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
Michael Myers
October 31st, 2010
10:37 pm
Thank you Captain Obvious
Eric C.
October 31st, 2010
10:42 pm
“From where I sit” UF will not win another BCS title for 30 yrs…the gators stock is falling
BoWeevil
October 31st, 2010
11:00 pm
Cho Cho,
There is no way that you are a Georgia Bulldogs’ football fan. You are in here trying to make all the rest of us look bad that we are satisfied and that these excuses you perpetrate here are valid excuses for what we continue to have out in the open in every newspaper in this great nation on and off the field. CMR’s “coaching staff” is really weak, and has been. And, what is it that gets UGA all this bad press ? Arrests / Suspensions, frequent kicking of players out of the program, frequent failure of recruits to given permission to play here by UGA Admissions, high-profile state of Georgia Offensive Player recruits saying we did not even offer them a scholarship, frequent booing of the play calling on Offense for us by the whole entire Sanford Stadium crowd, failure in the big games against top teams, failure annually in Jacksonville, failure to even be ready to play weak sisters, an utter lack of discipline according to Herschel Walker last week, and utter failure to recruit in this state of Georgia according to Herschel Walker last week. And, Herschel Walker said we lose too much.
I especially take exception to the lack of Separation of Church and State.
CMR is a nice guy, so let’s not judge him on & off field.
Ray Goff was worse, is that what we want ?
CMR better guy than Nick Saban.
That’s unfair.
CMR is paid $ 3 million dollars a year to hire a coaching staff & win.
There are just too many excuses and no development in our weak areas.
11 games CMR has played vs Top 10 Final AP Poll teams in 10 years; lost 8
10 games CMR has played vs Florida in 10 years; he has lost 8 of them too
CMR has lost now 10 teams in 10 yrs not ranked in Top 25 Final AP Poll
In 2 months CMR will have fired every coach he hired in a 12-month period
We are to believe that now CMR knows how to hire a coaching staff ?
42-19 CMR record over these last 5 years now this season; he is great ?
In same last 5 years, CMR # 2 nation Fulmer Cup Most Arrested / Suspended
13-12 CMR record vs SEC East these last 5 years now this season; great ?
20 better college programs than our won / lost over these last 5 years
We lose 14 seniors after this 2010 season & 4 juniors; how is 2011 different ?
I am not satisfied with this over these now last 5 years; sorry that bothers you
#1dawg
November 1st, 2010
12:05 am
Coach Richt needs to do 1 thing and thats fire Bobo. The Team has gone down hill ever since Bobo has been calling plays. Richt is the #1 reason I became a UGA fan. Its not all the Coach’s fault but he has to step up and fire Bobo. Intercepted passes and fumble was the game! We got to stop making mistakes and the freshman Qb is still learning but will be great. I still believe……
gcs
November 1st, 2010
12:45 am
But Richt is such a nice guy. Let’s buy him a puppy.
.
DZ
November 1st, 2010
12:46 am
Aren’t you glad UGA plays this away game every year in Jacksonville?
Double Trouble
November 1st, 2010
3:25 am
It’s hard to believe we still lead the series in wins. That tells me that at one time or perhaps several times in past history, there was a UF program that sucked worse than we do right now. This was a rivalry game played the way it should be played. Since the endzone debacle a few years back, don’t you know Urban always plans a little somethin somethin for the Dawgs. Honestly I thought it was over, and then some how we came back, and then it was over in a flash and all I could manage to think was “well…Sh**”. Rainey was as much a shot in the arm for UF as AJ is for UGA. Two things are hindering our progression to the next level as I see it. Firstly, the abysmal slow start of the offense that results in way too many 3 and outs. This has been a problem for some time. It affects the whole game negatively. Bad field position, defending a short field, unrested defense, etc. If UGA could consistently get at least two first downs on the opening drives of the early quarters I think we set up to play a much more balanced and rhythmic offense, and we win the field position battle. Defensively, we just HAVE to find a way to get off the field on 3rd down and long. We did better this game, but we gave up big plays. One would hope that we have addressed our off the field discipline. I’m not satisfied with the on the field lack of discipline. It’s time to do away with the taunting and the trash talk. It’s really classless and embarassing. We were lucky not to be penalized for the statue stare after one of our scores. I hope we have enough left in the tank for Auburn. This will be our Bowl game.
Pathetic
November 1st, 2010
3:59 am
These dogs are just that dogs. Poor discipline and even worse coaching. They WILL NOT end with a winning record this year.
Three games to go and only one with a small chance of winning, but don’t hold your breath on that one either as they are good as losing those they should win.
Hope all dog fan enjoy sitting at home watching the bowl games this year as even Shreveport will turn their nose up at the stench coming from Athens.
hey ya'll
November 1st, 2010
5:23 am
We tried didnt we. No running. No field goal. Duhhhh. We do we do now? Well, somtimes I think Richt was sent to Georgia by the state of fla to make sure we never beat their state team.. Think about it. Have you ever seen such terrible coaching in your life? Of course he gets paid either way. Right?———-Man what torcher—guess I will be following Alabama from here out.
jtdawg
November 1st, 2010
7:50 am
Jeremyisagator = class
Thank you
jtdawg
November 1st, 2010
7:53 am
College Football Expert = Truth
They will always defend him as the “UGA coach with the best win percentage….. 2 SEC titles…..”
I’d prefer Bobby Bowden called him tomorrow to go resurrect Iowa State oe whatever….
jtdawg
November 1st, 2010
7:56 am
Dawg fans, please stop making excuses for losing again because the game is played in Jacksonville…
Stupid excuse. Don’t make excuses. We aren’t good enough….
jtdawg
November 1st, 2010
7:59 am
No other state in the nation has to deal with all the idiot transplant fans from other places like Florida.
If your state is so great, go the F home and get the hell out of here. You don’t like UGA or whatever? GFO – nobody invited you here. This is Dawg country. Stop being a classless loudmouth or go somewhere that makes you happy. But stop teaching your children to be arrogant, spiteful, sore winners….
BIll
November 1st, 2010
12:21 pm
Hey jtdawg,
Quit acting like this is YOUR program and this is your STATE!
Backwoods idiot…
I am a native here and welcome the visitors here, just to get a
much needed break from myopic Rednecks like yourself.
Quit proving the negative stereotype others already have of the South, Goober!
jwilli120
November 1st, 2010
1:39 pm
A L IS A LOSS 2-8 against uf yall do the math, DONNAN and BIG play
RAY were let go for the same reasons were’nt they? why does this
guy get to stay aboard? 2-8 just sayin
LIVE: Georgia tries to overcome hangover, finish strong | Jeff Schultz
November 6th, 2010
10:39 am
[...] is the mindset from this game forward. They played poorly at the outset last week against Florida, then fought back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to tie it in the fourth quarter, only to lose in overtime, [...]