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
GR82BAG8R
October 31st, 2010
9:13 am
Georgia will beat Auburn.
Delta Flight Attendent
October 31st, 2010
9:15 am
Wow I was impressed with the turnout for the Dawgs Charter flight back to Georgia. You Gators fans had a good time making fun of Richt and the Dawg players when they walked in the terminal.
Jay
October 31st, 2010
9:15 am
This team, with a frewshman QB, and a brand new defensive staff and the 3-4, without the 3-4 body types, is playing ABOVE expectations, to their potential.
Georgia wasn’t pre-season top 25 in practically any credible poll.
This is a rebuilding season.
Should beat Idaho State to get back to .500. Don’t know about Georgia Tech or Auburn, but if both are close games, most will be ok with that.
In 2010, 5-7 is expected.
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:16 am
we should have wore da black helmets …WHAT? grambling got them back? ah hell they the better team anyway
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
9:16 am
As far as getting rid of Coach Richt – do you really want to see him come in an the coach of another SEC team and whip GA as often as the schedule allows?
Whatever. Not gonna happen unless he has Donnan’s recruits and Vangorder as his defensive coordinator
Hey, sometimes, it just ain’t your year.
If you had a dollar for every time you uttered that with Georgia, you’d have $100 dollars. What a pathetic mindset
5150 P.O.A.D.
October 31st, 2010
9:16 am
The Dawgs will not beat AUBURN. The history record is even, but the Better Team always wins. They are very few upsets in this game.
Jay
October 31st, 2010
9:17 am
Common sense shows losing 34-31 in over-time, is an improvement over 49-10.
I don’t think most rational people agree with Jeff Schultz’s line of irrationality.
This was a hard fought, close game, showed Florida, Georgia is a force to be reckoned with. Team fought back from deficit, almost overcame 3 turnovers.
Gatormeat
October 31st, 2010
9:17 am
dogs talking smack before the game, making excuses after the game. Again. Go back to athens and know who your masters are, the Mighty Gators
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
9:18 am
This team, with a frewshman QB, and a brand new defensive staff and the 3-4, without the 3-4 body types, is playing ABOVE expectations, to their potential.
When they say jump, this guy says, “how high?” Any more quotes from the propaganda script you’d like to read to us?
GR82BAG8R
October 31st, 2010
9:18 am
Georgia will beat Auburn. You read it here first. You only read it here.
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:19 am
boy i feel sorry for ideho state they are gonna feel our wrath ….hope they go along
Gatormeat
October 31st, 2010
9:20 am
Next year will be worse, we are rebuilding this year and still spanked you. Expect a blowout next year and several years in a row. georgia may never win a SEC title again, at least not in the next couple of decades. We mock you, you are so easy
Jay
October 31st, 2010
9:21 am
if this team finishes 5-7, and competes in every game and every game is close, that was expected.
6-6 or 7-5 or 7-6 or 8-5 would be above expectations with a Fresh QB and a brand new defensve staff and defensive scheme and without the defensive body types to run the 3-4.
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:22 am
hey man we had a great team 30 YEARS AGO !!!!!! YEP THOSE WERE DA GOOD OLD DAZE
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
9:23 am
Common sense shows losing 34-31 in over-time, is an improvement over 49-10.
Common sense says that Florida has temporarily slipped almost all the way down to your level. Georgia hasn’t improved at all. Florida will most likely bounce back, and Georgia will remain just as mediocre as they were this year, the year before that and the year before that, getting smacked by the likes of truly elite teams, and only being competitive against similarly mediocre squads.
5150 P.O.A.D.
October 31st, 2010
9:23 am
GR82B
Ain’t going to happen. You need to know more about the AU v UGA games.
BBB Uga VIII got screwed having to mascot this team this year.
Russ should have this loss on his record.
Big Bad Bruce just learned his best trick.
“The POSSUM” aka play dead.
crabapplejoe
October 31st, 2010
9:23 am
You people calling for Chris Peterson to come to UGA are delusional. First of all Boise is a great gig….wonderful town and people…with a program getting positive national attention. Secondly, Peterson recruits a different type of athlete. He actually believes that European-Americans can play on the defensive side of the football, unlike the Richt regime at Georgia. If Peterson came to UGA the alums would immediately be screaming at him for recruiting “some red-headed safety out of Missouri” when “Dontarius” out of Peach County is a “five-star”, etc. Peterson is happy where he is…building a great national program. Just remember that the Richt regime would not have recruited Kirby Smart, Jake Scott or Scott Woerner….
Phil
October 31st, 2010
9:23 am
Yes Murray made some mistakes, but even with them, we still came back and sent the game into OT.
I blame BOZO and Richt for that OT debacle. Throw the ball to AJ Green in the corner of the end zone and let him go up and get it. How many times have we seen that happen?? If he doesn’t come down with it, then it goes incomplete 99% of the time.
But when you throw over the middle like we did, you run the risk of a tipped ball, which is exactly what happened and you get the INT. We came away with nothing and the game was over.
In fact, I would have thrown to AJ 3 straight times into the corner!
BOZO the Clown needs to go! Richt does too, but I don’t think it will happen. Getting a top notch OC would definitely help though.
Jay
October 31st, 2010
9:23 am
It’s too early for Jeff to say this Florida team was bad. What if Florida wins out and beats SC, wins the SEC East, wins the SEC Championship, and wins their Bowl game? Were they really a “bad” team then? Is Jeff right?
No way Jeff knows, right now, if Florida is good or bad. No one does.
DOCTOR DEATH
October 31st, 2010
9:24 am
ROZEMAN:
YOU SHOWING YO STUPIDITY, BOY….SCORED 31 POINTS AND YOU AFTER THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATIOR…WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE, OR LACK THERE OF….YOU ARE TYPICAL OF THE STUPID FANS THAT ROME AROUND STADIUM AND TELEVISIONS ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS….BOBO COULDN’T HAVE CALLED A BETTER GAME….GUESS YOU ARE BLAMING THE BAD PLAYS THE QB MADE ON COACH BOBO…JUST STUPID BOY….
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:25 am
MAYBE WE SHOULD WEAR PINK HELMET YESTERDAY INSTEAD OF RED IT WAS BREAST CANCER MONTH AN IM ALL ABOUT SAVING DA TA TAS
WalMart in Athens
October 31st, 2010
9:26 am
We are having a huge clearance sale on all UGA items. Everything is reduced 75%. For the first 100 rednecks that buy 2 camo UGA items you get a free 6-pack of PBR and a bag of pork rinds. Hurry while supplies last.
Jay
October 31st, 2010
9:26 am
According to Jeff Schultz, there’s no difference in losing by 39, and losing by 3.
I guess Jeff wasn’t good in match in college.
36 points seems like a difference to me.
Tom
October 31st, 2010
9:27 am
UGA players are the best at doing the Heisman pose after making a 9 yard catch while being down 14 points. They truly excel at it.
TN Dawg
October 31st, 2010
9:28 am
If there is a more unprepared college football team in America, someone please point it out to me. What do the coaches at UGA do all week? I wonder if they had ever talked about an overtime game plan before yesterday. The most important play in overtime is always the first one, 1st and 10 from the 25. What does our brilliant coaching staff come up with…a fade pass to A.J. Gre….oh no!….a fade pass to Durham? That’s been a very successful play all year!!! Now it’s 2nd and 10. Climbing uphill already. Then another staple play from the Mark Richt playbook…run up the middle. Now we have dug a deeper hole…3rd and long. The staff then asks a RS freshman QB to make a play on the biggest stage of his life. He forces one across the middle, interception and for all intents and purposes another loss to UF. Hard for me to say, but sorry we beat UT, Vandy and UK. Program needs an enema. Richt can’t even beat a bad Florida team!
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:28 am
well back 2 reality it iz what it iz and it aint good the uga band should learn a new song called we suck
DOCTOR DEATH
October 31st, 2010
9:29 am
Phil:
YOU JUST AS STUPID AS ROZEMAN…BOBO COULDN’T HAVE CALLED A BETTER GAME…31 POINTS, AND YOU BITCHING ABOUT BOBO….WHAT ABOUT DEFENSE….GIVING UP 34 POINTS TO A FLORIDA TEAM THAT AIN’T WORTH A TOOT ON OFFENSE….LEAVE MY BOY BOBO ALONE, GO BACK TO YOUR TREE STAND, AND QUIT BEING SO STUPID….THEY HAD 2 GUYS ON AJ EVERYWHERE HE WENT…LOST THE GAME TRYING TO GUN ONE IN TO HIM WHEN THE ENTIRE FLA. DEFENSE WAS COVERING HIM….YOU ARE SO STUPID YOU HAVE MOVED ABOVE ROZEMAN AS #1 EL STUPIDO….IT IS ONE THING TO BE STUPID, IT IS ANOTHER TO COME ON THE BLOG AND THEN THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS THAT YOU ARE STUPID….BOBO RULES, 31 POINTS…..
Bama Boss
October 31st, 2010
9:30 am
UGA once again is proving that it is the most underachieving program in the SEC. Being a Bama fan in this town and having to listen each year to how great the Bulldog nation thinks its team is going to be makes me laugh. What five good years since 1980?
UGA is the flagship school in one of the states with the best high school talent. Its football program has basically unlimited resources, but they will forever be a mid tier school, behind Bama, Fla and LSU in the SEC.
Maybe UGA should join the ACC. I’d much prefer to have Va Tech over UGA.
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:30 am
can we get hot sause with da pork rinds???
Terry Hoage
October 31st, 2010
9:31 am
You forgot me crabapplejoe
PaulieOldschool
October 31st, 2010
9:32 am
Murray is a keeper, the kid can flat out play. Richt needs to go. On the up side, no one was arrested or suspended or jettisoned this week. I guess that’s some sort of improvement. We should won this game.
FLA DAWG
October 31st, 2010
9:32 am
If McGarity wanted to make an impact he’d unload Richt and Co and require a Home / Away annual schedule with UF.
This team and coaching staff is disorganized beyond belief and it’s getting worse by the year.
Do any of us look forward to Dawg Games anymore?
Think next season will be better?
Think Again
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:32 am
hey maybe we can dig up vince dooley what? he still alive?some one get him a headset and a clipboard an do it post haste
fire dawg
October 31st, 2010
9:32 am
D Mullen goes to Miss St. and in “ONE YEAR” prevails over Richt’s 10 yr establishment
Meyer takes a leave of absense, loses his staff to other programs, loses his team to the NFL,loses 3 sec games in a row & prevails over Richt’s 10 yr establishment.
WHAT A JOKE! WE HAVE TO MAKE A CHANGE! FIRE RICHT!!!
GR82BAG8R
October 31st, 2010
9:33 am
5150, all I need to know is what I see on the field. Georgia’s talent, combined with a backs-to-the-wall attitude from the players (coaching staff is irrelevant at this point) tells me they upset Auburn.
Deep down, Auburn fans see this as a trap game. On any given day one SEC team can beat another. This is the day…
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
9:33 am
It’s too early for Jeff to say this Florida team was bad
have you watched any of their other games this year? get a clue, jay, you’re in over your head
DOCTOR DEATH
October 31st, 2010
9:33 am
Gatormeat:
HATE TO POP YOUR BUBBLE, BUT THE GATORS ARE NOT VERY GOOD….YOU COULDN’T BLOWOUT ONE OF THE BETTER AAAAAA FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS….
ozzfest
October 31st, 2010
9:34 am
YEAH…I WAS THERE….
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK RICHT HOW STUPID HE WOULD THINK VINCE DOOLEY WAS IF THERE HAD BEEN A FLORIDA GAME IN WHICH HERSCHEL HAD ONLY CARRIED THE BALL 4 TIMES.
A.J. GREEN = 4 RECEPTIONS YESTERDAY.
I AM LOYAL AND ALL THAT…BUT RICHT SHOULD BE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AFTER THE TECH GAME. I HOPE TO GOD WE DO NOT ACCEPT A BOWL BID…
wastedyears
October 31st, 2010
9:34 am
got to go njoy everyones comments oh an GO DAWGS!!!!!! TO HELL
big bama
October 31st, 2010
9:35 am
HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! LAUGHIN MYSELF SILLY- BOTH TEAMS STINK!!!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!! NICK SABAN COULD SPANK RICHT AND CRIER WITH BOTH HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK AND ONE LEG BROKE!!!!!
GR82BAG8R
October 31st, 2010
9:35 am
A Tech fan and a Gator fan arguing about whether Georgia will beat Auburn. Only in America…
Ga will beat Auburn
October 31st, 2010
9:36 am
GR82BAG8R was last seen being escorted into the psyche ward at Grady Hospital mumbling Ga will beat Auburn…. Ga will beat Auburn…. Ga will beat Auburn…. Ga will beat Auburn….
5150 P.O.A.D.
October 31st, 2010
9:37 am
Until the Younger UGA alums get enough money to out vote the OLD UGA MONEY ALUMS this game will stay in JAX.
UGA will try to move their open date to before the Florida game more often and not the Auburn & Tech games. Tech is OOC and Auburn is in the other division. Resting before these game is no longer an issue unless Tech starts beating the Dawgs regularly like the Gators do.
Dawg The Mediocrity Settler
October 31st, 2010
9:37 am
Murray is a keeper, the kid can flat out play.
Murray as a keeper will make you a weeper. Murray is the girl with the curl. The constant tease. Will always make you think he can be better, that he’s more talented than his results. Every time he loses the game for you, you will say, but, he kept us in the game, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. I’ve seen how this movie plays out before with Reggie Ball. Everything you dorks are saying about Aaron Murray were said about Reggie Ball back when.
GR82BAG8R
October 31st, 2010
9:37 am
When it happens, you will all be wondering…”How did he know?”
dodgecountydawg
October 31st, 2010
9:37 am
we kick field goal in overtime (after running on 3rd down) and we would win ball game. That’s what Coach Dooley would have done. End of Story ! .. any comments ?? signed,, UGA Alum class of “95 ..
ps, anybody noticed that Dooley could win these close game in JAX and Richt cant!! time to get out of JAX !
Gatorman
October 31st, 2010
9:39 am
After a night to think about both teams, we both have coach problems. Donnan’s recruits were Richt’s best teams, and Zook’s recruits won two National championship, so both present coaches prove they can coach better than the previous, but neither have shown the ability to recruit the way their predecessor could . My little Techie buddies may be running into the same with Johnson, who had two fantastic years with the top players from Gailey recruiting. I guess we’ll all see whether these coaches can turn it around with their own people and reach the zenith.
Jordan
October 31st, 2010
9:39 am
I’m tired of reading you idiots talk about getting rid of Mark Richt. This streak against Georgia goes back to Ray Goff, and while it’s not acceptable for it to continue under Richt, you can’t lie and say we were beating them before Richt. I think that Richt has done enough for Georgia to deserve the benefit of the doubt. I think that he should keep his job, no matter how the season ends. Give him at least one more season with Murray and Gang. If things fall flat again, I can’t really argue that he deserves another year.
Ford Truck buyer
October 31st, 2010
9:39 am
Can’t wait for CMR’s radio call-in show this week. Wonder how the hosts will insulate the coach from the really TOUGH questions? The radio crew was so full of ______ with their post game analysis. Did they see the same game we saw? Verne on CBS was on the money regarding both schools troubles on and off the field.
sam
October 31st, 2010
9:40 am
If you were a top notch assistant or a rising HC at a mid-major program, why would you come to UGA? There’s no incentive to become the next HC @ UGA b/c the expectation is too high amongst the toughest conference in the country. Going to a program like Miss State, Kentucky, or even SC will buy you few years to build up your program. But coming to GA, you’re expected to win right away against, Bama, AU, and FL. It’s just not a good situation for any promising coach.