It was a tragic day, so the University of Georgia hung its flag at half-staff.
Just last summer, Uga 6 — UGA’s beloved bulldog mascot of nine years, a 65-pound butterball on four shanks — died from heart failure.
Should ASU — a 12-point “dawg” as of Wednesday — come into Sanford Stadium and upset Georgia in front of 90,000 rabid southerners, Uga 7, an unhealthy looking pooch, will be on cardiac alert.
Hey, all dogs go to heaven — especially those like UGA 6, who sported an 87-27 career record.
The 2009 Bulldogs have some deficiencies, at least on paper.
Over its last nine games dating back to 2008, UGA has given up almost 33 points per contest.
The Bulldog defense has left fans wanting, especially in the passing game, ranking 112th in the country in passing yards allowed through its first three contests.
ASU comes into the matchup in Athens in a seemingly perfect position. UGA is coming off two big SEC wins against South Carolina and Arkansas, and with a matchup against LSU a week down the pike.
Can the Sun Devils be the rock before the hard place?
Here’s the edge.
Quarterback
Joe Cox has been dealing.
The senior and first-year starter has completed more than 70 percent of his passes the last two weeks, many of which were lasers. Cox threw for 375 yards and a program record-tying five touchdowns in last week’s road win at Arkansas.
Through two games, ASU senior Danny Sullivan has been a sound decision-maker. Sullivan has yet to throw an interception, and if it weren’t for six drops in week one, he would have one of the better quarterback ratings in the nation.
Sullivan has the chance to show he’s the real deal this week against a porous pass defense.
EDGE: UGA
Running back
Current UGA feature-back, sophomore Richard Samuel, is a converted safety from high school who won the job during training camp. Samuel, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, is a violent downhill runner who appears to enjoy a head-on collision.
Samuel is more than a pure power back. He’s shown an explosive burst in the hole and has the ability to go the distance, as he did last week with an 80-yard run.
Sophomore Caleb King was Knowshon Moreno’s backup in 2008 and gives the Bulldogs a change of pace to be wary of.
In last week’s win against ULM, ASU senior Dimitri Nance showed off the skill set that once made him a top recruit out of Texas. Nance followed his blocks and made tacklers miss en route to an 82-yard, two-touchdown performance.
ASU featured four backs throughout camp and in its first game, and the Sun Devils could call for a pinch-hit home run from sophomore speedster Ryan Bass.
EDGE: UGA
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
UGA sophomore and last season’s SEC Freshman of the Year A.J. Green burned the Sun Devils’ secondary last year for 159 yards and a touchdown. Green is the prototypical big, fast and agile flanker.
Senior Michael Moore and redshirt freshman Tavarres King give UGA three big targets over six feet, and two-way freshman Branden Smith is the weapon “X,” with a 61-yard reverse for a touchdown this year.
Freshman tight end Orson Charles appears to be a matchup nightmare and has averaged almost 25 yards a catch.
ASU senior Kyle Williams had a bounce-back performance against ULM, nabbing eight balls after three drops in the opener.
Junior Kerry Taylor and senior Chris McGaha give ASU a potent trio of receivers who can play the slot and outside, while sophomore Gerell Robinson could be the red-zone, fade-route receiver Sullivan looks to this week.
The lack of an ASU tight end receiving threat gives UGA a slight advantage.
EDGE: UGA
Offensive Line
The Bulldogs have three starting sophomore offensive lineman near 330 pounds. But the unit hasn’t exactly devoured defensive fronts, as UGA has averaged only 3.8 yards per carry as a team.
UGA has protected well, allowing five sacks in 80 pass attempts.
The extent of ASU’s improvements up front has yet to be determined, but the group did appear to make an incremental gain from game one to game two.
Sophomore Matt Hustad will get his second start at right guard.
EDGE: UGA
Defensive line
In 114 pass attempts, UGA has only two sacks. The lack of pressure has played a significant role in the Bulldogs’ struggling pass defense.
UGA has done a much better job against the run, allowing 3.6 yards per carry.
Senior defensive tackle Geno Atkins is space eater who should get credit for UGA’s strong run defense and is on many evaluators’ Top 100 draft boards.
UGA lost starting senior defensive end Lance Battle to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear.
The Sun Devil defensive line has yet to get off the snide in the sack department — which given the depth of talent is a huge surprise — though ASU has created a lot of pressure.
Senior Dexter Davis and friends are due.
EDGE: ASU
Linebackers
Junior Rennie Curran leads a UGA unit that has been maligned by the local media. The linebackers seem to have the physical tools, but they haven’t been executing.
ASU goes six deep at linebacker, starting the three wise men in seniors Mike Nixon, Travis Goethel and Gerald Munns with the potential Centennial High star trio of freshman Vontaze Burfict and sophomores Brandon Magee and Shelly Lyons mixed in.
With five interceptions, two sacks, and countless bone-jarring hits, the unit is already scarily good and bound to get a lot better.
EDGE: ASU
Secondary
UGA’s secondary has been the bane of coach Mark Richt’s existence of late — nine touchdowns allowed to only one interception while giving up close to 300 yards game.
Sophomore Brandon Boykin is said to have a vertical leap of 40-plus inches. Perhaps it’s allowed him to avoid being kicked around by much-criticized defensive coordinator Willie Martinez.
An injury to junior cornerback Vance Cuff compounds the problem.
Junior Omar Bolden got his lunch money stolen last year against UGA’s Green. After a stellar performance last week with an interception, Bolden could get his revenge.
EDGE: ASU
Special Teams
Had junior Thomas Weber been healthy, this might have swung in the Sun Devils’ favor.
Though ASU does average more than 50 yards per kick return, its field position swinging won’t have the advantage over the consistent kicking game UGA offers up.
Sophomore Blair Walsh is 6-for-6 in field goals and was listed as player to watch for the Lou Groza Award.
In 11 attempts, Boykin has returned one for a touchdown.
EDGE: UGA
Overall EDGE: UGA
Reach the reporter at nick.ruland@asu.edu.
