Bulldogs still have work to do

Georgia's first- and second-stringers defeated the scout team 27-24 Wednesday afternoon at Sanford Stadium in a practice game for the Sept. 5 opener at Oklahoma State.

The good news for Bulldogs fans is that coach Mark Richt spotted the scout team a 21-0 lead and that it was 30 minutes of game simulation. The bad news is Richt came away unimpressed.

"We weren't quite ready to beat Oklahoma State today," Richt said. "I am glad we've got more days to prepare. Offensively, it was just an erratic day. There would be some nice plays, but then we had some penalties, including one that forced us to kick a field goal instead of a touchdown.

"It wasn't sharp and it wasn't awful, but when you're playing this game and you have most of your first and second teams versus the rest, you would have thought we'd be more explosive."

Wednesday's scrimmage was closed to the media, and no statistics were provided.

Richt said starting quarterback Joe Cox was sharp and that No. 1 tailback Richard Samuel had a "good, solid day." A.J. Green caught a touchdown pass of about 40 yards from Cox, and Blair Walsh made both of his field-goal attempts.

Walsh is entrenched as the kicker on field goals and extra points, but Richt said a kickoff specialist may not be named until just before the 13th-ranked Bulldogs take the field against the No. 9 Cowboys. Junior-college transfer Brandon Bogotay is challenging Walsh for that responsibility.

Taking turns playing the role of OSU quarterback Zac Robinson were freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger and senior walk-on receiver Vernon Spellman.

Starting safeties Reshad Jones and Bryan Evans could have played but were held out, and backup safety Makiri Pugh had a scrimmage-sealing interception. Richt did not know of any injuries of substance.

"I think it's good for them to realize that we're not as sharp as we need to be to win," he said. "We're playing the No. 9 team in the country. We're playing a team with nine senior starters on defense and an offensive team nothing short of spectacular. Their special teams are fantastic, so we've got to be sharp, and we weren't sharp today."

The Bulldogs will have today off before practicing Friday and Saturday.

Odds and ends

Cox will be the offensive captain for the opener, with Rennie Curran and Jeff Owens serving as defensive captains and Demarcus Dobbs on special teams. ... Richt is not ready to decide whether Murray and Mettenberger will redshirt this year. ... Freshman defensive tackle Abry Jones is expected to play this year, Richt said. ... The three players vying to return kickoffs are sophomore cornerback Brandon Boykin, Samuel and freshman cornerback Branden Smith.