ATHENS — Georgia’s players are having a hard time getting the sound of cowbells out of their heads.
The Bulldogs’ 24-12 loss to Mississippi State last year in Starkville left their ears ringing, both from the ear-splitting clang of metal-on-metal and from the physical nature of the contest. It was Georgia’s third consecutive SEC loss and another that felt like sand slipping through fingers from all the lost opportunities.
“The cowbells stand out the most,” Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray said. “Those things were loud.”
Said senior tight end Aron White: “Those bells are the worst thing you could ever want to hear. It’s terrible. I had never really heard anything like that before last year. ... Then to have a game like that where we couldn’t catch a break, it was awful.”
Georgia (2-2, 1-1 SEC) will get a chance to erase those memories when it plays host to Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2) in a noon start Saturday at Sanford Stadium. There is much the Bulldogs would like to do better this time.
In a continuation of a theme that stood up most of last season, Georgia had two costly fumbles — including one at the State goal line by Washaun Ealey — had a touchdown called back because of a holding penalty and an interception overturned because of another infraction. In all, the Bulldogs were penalized nine times for 63 yards.
But those weren’t the only reasons they went down. Mississippi State took it to them physically, using 240-pound quarterback Chris Relf and 220-pound tailback Vick Ballard to pound out 166 yards on 43 rushes. Meanwhile, State’s defense stood up to the Bulldogs every time they entered the red zone.
“We had a lot of things happen, but they made their breaks, too, though,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “They had some things bad happen to them, too, so it wasn’t like it didn’t happen both ways. It was a frustrating day because it seemed like every time something really good happened to us that could have sparked us ended up with either a penalty or a turnover.
“But they knocked the ball out. They did their job. They earned it, certainly.”
It certainly meant a lot to the SEC’s other Bulldogs. Now in their third season under former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, their coach credits it for catapulting them to their first nine-win season in 11 years.
“It was a huge game for us,” Mullen said. “We were 1-2 going into that game and found a way to win. It was a huge momentum swing for us to get us on a win streak. It really energized and built a lot of confidence in our guys.”
It was also one of the more physical games Georgia played all season. Tempers flared throughout. Toward the end, center Ben Jones was whistled for a flagrant personal foul for a block in the back on State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox. Jones was benched a half-game the following week as a result.
“I felt bad when I got home,” Jones told reporters this week. “I thought, ‘Man, that’s wrong.’ If that had happened to one of my players I would’ve been hot. But I apologized, wrote the letter to him and sent it the next day and hopefully that’s gone. This is a new year.”
All may be forgiven, but nothing has been forgotten. Georgia knows now what kind of game to expect from “Mullen’s Maroons.”
“Their team is physical,” said Murray, who has been sacked eight times this season. “You watch the film of them all year and they just want to knock you out on every hit. We’re just going to have to match their intensity and how physical they’re going to be.”
Said White: “It definitely makes us want to beat them that much worse. Any time you play an SEC opponent you want to win, but just the manner in which we lost last year really resonated and stuck with us throughout the offseason. ... That was a game we didn’t expect to lose.
“We’re definitely looking to avenge that loss, especially having them here at home.”
Georgia can only hope that it’s the chapel bell that’s ringing after this one.
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