Spring Break
'Bama upends No. 16 LSU in overtime thriller
Jimmy Carter
Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Sports
Saban tried to downplay the personal significance of the game.
"It's really not sweeter clinching the [SEC] West in Tiger Stadium," Saban said. "It really isn't. My emotions for this place are positive, not negative. I didn't leave LSU to go to Alabama. I left LSU to go to Miami. Myself and my family learned that we didn't like professional football as much as we liked college. So we had the best opportunity to return to college football at the University of Alabama. There is nothing personal in that for me."
Bulldogs rally past Kentucky
Georgia junior quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for a career-high 376 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, as the No. 13 Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) edged Kentucky 42-38 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
Stafford found freshman receiver A.J. Green for a highlight-reel 1-yard touchdown catch with less than two minutes remaining in the contest, and the Georgia defense thwarted a Kentucky drive deep in Bulldogs territory to seal the victory.
"I say the word of the day is thankfulness," said Georgia coach Mark Richt. "A lot of excitement, two great teams battling like mad. That was just a barnburner, that's the only way of putting it. I'm proud of how our guys finished."
Prior to Stafford's touchdown pass, Kentucky had outscored the Bulldogs 24-14 in the second half and was looking to give Georgia their second straight loss.
The Wildcats took advantage of big special teams plays that set up three relatively easy scores, and Georgia receiver Mohamed Massaquoi fumbled twice.
"The special teams made some mistakes, gave the defense two very short fields to defend," Richt said. "Like we said, Mohamed [Massaquoi] did fumble twice and our defense had a bad spot there too."
The loss was Kentucky's second close loss against a highly ranked foe this season. The Wildcats (6-4, 2-4 SEC) also lost at Alabama 17-14 on Oct. 4.
"It's really not sweeter clinching the [SEC] West in Tiger Stadium," Saban said. "It really isn't. My emotions for this place are positive, not negative. I didn't leave LSU to go to Alabama. I left LSU to go to Miami. Myself and my family learned that we didn't like professional football as much as we liked college. So we had the best opportunity to return to college football at the University of Alabama. There is nothing personal in that for me."
Bulldogs rally past Kentucky
Georgia junior quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for a career-high 376 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, as the No. 13 Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) edged Kentucky 42-38 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
Stafford found freshman receiver A.J. Green for a highlight-reel 1-yard touchdown catch with less than two minutes remaining in the contest, and the Georgia defense thwarted a Kentucky drive deep in Bulldogs territory to seal the victory.
"I say the word of the day is thankfulness," said Georgia coach Mark Richt. "A lot of excitement, two great teams battling like mad. That was just a barnburner, that's the only way of putting it. I'm proud of how our guys finished."
Prior to Stafford's touchdown pass, Kentucky had outscored the Bulldogs 24-14 in the second half and was looking to give Georgia their second straight loss.
The Wildcats took advantage of big special teams plays that set up three relatively easy scores, and Georgia receiver Mohamed Massaquoi fumbled twice.
"The special teams made some mistakes, gave the defense two very short fields to defend," Richt said. "Like we said, Mohamed [Massaquoi] did fumble twice and our defense had a bad spot there too."
The loss was Kentucky's second close loss against a highly ranked foe this season. The Wildcats (6-4, 2-4 SEC) also lost at Alabama 17-14 on Oct. 4.
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