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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1990 » ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 98, ISSUE 1
Dogs dodge bullet; Goffense struggling
Dog defense
tightens up
when needed
By DAVID PACE
Sports Writer
It was not very pretty, but
Georgia’s much-criticized defense
came through when it needed to in
the Bulldogs’ 18-17 victory over
Southern Mississippi Saturday at
Sanford Stadium.
The defense was far from per
fect, allowing 267 total yards and
17 points, but the Junkyard Dogs
stepped forward and thwarted
USM’s attempts to capitalize on
opportunities given to them.
With Georgia leading 3-0 in the
second quarter, Georgia quar
terback Greg Talley coughed the
ball up to USM on Georgia’s 26
yard line.
The defense stiffened, knocking
the Eagles back five yards before
USM’s Jim Taylor booted a 49 yard
field goal to tie the score.
On its first possesion of the
second half, USM drove to the
Georgia 11 before a hard hit
popped the ball loose from running
back Eddie Ray Jackson. Georgia
comerback George Wynn recov
ered the fumble to end the threat.
After Georgia took the 18-17
lead in the fourth quarter
Georgia’s defense held USM to just
29 yards in the final period.
The Dogs hunkered down one
last time on USM’s last possesion
of the game, when the Golden Ea
gles got the ball on the Georgia 24
via a punt return. The Eagles got
no closer as Georgia’s defense
knocked the visitors back a yard to
the 25 on three plays. It proved to
be crucial for the Dogs as USM’s
Jim Taylor missed the potential
game-winning 42-yard field goal
off the right upright.
Defensive tackle Mike Steele,
who recovered a fumble which set
up a John Kasay field goal in the
first quarter, said that after the de
fense gave up 337 total yards in the
Dog’s 18-13 loss to LSU, it had
something to prove.
“It seemed like the LSU loss was
blamed on us,” Steele said. “That
was a big motivating factor for us
coming into this game.”
With the exception of a third-
quarter breakdown in the de
fensive backfield, where USM
quarterback Brett Favre found re
ceiver Michael Jackson all alone
for a 63 yard TD pass, Georgia’s de
fense stifled the Golden Eagle at
tack. The bomb woke the Dogs up
as Georgia forced USM to punt four
times and miss one field-goal at
tempt in their last five possesions.
“We had a couple of break
downs,” junior comerback Chuck
Carswell said. “But I can’t begin to
tell you how important this victory
is for us."
‘This game is definitely going to
add to our confidence.”
The home crowd gave the Dogs a
lift too, when USM found itself
backed up against its goal line at
the closed end of Sanford Stadium.
The deafening roar of the crowd
hindered the Golden Eagle offense
and aided in forcing a punt from
the endzone. It gave the Dogs ex
cellent field position at the USM 46
yard line, which led to Georgia’s
winning touchdown.
‘The fans were great,” Line
backer Mo Lewis said. “We needed
that more than anything.”
Although the win was a total
team effort, the play of linebackers
John Allen, Torrey Evans, and
Lewis stood out. Allen and Evans
each had nine tackles to lead the
Dogs, while Lewis recorded eight
takedowns. Linebacker Bryant
Gantt added six tackles in the ef
fort.
In the defensive secondary, free-
safety Mike Jones and strong-
safety David Hargett each made
six stops.
Georgia’s defense will also suffer
throughout the rest of the season
with the losses of key defensive
linemen George Brewer, Curt
Douglas and Casey Barnum be
cause of academic problems. All
three players are currently going
through an appeal process that
could result in the players’ return
to action before season’s end.
The Dogs defense will be tested
again Saturday when the Alabama
Crimson Tide rolls between the
hedges.
Alabama brings a deceptive 0-2
record into Athens after upset
losses to Southern Mississippi and
Florida. The team’s star running
back Sirhan Stacy is out for the
season with an injury.
Bulldog attack grounded,
sputtering as Tide rolls in
By GENE WILUAMS
Sports Writer
As Georgia (1-1) prepares for an
important SEC war with the re
ceding Crimson Tide of Alabama
(0-2), the 1990 Bulldog offensive
unit bears a close resemblance to
the little girl with the curl of
Mother Goose lore.
When the team is on, they are
very, very good. But when they are
bad, they are atrocious.
“We need to improve,” offensive
coordinator George Haffner said.
“We have got to get more balance
offensively.”
During Georgia’s 18-17 knee-
knocking victory over Southern
Mississippi, the offense showed
glimpses of greatness. On
Georgia’s two touchdown drives
the offensive line, led by center
Jack Swan and tackle LeMonte
Tellis, bore huge holes in the
Golden Eagle defense for tailbacks
Garrison Hearst, who had 72 yards
on 13 carries, and Larry Ware, who
rushed for 77 yards on 18 attempts
and two touchdowns.
On those two drives combined,
Georgia went 108 yards on 16
plays, 14 of those plays being vin
tage Georgia football — sweep left
and sweep right.
“We had great blocking,” Ware
said. “All I had to do was run up in
there because the holes were so
big.”
“Our line blocking was excellent
during those drives,” Hearst said.
“After we got behind (17-6), we de
cided to get it it going and we
moved the football.”
Unfortunately, outside of the
two touchdown drives, the Bulldog
offense sputtered, accumulating
only 142 yards on 52 plays. The
In an age of run and
shoot offenses,
Georgia is still relying
on the ground game for
victories.
blitzing defense of the Golden Ea
gles stymied Ground Goff and
quarterbacks Greg Talley and Pre
ston Jones could not find their tar
gets as they combined for a paltry
81 passing yards.
“It’s a welcome sight to see those
guys (Hearst and Ware) in the
backfield, but we have got to mix it
up,” Talley said.
The Bulldog offense also had a
hot-and-cold performance in
Georgia’s 18-13 Sept. 8 loss to LSU
in Baton Rouge. While Jones and
Talley combined for 142 yards and
a touchdown by the air, Ware only
mustered six yards on three at
tempts and Hearst, in his first col
legiate game, gained 67 yards on
17 carries.
“We had a chance to win the
LSU game because Garrison was
just a step away from breaking it
long a couple of times during the
game,” Goff said.
Perhaps, but the Bulldogs did
not utilize all of the weapons at
their disposal in Louisiana. The
coaches fell into the trap of de
pending solely on Hearst to carry-
Hearst is not Herschel Walker. The
coaching staff must use Ware,
Mack Strong, Alphonso Ellis, and
Please See SPUTTER, Page 2
What a rush
Garrison Hearst (left) stretches for yardage against Southern Miss.
Saturday. Larry Ware (above) prances toward the endzone in Bulldogs'
1817 victory as Preston Jones cheers on.
QB question unresolved;
neither choice outstanding
By GENE WILLIAMS
Sports Writer
An analysis
The Georgia quarterback situa
tion is still unsettled as the
Bulldog coaching staff flip-
flopped Preston Jones and Greg
Talley three times during the
Bulldogs’ 18-17 victory over
Southern Mississippi Saturday.
“Our plan going into the
game was to start Preston and
then bring Greg into the game
in the second quarter. After
that, we were going to play it by
ear as to who would play,” offen
sive coordinator George Haffner
said.
This was the plan, but it
didn’t work to perfection.
Against the Golden Eagles,
the pair combined for only 81
yards and completed only eight
of their 19 attempts.
Last season after two games,
Talley, last season’s starter, was
19 of 35 for 249 yards, one
touchdown pass and no inter
ceptions. This year, Talley is
eight of ten for 102 yards, no
touchdown passes and no inter
ceptions. Currently, Jones is 13
for 28 for 121 yards with a
touchdown pass and three inter
ceptions. Last season, he was 9
for 19 for 77 yards, one touch
down, and no interceptions after
his first two games.
Despite the loss of wide re
ceiver Arthur Marshall, who is
out for the year with a broken
leg, Georgia’s receiving corps is
the deepest, most talented and
most experienced unit on the
team. The Bulldogs seem con
tent, however,with letting this
lethal weapon rot in its holster.
This season...
• Georgia has thrown the ball
into the endzone only once and
that went for its only touchdown
in it’s 18-13 loss to LSU on Sep
tember 8th.
• Georgia has thrown the ball
deep three times.
• Georgia has converted on
only 33% of its third down at
tempts this season.
• Georgia has been outgained
in total offense, time of posses
sion, and passing yards in both
games.
In addition, the Bulldogs
have only thrown to highly-
touted freshman wide receiver
Andre Hastings three times. His
longest reception was for seven
yards.
The running game was effec
tive against Southern Missis
sippi, but if the Bulldogs could
spread the defense with their
receivers, it might be easier for
Garrison Hearst and Larry
Ware to run. Southern Missis
sippi blitzed Georgia several
times during the game, leaving
single coverage on the receivers.
Haffner said that they knew
this entering the game.
“We felt that we could run
against their blitz. We felt that
with our backs and with good
blocking, we could run against
them,” Haffner said.
Talented receivers in single
coverage with solid blocking
Please See QB, Page 2