Auburn beat LSU 10-9 Saturday, giving the 2003 co-national champions their first loss. LSU dropped from No. 5 to No. 13 in Sunday's Associated Press Top 25.
Georgia's side of the rematch isn't looking as good either, even though the Bulldogs remained No. 3 in the Top 25.
Georgia (3-0 overall, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) is undefeated but far from perfect, especially on offense. The Bulldogs' lack of firepower in their 13-3 win over Marshall Saturday failed to inspire confidence in the team's hopes for a conference championship, much less a national title.
Successful on only 3 of 14 third-down conversions, Georgia's 13 points matched the lowest total in a win in coach Mark Richt's four seasons. Georgia won because its defense held Marshall to 160 total yards, the fewest allowed by the Bulldogs since they held Arkansas to 139 yards in the 2002 SEC championship game.
Entering the Marshall game, Georgia's offensive statistics looked promising averages of 34 points, 172 yards rushing and 222 yards passing for the first two games.
Richt credited much of Saturday's lack of production to a strong Marshall defense that one week earlier had limited then-No. 9 Ohio State to 79 yards rushing.
Still, after Georgia managed only one touchdown and was held to three points in the second half, Richt acknowledged the need to re-evaluate the offense in an off week while preparing for LSU, which beat Georgia in the 2003 regular season and again in the SEC championship game.
``Marshall is a very good football team,'' Richt said. ``There is no doubt about that. We just have to really look and see what we could have done better.''
One obvious explanation for Georgia's offensive inconsistency is the constant struggle to keep a healthy tailback on the field. Georgia has had freshmen lead the team in rushing in two of the first three games.
Kregg Lumpkin, who was to be the starter, was lost for the season with a knee injury he suffered on the first day of practice. Freshman Danny Ware, who excited Richt and Georgia fans with his 135 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the season opener against Georgia Southern, suffered a bruised lung the following week at South Carolina and was held out against Marshall.
Tyson Browning was ineffective as the starter Saturday, fumbling twice and appearing incapable of breaking tackles. At only 5-foot-8 and 163 pounds, the speedy Browning may return to a role as a change-of-pace back instead of a starter who plays every down.
Browning, held to 21 yards on seven carries, shared carries with Michael Cooper (11 carries for 48 yards) until freshman Thomas Brown emerged in the second half. The 185-pound Brown is almost as small as Browning, but he ran with more power, picking up yards after taking hits.
``For a guy his size he can really finish a run and drive his feet,'' Richt said. ``He's very powerful, upper body and lower body.''
Brown lost a yard on his only carry of the first half before finishing with a game-high 81 yards on 18 carries.
Still, the emergence of Brown came too late to save the offense. With no clear go-to back, Georgia's offense relied on deception instead of power inside Marshall's 20-yard line. Cooper, who scored from the 2 in the first quarter, was the only back to find the end zone.
Ware was held out of any exercise last week, and his status for the LSU game is not known. Richt hopes Ware will be cleared by doctors by next week.
Quarterback Greene (17 of 30 passing for 209 yards) was held without a touchdown pass, though tight end Leonard Pope dropped a pass that hit his gut as he stood in the end zone. Still, Greene has thrown only one interception in three games and he said he felt more confident with his passes against Marshall.
``I felt good, probably the best I have felt so far,'' Greene said. ``We executed all right, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the red zone.''
Greene says the players can't become frustrated by the early misfires on offense.
``We just have to keep working, correcting mistakes, staying positive,'' he said. ``We are getting a little frustrated, but we just have to keep working. We have to be a lot better and much more consistent against LSU.''
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