It’s been argued that certain intangible elements of college football are the portions which matter the most: Tradition. Pride. Swagger. Legend. It’s also said that certain tangible elements of college football are what matter most: Awards. Stats. Titles.
On this sticky Saturday afternoon, at a stadium in Athens, Georgia, those two viewpoints met in a helmet-to-helmet clash of hunger, will, and yes—even anger.
Jadeveon Clowney’s hit during the 2013 Outback Bowl has gotten more replays this week than Dennis Rodman has Korean Air flyer miles. And (unfortunately) his hands-on-the-hips stance during last week’s game versus North Carolina has been more debated than foam fingers and twerking. Amidst all the chatter, Clowney wants a Heisman and he wants one bad. As Coach Spurrier admonished the media this week, he’s not used to having a camera on him at all times. Despite the fact that he still had a solid performance at N.C.State, he was embarrassed. For Clowney, pride and swagger were on the line.
Georgia came into the 2013 season with SEC-colored dreams and national title hopes. Clemson rained all over the Bulldog’s red and black parade during week one, which didn’t completely decimate their chances, but a loss to South Carolina would have. Public defeat is a bitter pill—just ask Georgia. The only thing worse than being picked on at school is getting your lunch money taken while the whole playground watches. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray has long been criticized for his performance in highly-scrutinized games. On top of that, Georgia had lost the last three matchups between the two schools, and was tired of looking at Clowney, tired of hearing about Clowney, and tired of finding themselves staring at the underside of Clowney’s cleats. Georgia was embarrassed and hell-bent on revenge. For Georgia, it was all about the titles and the stats.
It wasn’t a washout, but they did get their revenge with a final score of 41-30. Aaron Murray made a strong showing with 4 touchdowns and 309 yards in the air. Todd Gurley? 136 rushing yards, 30 carries and 2 touchdowns. Georgia put on an offensive clinic with 496 total yards and no turnovers.
Classic. Clean. Effective.
South Carolina certainly put up a fight, keeping it close until the fourth quarter. Clowney did register one sack on Murray, but was limited by a foot injury sustained mid-week. Ultimately, Georgia was able to hold onto the ball for almost the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter, slowly hustling a winded South Carolina defense down the field.
Murray and Georgia’s coach, Mark Richt, will undoubtedly be hoping to use this game to hoist the Georgia flag once again, and with games against LSU and Florida quickly looming, they’ll have plenty of ammo if they can continue to recreate the kind of offense that we saw today. It had pride. It had swagger. It brought the numbers, and definitely put Georgia back into the title conversation. Maybe, just maybe, you can have it all.
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