Georgia football: Fromm and Eason parallel’s with the the Greene and Shockley era
Soft beginning to the Shockley solo era
Shockley returned in 2004 for Greene’s senior season and is was clear that Richt wanted to ease him into the spotlight. He was utilized a lot in two of Georgia’s first three games of the year. And then came the Tennessee game.
The no. 3 Bulldogs had a National Championship on the mind, but the Volunteers led 10-0 after the first quarter. Then Shockley came in and led Georgia down field quickly. He concluded the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Fred Gibson.
Before that drive, Greene was 1-of-3 with nine yards and a sack in two possessions. On the touchdown drive, Shockley was a perfect 3-of-3 with 39 yards and a run of 12 yards to set up the touchdown pass.
Shockley didn’t see the field on the next three possessions. The results were 43 yards and zero points. Before that third possession, members of the Sanford Stadium audience actually booed Greene when he took the field. I don’t condone booing our own players, but the frustrations was understandable. Shockley scored, Greene didn’t, and Georgia trailed 13-7.
However, the coaches were vindicated when Shockley failed to lead any kind of drive in his second possession. Greene later led a touchdown drive that culminated with a touchdown run by Danny Ware to cut the lead to 19-14. Greene led one more drive in the final minutes, but there was no hobnail boot this time. Greene’s pass fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired.
Nothing really changed for Georgia’s offense after that upset loss. The Bulldogs went back to winning until hitting a roadblock in Auburn. Greene was still the man, Shockley made the most of his chances.
That was until the regular season finale against Georgia Tech. Greene led the Bulldogs on a game-opening touchdown drive that ended with a 28-yard touchdown toss to Fred Gibson. But on that play he fractured his the thumb on his throwing hand. He played one more series in pain, but he was done.
Shockley came in, and the offense was his. Initially, Shockley appeared ready to lead the Bulldogs to glory. He led a touchdown drive in the second quarter to help the Bulldogs take a 16-0 lead into halftime.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
But he struggled in the third quarter and Tech came back to cut the lead to 16-13. Georgia needed some kind of spark. Just as Shockley had done for Greene throughout their shared time together in Athens, Greene returned the favor.
Unable to make deep throws or lineup under-center, Greene orchestrated a drive ending with a field goal, extending the lead to 19-13. It also gave the defense more room to work with and they ended the game with one of the rivalries most iconic moments; Reggie Ball throwing the ball away on fourth down to give Georgia the win.
The Outback Bowl win brought about the end of an era in Athens. Georgia ended the year 11-2, Greene left Georgia as the winningest quarterback in college football history with 42 career victories as a starter.