First quarter blog

1:00 left in first quarter, Georgia ups lead to 21-7

The world tuned in to see Cameron Newton. Instead its getting a huge dose of A.J. Green and Aaron Murray.

And while I know it's early ... Oh boy, Georgia has a chance here.

Murray hits Green on a 40-yard touchdown pass, their second end-zone hook-up of the game, and the fewer-than-usual Bulldog fans are pretty happy here at Jordan-Hare.

Meanwhile, Georgia's defense has now stopped Auburn twice in three drives. The interception came on a third-down pass. Justin Houston, Marcus Dowtin and Cornelius Washington are getting backfield pressure, and Houston had a great catch-up tackle of Newton on the last drive.

There's a lot of time in this game. But Georgia has to be ecstatic with how this is going so far - on both sides of the ball.

6:20 left in first quarter, Georgia leads 14-7

Georgia needed to be opportunistic to have a chance to win this one. Well, the Bulldogs are off to a good start.

Bacarri Rambo's 24-yard interception return was followed a play later by Aaron Murray hitting fullback Shaun Chapas for a 9-yard touchdown pass ... and Boise State and TCU rejoice.

OK, it's a bit early. But what a fantastic few minutes of gametime here for Georgia, erasing the momentum of Auburn's opening drive.

The Rambo interception wasn't Cam Newton's fault, as it went through the Auburn receiver's hands. Rambo grabbed it out of the air and took off.

The play did happen after Auburn was backed up for a third-and-long, thanks to its third personal foul penalty of the game. Georgia has two also. The officials apparently sense the chippiness/excitement out there, and are trying to get a handle on things before it truly erupts.

8:21 left in first quarter, Georgia ties it at 7

There's undoubtedly a huge audience for this game. So A.J. Green just re-introduced himself to the nation, and Aaron Murray just announced himself.

Murray hit Green on a 31-yard touchdown pass, as Georgia went for it on fourth-and-2. The Bulldogs called timeout before the play - and unlike some from earlier this season, that was a well-timed one.

This one's looking like a shootout, folks.

Murray looked great on that drive, avoiding a sack at midfield, which would have set up a third-and-long. He also hit Green and Orson Charles on long passes. More good news for Georgia's offense: Caleb King had a couple good runs, including one for 13 yards early in the drive.

12:36 left in first quarter, Auburn takes 7-0 lead

That didn't take long.

Cameron Newton and Auburn needed five plays to go 80 yards and into the end zone, showing why there was such interest in, ahem, where Newton would attend school. On third and short, Newton scrambled for a 30-yard touchdown, which was awarded after a replay review.

Georgia's defense looked pretty helpless on that drive, starting with the first play. Newton went right, then reversed direction and still gained 13 yards - with an unsportsmanlike penalty being added to it.

It just goes to show that Georgia needs to find a way to keep Newton in the pocket and pass the ball. All his damage there was on the ground, with tailback Michael Dyer also supplying a nice run.

Oh, and the Bulldogs should tackle a bit better too.

As we all know by now, Georgia is 0-5 when the other team scores first, and 5-0 when it scores first.

Kinda makes you wonder why Georgia, after winning the toss, deferred until the second half.