Aaron Murray got the record, Georgia got the win and now all eyes are on Auburn.
The Bulldogs put away their FCS guest from the Southern Conference, Appalachian State, 45-6 on Saturday at Sanford Stadium. It probably wasn’t as decisive as Georgia fans would have liked — the Bulldogs led only 14-6 at halftime — but the Bulldogs (6-3, 4-2 SEC) were pleased to get the victory, get out without another major injury and get bowl eligible.
“I’m just thankful for the victory,” said Mark Richt, who is 124-43 as the Bulldogs’ coach. “It was great to see the defense keep them out of the end zone the whole day, and it was good to see a lot of young players out there. It was a good day.”
With two touchdown passes, Georgia senior Aaron Murray surpassed Florida’s Danny Wuerffel as the SEC’s all-time leader in that category. Murray has 115, one more than the 114 Wuerffel threw from 1993-96. Murray already owned SEC marks for career passing yardage (12,568) and total offense (12,896).
“It’s definitely a huge honor to be up there,” said Murray, who had 304 total yards in the game. “I think I’m just lucky enough to have played four years here. That’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to play for a significant amount of time, and I’ve had that opportunity here. I’ve played in a great offense that really allows me to throw the ball around and make plays with great running backs and great receivers. So I’ve been put in the right situation. And, yeah, it’s awesome.”
Murray had a short day’s work, leaving the game after three quarters. He finished 19-of-26 passing for 281 and two touchdowns, but threw one interception.
Junior Hutson Mason, Murray’s heir apparent, played the entire fourth quarter and was relatively sharp. He was 4-for-4 on his first drive and threw a short touchdown pass to Kenneth Towns. He was 11-of-16 for 160 yards overall, but threw an interception.
Tailback Todd Gurley remained gimpy from an ankle injury that sidelined him for four weeks and also got early relief. His final carry of the game was a 2-yard touchdown run that gave Georgia a 24-6 lead with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. He finished with 75 yards rushing on 13 carries and 87 yards overall.
Meanwhile, No. 9 Auburn (9-1, 5-1) continues to impress in its first season under coach Gus Malzahn. The Tigers scored four touchdowns in the second quarter on the way to 55-23 win over Tennessee in Knoxville. The two teams will meet for the 117th time since 1982 on Saturday in Auburn in the annual renewal of “The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.” The series is tied 54-54-8, with Georgia having won six of the past seven games.
“I saw the score, 55 to something,” Richt said of Auburn’s win. “I mean, they’re hot, offensively especially. I’ve watched enough of them to know they do like to run the ball and they run it well. I’m not shocked.”
Georgia led Appalachian State only 14-6 at halftime and was far too generous against its spread offense, which closely resembles the one run by Auburn. The Bulldogs gave up 154 yards in the first quarter alone and were flagged for numerous penalties. One of them was a targeting call against starting strong safety Corey Moore.
Moore was ejected with 6:05 remaining in the second quarter after he launched into Appalachian State receiver Tony Washington to force an incomplete pass on the Mountaineers’ sideline. Since the foul occurred in the first half, Moore will not have to sit out against Auburn next week.
But the Bulldogs rebounded in the second half, giving up only 59 yards and shutting out the Mountaineers 31-0.
“I think this will help us as we get ready for Auburn,” said sophomore outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who had a fumble recovery and blocked a field-goal attempt. “They run a lot of that misdirection stuff like Auburn dues and try to spread you out. I definitely feel like this was a preparatory game for Auburn and I’m glad we got to play this because Auburn is playing some good football.”
As for Murray’s record-setting throws, the tying pass came on Georgia’s first possession when he led Rantavious Wooten with a high-arc throw over the middle for a 35-yard touchdown with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter. The record came on Georgia’s third possession when Murray threw a hard strike over the middle to Michael Bennett. Bennett pulled the ball in just short of the end zone and took a hard hit as he crossed the plane for a 23-yard TD with 11:28 left in the second quarter.
“It’s great for Aaron, and it’s great for Michael to be on the receiving end,” Richt said. “A record like that reflects a lot of blocking, a lot of catching and a lot of schemes drawn up by coaches. It’s a feather in everybody’s cap.”
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