Georgia proves only it also can lose a close game to Florida
Aaron Murray led rally but had too many mistakes in his first Florida game. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
JACKSONVILLE — It wasn’t humiliating. Is that better? After two mostly miserable decades in this rivalry and consecutive dismemberings of 49-10 and 41-17, should it feel better to know Georgia walked off the field and could have won?
“No — it’s a loss,” Akeem Dent said.
“An L is an L,” A.J. Green said.
“This kind of hurt more,” Washaun Ealey said.
Georgia came close Saturday. That shouldn’t be the objective.
Maybe comebacks say something about a team’s character. Maybe the Bulldogs grew up a little in the second half. Maybe the quarterback won’t have early-game jitters next time. Maybe one year again, they’ll actually beat Florida.
But this program should not be about gauging the degree of severity of losses.
They lost in overtime 34-31. They showed remarkable resolve by rallying from a 21-7 halftime deficit to tie it twice, the last time at 31-31 with 4:36 left in regulation. That’s certainly more resiliency and substance that the past two Georgia teams showed in Jacksonville.
A.J. Green's 15-yard touchdown sent the game into overtime.
But here’s the reality check. This is not a great Florida team. It entered with its worst regular-season losing streak in 22 years. This is certainly the worst team Urban Meyer ever has fielded. It’s so bad that a 4-4 Georgia team on the wrong end of a lopsided rivalry was favored.
The Dogs lost anyway. That makes 18 in the past 21 years.
“I really don’t look at it like that,” said athletic director Greg McGarity. “College players have a two- or three-year window. They weren’t here the whole time.”
He is right about that. The real problem is that the one-year view is no better.
At 3-4 in the SEC, they are dead in the conference race.
At 4-5 overall, they are clinging only to mathematical possibilities for a lower-tier bowl.
The Liberty Bowl never should be the objective.
Green has been through three of these Florida games now. He probably won’t go through a fourth. The NFL calls. But it will take some time to forget this one.
“I swear I thought we were going to win this,” he said.
The loss dropped Georgia to 4-5 and Mark Richt to 2-8 against Florida. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
The comeback started with a field goal in the third quarter, making it 21-10. The Georgia scored touchdowns on its next three possessions. Murray, after completing only 5 of 14 passes with two interceptions in the first half, went 13-for-21 with two touchdowns in the second.
And we wondered: “Where did this team come from?”
“We were clicking on all cylinders,” Green said. “We had the momentum.”
Trailing 31-24, Murray drove the Dogs from midfield with under seven minutes left. On third-and-goal from the 15, he found Green in the middle of the end zone to tie the score. The teams went to overtime.
One more Murray mistake decided it. He tried to hit Green in the corner of the end zone, but the pass was tipped by linebacker Jelani Jones and intercepted at the 11 by safety Will Hill. (He nearly returned it for a touchdown but was pushed out of bounds at the 4-yard line by Tavarres King.)
Murray on the interception: “I’ve just got to learn from it. I wish I could take that throw back.”
The Gators got the ball back and ran three plays before Chas Henry’s game-winning 37-yard field goal.
Green, as a member of the field-goal block team, had a close-up view.
“I felt like I was going to block it,” he said. “It was real close.”
How close?
“I could feel the wind from the ball. Then I turned around and thought, ‘Dang.’ I was hoping a bird would fly down and knock it down.”
That just doesn’t happen in this rivalry. Things go wrong. Meyer justifiably gets torched for deciding to bring “Time To Die” guy, Chris Rainey back from suspension for this game.
What happens? Rainey scores the game’s first touchdown on a 20-yard run.
But this was less about Rainey than it was about Georgia. The Dogs are better than they were at 1-4. But not a lot. Beating Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky doesn’t prove a lot. Nor does losing close. It just makes for a little more pain and a little less humiliation.
♦
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1,166 comments Add your comment
Not a Gator fan
October 31st, 2010
7:29 am
Amazing… Having lived and watched football all over the southeast, I think I can say with certainty that UGA fans are the biggest whiners in all of college sports. You cry when you win, you cry when you lose. Nothing is good enough…ever. And it’s pretty obvious that almost all of the people who post on this blog could either go out and coach better or play better than the young men out there every week. HA. Grow up whiners. The real laughingstock for UGA isn’t the team or the coaches, it’s you.
mayor bob
October 31st, 2010
7:29 am
I went to the movie…after the first half…..will not go to another UGA football game..until we beat Florida..3 years in a row…..not renewing my 20+years of season tickets….I’m through wasting my time on a football team that has sunk to the levels of being ranked in the top 60!
Sing the words of Aerosmith…”Same on Story…Same ol’ Song and Dance”…Florida beats Georgia!
We win next weekend…5-5….we lose the last 2…5-7….We will the Heinz 57 Team of the SEC…
Orange10
October 31st, 2010
7:30 am
”I wish I could have it back,” said Murray, who threw for a career-high 313 yards and three TDs. ”Since I can’t, I’m gonna have to learn from it.”
Aaron “Pick” Murray must be a slow learner.
Rob
October 31st, 2010
7:32 am
The better talented team lost. Why does that happen? It was obvious we had the talent and were self-destructing. Why? Certainly, nerves were an issue with our young QB. Hey, as well as he’s played all year,he gets a break. What about the taunting? The extra shoves? Heck, even AJ was acting like a thug out there? What in the hell is wrong with our football program? Why can’t we show any discipline? Two years ago, AJ wouldn’t say crap if he had a mouth full of it, and now he is out there slamming the ball around acting like freakin’ TO? We have a bad leadership climate in our program. It needs to change…. STARTING AT THE TOP! I expect more for $3M a year. I can’t believe others do not. I can handle losing. Lord, to be a Dawg fan I can certainly handle that. However, watching this team, I just feel like there is not enough structure or discipline within the program. I don’t fault the players. These are young men who will adapt within the system they are placed and act the way they are expected to act within the system. Something is wrong with the system.
Buckeye
October 31st, 2010
7:35 am
Hay BoWeevil, one too may cups of coffee this morning?
AJ Green….4 catches for 42 yards. He’s the best player on the field and UGA can’t figure out a way to get him the ball.
It was an entertaining ball game. I hope all these kids get up and go to class on Monday because after today,
NO ONE CARES!
Perplexed
October 31st, 2010
7:37 am
The Cocktail Party is about a long weekend in sunny Florida, the football game is a backdrop. Anyone who disagrees is lying to themselves. With that said, how does that NOT run over to the team. Get the game away from Jacksonville every year and we’ll have more wins. I don’t have the answer to the venues or breakdown but salvation is in being in GEORGIA every other year.
TheAntiMe
October 31st, 2010
7:37 am
One of the biggest things that I noticed after the game was in the attitudes of the two head coaches. Even though both teams have very similar records, Urban Meyer was extremely caught up in the outcome and was very moved by his team’s win.
On the other hand, Mark Richt was very low key, even nonchalant, sort of like, Oh golly gee, it’s a shame we had to lose. It’s just too bad, I guess.
These were teams with nearly identical records coming in but the game just seemed matter much more to the coach that won than it did to the one that lost. No great wonder that UGA again was the loser. If the head coach doesn’t lose any sleep over losing then how can you expect his players to care either.
huh
October 31st, 2010
7:38 am
Larvell SugarBear Blanks is right: How in the heck do you pass on Third Down in Overtime when you are looking at a straight on field goal with one of the best kickers in the country. ????????????
BUZZ ME
October 31st, 2010
7:40 am
Paul Johnson would have won that game/ He wouldn’t have kicked the field goal and settled for a total of 13 points. He would have seen that the crimeDAWGS had momentum and would have gone for the lousy 3 yards….eventually resulting in a TD and a whole different.
All those 5 star recruits show me nothing.
judge
October 31st, 2010
7:40 am
Booo Hooo Hooo! What are the excuses now. Come on lets have them. This Georgia program is just all wind and smoke. No guts. They never hit hard. And they dont play like they really want to win. Same ol losers to a team called Florida that got blown out by Alabama. Never Mind. This is ugly ugly ugly—-wonder what its going to be like next year against Florida—do you think UGA will win. What a joke. This Georiga program is stuck in the ACC and is idiotic. Thank you very much. Did anybody see the Auburn game—now thats what I call hitting—-and running—–no wonder Georgia players go there.
bob
October 31st, 2010
7:43 am
Vince Dooley always said if you throw over the middle three things can happen, and two of them are bad.
Paddy
October 31st, 2010
7:43 am
The good and great Georgia teams could run the football. We can’t run the football to the point that we are established in the running game. Teams know we give up on the run and sit back and make us pass to defeat them. That is a very tough way to win games. If we played Georgia football and could run the ball,Murray would be an all-star.
judge
October 31st, 2010
7:43 am
I will agree with HUH and change that do duhhhhh?—Thats what I said —-when Georgia was in over time why didnt they kick the field goal? Idiots I say. Off with their heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fed-up
October 31st, 2010
7:47 am
Rainey……….Get your facts right before you start talking trash about the dawgs.You stupid duma$$
judge
October 31st, 2010
7:47 am
Dooley always beat Florida——-what in the F———K is going on with this GA bs————————————————————-its time for a change folks—once and for all!!!!
Ray
October 31st, 2010
7:49 am
whatever…we have been out-coached by the gators since 1987.
The best day of the week to be a dawg fan is friday…sundays really suck…
Aaron Murray = Reggie Ball
October 31st, 2010
7:49 am
Aaron Murray is Reggie Ball. He has just enough athleticism, just enough of an arm, just enough moxy to delude a fanbase and coaching staff for years. He’ll get better you’ll say. Wait until he learns you’ll assert. The problem is that the kid doesn’t have enough talent. Murray is a little midget with a mediocre arm and mediocre speed. It’s gonna be an ugly 4 years with the white Reggie Ball at QB. Lots of teases and what ifs. It’s what happens when you play a mediocre at best talent at QB.
God Bless America... and no one else
October 31st, 2010
7:51 am
BRING BACK RAY GOFF!!!!!!!
lawdawg
October 31st, 2010
7:52 am
We’re about to see if MaGarity has enough “GONADS” to fire the holy man,somebody has got to do what’s right for UGA.Bozo is a complete idiot.Get rid of the whole mess.
Mark Richt
October 31st, 2010
7:52 am
Hey, my monogram is MR, code for mental retard
tdog
October 31st, 2010
7:53 am
Let’s say it again. Wait till next year.
Mark Richt
October 31st, 2010
7:55 am
We’re about to see if MaGarity has enough “GONADS” to fire the holy man,somebody has got to do what’s right for UGA.Bozo is a complete idiot.Get rid of the whole mess.
Lawdawg, will you take the leap of faith with me off the diving board into the deep end of the swimming pool?
Tech Sucks
October 31st, 2010
7:55 am
Holy meltdown… You guys are idiots. Chill out. IT was a great game. Aaron Murray is Reggie Ball? Please. Aaron Murray made a few mistakes but he also made incredible throws to get us back in this game.
Chan Gailey
October 31st, 2010
7:58 am
I love that little white Reggie Ball that’s playing QB for UGA. Mediocre arm, mediocre speed, mediocre moxy. What’s not to love?
jbeggs
October 31st, 2010
7:58 am
Wow – another sports writer stating the obvious. No wonder you can’t escape from the AJC. Write something creative!! Everything you just said my 11 year-old (that watched the game) could have stated in 3 sentences.
Chuck Allison
October 31st, 2010
8:01 am
Why does UGA try so hard to be a good football school? Why don’t they put their effort into something that they are good at? Football can be so frustrating if you are just not good at it. I think UGA is pretty good at women’s gymnastics. They should just do women’s gymnastics outside at Samford and Son’s stadium, don’t you think. Then they might win and be happy.
Aaron Murray Is The White Reggie Ball
October 31st, 2010
8:03 am
Aaron Murray is Reggie Ball? Please. Aaron Murray made a few mistakes but he also made incredible throws to get us back in this game.
Reggie Ball made just a few mistakes but made some incredible plays to keep Tech in games for all 4 years the kid played for Tech. Just enough to keep you in a game, just enough to lose you a game. That’s what makes Aaron Murray and Reggie Ball so damn similar. Deny it all you want. Delude yourself to your heart’s desire. The reality is you are witnessing the freshman season of the white Reggie Ball.
NoAxeToGrind
October 31st, 2010
8:06 am
First of all, I don’t care if UGA keeps Richt till he drops dead. That is UGA’s decision. However, until the complete mindset and character of UGA’s football program is changed, UGA will be mired in this miasama of mediocrity. The only way to do that is to find a HEAD COACH who can start from “ground zero” and completely rebuild the foundation and character of the program from the ground up. It is beyond Mark Richt’s capacity to do so. UGA has to start anew. There is no other solution.
Buckeye
October 31st, 2010
8:06 am
Win 2 of the next 3 and the prize???
The Birmingham Bowl?
HA!
Mark Richt
October 31st, 2010
8:06 am
Anyone know where I can find a Donnan recruit?
College Football Expert
October 31st, 2010
8:06 am
I wonder if Spurrier would take the job after Mark Richt gets what’s coming to him
Mark Richt
October 31st, 2010
8:07 am
VANGORDER, where did you go?!?!?!?!?
UGA Crumbles
October 31st, 2010
8:07 am
WAA WAA WAA…I want my Mommy…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
UGA Hater
October 31st, 2010
8:08 am
I love seeing all the whining and crying you poor dawg fans are doing. Your team sucks. Let me see, it has been 30 years since your last nat’l title. Since then, Florida has won 3 in football and 2 in basketball. Let’s not mention all of the sec championship games Florida has won since 1993. So, now we throw in beating the dawgs 18 out of the last 21 years! Cry hard, because the Gator Nation loves your sorrow. This is great! GO GATORS!!!
Bobo is a goner-he just showed us why he will be FIRED
October 31st, 2010
8:09 am
Passing on thrid down in OT when a field goal and win was just around the corner, is the last straw of an dying OC. I can’t explain the stupidity away and thus Mike Bobo sealed his fate. If I were him, I would hire a real estate agent.
Richt, you next if you don’t beat Auburn and Tech—even Jesus wont save you this time.
Rosezeee
October 31st, 2010
8:09 am
The Dawgs played their hearts outs – but mindless coaching and play calling sacked us again. This coaching staff is second rate at best – – always has been – – always will be.
Anyone expecting anything more than a second tier program with this brain trust is deluded. Accept mediocrity
Love that call to go for 2 when we were down 21-16 – – almost as good as going for it on 4th and two on our own 30 yard line in the second quarter against Arkansas when we were down by 7. RETARDS
Richard Williams
October 31st, 2010
8:11 am
Enter your comments here
Richard Williams
October 31st, 2010
8:12 am
Congratulations Jeff. You called it on Friday.
Dawg
October 31st, 2010
8:12 am
And it’s pretty obvious that almost all of the people who post on this blog could either go out and coach better or play better than the young men out there every week.
what a wimpy post. keep clinging to your participation trophies, and ridiculing those who want championship trophies
gofigfure
October 31st, 2010
8:13 am
year after year fla has a week off to prepare and we keep beating ourselves up with a game while they are resting…will we ever learn
splendid splinter
October 31st, 2010
8:13 am
I don’t think Richt’s record against Florida is an aberration – 2 and 8 under Richt is not just coincidence. If Richt can’t get his team prepared and fired up against a not-so-good Florida team, it’s time to find a new coach. I’m tired of losing to Florida and it is time for a change. Discipline problems are not the issue beccause many teams have the same problems. It is a football coaching problem – Richt needs to go. We (I say that as a Georgia alum) are never going to win the SEC East and a national championship if we can’t beat Florida. I am 63 years old and I would like to see Georgia beat the Gators consistently again in my lifetime. Hell, I’d settle for two years in a row. 3 and 18 makes me want to puke.
gofigfure
October 31st, 2010
8:16 am
Urban Meyer is 2-8 when the other team out rushes him. But it came down to defense in this one as UGA could not stop FLa when it mattered
Rosezeee
October 31st, 2010
8:17 am
Beat Kentucky because they fumbled a half dozen time inside their own 20 – - they still had over 400 yards against us – Defense sucks
UGA Hater
October 31st, 2010
8:18 am
Hey DAWG….34-31 hurts doesn’t it. 18 out of 21 hurts doesn’t it.
Keep crying and I’ll keep laughing.
GO GATORS!!!!!
Go Oregon!
October 31st, 2010
8:18 am
Oregon beat up USC. Keep on truckin’ Ducks!!!
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
8:25 am
However, until the complete mindset and character of UGA’s football program is changed, UGA will be mired in this miasama of mediocrity. The only way to do that is to find a HEAD COACH who can start from “ground zero” and completely rebuild the foundation and character of the program from the ground up. It is beyond Mark Richt’s capacity to do so. UGA has to start anew.
How about let’s stop playing this stupid game in Florida? What the hell is that all about? What is the justification? The party? The tailgate? Yeah, yeah, yeah, great party down there in Jacksonville. IT’S ABOUT WINNING FOOTBALL GAMES. I know the whole wine and cheese crowd up there in Athens never lets a game get in the way of a good tailgate, but UGA will never become what it can be until it becomes solely about winning games, and no longer about the party. #1 party school in America should not be the goal
Rosezeee
October 31st, 2010
8:26 am
Love that decision to go for 2 when the score was 21-16? That was almost as good as the decision to go for it on 4th and two ON OUR OWN 30 IN THE SECOND QUARTER AGAINST ARKANSAS WHEN WE WERE DOWN BY 7.
IDIOTS
uga2002
October 31st, 2010
8:27 am
It’s amazing how bad UF has gotten that UGA turns it over a multitude of times and still the game goes to OT. That’s bad. And it’s amazing UGA couldn’t stop UF even when they false started themselves into a hole. These are some really bad teams. Truth is this is the best we’re going to get out of Aaron Shrimpy Murray, nobody gets better the longer they’re at UGA.
I think Cam Newton is now catching tds and I don’t think he ran more than 50 yards against Ole Miss but they scored 51. That’s a loss for us. The crowd is going to be pumped up to beat uga by multiple tds because they all probably know trash talking uga fans that don’t know how to keep their mouths shut.
AUB 54 UGA 28 but really over in the 2nd quarter.
Anyone else notice the CMR fans are the same ones who claimed we’d win out beat Bama or Aub in the dome and go to the sugar bowl and beat whoever? you guys are real idiots. we are mid pack sec school that had a good year 30 years ago, that’s it. stop living 30 years ago, we are the mississippi state of the sec east unless ut is having a bad year then we’re number 3.
atlagator
October 31st, 2010
8:28 am
Yay Gators. Firing Richt isn’t the answer. Look how UT is faring after firing their long-term, winning coach.
you BOTH blow this year
October 31st, 2010
8:32 am
“Georgia will go 7 – 5 this year. After starting 1 – 4, that is not too bad.”
Seriously? Try 6 – 6. Auburn is going to straight up destroy the Dawgs this year. And if we humiliate them too much they just might go 5 – 7 after Tech gets done with them. Although GT is’t playing too wll this year either.