The SEC’s Erstwhile
Punching Bag Gets One Last Shot
It might just be because he’s seemingly been on campus since
the Clinton Administration, but Aaron Murray has been the perfect encapsulation
of the Mark Richt era at Georgia — loads of talent and expectation, and
always just tragically short.
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| AP Photo |
By now, the numbers are nothing new: following a
season-opening loss to Clemson, Murray was 4-11 against ranked teams, including
a heartbreaker to Alabama in the 2012 SEC Championship Game with a shot at a
national title on the line.
Judging an individual with team statistics is always
problematic, and it bears mentioning that Murray’s reputation isn’t entirely
deserved — the Tide rolled up over 300 yards rushing last year in Atlanta,
after all, and there’s been plenty of blame to go around over the last four
years. But what sticks with us, as it always does, are the late-game failures,
that long walk off the field that we’ve seen Aaron Murray make one too many
times.
Which is why what happened between the hedges on Saturday
— a 300-yard, five TD gem to knock off LSU, including a game-winning
streak with under two minutes to go — was more than just another step in one
last title run for Aaron Murray. It was redemption, not just for him but also
for an entire program, a chance to rewrite a legacy that seemed set in stone. The
crowd at Sanford Stadium didn’t celebrate so much as collectively exhale, one
more potential nightmare avoided in what could finally, mercifully be the dream
season that has seemed so close for so long.
It’s remarkably smooth sailing from here for the Bulldogs.
Georgia won’t be tested again until the Cocktail Party against Florida in
November. But Florida is a virtual MASH unit, having lost Jeff Driskel and
Dominique Easley for the rest of the year. Barring something inexplicable (and
hey, this is the SEC, so who knows), the Dawgs might find themselves back in
Atlanta one more time, staring down their old nemesis with the Promised Land in
sight.
Maybe nothing’s changed. Maybe Murray and Richt will fall
just short one more time, watching somebody else celebrate what could’ve been
there’s. But watching this year’s Aaron Murray, something has been palpably different.
He no longer seems overwhelmed by the moment, like he did against Alabama and
South Carolina and so many before that. Even in the opening loss to the Tigers,
Murray was just about the only thing that went right for Georgia — he was
on point all night, despite an underachieving defense and the loss of leading
receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
Only time will tell, really. That’s the thing about
reputations. But Aaron Murray is going to get one more shot to change it all,
one last chance to ride off into the sunset and prove everybody wrong.
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