Common opponents not helpful for Bulldogs

By Chris Starrs

For the AJC

ATHENS – Georgia and Texas A&M, which will meet Dec. 28 in the Independence Bowl, had two common opponents this fall, but Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said Sunday that watching those games hasn’t necessarily been a helpful game-planning guide.

The Aggies (6-6) were defeated by Arkansas 47-19 on Oct. 3 and lost the next weekend to Oklahoma State 36-31. Georgia (7-5) opened its season Sept. 5 with a 24-10 loss to the Cowboys and two weeks later slipped by the Razorbacks 52-41.

“People want to compare like opponents, but football is a game where some teams match up better with some teams than others,” said Richt. “I don’t know if you can look at those common games and try to figure out what’s going to happen.”

The game that impressed Richt was the Aggies’ 49-39 shootout loss to No. 2 Texas on Thanksgiving.

“The Texas game came late in the year and you could see that they were at their best, which is pretty darn good,” said Richt. “Let’s face it, Texas is playing for the national championship and [Texas A&M] did a great job against them. Rival games tend to bring the best out in a team and we have plenty of respect for this team. We’ll have our hands full.”

By a foot?

While Georgia and Texas A&M both have excellent punters in Drew Butler and Ryan Epperson, respectively, the Bulldogs definitely have an edge in the field goal department.

Georgia’s Brandon Walsh, who was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, connected on 19 of 21 field goal attempts (90.5 percent) this season and he hit a career-long 53-yarder in the Bulldogs’ loss to Oklahoma State. He also set a career mark with 14 points -- three field goals and five extra points – against Arkansas.

Texas A&M’s Randy Bullock was less successful this fall, making but 12 of 18 attempts (66.7 percent). Bullock’s longest field goal was 50 yards, but he was just 3 of 6 between 40 and 49 yards. He was perfect on extra points, making 49 of 49 attempts.

“It could certainly come down to [kicking],” said Richt. “When you look at statistics, it gives you a little bit of an idea about how to predict the future. But in any given game, their guy could get hot and our guy could struggle. Do I have confidence Blair will continue to be very accurate? I do.”

Epperson shared punting duties this year with Ken Wood and averaged 34.8 yards per kick in 20 attempts. An honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection, the Aggies redshirt freshman did not allow any return yardage in Texas A&M’s last five games.

Butler, recipient of the 2009 Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter, was a consensus All-America selection this year and averaged 48.8 yards in his 50 punts.

Injury update

Strong safety Reshad Jones was held out of contact on Sunday and Richt said he thought the senior had a tendinitis issue with his knee but added it was “nothing serious.”

Redshirt freshman safety Bacarri Rambo, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion against Auburn, was praised for his practice on Sunday.

“I’m impressed with the speed at which he’s breaking on the ball,” said Richt. “He does a great job of making direct hits and moving his feet. He just does it the way it needs to be done. ... There’s no hesitancy because he did have that issue with the Auburn game. He’s excited about playing and he’s sticking his face on them guys, wrapping up and running his feet with no hesitation now.”

Receiver Marlon Brown wore a green jersey Sunday after suffering a concussion in an earlier bowl practice. A.J. Green, who missed the Kentucky and Georgia Tech games due to a shoulder injury, was also in non-contact green. Richt said Green felt he could have contact but “we’re trying to minimize it.”

Etc.

• Texas A&M averaged 80 offensive plays per game this season. Only one Georgia opponent surpassed that (South Carolina, 83 plays). Richt said an effective running game was the key to keeping the Aggies from hogging the ball.

“The better we run it, the more we can control the clock, extend drives and get in favorable third-down situations,” he said. “That’s a big part of the deal now. They want as many downs as they can get. The more plays you can run, the more points you can score.”

• Bowl games not only offer teams an opportunity for postseason laurels, but they also affords extra practice time for up-and-coming players. Richt said that freshman defensive tackle Kwami Geathers has done a good job during bowl practices, as have freshman quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.

Richt said that approximately 90 percent of practice time has been devoted to preparing for the bowl, with the remainder set aside for player development.