It was the best and worst of a day for Georgia football in Jacksonville. The Dawgs beat Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl and the Bulldog Nation said goodbye to its favorite sons.
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The Georgia football team defied the laws of motivation to out scrap Penn State through three-quarters. The Dawgs then hung on to send Interim Head Coach Bryan McClendon off to Columbia undefeated.
Bryan McClendon, Georgia associate head coach, Georgia receivers coach, former Georgia running backs coach, former Georgia graduate assistant, Georgia letterman, former Georgia wide receiver, and son of Georgia football great Willie McClendon, now leaves Athens for South Carolina.
Skipping the farewell office party, McClendon – and the remaining remnants of the 2015 Georgia coaching staff – did Bulldog Country a good days work before clocking out. The Dawgs were motivated and prepared. The game plan was effective. The coaches took advantage of talent and situation to pull off a trick play of sorts, asking Terry Godwin to throw for the first time this year. Malcolm Mitchell, the best football playing children’s writer in the world, faked a block and broke perfectly to get wide open for the easy 44 yard touchdown strike. The Dawgs then turned around and when James Franklin tried a little tit-for-tat with a fake punt, stoned Penn State’s fourth down try.
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Godwin was the player of the game, adding a picturesque touchdown catch from Greyson Lambert to go with his touchdown toss. But as he has been all year, Sony Michel was the quiet hero, carrying the ball 20 times for 80 yards against a stacked Penn State defensive front.
Michel had help. Georgia called Keith Marshall to the fore and the senior running back claimed big difference making second half runs.
The 2016 Taxslayer Bowl was an ugly win on a sad day
It was a good day for the seniors all the way around – Mitchell scored and led the Dawgs in receptions with 5 for 114 yards to go with his touchdown. Right tackle John Theus brought the Dawgs out of the gate, opening the game bulldozing the Penn State front, and the Cinderella Bulldog tale of Jake Ganus ended as it began – leading the Bulldog defense with brain, brawn and emotion, making six tackles.
The 2016 Taxslayer Bowl was an ugly win on a sad day. The Mark Richt farewell tour did not even include Mark Richt. Bryan McClendon was a Bulldog the day he was born and he is now gone. Peeking in the press box for a glimpse of tight ends John Lilly proved emotional. But what’s done is done and the Bulldog Nation, buoyed by the promise of milk and honey, skips into the future.
But there will be more days like this one – whether they come sooner or later is all that remains to be seen. New Head Coach Kirby Smart is on the clock and the Bulldog Nation will begin glancing at their watches in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . .
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