ORLANDO, Fla. — Matthew Stafford gave the type of performance in the Capital One Bowl that’d make a fitting finale to his excellent Georgia career.
Whether this was his last game with the Bulldogs, the junior quarterback hasn’t decided.
Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 18 minutes against No. 19 Michigan State, hitting Knowshon Moreno for the clinching score in the 16th-ranked Bulldogs’ 24-12 victory Thursday.
“It’s going to be an extremely hard decision,” Stafford said of his decision to enter the NFL draft. “My time at Georgia has been great, and the allure of coming back is something I’m considering. I’m 50-50 right now and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m going to take these next few days and figure it out.”
Ranked No. 1 to start the season, the Bulldogs (10-3) gave coach Mark Richt his sixth bowl win in eight tries and put a happy ending on a season that didn’t live up to expectations.
The first half was ugly for Stafford, projected to be an early first-round NFL draft pick, and Georgia.
He was just 6-for-14 and an interception in the first half and Michigan State (9-4) led 6-3. In the second half, he looked more like the quarterback NFL teams covet. He completed 14 of his final 17 throws, including three TD passes.
Figuring out Stafford proved to be a tough task for the Spartans in the second half.
Stafford started the comeback by directing a 10-play, 96-yard drive midway through the third quarter. He went 6-for-6 for 92 yards and capped it with 35-yard touchdown toss to Michael Moore.
“The biggest thing was eliminating mistakes,” Stafford said. “The whole first half, first drive of the second half, we were making foolish mistakes — me not hitting guys, us not picking up blitzes, not finishing off drives.”
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said Georgia made a very effective adjustment in the second half.
“We blitzed well in the first half, got after them,” Dantonio said. “They went to a more controlled passing game against our blitz package.”
Stafford was picked as the game’s MVP, completing his performance by showing a nice touch in threading a 21-yard TD pass to Moreno late in the fourth quarter. Stafford set a single-season school record with 25 touchdown passes.
Georgia’s defense helped keep the Bulldogs in the game in the first half. The Bulldogs had four sacks and held an opponent to the fewest points since Sept. 20.
“We played with our hair on fire, great emotion,” tackle Corvey Irvin said. “When we play with emotion, you can’t stop it.”
The Bulldogs were able to make Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer hurry his throws. Hoyer completed 16 of 31 passes for 159 yards with an interception and gave way to backup Kirk Cousins on a couple of first-half series. He threw 21 yards to Mark Dell on fourth-and-22 late in the fourth quarter, and followed that with an interception in the final 40 seconds.
“I love to get pressure without blitzing,” Richt said. “That’s what makes us tick, baby.”
The expected showdown between star running backs Javon Ringer and Moreno never materialized. Moreno ran for 62 yards on 23 carries; the All-American Ringer had 47 yards and a TD on 20 carries.
“We wanted to put some hats on Javon and make Hoyer throw,” Richt said. “If he had hit some big plays passing, it could have softened us up, give them more room.”
Moreno, a third-year sophomore, is also facing a decision on whether to turn professional.
“I celebrate the victory now and make my decision later, after I’ve had time to talk to my family and my coaches.”
Stafford and Aron White hooked up on a 21-yard TD toss with 9 seconds left in the third quarter to put Georgia up 17-6.
Ringer scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter — his school-record 22nd — to make it 17-12, but Hoyer’s pass for a 2-point conversion was long.
Balmy, 67-degree temperatures were near perfect but a 24-mph cross wind at the Citrus Bowl was a major factor, as both teams depended first on their ground games and star tailbacks with little to show for it.
The Spartans got a pair of first-quarter turnovers in Georgia territory but could only turn them into a field goal to tie it at 3. Michigan State took a 6-3 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half on Brett Swenson’s 32-yard field goal.
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Comments » 15
AllVol2008#1353998 writes:
First--to say who cares? Georgia sucks. I hope Stafford and Morono are both gone
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Congrats, Dawgs.
Is Stevie S the SEC's only stumble so far?
LDDFC912 writes:
Umm...This is GO VOLS Xtra right? Who cares if GA won?
OrangeAppeal writes:
Filed under "SEC News". Seems to be in the right place to me.
ncvol writes:
Certainly glad the SEC is doing well...Hope we can join them in a bowl next year....Go Vols!
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
maybe the rest of us who pull for the SEC in general care----u go keep your head in the sand if anything non-orange doest interest you------------and AllVol2008#1353998 I guess you are happy that stafford and moreno are likely gone since they contribute greatly to Ga wins over us
givehim6 writes:
OK, half time all the Dawgs with hang overs got B-12 shots, and coffee and IV's or what ever and started playing. Look like USC the only bad boy for the SEC, so far. Wonder if steve's the next fulmore?
blitzshoot writes:
yep. Looks like the Pac 10 will be 5-0.
PumpUptheVOLume writes:
If you have speakers.. turn it up and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_vfK...
ERIC BERRY COMPLETE HIGHLIGHT REEL
10eceeVol4ever writes:
It would not surprise me in the least if we don't see Spurrier retire in the next year if he can't find a QB. It is obvious that he has lost his offensive Genius label. However I hope he waits until after next year. Interesting to see how he and CLK greet each other after all the banter between them.
Tenn_Dawg writes:
The real USC is putting on a clinic. Oh how I would have loved to see another Texas/USC game at the Rose Bowl.
Same ole 2008 Georgia team. Stupid penalties and turnovers. That was game 13 and they have yet to play a total game. All season they could only manage a half of good football. They are a decent team team just not anywhere near the elites like USC, Texas, OU and UF this year. Being dissappointed with a 10-3 season shows just how far the program has come since Goff and Donnan were roaming the sidelines.
Stafford needs another year to work on his game plus he will finally get play behind something that resembles an experienced and mature OL.
ncvol writes:
Poetry in motion...Great highlight....
Go Vols!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
y'all see that TD catch by Moreno?? Great, great pjlay by a running back.
S. Carolina sucked, made Iowa look better than it was. stats were close, but too many mistakes.
I always pull for SEC, so blow it if yoi can't handle that. We were on play away against ucla, auburn, and wyoming form being in the bowls, too damn bad.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Kinda boring, I agree.
SEC speed vs plodding Big 10.
Why does Richt love Martinez so much?
He'll get Richt fired down the road if he's not careful.
D always seems to play 2 sloppy quarters. Dawgs were a much better team than MSU and had given up that many yards to GT!
Ralph_Crampton writes:
ESPAN it looks like guys today are boosting USC for the national championship...Why? Quick teams have always bothered the big Trojans...for example Oregon teams with greater speed have been upsetting USC for many years...just like Oregon State did this year....a slow plodding Penn. St., team they beat in the Rose Bowl didn't belong there in the first place. ..JOE PA used to put big, quick teams on the field...this team was embarassing.
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