a fumble by Michael Johnson and an interception by David Greene. Luckily for coach Richt, his defense was equal to the task as they kept the Tigers from mounting any moves either.

So, after multiple stalled drives on both sides, it came down to one more Bulldog possession to either win it or go home.

A 40-yard completion to Fred Gibson placed the Bulldogs within field goal range, but at 21-17, they needed six, not three—it was the endzone or game over.

Three straight incompletions by Greene, coupled with a five yard penalty, meant Georgia was now facing 4th and 15 on the Auburn 20. For many, the game was all but over, and Georgia's shot at their first SEC Championship in 20 years was done—finished.

Then came an unforeseen miracle...it's name 70-x Takeoff AKA David Greene to Michael Johnson:



Georgia would win the game, secure a spot in the SEC Championship game, and finish their dream season by giving Georgia fans their first SEC Championship since Vince Dooley and Herschel Walker roamed the sidelines together. 

This weekend, the Georgia Bulldogs of 2010 have an opportunity to play spoiler and, even though the stakes won't be quite as high as they were in 2002, it would be nice to see a little magic from these Dawgs on Saturday, wouldn't it?

Georgia Bulldogs Football: Where Does A.J. Green Rank All-Time Among Bulldogs Receivers

There is no denying A.J. Green is a phenomenal wide receiver. At 6'4", 210-plus pounds, he's a hard target to miss on the football field.

He's not the quickest off the blocks, nor is he the fastest man on the field, but his ability to control his body, in the air, and make plays on any ball within three-feet of his reach, makes him a special player to have.

Furthermore, his lanky frame belies his overall strength because one would think he could be contained by bigger, more physical, defensive backs.

However, whether double or triple-covered, he always manages to win the jump ball battle—despite any size advantage on the opposition's part.

He uses his hands extremely well when battling for position and he excels at making the most difficult catches look elementary.

All things considered, it's easy for any Georgia Bulldog fan to say that Green is probably one of the best receivers Georgia has ever had—and that is saying a lot considering the Bulldogs history books house the SEC's All-Time Leading receiver in Terrence Edwards.

So, in just his junior season, where exactly does Green rate amongst the all-time greats who've played
at Georgia?

1. Pass Receptions—Career

Terrence Edwards—the SEC's all-time receiving leader, who also wore the No. 8 that is now more famously associated with A.J. Green—caught 204 receptions in his career. Green, to date, has 122.
Given the fact that Green might forgo his senior season for the riches of the NFL (he's a projected top 10 pick), Edwards' appears safe.

That said, both Fred Gibson (161 ) and Mohammed Massaquoi (158) totals are well within Green's reach and it's possible that he enters the all-time list at third before the close of the 2009 season.
Brice Hunter is second all-time with 182.

2. Yards Receiving—Career

Terrence Edwards also holds this record—not only at Georgia, but in the SEC—as he accumulated  3,093 receiving yards at Georgia.

Fred Gibson ended his career trailing closely behind Edwards with 2,883 yards (imagine what Gibson could have done if he had been blessed with Green or Edwards' work ethic—hmmm). At present, Green's total rests at 1,986 yards.

He needs only 112 more yards to surpass Lindsay Scott (5th), 296 to pass Mohammed Massaquoi (4th), and 387 more to overtake Brice Hunter at third—all very possible this year.

3. Average Gain Per Reception—Career. 

The great Gene Washington, who is most remembered for his part in the Bulldogs 1975 victory over the Florida Gators (Appleby-to-Washington) averaged 24.6 yards per reception over the span of his four-year career at Georgia.

A.J. Green is currently averaging 16.33 yards per catch for his career—including games played this season. It doesn't seem likely that he will catch up to Washington, Bobby Watson (20.7), or Rex Puntal (20.5) before he ends his career at Georgia.

4. Touchdown Receptions—Career 

Terrence Edwards leads the way with 30. It's amazing that Edwards was so dominant during his time, but most of this generation are not likely to ever associate the No. 8 with him again—sad.

Green has 17 career touchdowns entering his third game of the 2010 season. Given the propensity of Aaron Murray to look for Green first, in the redzone, it seems feasible to believe Green will add 6-7 more grabs to that count. If he does, he will easily slide into 2nd place behind Terrence Edwards with a chance to surpass him altogether if he returns for his senior season.

Points to Consider:

The legend of A.J. Green at Georgia, and around the country, hinges more on his skills than his production. While no one can deny he's an absolute beast on the football field, he has been limited in what he can do by several factors:

1) The offense: Georgia is still geared towards the run. The Bulldogs have only one wide receiver in the last 60 years who has tallied a 1,000 yard season—Terrence Edwards did so in 2002 (1,004).

2) The quarterback: Green had the good fortune of playing with Matthew Stafford in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, but his past two years have been somewhat hampered by inexperience at the quarterback spot, coupled with poor offensive play calling by his still-green offensive coordinator.

3) No offensive support: Terrence Edwards had Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson. Lindsay Scott had Herschel Walker). Gene Washington had Richard Appleby. Brice Hunter had Andre Hastings and Hines Ward. Who has A.J. Green had?

Mohammed Massaquoi played for one season after the arrival of A.J. Green and, in that season, Green set records by catching 56 passes for 963 yards and 8 touchdowns. Imagine what he might have been able to do his sophomore season with a decent number two receiver to take some of the burden off of him.

Conclusion:

While Green may never surpass the numbers that some of his counterparts have accumulated at Georgia, he's certainly done more with less than any player one can recall in recent memory. He's great for all the things you cannot find on a stat sheet, and that is why he is held in such high regard by both the fans and the coaches.

He's special and everyone knows that when they see him step on the football field—numbers be damned.  
 

(h/t TheOriginalBlawger)