Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Smith shines in rare opportunity

ATHENS — Branden Smith hasn’t had the football in his hands often the past few weeks, but offensive coordinator Mike Bobo wanted that to change Saturday.

So when the two spoke during the week, Bobo asked a simple question of his speedy cornerback-tailback hybrid.

“I asked him how many touches he would need to get in the end zone,” Bobo said. “He told me one.”

Smith delivered, taking a direct handoff and rushing around the right edge for a 52-yard touchdown in the first quarter — his second score of the season — helping Georgia to a dominant 38-0 win over Tennessee Tech.

“We haven’t ran that since the first game, and I try to make something happen,” Smith said. “I had one man to beat, so I tried to squeeze myself in there.”

Smith’s work on offense has been limited since his 60-yard touchdown run against South Carolina in Week 2, so he wasn’t anticipating many chances this week. Against Tennessee Tech, however, Smith had three carries and finished as the team’s second-leading rusher with 72 yards. He saw action at cornerback, too, making one tackle, which Bobo figures is enough to keep Smith’s focus on the that side of the football.

“I’d like to get him full time, but they won’t give him up,” Bobo said of the defensive coaching staff. “But he’s going to be a special player for us. He works extremely hard; he’s a very conscientious kid, tough kid. He’s got to put some muscle on, but he’s tough and plays hard and physical.”

PENALTY PROBLEM

For two seasons, Richt has seen the flags fly for his team. Georgia ranks among the most penalized programs in the country, and after last week’s loss to Florida, Richt had seen enough.

He issued an edict during practice that any player who was flagged for a penalty during Saturday’s game would be immediately benched — a stern warning that, as it turned out, resulted in a lot of substitutions against Tennessee Tech.

“I might have gotten them so tight that they couldn’t hold still,” Richt said. “It sends a message, but it also might get guys as tight as they can get.”

Georgia was flagged for 11 penalties for a total of 86 yards, and each time the player responsible for the infraction trotted to the sideline and took a seat on the bench.

It was frustrating for the players, but it may have been downright bewildering for the coaches who were forced to make routine substitutions.

“It was a little bit difficult but obviously we’ve got to do something to stop the penalties,” Bobo said. “Those are hard to overcome and will cost you, and they cost us touchdowns (Saturday).”

Six of Georgia’s 11 penalties were for false starts by the offensive line, and that was a result of some particularly loud yelps from the Tennessee Tech front four.

Quarterback Joe Cox said one of the Golden Eagles’ defensive lineman would bark similar cadence to his snap count, and it was causing Georgia’s linemen to flinch with regularity.