Isaiah Crowell has 90 first-half yards

ATHENS, Ga. -- With Isaiah Crowell sitting with 90 yards on 12 carries at halftime of Georgia's eventual 24-10 win over Mississippi State, it was a given that the freshman tailback would notch his third 100-yard game of the season.

It didn't come easily.

After being held to minus-2 yards on five third-quarter carries, Crowell finally eclipsed the century mark midway through the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from Columbus finished with 104 yards on 22 carries, with his 4.7-yard average his lowest since the Boise State opener.

"I don't think we were as focused at the start of the second half as we were starting out the game," Crowell said. "We put the foot down and then let up, and I don't think we should do that."

Crowell already has matched the team-high three 100-yard performances Washaun Ealey had last season.

It's that week again

The Tennessee-Georgia game is a difficult one for former Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley, the father of current Volunteers coach Derek Dooley. Thinking he would be a distraction at last year's matchup at Sanford Stadium, the elder Dooley elected to watch Georgia's 41-14 win at his residence less than three miles away.

So what's the agenda for this week's game in Knoxville?

"I'm going up there," Dooley said Saturday. "I haven't decided if I'm going to the game, but I'll be up there."

Boo birds appear

An 8-yard scramble by Murray midway through the third quarter left Georgia with a fourth-and-1 at the MSU 5-yard line in a 21-3 game. Coach Mark Richt quickly opted for the short field goal and sent in Blair Walsh, which drew some boos.

"I'm not happy, and I don't like to have to be put in that situation, quite frankly," Richt said. "It would have been nice to knock it in at that point with a touchdown, and maybe I should have."

A short snap by Ty Frix was not fielded cleanly by holder Drew Butler, which resulted in Butler getting stuffed back at the 17. That led to the most booing in Sanford all year.

"I'm just glad Drew didn't try to do a Garo Yepremian," Richt said, referring to a laughable pass attempt by the long-ago Miami Dolphins kicker.

Odds and ends

Georgia has scored first in all five games and is outscoring foes 58-10 in the first quarter. ... Walsh missed a 48-yard field-goal try with 2:59 remaining, which was his sixth miss this season. He missed only five field-goal tries in the 2009-10 seasons combined. ... Redshirt freshman receiver Michael Bennett made his first start. ... Junior inside linebacker Christian Robinson returned after a foot injury and tallied one tackle in more than 20 snaps, while junior receiver Marlon Brown returned from an ankle injury but was held without a catch. ... Senior cornerback Brandon Boykin was shaken up multiple times but should be fine this week.

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