LIVE from Dogs-Gators, and everybody’s feeling the heat
Georgia's Mark Richt and Florida's Urban Meyer greet each other before the game (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
JACKSONVILLE — Time to play.
Was thinking last night — while Tim Tucker and I strategically avoided “The Landing” area — about the enormous pressure on certain individuals in today’s Georgia-Florida game. It’s odd only in that both teams are unranked going into this contest for the first time since 1979. So much for national ramifications.
But think about the pressure on . . .
♦ Mark Richt: Georgia has won three straight but you can’t just wipe out a 1-4 start. If the Dogs lose, they are absolutely, positively dead in the SEC East (I think) because they would lose tiebreakers with both Florida and South Carolina. They also would need to win two of their final three games (Idaho State, at Auburn, Georgia Tech) just to become bowl eligible.
♦ Urban Meyer: Think he’s not feeling some heat? Here’s a guy who appeared to have a serious health issue, suddenly retired, then even more suddenly unretired. He explained his chest pains as “esophageal spasms” and some immediately wondered about truthfulness. We can’t know if Meyer’s heath has affected the way he’s gone about his job this season but we know this: The Gators have lost three straight and they rank 89th in the nation in total offense. Florida can still win the East but if they lose they’ll be 2-4 in the East and all but cooked. For those Dogs’ fans looking for a possible omen, here you go: The last time Florida lost four straight was in 1988. The fourth loss in that streak came to Georgia 16-3.
Uga VIII was out on the town. (Kidding. It's not him.)
♦ John Brantley: It can’t be easy replacing Tim Tebow, but the Gators’ quarterback was expected to be better than this. In his defense, the offensive line and running game have been awful. But nobody could have expected these numbers through seven games: six touchdown passes, five interceptions, 10 sacks. Brantley had four touchdowns and zero interceptions against Miami (Ohio) and South Florida so you can do the math on the five SEC games.
♦ Aaron Murray: He has been great this season. But he never has played in this stadium or a game of this magnitude. Richt planned to talk to the freshman during the week about trying to maintain his composure. Also, Florida’s defense is still pretty good.
♦ Chris Rainey: Not too much pressure on him, huh? Mr. Time To Die Guy shouldn’t even be in this game (my opinion) but Meyer believes he has paid a big en0ugh price for texting a death threat to his estranged girl friend. He won’t have his phone during the game so he’ll actually have to speak his threats.
One last thing on Rainey: If you have no problem with him coming back because you believe he deserves another chance, that’s fine. But the worst — and most prevalent — excuse I’ve heard is that athletes used to do these dumb things all the time and we never knew about it. The point? I have no doubt that star athletes got away with things before that they can’t now. But that doesn’t make what happened before right. Fact is, that was wrong. Coaches never should be allowed to go pick up his star player from the sheriff’s office and say, “I’ll take care of it. He’ll run steps.” Pretty sure the science teacher isn’t doing the same thing for his students. (”Oh, he’ll just do extra experiments.”)
♦ Caleb King: He’s coming back from a two-game suspension after being arrested for failing to appear in court for a speeding ticket. The fact Washaun Ealey has a sprained knee may necessitate King taking on a major role. By the way: Funny line this week by Richt. He noted the Dogs are undefeated this year when they have a running back suspended (3-0 during King and Ealey suspensions). When asked Tuesday if any player has been suspended yet this week, Richt cracked: “It’s early.”
Fortunately, everybody made it through the night without handcuffs. One less thing to worry about. I’ll be back later with a few shots from the stadium and any updates, but I figured I would post a blog early.
Meanwhile, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie provide an appropriate tune …
♦
Our photographer, Brant Sanderlin, took a little video of the scene in The Landing last night and stumbled on this unsanctioned fight between Georgia and Florida fans:
♦
Catching up on Georgia-Florida week
♦ Weekend Predictions: Dogs go down to Gators again
♦ Urban Meyer slammed again for Chris Rainey decision
♦ This is the week Georgia’s defense needs to step up
♦ Dogs’ key to beating Gators: QB, defense or something else?
♦ Early Georgia-Florida primer (and why Meyer is catching heat)
♦
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2,829 comments Add your comment
Macclenny_dawg
October 30th, 2010
8:05 pm
Ya’ll can blame Richt for this he has Bobo still calling plays I stated earlier in the week if we ran the ball on 2nd and ten like we always do it would cost us the game!!! IT DID!!! It put Murray in a position to try to make a play and we Florida secondary does what it always does to us!!!
THWG
October 30th, 2010
8:05 pm
Problem with UGAy…..butt cut
DOG HATER
October 30th, 2010
8:05 pm
Who was the dumb $ss from the AJC that predicted a GA win?
ARdawg
October 30th, 2010
8:05 pm
Enter your comments here
Gordon
October 30th, 2010
8:05 pm
The world’s largest outdoor convict party is in the books!
Tim
October 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Bye bye dawgs!
And have a nice day.
Hershel
October 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Please, oh please, let me coach…I couldn’t do no worse and at least I can run!!!!
blame jesus
October 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Damn that Jesus screwed up again, time to put my faith in Allah
Vince Dooley
October 30th, 2010
8:06 pm
Run it three times and kick a field goal. Easy, right? But nooooo! Bobo, if it was indeed he who called the pass up the middle on 3rd down, wanted to get all fancy pants on us. The rest is history. Too bad I hate Auburn.
Steve "The King" Spurrier
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
I bet Murray wishes he would have picked Gainesville now. Should have picked a winner son. You can’t build a winning tradition on that foundation.
jack bull
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
Murray lost us this game, not Richt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not sure what game y’all were watching…i didn’t see Richt throw pick after pick, nor fumble, nor throw the ball behind guys time after time… He’s not as good as everyone says he is..
ARdawg
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
out of comments…..need margarita
Kenosha,WI_DAWG
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
Its time to be honest with ourselves DAWG fans. UGA must step up and FIRE MARK RICHT. Coach is now 2-8 against our BIGGEST rival. Unacceptable. How do you convince players on the UGA/UF fence to want to come to UGA? John Cooper went 111-43 in his career at ohio state, but only 2-10 against Michigan. Cooper was canned. 2-8 against Florida, player arrests, UF wins 2 National Titles…AND RICHT HASN’T LED US TO ONE!!! Sad to say about such a nice man, FIRE MARK RICHT UGA. Make the right decision for our program.
Dog kicker
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
The best way to spell loser is UGA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
FLA wins again, even when we suck!!
Dawgs?
October 30th, 2010
8:07 pm
“If not for 7 turnovers, we’d be 8-1″ ha ha ha
Einsteindawg
October 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
Coach Mark Richt= Ray Goff + $2.5M. Memo to Mike Adams, how about spending some of our money wisely and getting a SEC calibre coach who can actually win without Jim Donnan’s players. Richt is a fraud who has been stealing money for the past four years. If he had any self-respect, he would resign…but he won’t because it’s all about the money.
Andy in Blairsville
October 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
I almost forgot! Since Obama is currently President there aren’t any more losers so UGA wins too!!!!!!!! Redistribution of Wins I believe he calls it.
YAY!
DollyDawg
October 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
I’m so tired, these puppies are really sagging tonight!
THWG
October 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
Urban > Butt Cut, Bobo, Toddy
nwgadawg
October 30th, 2010
8:09 pm
Patrick, I like Richt as a person, but, unlike you, I hate losing. Richt is making, what, 3 million a year? When you’re making that kind of money, you have to get the job done, and our coaching staff is not getting the job done. I stand by what I said before…the whole coaching staff needs to go. I want GA to be a winner again, and I don’t think this coaching staff can do that. We will be lucky to be 6-6 this year and 5-7 is a real possibility. Surely, you’re not happy with that.
SEC Elite
October 30th, 2010
8:09 pm
UGA really is the best 5 loss team in the country. This team looked impressive at times today. You’ll finish 6-6 with a win over your hated Jackets. Take heart Dawg Nation; most of this talent will be back next year. Things will return to normal with 9 wins in 2011, a second place finish in the SEC East, and a trip to a New Year’s Day bowl against a second tier Big 10 opponent.
Just be patient! It will all work out toward your average yearly performance over time. Just one bit of advice, perhaps Dawg fans could begin 2011 without the perennial national championship talk. After 30 years, perhaps the reality check would change your luck.
gatorfilet
October 30th, 2010
8:10 pm
Eat mor dawg!
THWG
October 30th, 2010
8:10 pm
UGAy…best 5 loss team in the country!!!!
Satilla Dawg
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
The refs stole this one. I am cutting off funds to Athens until they hire a first class coach.
Army of the GATORS
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
Good game Dogs,…again wait til next year!
To Hell With Georgia
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
UGA …again, unless you are playing the Montana School for the Small or The Devry Institute, you can’t compete….you are a wonderful red neck joke. Enjoy the feeling…Maybe if you didn’t have so many players in jail or kicked off the team, you might be able to make a better showing….you are a comical mess of a program. Everyone knows it but you….
Richt's Gotta Go and BooBoo too
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
PLEASE FIRE MARK RICHT… HE IS TURNING IN RAY GOFF… He is paid 3+ million a year to coach this team and he has coached them to 3 lousy seasons in a row… He is consistently UNDERACHEIVING… He is consistently UNDERACHEIVING… He is consistently UNDERACHEIVING…
stendek
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
I do not dislike many people Michael. I strongly dislike you! Brown nosing SOB jerk. Drpenzee dead. STENDEK
Dawgs?
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
It only took wins over loely TN and Vandy for the “we can still win the SEC” talk…ha ha
crossdawg
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
Richt will get his annual Christmas bunus from the FL alumni
Satilla Dawg
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
We still would be bowl eligible if we run the table.
TML
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
‘look at the red panties falling from the sky! look at the red panties falling from the sky!’
http://www.stinGTees.com
Deepdiver
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
Richt is a top five paid coach, but he doesn’t coach anywhere near that!
djgator
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
From all Gators living in GA! Thanks Urban!!!! GO GATORS!!!!
Smart like a Fox
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
please pick up your trash before you leave St. Simons…Our beach is not your campus! clean up your mess!!
DawgsFan2010
October 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
I know that Georgia is having a bad year this year but how will they be better next year without AJ Green ?
Dawgs?
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
UGA Wins = Mark Richt is great
UGA Loses = Mark Richt has to go
sick
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
As a dawg fan for 52 yrs., who attended UGA, with tears in my eyes, I can truly say I hope we lose every game for the rest of the season. The only way I know we can rid ourselves of this joke of a coach. Never in all my years, have I thought or said this. It has to be the most stupid play calling in all of college football.
g
G
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Let’s face it. This is an automatic loss each season/ How in the world have you only one 3 of the last 20 something games… UGA came out scared and the freshman made too many mistakes.
Orange10
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Murray throws into triple coverage in overtime? Hey Murray this is S–t and this is Shinola! Whatever, team Mettenberger ends up with, he is going to torch UGA’s a$$.
Macclenny_dawg
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Jack bull,
Richt lost us the game he let Bobo call the plays. This whole season we put Murray in 3rd and long after a incomplete pass on 1st down. Check the game tapes. NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN THE PLAY CALLING AND THAT IS BOBO CALLING THE PLAYS!!! BUT RICHT SHOULD HAVE DEMOTED HIM AFTER THE 3RD LOSS!!! mURRAY JUST HAD TO TRY TO GET A 1ST DOWN ON THAT INTERCEPTION.
fastdawg
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Would spmeone please tell me why the defense could not stop Burton. Ever time he comes in the game he is either going to run it up the middle or hand the ball off & we let him get 5 to 50 yeards every play right up the middle. Pretty pathetic defense. The defense should of intercepted the ball in the end zone just before UF kicked the winning field goal.
stendek
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Football is important but one thing is more important. Legalize gay marriage in Clarke County now.
Einsteindawg
October 30th, 2010
8:13 pm
Hey mark Richt…what about Bob’s playcalling tells you he is worth a half a million dollars a year? Is it easy to spend other peoples money? Are you really a good steward?
THWG
October 30th, 2010
8:14 pm
J Green for Heisman!
McDonough Gator
October 30th, 2010
8:14 pm
**I love listening and watching CBS46 announcers talking about “the interception celebration in the End Zone”…did you see any of the officials signal a touchdown??? The Gators thought they had the touchdown and yes…it was brought back to the 25 yard line. Come on guys…act like mature Sports announcers and accept defeat and broadcast the sports unbiased please?**
McDonough Gator
October 30th, 2010
8:14 pm
**I love listening and watching CBS46 announcers talking about “the interception celebration in the End Zone”…did you see any of the officials signal a touchdown??? The Gators thought they had the touchdown and yes…it was brought back to the 25 yard line. Come on guys…act like mature Sports announcers and accept defeat and broadcast the sports unbiased please?**
Ga Dawg 97
October 30th, 2010
8:15 pm
Satilla Dawg, The refs? Seriously? What game were you watching. You’re making us all look bad. We got the benefit on most close calls.
Florida Gators
October 30th, 2010
8:16 pm
Pick up your trash on the way out. Our state is not a Georgia trailer park!
Rainey on Big Bad Bruce's Parade
October 30th, 2010
8:16 pm
The best part of the game was when CBS kicked Lundquist and Danielson out of the booth and replaced them for a series with John Walsh and Sheriff John Bunnell.