The first glimmer of hope for Mark Richt - a suddenly stifling defense and back-to-back conference wins - have been karmically adjusted to maintain his "embattled coach" status. Richt is suspending linebacker Cornelius Washington, Georgia's team leader in sacks (3.5), for this Saturday's game at Tennessee and next week's trip to Vanderbilt.
Seth Emerson breaks down Richt's handy system of "punishment percentages" that determined Washington's two-game verdict:
Head coach Mark Richt said on Sunday that Washington's arrest, for DUI and speeding, falls under the category of a "minimum 20 percent" of the season suspension. He later specified that would mean "at least" two games. So effectively Washington is out for Saturday's visit to Tennessee and the following week's game at Vanderbilt.
"It's a setback, but I don't know if it'll deter us from playing hard and playing well," Richt said. "It'll give something else another opportunity."
In terms of ranking this offense on "Energy Vampire" chart within the UGA program, Washington's arrest is the first in almost a full calendar year - therefore we expect him to vaulted to some kind of lethal Dracula status. We're talking "Lost Boys" and the first "Fright Night" here, people, not your tween-age sister's "Twilight."