As of Thursday evening, there was a 40 percent chance of rain when Georgia and Florida renew their rivalry for the 91st time Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS). That’s down slightly from a day earlier.
The consensus of opinion might be that rain would most negatively affect the Bulldogs. They are, after all, the team that relies most on its offense and the forward pass in particular.
But while rain certainly is no fun to fans in attendance, it is not necessarily the worst thing that could happen to an exceptional passing team such as the Aaron Murray-led Bulldogs. In fact, it can be quite beneficial.
“When you’re throwing the football, when you get some pretty heavy rain where field conditions come into play, receivers know where they’re going and defensive backs have to react and make those quick cuts to the ball,” said Eric Zeier, a former Georgia and NFL quarterback.
“The advantage goes completely over to the offensive side. It’s also an advantage for the offensive line against the defensive line because it’s much more difficult to rush the passer in soggy, wet field conditions than it would be on a dry, fast surface. So it makes I easier to protect.”
Zeier should know. He was the quarterback for the Bulldogs in some of the rainiest and soggiest conditions ever encountered in a Georgia-Florida game, in 1993.
Monsoon-like conditions greeted the teams as they prepared to face off in the old Gator Bowl. But Zeier and the pass-happy Bulldogs didn’t let that slow them.
Georgia fell behind early, but Zeier brought them roaring back with a school-record 65 pass attempts (completing a record 36) and threw for 384 yards. Tight end Shannon Mitchell caught 15 of his passes 140 yards in the game.
“Shannon Mitchell was a machine that game. He was awesome,” Zeier said.
Of course, the Bulldogs came up just short in that game, which came to a controversial conclusion. Zeier appeared to have thrown a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jerman that would have allowed Georgia to tie the score with an extra point or win it on a two-point conversion with five seconds remaining. But the officials ruled that Florida defensive back Anthony Lott called timeout right before the snap, and the score was taken off the board.
“The phantom timeout,” Zeier joked. “They’re cheaters.”
Zeier actually got off two more attempts. The first was an incomplete pass in the end zone on which Florida was flagged for interference. So with no time on the clock, Georgia was given one final play from the 3-yard line.
The Bulldogs passed again, of course. But Jeff Thomas was unable to hold onto Zeier’s pass thrown slightly behind him on a quick slant, and the Gators held on for a 33-26 victory.
“The bad part of it is on that last pass, it was my fault that it was late,” said Zeier, in Jacksonville to call Saturday’s game as color analyst for the Bulldogs Radio Network.
“I hit him on the back shoulder, but it was supposed to be similar to the one that Aaron Murray threw against Tennessee (in overtime this season). But I had to re-grip the ball and just that little bit threw off the timing, just a split second. If I just catch it and throw it, we would have been complete.”
Quotable: "I've said this for years, but this league is so good in my opinion, and I think everybody's fans know how good the league is. If you can win the league, it's not a good year — it's a great year. It's a great accomplishment. Winning the East is good, but winning the SEC is great. If you happen to win the national championship, that's unbelievable. That's really the only thing we've kind of put aside is a shot at the national championship." — Georgia coach Mark Richt on the 4-3 Bulldogs adjusting their goals for the season
Etc.: Murray, a senior, was named one of 16 recipients nationwide to earn the National Football Foundation scholarship. … Freshman Kelvin Taylor, the son of Florida great Fred Taylor, will start at tailback for the Gators on Saturday.
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