Marshall Morgan probably wouldn’t complain if he had to play every game at EverBank Field. In rainy conditions on a soggy field, the Bulldogs kicker was 4-for-4 on field goals in the Gator Bowl on Wednesday.
Morgan made kicks of 38, 28, 38 and 30 yards. That makes him 7-for-7 on this field this season. He was 3-for-3 in the Bulldogs’ 23-20 win over Florida on No. 2.
“This has been a good year in EverBank …,” Marshall said after Wednesday’s 24-19 loss to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. “I can’t wait to come back.”
Morgan, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., likely will play here at least two more times. The Bulldogs face Florida here in Jacksonville every season. He is 8-of-9 on field-goal attempts in two seasons.
“We’re in Florida, you know. It’s where I was born and raised,” Morgan said. “To be able to succeed whenever I’m in my home state feels great. Don’t get me wrong, my favorite place to play is between the hedges at Georgia, but it’s great to do well here because I know a lot of my friends are watching.”
The truth is, Marshall was good wherever he kicked this season. He made 22 of 24 field-goal attempts and all of his extra points. That’s after missing six field-goal attempts and four point-after tries as a freshman.
No answer from Bobo: Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo declined to answer whether he will interview for the head coaching job at Georgia Southern. However, he did confirm that he hopes to be a head coach one day.
“I think we all aspire to be a head coach one day,” said Bobo, who has been the Bulldogs’ coordinator since 2007. “Where at, I don’t know. But I also aspire to win a championship here at the University of Georgia. We’ve been close so many times, and I feel like the ingredients are there. I also feel like Mark Richt is one of the best coaches in the country, and we have a lot of great players here. There’s just little things we have to improve on.”
Gurley comes up short: Tailback Todd Gurley could have become the third back in UGA history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. Instead he came up 11 yards short. He had 86 yards on 21 carries against the Cornhuskers.
“It is what it is,” Gurley said. “It’s not going to define me. Y’all know what I can do. I’ve just got to keep working.”
Gurley, a 6-foot-1, 232-pound sophomore, did show marked improvement as a pass receiver, something he aspired to in the preseason. He caught seven passes for 97 yards Wednesday to finish with 37 receptions for 441 yards and six touchdowns. His 37 catches were third on the team.
Secondary concerns: The Bulldogs played without two regulars in their secondary, starting safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and part-time starting cornerback Sheldon Dawson. Both players were suspended.
Devin Bowman was the first new defensive back on the field. Georgia opened in a base look with four defensive backs — Damian Swann and Shaq Wiggins at the corners and Quincy Mauger and Corey Moore at the safeties.
Bowman, a sophomore, came in when the Bulldogs went to nickel on third-and-long on the Cornhuskers’ first possession. Bowman did not play in the first four games of the season and played mostly special teams in the previous eight. He had not recorded a defensive stat entered the game.
Freshman Tray Matthews, who started the first four games of the season, did not play, according to defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. He is listed on the participation sheet, however.
“He practiced and he tried, but I didn’t think he was at full strength enough relative to the other guys,” Grantham said.
Another special-teams mistake: Freshman Reggie Davis — inexplicably back deep instead of the sure-handed Rhett McGowan — mishandled a punt return midway through the second quarter, and the Huskers recovered at the Georgia 14. They scored two plays later. That represented the ninth special-teams gaffe for the Bulldogs this season and the second muffed punt.
Injury report: Georgia lost two offensive players to injuries. Left guard Dallas Lee was sidelined with a quad strain, and McGowan left in the second half with a groin pull. Guard Chris Burnette left in the fourth quarter with a hip flexor, but returned for the last two possessions.
Etc.: Record-setting Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, who lost to an ACL injury in the season's 11th game, watched the game from the Bulldogs' sideline in a black Georgia warm-up suit. Because he signed autographs for money after the injury, he was ineligible to wear a jersey or interact with the team during the game. … With the 24-19 loss, Georgia's overall bowl record is 27-19-3. The Bulldogs are now 2-1-1 in the Gator Bowl and 1-2 against Nebraska, with all three games against the Cornhuskers coming in bowl games. … Freshman J.J. Green 93 yards on three kickoff returns with a career-long 48-yarder.
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