The tears in Aaron Murray’s eyes hadn’t dried from Senior Night ceremonies when he threw his first touchdown pass Saturday night. He was crying again by halftime, and so was the Bulldog Nation.
Playing his final game in Sanford Stadium, Georgia’s record-setting quarterback could not finish it. He was helped off the field with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter with a left knee injury and never returned. He was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital via Georgia State Patrol at halftime to undergo an MRI test, and his status for next week’s game at Georgia Tech was not immediately known.
Murray connected with fellow senior Rhett McGowan on a 9-yard score only one minute and four seconds into the game. Five minutes earlier, Murray was with his family locked in an tearful embrace when he was introduced last among the Bulldogs’ 28 players honored on Senior Night.
It started out as that kind of night for Murray and the Bulldogs. He had four touchdown passes 17 minutes into the game, and Georgia cruised from there for a 59-17 victory over Kentucky.
But Murray’s night took an abrupt change for the worse early in the second quarter. Murray was dragged down from behind by his left leg at the end of a 28-yard run two minutes into the second quarter. He was wincing and limping noticeably when he got up from the tackle by Kentucky’s Ashley Lowery. But he finished the drive, completing an 8-yard pass to tight end Arthur Lynch for his fourth touchdown of the night and a 28-7 lead with 13:00 remaining in the first half.
Murray trotted off the field and avoided head trainer Ron Courson, who was giving chase as he came to the sideline. Murray went to a stationary bike behind the Bulldogs’ bench and rode it for most of the time before returning to the field at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter.
Hobbling ever so slightly, Murray again led Georgia down the field. But after his pass to the end zone was tipped and intercepted, Murray was tackled by Kentucky’s Za’Darius Smith and did not get up. Face down, Murray stayed in that position until trainers, who were quick to his side, lifted him off the ground and immediately carried him to the locker room. With his arms over the trainers’ shoulders, Murray’s left leg never touched the ground.
With the victory, the Bulldogs (7-4, 5-3 SEC) finished the conference season with a winning record. It certainly hasn’t been the season Georgia envisioned in August, but the ultimate referendum on whether it was a good year or bad year will be decided next weekend when the Bulldogs take on the Yellow Jackets.
In the meantime, the last bit of business to be tended to before then was addressed Saturday night at Sanford Stadium. And the Bulldogs were quick with that.
Sheldon Dawson began the game by taking the opening kickoff 4 yards deep in the end zone and returning it to the 41-yard line. From there the Bulldogs needed three plays to get into the Kentucky end zone: A 6-yard pass to Michael Bennett, a 44-yard catch-and-run by Todd Gurley on a screen pass and Murray’s strike to McGowan on a quick slant.
Murray followed that with touchdown passes of 16 yards to Gurley and 1 and 8 yards to Lynch. His night was cut short, but his final statistics reflected a full game’s work — 18-of-23 passing for 183 yards and four touchdowns and 31 yards rushing.
In the process, Murray became the third quarterback to pass for 3,000 yards in each of his four college seasons. His all-time SEC records now stand at: completions (921), passing yards (13,166), touchdown passes (121) and total offense (13,562). Murray moved to No. 2 on the SEC all-time list for pass attempts with 1,478 (Jared Lorenzen of Kentucky, 1,514). In addition, he tied David Greene with the most starts for a non-kicker in school history with 52, which is the most for any active NCAA player (the school record is 53 by Blair Walsh).
As it was, the Bulldogs got an early glimpse at their future. Junior Hutson Mason, who redshirted last season in order to give him a season to succeed Murray, took over the rest of the way. He started by leading the Bulldogs on a one-minute scoring drive to end the first half, completing a 24-yard pass to Gurley.
Mason kept up the good work in the second half. He had 189 yards on 13-of-19 passing when he left the game with 7:58 remaining and Georgia leading 59-10. Faton Bauta and Parker Welch also got snaps at quarterback.
Gurley finished as Georgia’s leading rusher (8 carries, 77 yards) and caught five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns. McGowan also had 90 yards on seven catches.
The Wildcats, who were playing without several players because of suspensions, fall to 2-9 and 0-7 in the SEC.
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