Georgia gets hammered and doubts about Richt grow
The looks on the faces of Georgia coach Mark Richt and defensive assistants Todd Grantham (center) and Rodney Garner (left) say it all Saturday night. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
(UPDATED: 12:10 a.m.)
This is when you start struggling to remember the good times. This is when a Georgia fan thinks back to an early seven-year span under Mark Richt when Georgia went 24-11 against ranked opponents and wonders, “Wait, did that really happen? Or was it those brownies I ate?”
If it wasn’t bad enough that the Bulldogs were underdogs (get used to that) in their season opener and a relative home game Saturday to a school from Idaho — something difficult for so many to swallow — the team’s response made all past criticism seem understated. With eight months to prepare since a humiliating effort against Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl, Georgia couldn’t give Boise State any tougher of a game than it usually receives from Wyoming.
Save some trickeration — an 80-yard touchdown run by Brandon Boykin that gave the Dogs an early 7-0 lead — it was Boise State’s night. It was Boise State’s celebration. It was Boise State that played smart and physical, the kind of performance that gets teams into BCS bowls. Remember BCS bowls?
Both teams made loud statements. Georgia just made the wrong one. Following that Boykin touchdown, the Bulldogs saw their opponents real off 28 straight points. Boise State went on to win 35-21, and it didn’t even feel that close.
Georgia’s defense looked as bad in its second season under Todd Grantham as it did in the first. The Boise State offensive line dominated. Quarterback Kellen Moore at times seemed to toy with defenders.
If only the Dogs had more than eight months to prepare.
If only they had completely revamped their strength and conditioning program.
Oh, wait a minute …
Since going 24-11 against ranked teams, Richt is 2-9. That’s more than a trend. The next ranked opponent also is the first SEC opponent: South Carolina, next week in Athens. The level of desperation just went up.
Richt must realize that. He just didn’t show it after the game. In fact, what he showed was somewhat alarming. After some standard introductory comments — “They were better than we were. We’ve got a lot of work to do before next week. But we know everybody is 0-0 in league play” — Richt actually laughed. Yes, laughed. He turned to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Chip Towers, who had been pestering Richt all week about the status of safety Bacarri Rambo, laughed and said that Rambo would not be suspended for the South Carolina game. Richt had been playing coy with the media, but Rambo was held out Saturday as expected for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Laughter may be a defensive mechanism for Richt. But his team just got whacked with a 2 x 4 in the season opener. Is laughing in the post-game new conference really a good idea?
Richt has been getting a lot of heat. He should. Fact is, Georgia’s slide hasn’t been merely about the ascension of Alabama and Florida in the SEC. In the last two years alone, the Dogs have lost games to Oklahoma State, LSU, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Colorado, Auburn and Central Florida. How long ago was it when you could not have imagined Georgia losing to many of those teams?
The Dogs suffered borderline humiliation on their first possession. They had a false start penalty before the first snap. They had a false start three plays later. They were whistled for delay of game before punting. Before the first quarter was over, the Dogs also were called for an illegal formation for having five players in the backfield (the penalty was declined) and they burned a timeout before a Boise State punt for having only 10 players on the field.
This is why having the biggest, strongest and fastest players sometimes doesn’t matter.
Boykin’s touchdown would be the Dogs’ only score of the first half and it comprised more than half of the team’s yardage (151). The Dogs totaled 71 yards in the other 29 plays.
Georgia’s defense looked strong for the first few Boise State series. But the Broncos appeared to make some adjustments in pass protection and Moore starting find holes in the zone. He moved the offense well in three of BSU’s last four possessions in the half, two resulting in touchdowns (the other, an interception by Branden Smith).
Boise State’s offensive line took over in the second quarter. Moore wasn’t sacked all game and completed 28 of 34 passes, three for touchdowns. He could’ve had a Baracalounger in the backfield to recline before some of his throws. At the outset of the third quarter, Georgia looked lost and overmatched on defense. Moore went 7-for-7 for 69 yards on Boise State’s first possession of the half. Then on second down from the Dogs’ 7, running back Doug Martin faked Smith into oblivion and danced into the end zone for a 21-7 lead.
It wasn’t over. But it was over. Once Boise State’s offense got going, Georgia couldn’t stop it.
The slide continues. It’s uncertain if Richt can stop that, either.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,481 comments Add your comment
clueless coaches
September 5th, 2011
4:24 pm
SC will hang close to 50 on the puppies. mark it down!
clueless coaches
September 5th, 2011
4:26 pm
@ numberwang……. aint gonna happen kid. UGA goes 0 – 2. Bet on it dude.
clueless coaches
September 5th, 2011
4:26 pm
now go play with your wang.
NC dawg
September 5th, 2011
4:32 pm
Seriously, Coach Richt? You need a timeout on a Boise State punt? Seriously? Half the Boise State team sucking wind and cramping up – oh wait, that was the team from GA. Seriously? Half the team showboats after making a good play? Seriously?
Three penalties in first series – cue shot of Richt laughing to himself. SERIOUSLY?
World Be Free
September 5th, 2011
4:37 pm
People are concerned about the Dawgs becuase they saw what could happen against a good team. Boise State is NOT an SEC team, so what are the SEC teams going to do to the Dawgs? and this happened in Atlanta, not in Idaho.
Not even just about coaching-the Dawgs are missing playmakers. Remember, SC has a few of them. If Garcia comes to the games with his head on straight, then the Dawgs are in trouble.
Nice recruiting trip for Chris Peterson.
World Be Free
September 5th, 2011
4:39 pm
Nice to see Boise get some respect in SEC country.
Xenophon
September 5th, 2011
4:55 pm
Stick a fork in Richt. He’s done.
Shabba Ranks
September 5th, 2011
6:54 pm
Why did we elect to receive the opening kickoff?
Why don’t UGA fans understand the concept of making LOTS of noise on Defense and shutting up on Offense?
Why do our fans hate the passionate fans?
Where was 6 and 99 at the entire game?
Why does Bobo outcute himself?
Why did we not try the Boykin play more than once? (run it till they stop it!)
Why run a draw on 3rd and 16 down by 21?
The real season starts next week. I hope Bobo is ready to call a good game. I hope UGA fans will show some passion next week. BE LOUD ON DEFENSE and stfu on offense. Don’t get mad at the fan standing up asking you to make some noise.
If you can’t do this, sell your tickets and watch the game in silence in your cozy recliner.
Go Dawgs!
David
September 5th, 2011
7:12 pm
well instead of them coming up with a game plan for the opener they took 8 months to decide what informs to wear..that was very apparent from the first series of the game
flatsdawg1
September 5th, 2011
7:40 pm
Boise St can probably beat anybody in the SEC,not just the Dawgs, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the last game of the season. As for the Dawgs, Richt laughing in the postgame was to keep from blowing up and saying something he’d regret. They will get better or we will see a new coach next year, he knows that, everybody knows that, they will fare much better against the gamecocks and if it was me I would take over or share coaching the offense with Bobo.
Isle 12, Row 54
September 5th, 2011
8:04 pm
These ‘team habbits’ of mental breakdowns and habitual problems have been common place since 1990. There have been some extreme team leadership that helped overcome or hide some of the problems from time to time. This is nothing new and has trancended through 3 head coaches. It should be noted, no team is perfect. However, that which is making Georgia look bad has been systemic and chronic since 1990. In other words, although Coach Richt will and should have accountability, this mess runs much deeper than he and his staff alone.
Knothead
September 5th, 2011
8:18 pm
The whole problem with this matchup is that UGa is probably about as good as Kentucky, but cupcakes and the media like to pretend that they’re playing a top-tier SEC team. The cupcakes then go home feeling like they’ve shook up the world.
Wash.
Rinse.
Repeat.
We’ll now have to wait until the bowl season to see if the cupcake:
a. Gets overlooked for the Big Game and complains about “disrespect” because of it’s cupcake schedule.
b. Goes to the Big Game and gets “Ducked” up and expose as only being as good as it’s cupcake schedule.
c. Loses a game that they “shudda won”.
Simnple
September 5th, 2011
8:44 pm
Recruits? Coaching? Schemes? Talent? Will? Play calling? Facilities? Conditioning? Youth? Scheduling?….ehh, maybe…
BUT…UGA fans…The main problem with the state of UGA’s football team is plainly obvious….it’s that you, the fans, always buy into the hype during the offseason.
I have heard over and over about how much the defense had improved over last year. Where did that information come from? Was it just stated so many times that you believed it? Just because some of the defensive players had “another year of the 3-4 under their belt” doesn’t automatically make them better players…or better tacklers…or better coverage backs. The defense looked just as inept in the Boise St. game as it did most of last year.
The same can be said of the offensive line. Did you really think that a couple of months of practice with a new O-line coach would turn a below average unit into bull-dozers? Most wouldn’t….but somehow UGA fans just KNEW that it would.
Along the same lines, you UGA fans had CONVINCED yourself that Isiah Crowell was going to, from game one, dominate opposing defenses. I truly believe that he will be a very good running back in the SEC…but come on, he is a true freshman.
What made you believe that UGA players were going to be in such better shape this year? Just because you brought in a different strength and conditioning coach? Look, most S&C coaches deploy the same techniques that all others do…with a few exceptions. But again, you whole-heartedly believed that when opposing teams were spent, there would be the might Dawg players standing tall. It doesn’t work that way.
I know that this post makes me sound like a complete UGA hater…and I am not. However, UGA fans really need to be more realistic in their expectations, and quit building up the team into something that it isn’t every summer. Face it, UGA is like most of the other teams in the SEC…that is, an above average team that will compete for an SEC title every 3rd or 4th year. Believe it or not, the college football world, let alone the SEC, does not run through Athens every year. Once you stop crowning your team Champions every year, and start being a bit more realistic, you won’t be so shocked once the games are actually played.
WISH
September 5th, 2011
10:07 pm
I wish CMR would get on here and see how bad everyone want him FIRED!!!!! and he would just GO AWAY!!!!! and take his clowns with him!!!!
Joellen Mccrystal
September 5th, 2011
10:10 pm
I don’t know, I have trouble concentrating on it, something doesn’t seem to be right. Any clues? “Georgia gets hammered and doubts about Richt grow | Jeff Schultz”
WISH
September 5th, 2011
10:14 pm
If UGA don’t fire MR all the 4 and 5 star players will stop coming to UGA and then we will really suck!!!!!!
SEGADAWG
September 5th, 2011
11:14 pm
Sorry but all indications are Mark needs to go…top 10 class after top 10 class does no good if coaches unable to get the job done. Also would love to have a coach that leaves the darn uniforms alone. Red, white, with a touch of black is all we need.
football fan
September 5th, 2011
11:46 pm
Simple…it’s all about money. The more hype the fans believe, and UGA fans lap it up like good little puppies, the more tickets are sold, the more UGA merchandise is sold, and McGarity, Richt, Bobo, and all coaches can be paid those exorbitant salaries. Economics, people, and you are buying right into it, hook, line and sinker.
matt
September 5th, 2011
11:46 pm
Big BSU fan here. Was at the ‘07 Fiesta Bowl and still find it hard to believe I saw what I saw. That being said:
1) UGA fans, stop eating each other!! You are all thinking you have a bad team, what if Boise is really that good? You will have much better offensive output against USC cause their D line is not as good as Boise’s. Boise is actually better than what they showed against you. Playing their 3rd string strong safety really hurt them. CMR needs to get his team some confidence before Saturday, but they can beat USC. Even when USC is good they still lay at least one egg a year. They are thinking UGA sucks. You have nothing to lose, take it to them! Work hard to prove you are better than what you showed against BSU. Just like VT did last year (though they laid a serious egg the next game), come back and win your conference. The year before Oregon came back to win the PAC-10 after getting embarrassed by BSU at home (Blount punch night!)(nobody called him the N word, he was just pissed because he had -5 yards rushing for the game after talking smack all summer long about the @$$ whooping he and his fellow feathered friends were going to bring to BSU).
2) Just because Mark Richt isn’t a ra-ra guy does not mean he can’t coach. Did you see Chris Petersen going nuts on the sideline? Nope, he is calm and cool even under pressure. No big emotional explosions when things are going good or bad. That being said, if CMR can coach, maybe he better spend some more time working with the OC on game planning. It seems they seriously underestimated BSU. It is what I call the SEC bias.
3) Did you ever stop to think that many of the 5 star recruits you get believe they have made it just by being a 5 star recruit? This is not just at Georgia. Mack Brown called his team out last year for the very same thing. Virginia Tech found that out last year. Oregon the two years in a row before that. Boise State gets kids with a chip on their shoulder that believe they are as good as the 5 stars and are out to prove it. They get kids who are coachable and willing to put in the effort and they buy in to the overall program the coaches are selling. I have watched them practice and they are all about working hard to prove it.
4) Lose the SEC bias. The flat out arrogance of SEC fans leads to being underprepared. Most of your fans, and it appears your coaches, actually believed that your superior athletes could carry the day. As long as you have that attitude, you will lose games by being underprepared. Put BSU in the BCSNC game, give them a month to prepare, and they can beat anyone. That is exactly why there needs to be a playoff. A true champion should have to go through the best from every conference in a playoff system.
Good luck UGA. Don’t let this one game ruin your season.
RDUdawg
September 6th, 2011
1:46 am
The only people who are surprised are the offseason blog believing die hards who would believe we won on saturday night if the AJC printed it for 5 straight days.
The Dawgs are pedestrian currently and have been for a few seasons.
Don’t believe for a second that our decline since 2005 doesn’t directly coorelate to the arrival of some elite coaches to the SEC. Right is a good coach…not an elite one. That has been sufficiently exposed over the past 3 years and it’s time for a change.
Bad as the coaching is and has been let’s not forget that our players lack the pride necessary to look in the mirror and rep the red and black like it deserves.
dagnabit
September 6th, 2011
4:25 am
Didn’t you used to be Georgia football?
NewnanDawg
September 6th, 2011
7:07 am
The reality offseason “changes” were revealed when UGA was flagged 3 times in the first offensive series…..
Van Gorder, the source of Mark Richt’s early success, is long gone. Fire Mark Richt.
tardawg
September 6th, 2011
8:07 am
I saw two things, not fully prepared so it seems but lack of execution makes that appear to be.I DONT SEE UGA PLAYERS WITH GUTS, HEART OR PASSION that’s not taught, talent alone is not good enough,the days of UGA just showing up all over you got to and want to play.
McGarity on Dogs, Richt: ‘You evaluate things every week’ | Jeff Schultz
September 6th, 2011
10:10 am
[...] and disappointment,” the Georgia athletic director said of the reaction among the fan base to the Bulldogs’ season-opening bellyflop, a 35-21 loss to Boise State. “But it’s not any different from what we’re feeling inside [...]
bossgator
September 6th, 2011
11:29 am
As it was for UF during the Ron Zook error, poor coaching will trump talent every time.
Phillip Fulmer
September 7th, 2011
10:32 am
Hey Mark…call me, I can help you…got some ideas.
No dawg in the hunt
September 7th, 2011
10:43 am
How Bout dem Power Rangers!! Was that the Georgia Football team or a bunch of DragonCon people who missed the bus? What will they wear this week?
jbdadawg
September 7th, 2011
4:55 pm
we all know m. richt is the most winning coach in uga ball. that said, mike bobo should have been let go 4yrs. ago. the man is a good christian, not a good offensive co-ordinator. come game time- we should be blood-thirsty to the core just like the mascots are in real life. also, our ga. players are practicing thug-like mentality like they have @fla.state. we need clean bone jarring players, not someone the cops programs hasn’t picked up.
Dirty South..
September 7th, 2011
9:57 pm
“Since going 24-11 against ranked teams, Richt is 2-9″
Hey Coach, your bags ain’t packed yet?
Yeah..Right
September 8th, 2011
10:23 pm
@matt
Congrats on finally notching a win against an SEC opponent. That said, you should trust me when I say that Georgia really is as bad as they appear to be. They have been for several years now. This was a good “helmet” game, but you didn’t prove much by beating the Dawgs. They’ll probably go 6-6 this year — if they can manage to beat Tech.
Gdawgfan
September 9th, 2011
11:01 am
This season is not over! I can’t say that I enjoyed seeing GA losing to BOISE. I am a huge GA fan and also want GA back to the level it was, but having the opportunity to have family living on the Idaho/Washington border and football fans, they will tell you there aren’t many teams nationally that can beat Boise.
This is a team of 4th and 5th year seniors who have played together and understand each others abilities and the quarterback is a NFL ready QB by most all analyst. I believe them to be an outstanding football team and could well be in the BCS championship.
This does not excused the terrible play by GA and if GA doesn’t turn this around ,it will continue to be hammered by pundits and media outlets and well deserved!
I like Coach Richt but his expression the other night after the game looked to me like a “Deer in the headlight”, and a man who had absolutely no answers! Coach Bobo needs to either go back to coaching QB’s and Coach Richt should run the offensive show. Every since he gave that responsibility to Coach B, the GA offense have not been producing any positive results that has determined a win for the offense.
Let’s not forget that Coach Gardner has not done his job – the offensive line “sucks” and as a coach for some reason he is not mentioned as part of the problem.I don’t get it? Just maybe, if the line could have blocked and open some holes, then the offense would have been a little better.
As a fan, I’m upset and long for 3 yards and a cloud of dust”. The ERA of Georgia football !