Bulldogs' Bobo moves his office to the sidelines

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By freelancer

For the AJC

NASHVILLE -- On a cold, breezy and overcast day, Mike Bobo decided to spend some time outside Saturday.

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Georgia Bulldogs fullback Fred Munzenmaier #48 runs into the end-zone untouched to score a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday.

FREDERICK BREEDON IV Georgia Bulldogs fullback Fred Munzenmaier #48 runs into the end-zone untouched to score a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday.

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And he liked what he saw.

Instead of a nice, warm press box, Georgia’s offensive coordinator ventured into the overcast, 45-degree weather and called plays from the sidelines Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. He got an up-close look at the Bulldogs’ relatively steady play, watching them score 17 points in both halves during a 34-10 win over Vanderbilt.

Georgia (4-3, 3-2 SEC) didn’t get in the red zone last week in a 45-19 loss to Tennessee and had struggled in two games beforeo that. Saturday, however, the Bulldogs’ offense was more brisk, scoring twice in the red zone and rolling up 399 yards.

“I just wanted to get down there and get a feel for our football team,” Bobo said, “and get a look in their eyes -- get some belief and some confidence. I thought we were playing afraid to make a mistake, and I wanted them to know that we were behind them no matter what happens.”

That decision, made earlier in the week, worked. No opponent has gained more yards or has scored more points against Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-4) this year.

Georgia quarterback Joe Cox (16-for-31, 226 yards and two touchdowns) said he liked having Bobo on the sideline.

“I like having him on the sidelines and be able to talk to him when I need to,” Cox said. “When something good would happen, he'd get excited; when something bad would happen, he'd make sure everyone knew about it and would know what do next time.”

The Bulldogs’ offense started to click in the second half. After Vanderbilt rallied to cut its deficit to 17-10, Georgia drove back downfield for a field goal. And then after an exchange of punts, the Bulldogs had a pair of touchdown drives to put the game away.

Georgia entered the game ranked next-to-last among SEC teams in total offense.

“We've got a young football team,” Bobo said. “We've got a senior quarterback, but we've got a lot of young guys who haven't had much success. The guys who have had success have graduated. They’re good players, but they’ve got to just go out and play.”

Georgia coach Mark Richt said he was completely onboard with Bobo’s decision.

“I told him right before the game, ‘If you don’t like it, then go back up at halftime.’ It’s different calling a game from the ground, there’s no doubt about it. [But] he wanted to help light the fire and he wanted to see some guys eye-to-eye.”

"He just wanted energy,” Cox said. “He's a competitive guy, and he hates losing.”

Bobo said he had thought about coaching from the field after the season opener. At the end of the game, he sounded like a man ready to spend more days outside.

"We'll talk about it,” Bobo said, “but if you had to ask me right now, I would stay down there, but we’ll make that decision later.”