Stafford changes minds in second half

Orlando — The collection of Michigan writers in the press box were not impressed. They’d heard all about the quarterback from Georgia and, after the first half, were left to wonder what the fuss was about.

“Looks like a Detroit Lions quarterback to me,” one quipped.

Then the real Matthew Stafford showed up in the second half. He completed 14-of-17 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns. That’s after throwing more incompletions than completions (8-6) and more interceptions than touchdowns (1-0) in the first half.

Stafford also got some work done with his legs. Twice he rushed for first downs, one of them an 11-yarder.

The scribes were impressed. They named Stafford the Capital One Bowl MVP.

“The biggest thing was just eliminating mistakes and me not missing open receivers like I did a couple of times,” Stafford said of the two halves. He finished with 250 yards on 20-of-31 passing.

Said Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo: “I just think he came out trying to be too perfect. “He just needed to settle down and just try to get first downs and that’s what he did in the second half. I’m real proud of the way we played in the second half.”

Stafford’s numbers placed him in some pretty esteemed company in Georgia’s record book.

• He set a single-season record with 25 TD passes, surpassing Eric Zeier and D.J. Shockley. The record-setter came on a 21-yard TD pass to Knowshon Moreno on third-and-10.

• The three TDs tied a Georgia bowl record.

• The 3,459 yards passing this year is the second-best in school history, trailing only Zeier’s 3,525 in 1993.

“It’s awesome,” Stafford said of the MVP award and the records. “It’s a testament to guys going up and getting it for me because it wasn’t always on target.”

Spartans hope to build off this season

No. 19 Michigan State (9-4) was disappointed but not devastated with Thursday’s loss to the Bulldogs.

“What this season did for us was show that the bowl game opportunity we got here last year [Champ Sports Bowl] wasn’t a flash in the pan,” Spartans’ second-year coach Mark Dantonio said. “It was something to building on. We went forward, went a little further. The next step is to get to more of these New Years games and possibly some BCS games. We feel like we’re headed in that direction.”

Dantonio said they were able to execute their gameplan for the most part.

“We tried to stop what they do best and we did a pretty good job of that,” he said. “We contained Moreno for the most part and Green and Massaquoi didn’t catch as many balls as they usually do. But they went to other people. I don’t think it was a lack of playing well. They just played better.”

Odds and ends

It was only fitting that Georgia would suffer another injury on the offensive line in the bowl game. This time it was sophomore tackle Josh Davis, who left in the third quarter with a significant shoulder injury. Davis started the game at right tackle but was at left tackle when he was hurt in the midst of the Bulldogs’ 96-yard scoring drive in the third quarter. Clint Boling moved from right guard to left tackle after the play. It could have been worse. Center Ben Jones appeared to hurt his left early in the game but played on. Dannell Ellerbe also returned to the game after hurting a knee. …

Knowshon Moreno had only 62 yards rushing but finished with 1,400 yards for the season and 2,734 for his career. … Georgia is now 6-2 under coach Mark Richt in bowl games and 25-16-3 all-time. The Bulldogs are 3-1-1 in Orlando. … The Dogs’ 96-yard TD drive was their fourth of 90-plus yards this season. It took 5:51 and gave them a 10-6 lead in the third quarter. …

Georgia set a school record for punt-return average for the season. The 17.58 average broke the old mark of 16.48 set in 1980. Prince Miller’s 38-yard return Thursday gave the Bulldogs 422 yards on the season. … The Dogs’ three points in the first half was their lowest in a bowl since trailing Virginia Tech 21-3 in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl in 2006.