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Capital One Bowl 2009
Thursday,
January 1, 2009
1:00 PM
Florida Citrus Bowl |
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Michigan State
12 |
VS. |
Georgia Bulldogs
24 |
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Florida Citrus Bowl,
Orlando, Florida
Stafford and No. 15 Bulldogs get hot in second half to beat
No. 18 Spartans
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Matthew Stafford gave the type of
performance in the Capital One Bowl that'd make a fitting
finale to his excellent Georgia career.
Whether this was his last game with the Bulldogs, the junior
quarterback hasn't decided.
Fast Facts
• The Bulldogs trailed 6-3 at the half, but rallied for 21
second-half points.
• Stafford completed 14 of 17 passes in the second half and
finished the season with 25 touchdowns.
• Georgia improved to 7-0 all-time vs. Big Ten schools in
bowl games and won its 10th game for the sixth time in the
last seven seasons.
• Michigan State's Javon Ringer was held to 47 yards as the
Spartans ended the Big Ten's four-season Capital One win
streak over the SEC.
Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 18
minutes against No. 18 Michigan State, hitting Knowshon
Moreno for the clinching score in the 15th-ranked Bulldogs'
24-12 victory Thursday.
"It's going to be an extremely hard decision," Stafford said
of his decision of whether to enter the NFL draft. "My time
at Georgia has been great, and the allure of coming back is
something I'm considering. I'm 50-50 right now and I don't
know what I'm going to do. I'm going to take these next few
days and figure it out."
Ranked No. 1 by The Associated Press to start the season,
the Bulldogs (10-3) gave coach Mark Richt his sixth bowl win
in eight tries and put a happy ending on a season that
didn't live up to expectations.
The first half was ugly for Stafford, projected to be an
early first-round NFL draft pick, and Georgia.
He was just 6-for-14 and an interception in the first half
and Michigan State (9-4) led 6-3. In the second half, he
looked more like the quarterback NFL teams covet. He
completed 14 of his final 17 throws, including three TD
passes.
Figuring out Stafford proved to be a tough task for the
Spartans in the second half.
Stafford started the comeback by directing a 10-play,
96-yard drive midway through the third quarter. He went
6-for-6 for 92 yards and capped it with 35-yard touchdown
toss to Michael Moore.
"The biggest thing was eliminating mistakes," Stafford said.
"The whole first half, first drive of the second half, we
were making foolish mistakes -- me not hitting guys, us not
picking up blitzes, not finishing off drives."
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said Georgia made a very
effective adjustment in the second half.
"We blitzed well in the first half, got after them,"
Dantonio said. "They went to a more controlled passing game
against our blitz package."
Stafford was picked as the game's MVP, completing his
performance by showing a nice touch in threading a 21-yard
TD pass to Moreno late in the fourth quarter. Stafford set a
single-season school record with 25 touchdown passes.
Georgia's defense helped keep the Bulldogs in the game in
the first half. The Bulldogs had four sacks and held an
opponent to the fewest points since Sept. 30.
"We played with our hair on fire, great emotion," tackle
Corvey Irvin said. "When we play with emotion, you can't
stop it."
The Bulldogs were able to make Michigan State quarterback
Brian Hoyer hurry his throws. Hoyer completed 16 of 31
passes for 159 yards with an interception and gave way to
backup Kirk Cousins on a couple of first-half series. He
threw 21 yards to Mark Dell on fourth-and-22 late in the
fourth quarter, and followed that with an interception in
the final 40 seconds.
"I love to get pressure without blitzing," Richt said.
"That's what makes us tick, baby."
The expected showdown between star running backs Javon
Ringer and Moreno never materialized. Moreno ran for 62
yards on 23 carries; the All-American Ringer had 47 yards
and a TD on 20 carries.
"We wanted to put some hats on Javon and make Hoyer throw,"
Richt said. "If he had hit some big plays passing, it could
have softened us up, give them more room."
Moreno, a third-year sophomore, is also facing a decision on
whether to turn professional.
"I celebrate the victory now and make my decision later,
after I've had time to talk to my family and my coaches."
Stafford and Aron White hooked up on a 21-yard TD toss with
9 seconds left in the third quarter to put Georgia up 17-6.
Ringer scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth
quarter -- his school-record 22nd -- to make it 17-12, but
Hoyer's pass for a 2-point conversion was long.
Balmy, 67-degree temperatures were near perfect but a 24-mph
cross wind at the Citrus Bowl was a major factor, as both
teams depended first on their ground games and star
tailbacks with little to show for it.
The Spartans got a pair of first-quarter turnovers in
Georgia territory but could only turn them into a field goal
to tie it at 3. Michigan State took a 6-3 lead with just
over two minutes left in the first half on Brett Swenson's
32-yard field goal. |
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