On the surface, the eight-win season posted by the Georgia Bulldogs wasn’t up to the rabid expectations of Bulldog Nation.

But a deeper dive into the second half of Georgia’s topsy-turvy season, capped by a 44-20 thrashing of Texas A&M in Monday’s Independence Bowl, shows plenty of hope for a program that finished the season with four victories in its final five games.

Monday was a perfect example of what the Dogs can do when they’re clicking. Georgia, facing Jerrod Johnson and the explosive Aggies’ offense, bent all game long. Texas A&M rolled up 471 yards of total offense, 362 coming through the air. But when the Dogs needed big stops, they came through, much as they did in late-season victories against Auburn and Georgia Tech.

All the more impressive considering Georgia fired three defensive coaches four weeks ago. Graduate assistants Mitch Doolittle and Todd Hartley, and the one remaining defensive assistant, Rodney Garner, got their players ready and the Dogs responded.

Special teams went Georgia’s way, too, swinging the game in the Dogs’ favor. Brandon Boykin returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. Bacarri Rambo blocked a punt. Geno Atkins blocked a field goal. All of it combined provided the Dogs with enough fuel to surge to their eighth win of the season, extending Georgia’s streak of eight-win seasons to 13 (longest in the nation).

And while the Georgia offense sputtered in the first half – mustering just 99 total yards of offense – the Dogs found their gear on that side of the ball in the final two quarters. Georgia rolled up 267 yards of offense in the second half, a pair of Joe Cox touchdown passes to Aron White pushing the Dogs to victory.

That’s seven wins in nine tries for Georgia in bowl games under coach Mark Richt. The Dogs improved to 2-0 all time in the Independence Bowl.

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When Georgia and Texas A&M take the field for the Independence Bowl on Monday in Shreveport, La., the outcome very well could hinge on which team has the ball last.

Neither defense is first rate, and both offenses feature playmakers that can go up and down the field all night long.

Hopefully, the scoreboard operator gets a good night sleep Sunday night, because the points very well may be flying Monday afternoon.

Georgia ranks 70th in the nation in scoring defense and has given up 34 or more points five times during a shaky 6-6 campaign that led the Dogs to dump three defensive coaches before the game.

Texas A&M is 104th in the nation in scoring defense. Four times in 12 games, the Aggies gave up 47 or more points.

You get the idea. Both teams are coming off inspired performances, albeit exactly one month will have passed by the time kickoff arrives Monday from their last games. The Dogs upset Georgia Tech, rushing for 339 yards in a shocking 30-24 victory in Atlanta. The Aggies pushed unbeaten Texas to the limit before falling in a shootout.

The Dogs hope to end their rocky road on a good note and build momentum for next season. A victory also would make Georgia 7-2 in bowl games under Mark Richt. Meanwhile, the Aggies seek their first bowl win since 2001.

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It certainly isn’t where the Georgia Bulldogs hoped to be going this holiday season, but that didn’t stop Brandon Boykin from spreading a little Christmas cheer.

In the process, the Georgia sophomore saved his teammates some running.

The Bulldogs wrapped up their Athens-based preparations for the Independence Bowl, where the Dogs will face Texas A&M on Monday in Shreveport, La. The Dogs will meet Thursday in Shreveport, where they will spend Christmas then step up final preparations for the Aggies and their high-powered offense.

Boykin helped send everybody out of practice in good spirits, upholding a Georgia tradition by singing a Christmas song to cut down the number of post-practice sprints the Dogs are required to run. Head coach Mark Richt joked with media members after practice that Boykin’s song saved the players more than 500 yards of running.

Georgia, which comes into the Independence Bowl off an upset victory of Georgia Tech, hopes to do plenty of running in Shreveport. In the victory against Tech, the duo of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King churned out 349 yards rushing (183 for Ealey, 166 for King, who rushed for two touchdowns).

The Dogs would love nothing more than to dial up the same recipe for success against the Aggies, who boast the top-ranked offense in the Big 12.

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Nobody could’ve known it back then, but when the Georgia Bulldogs met the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1991 Independence Bowl, it would be a preview of the game that launched the Dogs back to the Sugar Bowl a decade later.

As many Georgia fans fondly remember, the Dogs won the SEC championship in 2002, routing Arkansas in the Georgia Dome to punch the Dogs’ ticket to New Orleans and the program’s first conference title and Sugar Bowl berth in 20 years.

But when the Dogs and Hogs met in Shreveport in the 1991 Independence Bowl, the two teams weren’t even in the same conference (Arkansas would join the SEC a season later).

Georgia started fast, racing to a 14-0 lead. Eric Zeier, who now is the Georgia radio color commentator, found Arthur Mitchell and offensive-MVP Andre Hastings on two touchdown passes. Hastings would catch four passes for 94 yards, and scored on a 53-yard run on a reverse in the third quarter to give the Dogs a 24-7 lead, putting the game out of reach.

The Dogs also got a 39-yard field goal by Kanon Parkman. Zeier finished 18-for-28 passing for 228 yards.

Defensively, the Dogs were led by defensive-MVP linebacker Torrey Evans, who came off the bench to intercept a pass, recover a fumble and record four tackles. On the day, the Dogs picked off five passes.

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He stands 6-foot-5, but from the perspective of the Georgia defense, Jerrord Johnson must look larger than life.

The challenge for the Bulldogs entering the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28, is to slow the second-team All-Big 12 selection.

The Texas A&M quarterback grabbed the nation’s attention with his performance against Texas on Thanksgiving weekend, going 26-for-33 for 342 yards and four touchdowns against the Longhorns. Johnson also rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries against Texas.

It was, in every sense of the word, a breakthrough performance, especially for a guy who opened last season catching passes, not throwing them.

Johnson started 2008 as a wide receiver, but took over at quarterback early in the season and started the final 10 games of the season under center, setting a school record with 21 touchdown passes.

In 2009, Johnson has become one of the more prolific quarterbacks in the nation. He ranks sixth in the nation in total offense, 14th in total passing yards and 15th in passing yards per game. He’s topped 300 yards passing seven times, and his 51 career passing touchdowns is a school record.

All of this is far from comforting for a Georgia defense that allowed 30-plus points six times this season, a defense that comes into the Independence Bowl having fired its defensive coordinator and two assistants.

The Aggies can take control of this one if Johnson can unleash the offensive arsenal he’s displayed all season. It could be a very long day for the Georgia defense.

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It’s no secret the Georgia Bulldogs have struggled on defense this season. And most everybody knows the Dogs have let go of three defensive coaches – including defensive coordinator Willie Martinez – in advance of the Independence Bowl.

But when the Dogs line up against high-powered Texas A&M on Dec. 28 at Shreveport, will Georgia have its next defensive coordinator hired?

So far, two of the top candidates for the job – Alabama defensive coordinator and former UGA standout Kirby Smart, and Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster – have publicly said thanks but no thanks. Smart came out last week to say he wasn’t leaving Alabama, the school that Smart has helped direct to the SEC title and a berth in the BCS National Championship game. Foster has agreed to a five-year extension to stay at Virginia Tech.

There is plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball for Georgia. That much was shown in two of Georgia’s last three games of the regular season. The Dogs overcame a slow start defensively to hold off Auburn at Sanford Stadium, stopping the Tigers’ potential game-tying drive in the final seconds deep in Georgia territory.

Then the Dogs’ D helped fuel Georgia’s upset of then-No. 7 ranked and eventual ACC champion Georgia Tech on Thanksgiving weekend in Atlanta. Georgia bent, but didn’t break, most of the night, and kept the dangerous Tech offense out of the end zone in the final three minutes to preserve a 30-24 victory.

Is it enough to boost the Dogs against Texas A&M? The Aggies will be one of the stiffer challenges for the Dogs this season, averaging 33.9 points per game. It will be incumbent on the Georgia front line to pressure Aggies’ quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who has passed for 3,217 yards and 28 touchdowns this season.

Georgia fans may shudder at the thought of so much pressure on a defensive corps that, for the most part, has underachieved this season. But if the Dogs can play up to their potential, not only could Georgia end the season with three victories in their final four games, they might not have as much trouble luring a new defensive coordinator to Athens.

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Nothing came easy for the Georgia Bulldogs’ defense in 2009, and that trend will continue when the Dogs wrap up their season in the Independence Bowl against Texas A&M.

The Dogs (7-5) allowed 20 or more points nine times in 12 games, not exactly the recipe Georgia fans hoped for when the season kicked off. But from the season opener at Oklahoma State, a disturbing trend reared its ugly head time and time again:

When the Dogs needed to stop the opposition, they almost always failed to do so.

Georgia allowed 26.4 points per game, not exactly the way to have success in the ultra-tough SEC. In Georgia’s big conference games, the Dogs allowed 41 points in a loss to Florida, 45 points in a loss to Tennessee, 37 points in a win over South Carolina, 41 points in a win over Arkansas …

You get the idea.

It’s that type of performance that led head coach Mark Richt to fire defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and two defensive assistant coaches last week. All three dismissed coaches declined Richt’s invitation to coach in the bowl game, meaning Richt will spent most of his time leading up to the Dec. 28 game working with the defense.

And that defense figures to get one more good workout before calling it a season. The Aggies average 465 yards of offense per game and scored nearly 34 points per contest in 2009. Nine times this season, Texas A&M scored more than 30 points, including four games of 39 or more points.

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The last time the Georgia Bulldogs faced the Texas A&M Aggies, the year was 1980 and the Dogs were en route to capping an undefeated season by winning the national championship inside the Louisiana Superdome.

Fast forward 29 years to the present, where the Dogs will end their 2009 season in the northwestern part of Louisiana, facing the high-octane Aggies’ offense in this year’s AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, set for Dec. 28 at Shreveport.

The matchup features two teams that have stood toe-to-toe with the nation’s best, and two teams that have met their share of struggle this season.

Just two weeks ago, Georgia upended then-No. 7 Georgia Tech, while the Aggies were throwing quite a scare into national-championship game bound Texas. So both of these teams can be really, really good.

They also can struggle. Georgia gave up 30 or more points five times this season, a point that has Texas A&M’s strong offense salivating. On the other hand, the Aggies allowed 30-plus points five times, a fact that makes Georgia’s stable of offensive playmakers smile.

There doesn’t figure to be a lack of offense in this one, and both teams are looking for a strong boost into 2010. Something will have to give for that to happen, as neither team has ever lost in the Independence Bowl.

The Aggies have been to the Independence Bowl twice, the last coming in 2000 when Texas A&M beat Mississippi State 43-41 in overtime, in the snow. In 1981, Texas A&M knocked off Oklahoma State 33-16.

Georgia’s only Independence Bowl appearance came in 1991, when the Dogs downed Arkansas 24-15.

Georgia fans probably recall the last time the Dogs and Aggies met, in 1980, when Georgia won 42-0 in Athens behind the running of a freshman named Herschel Walker. The Dogs would go on to win the national championship that season.

It’s the only time Georgia has beaten Texas A&M. The two teams met three times in the 1950s, with the Aggies coming out on top each time.

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Amid a gaggle of SEC teams with seven wins, it’s quite possible the Georgia Bulldogs emerge as the conference’s representative in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

It looked like the Dogs, who have struggled through their worst season in a decade, were heading for the Papajohns.com bowl in Birmingham. But then the Dogs stunned seventh-ranked Georgia Tech last Saturday in Atlanta, and moved into a crowded group of seven-win SEC teams.

Georgia is an interesting story, albeit disappointing. Head coach Mark Richt returned the Dogs to their glory days of the early 1980s in the early part of this decade, and Georgia kicked off last season ranked No. 1 in the nation. But after struggling through the second half of 2008, the Dogs flopped behind fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Cox and an underachieving defense.

But what makes Georgia’s 7-5 season so maddening is how many playmakers the Dogs possess. Sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green may be one of the top wideouts in the nation. Redshirt sophomore running back Caleb King teamed with freshman back Washaun Ealey to rip Georgia Tech’s defense, the two combining for 349 rushing yards (and Ealey winning SEC freshman of the week for the second time this season).

The last time Georgia played in this game, the Dogs beat Arkansas 24-15 on Dec. 29, 1991. This year’s game is Dec. 28.

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