BOULDER, Colo. -- Georgia center Ben Jones didn't play in the first half of Saturday's game at Colorado as punishment for a clipping penalty against him late in last week's loss at Mississippi State.
Georgia coach Mark Richt and SEC commissioner Mike Slive conferred after reviewing video of the play and agreed a half-game suspension was in order, UGA said Saturday.
"It was poor judgment on Ben's part," Richt said in a statement. "He feels very badly about the incident and has sent a note of apology to the Mississippi State player. I have talked with [Mississippi State coach] Dan Mullen, and he appreciated the concern and Ben's apology."
Jones clipped Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on Georgia's next-to-last play of a 24-12 loss.
In an interview several days ago, Jones said: "There was a pass downfield, and I was trailing the play because I didn’t know if it was caught yet. I went to cut a guy downfield because I thought he might make a play, because the ball was still up. [The refs] said it was too far behind the play, and I shouldn’t have done it. ... After watching film, I now know I shouldn’t have done it.”
Reunion time
One week after playing in a loud, lively, cowbell-clanging stadium at Mississippi State, Georgia found another charged environment here Saturday.
In conjunction with the Georgia-Colorado game at Folsom Field, the Buffaloes held two days of festivities celebrating the 20th anniversary of what Colorado calls “the 1990 consensus national championship team.”
More than 80 players and several coaches from the 1990 team ran onto the field with the current Buffaloes before the start of Saturday's game. The ‘90 team was formally honored at halftime.
After the ‘90 season, Colorado finished No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and Georgia Tech No. 1 in the United Press International poll. Both schools can claim national championships for that season, but Colorado insists it was the "consensus" champion. Colorado argues that nine postseason polls were recognized as determining a national champion in 1990 and that the Buffaloes topped six of those.
Red and black in Boulder
There was a lot of red and black around the Boulder area the past couple of days as thousands of Georgia fans made the trip to Colorado.
Georgia easily sold out its 5,000-ticket allotment for the game, limiting sales to contributors with cumulative lifetime donations of at least $38,500 to the UGA Athletic Association's Hartman Fund. Other Georgia fans got their tickets directly from Colorado, some buying a three-game package that included this game. Others bought tickets on the resale market.
Colorado attempted a "blackout" of Saturday night's game, asking its fans to dress in black. But there were large pockets of red in the stadium. Georgia associate athletic director Frank Crumley estimated at least 7,000 UGA fans on hand.
Stripling injured
Georgia freshman linebacker T.J. Stripling was carted off the field with an apparent right knee injury early in the game.
Stripling, playing on special teams, was injured on a Colorado kickoff return in the first quarter.
Etc.
Injured Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno visited Georgia's team hotel Friday night and, dressed in jeans and a red shirt, was on the UGA sideline Saturday. ... Word is that another former Bulldog now with the Broncos, cornerback Champ Bailey, was wearing a Georgia cap this past week and catching a bit of grief from teammates about it. ... Former Georgia safety Makiri Pugh, who is sitting out this season after transferring to Colorado, chatted briefly with several former UGA teammates before the game.
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