Following up Saturday’s win over Mississippi State, it seemed like the Georgia Bulldogs had turned a corner.
The win was their third victory in a row, the Dawgs were 2-1 in conference, and with injuries and instability with divisional favorites Florida and South Carolina, it seemed like for all intents and purposes, the door had been opened for Georgia to make a run at the SEC East title. Gary Danielson even mentioned as much during Saturday night on CBS’ broadcast of the Alabama-Florida game, saying, “Georgia is in the driver’s seat in the division,” before adding, “Of course, there’s still time for them to crash.”
Well it’s hard to say whether the Bulldogs crashed on Sunday, but they certainly hit a major pot hole. That’s when star linebacker Cornelius Washington was arrested for a DUI.
Here’s Tim Tucker’s account from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Washington, 22, was arrested after being stopped by police in Commerce for driving 92 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone, according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Washington was northbound on U.S. Highway 441, about 20 miles from Athens, when he was pulled over at 1:48 a.m., about 10 hours after the end of Georgia’s 24-10 victory over Mississippi State in Sanford Stadium. Washington had played perhaps his finest college game Saturday, recording two sacks.
Tucker adds later in the report that Mark Richt had already met with Washington and handed out his punishment. Per athletic department policy, the star linebacker will miss the next two games, including a crucial visit to Tennessee this weekend.
“He’s sick. He feels awful. He knows that he let the team down, let his coaches down, let his family down, the Bulldog nation in general,” Richt told reporters Sunday evening.
First, the obvious: While letting down the Bulldog nation is one thing, putting the public at risk is quite another. And from a completely non-football perspective, this was a totally boneheaded move. Getting behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking is inexcusable, and to only compound it by speeding makes the whole situation even worse. It’s cliché to say, but it’s true that Washington is lucky he was only arrested on Sunday morning. Given the circumstance he put himself and the three passengers in his car in, it could’ve been a lot worse.
Beyond the obvious though, is the football stuff, and the pit that every Georgia fan must be feeling in their stomachs right now.
The truth is that over the last few years, this has been a program that has had more than their fair share of problems off the field. But to his credit, Richt has cleaned things up. After having 10 players arrested last season, Richt cleaned house, and sent many packing this offseason. And up until Sunday, things seemed to have worked out. This is the first arrest of a Georgia player this season according to the AJC report.
But my, oh my, did it come at a bad time.
From a football aspect of things, watching Georgia Saturday, it really did seem like they’d turned a corner. On offense, Isaiah Crowell has proven to be as good as advertised when he signed with Georgia as the top running back recruit in the country last February, as he finished Saturday with his third 100+ yard rushing game of the season. Meanwhile Malcolm Mitchell (five catches, 60 yards) has added a dimension at wide receiver. And defensively, the Bulldogs got after it against Mississippi State, allowing them just 213 yards of total offense, and a mere 56 yards on the ground. Washington in particular was phenomenal Saturday, with two sacks of State quarterback Chris Relf.
And it was because of Washington’s ability to rush the passer that he was expected to play an especially big role on Saturday against Tennessee. The Volunteers are the SEC’s second best passing offense, averaging 336 yards per game, with quarterback Tyler Bray completing just under 69 percent of his passes, with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions on the season. Simply put, of every player on their roster, Washington was one of the handful that they could least afford to lose this weekend.
But now Washington is out, and because of it, it could shift the entire SEC East landscape.
As Danielson said on Saturday’s broadcast, if the Bulldogs beat Tennessee (which they still may) it would likely put them in the driver’s seat in the divisional race. South Carolina already has one loss, and is an unmitigated disaster with Stephen Garcia at quarterback. Meanwhile, Florida is coming off a loss to Alabama where they lost their starting quarterback, and still have back-to-back trips to LSU and Auburn before a bye. With a manageable schedule from here on out, Georgia could’ve put themselves in an optimal position with a victory over Saturday.
Granted, they still may get that win.
But without Washington, it certainly won’t be easy.
Follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
