Thoughts on LSU, Murray and Respect

I just watched the replay on ESPNU.  Wow.  I was shaking watching the replay and teared up at the end.  Richt w/ Tracy Wolfson was awesome -- "Nobody does it better than Georgia."  I think it was all the emotion of everything, the crap he and Murray have put up with, the stadium atmosphere and the whole deal.  I've said it before, but the deal with Florida means that we just don't have many of those moments in Sanford.  Plus, the luck's just not been good when you think about it the great moments from other big games:

• Herschel's debut '80
• Sugar falling from sky '82
• The lay-down game in Auburn in '92
• Kanon's knuckleball at Tech in '95
• 4 Ots in Auburn '96
• Bobo to Allen at Tech in '97
• Quincy in Baton Rouge in '98
• Hobnail boot in '01
• Man Enough in Tuscaloosa in '02
• Michael Johnson knocks the lid off on the Plains in '02
• DJ lights it up in Dome in '05
• Stafford grows up to beat #6 Auburn in '06
• 1 and done, baby in T-town in '07

Bottom line is that you have to get lucky to actually play a top-10 team at home, especially when one of the teams on your schedule that is a perenial top-10 team never plays at your home stadium.  That's a lot of moments (outside of Jax) that have happened at places outside Clarke County.  It was fun to be there.  I was at Butler's kick game in '84, and it was the only one I could compare it to.  We stayed in the stadium for 30 minutes that day, too.  Clemson was good, but that game didn't mean as much for us.  We weren't very good that year.  Same goes for some miracles we've had:  Colorado '06, Arizona St. '09, Tech '06.  Those were some great games, but between 2 okay teams.  Two elite teams out there on Saturday, and we we won it.  I think we're the only team in America LSU doesn't beat on Saturday. 

• I'm less worried about the defense after hearing JHC comments regarding defensive calls and how the defense couldn't hear them because of the noise.  #8 was on fire.  So was #11, and they were torching the defenses.    Happens when those NFL guys play Peyton Manning all the time.  We gotta get better.  I worry about schemes, but it was clear on the last drive that we learned our lesson on the 3 man rush.  We rushed 4 and 5 the entire last drive.  I predict we'll look better but that will be because we're playing much worse teams, but it'll give us time to improve.  I'm off the Grantham bus, but I have no idea the answer.  I don't think we should fire him, I just can't defend him much until we improve.  But, unlike Willie, we seem to get the stop we HAVE to get.  No one else is stopping anyone else in the conference.
• BTW, just listening to one show today and the reality set in.  No matter what, we're going to to play McCarron, Mettenberger or Manziel in the Dome, so get ready for the fireworks.
• I heart #84
• Aaron was better on TV.  Good Lord, he was clutch in that second half. 
• I can't believe how good JSW and Conley have gotten.
• All of a sudden, we get respect.  I was thinking, had Mettenberger engineered a drive and scored with :06 left, would that mean Murray had not played a marvelous game?  When are we going to hear that Mettenberger can't win the big game?  Florida, Bama & Clemson last year?  UGA this year?  When's he going to beat a top-10 team?  Just sayin'.  Let's hear it both ways, fellas.  It's all stupid.  Mettenberger played great.  #11 made one more play.  I do think Zach got tight on that last drive. 
• I think, slowly, that Sanford is becoming a tough place to play.
• You do wonder if it's close if #3 is healthy.  I promise you that I said under my breath during that run, "Get out of bounds, Todd.  Don't take that hit." 

The lull is over.  We had a dip, and amazingly, he pulled us out of it.  Much of the credit for that goes to Aaron Murray.  He's the player we built our resurgence around, and he's done nothing but be a great face for the program.  Because of the knuckleheads we've had at RB, we've had to build the offense around him since his first game as a freshman.  The prolific offense we've enjoyed the last 2 years shows how good he can be with a running game.  And Richt is a miracle worker.  He's reinvented himself, which is hard to do.  He does it the right way, which is why it feels so good to beat Miles, who wins at any cost.  We've got a long season left, and need to keep the foot on the gas, but we're going to be good for a while.  Really good.

Next year…we're going to be loooooooaaaaaaded.

Go, Go, Go Gurley, Go!