ATHENS -- After two consecutive non-conference losses, Georgia needed a bit of a breather Tuesday. The Bulldogs got that with UNC-Asheville.Georgia got a career- and game-high 20 points from Ricky McPhee and had four players score in double figures to cruise to a 79-58 victory.

When David Cutcliffe stood up to the Ole Miss administration that wanted to tell him how to run the football program, he was fired. It was a quick hook that yanked him off-stage after one subpar season.The numbers are enough to make Cutcliffe’s case that his ouster was not deserved.

ATHENS -- Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green's availability for Saturday's game at Georgia Tech remains in doubt.Coach Mark Richt said Tuesday that Green, the Bulldogs' top playmaker, has not regained sufficient strength or range of motion in his left shoulder, which he injured against Auburn on Nov.

The gameWhere: Bobby Dodd Stadium, AtlantaWhen: 8 p.m. SaturdayTV: ABCLatest line: Georgia Tech by 7-1/2.What it means to me"It means a lot. It's an old-school rivalry. Pure hatred. I was born into it. Coming here they put it all in here [pointing to his chest].

ATHENS – Drew Butler and Blair Walsh, probably the two most consistent players on an inconsistent Georgia football team, were named finalists Monday for the top national awards at their positions.Butler was named one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, which goes annually to the nation's top punter, and Walsh named one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the top placekicker.

• When: 8 p.m. Saturday• Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium• TV/Radio: ABC; 750 AM, 790 AM, 106.7 FM

What it means to me

It was the Georgia coach Mark Richt who suggested the offense — only the offense — celebrate a touchdown against Florida two seasons ago. But the rest of the Bulldogs took it further that day in Jacksonville with a mass rush on the field for a dog pile in the end zone.

Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta When: 8 p.m. Saturday TV: WSB

What it means to me

Detroit -- Matthew Stafford was flat on his back, getting his left shoulder evaluated on the sideline by the Detroit Lions medical staff.The Cleveland Browns called a timeout and gave the rookie a chance to get back in the game.Stafford, a former University of Georgia star, threw his fifth touchdown pass from 1 yard to Brandon Pettigrew and Jason Hanson's extra point with no time on the clock gave Detroit a thrilling 38-37 win over Cleveland on Sunday.

The most vexing of Georgia's four turnovers in the second half of Saturday's loss to Kentucky -– Washaun Ealey's fumble with the Dogs one yard away from tying the score with 2 ½ minutes to play -– apparently stemmed from two rookie mistakes.After reviewing film of the play, coach Mark Richt said Ealey didn't start in quite the right alignment and then didn't run the correct track to the ball.

Despite Georgia's disappointing season, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said his team will not be overconfident for Saturday's 8 p.m. game at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the 105th meeting between the two teams.The No. 7 Yellow Jackets (10-1) were off this week, while the Bulldogs (6-5) were defeated by Kentucky 34-27 in Sanford Stadium.

ATHENS -- It was the capper on a furious comeback, and it came off the hands of a freshman.Anne Marie Armstrong's 3-pointer with 2:03 left completed a charge from down 12 with 7:15 left to give Georgia a lead it would never relinquish in a 49-48 victory over Rutgers on Sunday.

Athens -- All season, turnovers have been the biggest of the Georgia football team's assorted problems -- but never bigger  than in the second half of the Bulldogs' home finale Saturday night.Georgia blew a 20-6 halftime lead and lost to Kentucky 34-27 in Sanford Stadium, principally because of four second-half turnovers.

ATHENS -- Just when it looked like the clouds were beginning to part for the Georgia defense, Kentucky struck with a true freshman quarterback and a playmaker in the backfield.After holding the Wildcats to 63 yards and six points in the first half Saturday, the Bulldogs defense was immediately backed up against its goal line after a fumble on the second half's opening kickoff.

ATHENS -- Orson Charles doesn't move like a tight end (no offense), he doesn't catch like a tight end (no offense) and he doesn't wear the number of a tight end (that's just math).But Charles, No. 7, plays tight end for Georgia, and he played it well Saturday night.

UGA's leading scorer Thompkins (19.5 points per game) managed just four points.

ATHENS -- There will be an Uga VIII. Just who he is and when he arrives are the questions. Uga VII, the latest in a 54-year line of English bulldog mascots to represent the University of Georgia, passed away suddenly of heart complications Thursday at his home in Savannah.

With the University of Georgia battle hymn playing, a golf cart carrying the flag-shrouded body of Uga VII took the beloved Bulldog across the Sanford Stadium field -- one more time -- to the spot where he was interred Saturday next to his father.Only university dignitaries, members of the family that owned UGA's mascot and a few members of the media were at the memorial for the 4-year-old white English Bulldog.

Athens -- Uga VII, Georgia's beloved bulldog mascot who died unexpectedly on Thursday, will be honored on the helmets of UGA  players at tonight's game against Kentucky.The players will wear black dog-bone decals on their helmets bearing Uga VII's name in white lettering.

Jonathan Owens, a backup offensive lineman on Georgia's football team, was arrested Thursday by UGA Police for driving a motorcycle without a valid license.Owens was arrested on east campus, booked into the Clarke County Jail and released about two hours later on $500 bond.

ATHENS -- Georgia's football team will play its final home game of the season Saturday night, and for 23 players,  it will be their last game in Sanford Stadium. "I'm hoping not to cry," said Geno Atkins, a big and tough defensive tackle. "I might tear up a little bit.

UGA fans have stepped forward with offers to replace the school's beloved mascot for Saturday night's game in the wake of Uga VII's death.But not just any dog can replace Uga. Thus for the first time in over a half century, there will be no live bulldog on the sidelines when Georgia plays a  game at Sanford Stadium.

Uga VII will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Sanford Stadium on Saturday morning.The Georgia Bulldogs mascot, who died suddenly on Thursday, will be interred in the mausoleum in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium where his six predecessors are also buried.

Athens -- There is a chance Uga VII will be laid to rest at Sanford Stadium before Georgia kicks off against Kentucky Saturday night. If so, however, it will not be a public ceremony."That's one of the options being considered," UGA sports communications director Claude Felton said Friday.

The sudden death of Uga VII will leave the Georgia Bulldogs football team without a mascot for Saturday's game. But there will be a fill-in dog for the final two games of the season.There should be an interim bulldog ready to go for the game vs. Georgia Tech and a bowl game.