Georgia's Joe Cox and AJ Green Salvage Some Respect for the Bulldogs

"Cox finds Green for the touchdown!" They are words that would excite any Georgia football fan, and they should be happy to know that they aren't likely to stop hearing that phrase anytime soon.

Senior quarterback Joe Cox has shown two necessary qualities this year; his ability to pull away from a tough conference opponent on the road, and his willingness to step up for his team while nursing a sickness. While Cox did play with the flu against Oklahoma State, it should be noted that he wasn't just "sick". According to the Athens Banner-Herald, Cox was flown to Stillwater on a plane separate from the rest of the team, at a cost of over $6,000. One can only imagine the buzz surrounding this young man when he stepped onto the field that night, trying to reach the high bar set by previous Bulldog quarterback, Matt Stafford.

Unfortunately for Georgia, especially their athletic department (they did dole out $6000 for him to be there after all), Cox was not able to lead his team to victory against the Cowboys that night. The stingy defense of Oklahoma State proved to be to much for the Bulldogs to overcome. Cox, obviously upset about his performance, came out the next week with intentions to prove that he was better than what he had shown in Stillwater.

Again, without home field advantage, the first year signal caller took his position under center against underrated conference opponent, Arkansas. Cox would need his teammates to step up for him if they wanted to get out of Fayetteville with a win that night, and sophomore receiver AJ Green accepted that challenge in a big way.

Cox managed to spread the ball all over the field against the Razorback's porous secondary, finding Green on seven occasions for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Other receivers getting in on this scoring fest were freshmen Orson Charles and Tavarres King; Senior wide-out Michael Moore also contributed, hauling in 6 catches for 91 yards. Cox and the Bulldogs were able to put a staggering 52 points on the board by nights end, coming from behind after a tough first quarter, to pull away from the Razorbacks, 52 to 41.

The fact that Cox had to hurl five touchdown passes just to sneak past Arkansas does not bode well for Georgia's defense, however their passing attack appears to be firing on all cylinders now that he is healthy. Expect to see more high scoring games from the Bulldogs this season, as it appears that their offense will have to carry them back into the SEC title hunt.

Michael Weiszer, "Cox's Flight to Oklahoma cost over $6,000" Athens Banner-Herald