After another flawed win, are Dogs ready for Florida? (Updated with Grantham video)
Aaron Murray and Georgia had some shaky moments Saturday at Vanderbilt. (AP photo)
(UPDATED: 11:50 p.m.)
NASHVILLE – There’s a saying in sports: It’s not how, it’s how many. That assumes, of course, we’re not talking about college football polls or perceptions heading into the Florida game.
Georgia won again Saturday night. That makes five straight. If ever a five-game winning streak can cause discomfort, this is it. Vanderbilt, a team that had managed just three points in its previous two games, scored three second-half touchdowns. One came on a 96-yard kickoff return. Two others came on alarming efficient drives of 75 and 84 yards against a Bulldogs’ defense that was thought to be improving. So much for thought.
The Bulldogs, after leading 23-7, held on a for a 33-28 victory. The words “held on” never should appear before “victory” for a team that aspires to something higher than the Liberty Bowl again.
The Dogs’ four straight SEC wins have come over teams — Mississippi State, Mississippi, Tennessee, Vandy — with a combined record of 1-13. No, it’s not their fault they’re playing lousy teams. But this game wasn’t secure until time expired. A blocked punt with seven seconds hope gave the Commodores one last gasp of hope. An ensuing pass from Georgia’s 21-yard line went off the finger tips of a Vandy wide receiver, Chris Boyd in the end zone.
Is this progress?
The Dogs struggled to finish drives on offense. They wilted on defense. They were absolutely dreadful on special teams. They had discipline problems — from the players down to the combustible defensive coordinator. After this one finally, mercifully came to an end, players and coaches from both teams met at midfield. It looked like the stare-down before a rumble between the Jets and Sharks in Westside story.
At the center of it were Vandy coach James Franklin and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who exchanged heated words. (Go to the end of the column for the video.)
Georgia coach Mark Richt wasn’t happy after the game, nor should he have been. First, he put an asterisk on the win: “I just don’t know if we’re ready to continue at the top of the Eastern Division the way we played. We’re thankful for the victory but we’ve got a ways to go.”
Then he addressed his team’s lack of discipline and short fuse. He said he didn’t get a good look at the post-game exchange, but commented, “All I know is I hate the fact at the end of the game that we can’t just shake hands like gentleman and walk off the field. … It’s like the end of a play. When it’s over it’s over. Go to the sideline. And we didn’t do a very good job of that. It is heated. It is battle. It’s not war with real bullets but it’s war in a sense and tempers do flare up. I don’t mind our blood [pressure] getting high but we can’t do something that may get us beat, or make us look less than a first-class operation.”
Grantham was cryptic with his remarks, saying only: “Everybody’s competitive. I love my players. I support my players.”
Franklin: “I went to find coach Richt and didn’t find him, so I found one of his assistant coaches and it didn’t go well.”
Was this a Vandy game?
In short, this wasn’t the kind of performance that is going to inspire confidence going into the Florida game in two weeks, even with the Gators themselves struggling. (Less we forget, the Gators were struggling last season when they won for the 19th time in 21 meetings.)
A blown transformer caused four banks of lights at Vanderbilt Stadium to go out with 2:53 left in the first half. Some of the game was played amid dark shadows. Just as well. Most Vandy games are best played in the dark anyway.
Richt was hoping his team would quick start. That didn’t happen. The offense was as dim as the half-lit stadium. The first four possessions: missed field goal (50 yards), punt (three and out), field goal (53 yards), missed field goal (42 yards). Twice the Dogs failed to capitalize on Vandy turnovers. Their first touchdown came only after a botched Commodores punt.
Also contributing to the early problems: The absence of running back Isaiah Crowell. Richt benched him for the entire first quarter. He confirmed after the game it was not injury related but rather for something off the field. But he wouldn’t specify. (The logical assumption: Some kind of disciplinary measure.)
The five straight wins aside, the Dogs still show flaws. The fact they’re showing them against bad competition is the biggest concern. After driving to a field goal to open the second half, they allowed Vandy’s Andre Hal to return a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, which narrowed the lead to 23-14.
Discipline and intelligence remain issues: On the ensuing kickoff, Shawn Williams hit a Vandy player late, drawing his second personal foul of the game. (Later in the game, Kwame Geathers was flagged for punching Vandy’s Logan Stewart on the ground after a play, but officials called offsetting personal fouls.)
Aaron Murray threw for 326 yards but he also misfired at times (22 for 38). The Dogs couldn’t finish drives, and Murray missed a wide open Marlon Brown at the five-yard line for a certain touchdown before the team settled for its fourth field goal of the night. The lead (26-14) was comfortable. The performance was not comforting.
It took two trick plays before they found the end zone against Georgia: a 35-yard pass play on a fake punt, and a 43-yard, half-back pass from Zac Stacy to Jordan Matthews for a touchdown. But there they were, reeking havoc late. First came the kickoff return. Then came the 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that closed the lead to 26-21. When Murray responded with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Brown, Vandy — Vandy! — showed its resiliency with another long scoring drive, this one ending on a 19-yard run by Stacy with nine minutes left.
The Dogs kept us guessing to the end.
Going into the Florida game, that’s a problem.
Grantham goes ballistic
By Jeff Schultz
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958 comments Add your comment
Buckhead Bulldog
October 16th, 2011
12:32 am
Saban _ I give up…who is this “Lauren” you keep referring to?
Ernest T Bass
October 16th, 2011
12:32 am
I bet if Richt would have been in the picture he would not have liked it either.
He wouldnt have.
This is the ajc in their most gotcha moment.
They want so desperately for there to be something there.
There isnt.
rally
October 16th, 2011
12:33 am
No Franklin gets a pass because he did nothing wrong and has the mighty Dawgs coming unglued. Let Coach Redneck try that little stunt with Nick Saban when Alabama rolls you in the championship game.
TampaGator
October 16th, 2011
12:33 am
KerryB…..
Another completely unbiased post by you. So…..in your opinion….along with OPINION…..one wrong justifies another. Great thinking. No…..Richt…..did come into view and he handled the situation completely differently. He tried to calm things down.
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:34 am
A HEAD COACH should know better than going after an opposing player. He should have gone to the center of the field and told CMR he didn’t appreciate the play of his player. As a head coach you don’t go after a player.
Ernest T Bass
October 16th, 2011
12:34 am
Funny someone for the AJC has a home movie camera pointed at the TV all the time and can go back etc.
Wonder if manboobs faces that level of scrutiny?
Zach
October 16th, 2011
12:35 am
Drew Butler made a great play to get back and disrupt the scoop and score after the blocked punt.
TampaGator
October 16th, 2011
12:35 am
KerryB….
You are right….Franklin did. Grantham just came and made things 10 times worse. Good job, right?
Roadrunner
October 16th, 2011
12:35 am
Wow, what a messy end to a messed up night of football. We aren’t a very good team right now, thank goodness we have an off week to get our heads on straight and chin straps tightened for Florida. Unless we play a WHOLE LOT BETTER than tonight its not going to be a very fun Halloween weekend again this year…. I’m a diehard Dawg Fan but this team doesn’t seem to be getting better week to week.
Just Sayin
October 16th, 2011
12:35 am
Nothing to this “incident” other than a heated exchange by coach’s after a emotional few plays. Funny how that first “last” play took only 6 secs off the clock. It was at least 8 secs long. That was a pretty deep route.
Not sure why Bobo kept running Samuel outside at the end. Just hard to believe at times.
Columbus
October 16th, 2011
12:37 am
Ready for Florida? LOL. They scored 6 points on the worst defense in the SEC today. If UGA and Florida played today, who would have won? Id say UGA is ready because Florida cant score a TD on Auburn. UGA will be healthiest all year against Florida, have 2 weeks to get ready. Looks like is should ne 6 wins straight for UGA and 4 straight losses for them Gators!
Go Dawgs!
Get healthy and STAY OUT OF TROUBLE the next 2 weeks and we will have all the starters back against Florida and a LOT OF DEPTH!
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:38 am
We don’t know what Franklin said to Grantham. Grantham probably told him if he had a problem speak to him and Franklin probably said something that set Grantham off. If you’ve been watching your players being cheap shotted by Vandy players going after their knees all night and all of a sudden their Head Coach comes up saying something about one of yours you are probably going to go off too.
We Own You
October 16th, 2011
12:38 am
You’re a moron Schultz…..You have no clue what it takes to play week after week after week in the SEC….
This is just like 2007….two losses….hadn’t looked impressive in the wins….barely beat Vandy with a confrontation after the game…
Beat Florida—celebrated in the endzone—won out….finished 3rd in the AP…..Bank it.
Matt
October 16th, 2011
12:39 am
Watching Grantham I was like what the hell is he doing? But then I reviewed the game on my DVR and watched in slow mo.
1. Game was over and players and coaches start to walk to the middle of the field.
2. You can see Shawn Williams giving high fives to team mates just as Grantham and Franklin are about 15 yards from each other.
3. Grantham is walking cool calm and collected as James Franklin starts to point in Shawn Williams direction and says something.
4. Grantham looks where Franklin is pointing (@ Shawn Williams) and turns back at him and unloads on him. if my lip reading is any good there were some you little mother (f word) and I’ll (f word) ing kill you.
5. The two teams are separated and go to the locker rooms.
AFDawg
October 16th, 2011
12:39 am
rally at 1202 — nice spin, now it has ballooned into a “melee” at teh end of the game. That’s funny. You want to see a melee look back at the Clemson – South Carolina fight at the end of teh agme that almost ended the series between those two schools. Now that was a melee.
Just Sayin
October 16th, 2011
12:41 am
hahaha Just watched the “video” put by some hack on Youtube. How is that any different than how Paul Johnson talks too his players when they screw up? I saw him do it 3-4 times in today’s game. Cussing like a sailor while the camera is close up on him.
dawg85
October 16th, 2011
12:41 am
Dawgs won. Nerds lost. It wasn’t pretty but … Dawgs won and nerds lost. CTG supports his players. I can live with that. As the boss CMR has to look at it a little differently — I can live with that too. Gators offense looked great tonight.
TampaGator
October 16th, 2011
12:42 am
Good night with this unbiased point of view….
Florida is not very good this year……and Georgia isn’t must better. But I am still going to JAX and looking forward to 19 out of 24. See ya.
cochise
October 16th, 2011
12:42 am
franklin is lucky he didn’t get knock the ef out really lucky. or maybe someone was praying for him either way consider himself blessed.
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:43 am
I was at was at that Clemson-USC game. USC started that when Clemson ran down the hill. USC players were waiting at the bottom to talk smack to them. It escalated more and more as the game went on.
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:43 am
We’re a lot better than Florida.
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:44 am
All of these Tech fans are on here downing Grantham and their own head coach is a piece of trash.
Festus
October 16th, 2011
12:45 am
UGA is a sore winner. Richt needs to restore decorum and sportsmanship to UGA’s image. He should require that Todd Grantham eat at salad bars until he learns to behave. This is the SEC. Not the WWE.
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:46 am
Festus=moron
Chuck
October 16th, 2011
12:46 am
LOL – the AJC is the Tokyo Rose of UGA sports
Matt
October 16th, 2011
12:47 am
Mark Richt Mr. Vanilla & Tood Grantham is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sounds like a balanced attack to me.
rally
October 16th, 2011
12:48 am
For anyone interested: Here is coach Franklin’s comments to the Nashville Tennessean:
“We just had a tough, emotional game and some things were said that I didn’t think were appropriate,” Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin said. “I went to find Coach (Mark) Richt and didn’t find him, so I found one of his assistant coaches and it didn’t go well. We’re not going to sit back and take it from anyone.”
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111015/SPORTS0602/111015020/Vandy-shows-fight-loss-Georgia?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Matt
October 16th, 2011
12:48 am
If anyone need a salad bar it’s Charlie Weis or Phillip Fulmer.
78Dawg
October 16th, 2011
12:49 am
WHY IN THE HELL DID RAMBO TAKE A KNEE? HE HAD AT LEAST 15 YARDS OF EMPTY SPACE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM !!! WE KICK A FG THERE..GAME OVER…NO BLOCKED PUNT !! STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES….THIS GAME WAS AWFUL AND WE WILL NOT WIN THE EAST !!!!
Kevin
October 16th, 2011
12:50 am
Matt is right. Franklin yelled hey 36(I’m assuming dure to his 2 late hit penalites) and CTG rightfully told him not to address UGA’s players. Franklin was out of line and I’m glad Grantham was there instead of that pansy ass CMR. You never say anything negative to the other team’s players
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
12:50 am
rally, Funny. He never mentions anything about yelling and pointing at a Georgia player. He forgets that. How convenient.
Matt
October 16th, 2011
12:51 am
78 Dawg Did you forget Rambo fumbled an interception return already this year. I think it was the best thing to do.
Alpo
October 16th, 2011
12:52 am
kerryb = everyone who has a different opinion than his is an “idiot”. You, my friend, are coming across as a complete,immature twelve year old, jackass! Go to bed, lil’ fella before someone smacks you down and you go running to mommy. Grow up, too.
Columbus
October 16th, 2011
12:54 am
Yep its progress Schultz. Stop trying to keep the fire lit.
Richt is back in 2012 and Dawgs are even better and he will still be there on 5 years.
Vandy is a decent team, ESPECIALLY AT HOME. UGA was wounded and the Vandy QB gave them some big plays running the ball. UGA defense gave up more TD’s than all year, what 3? It was a surprise but not a surprise at how much of a fight Vandy put up at home on a Saturday night, with a new QB.
Last year, UGA would have lost, this is progress. WINS are progress and no matter the opponent. Murray threw for a career high. UGA won without Crowell or Mitchell. UGA opponents have had HARD SEC schedules in case you havent noticed and SC was lucky to have won against UGA.
PROGRESS IS EVERYWHERE. Will being in the SEC Championship game be ENOUGH PROGRESS FOR YOU?!
I bet every other team in the East would like to have a season with a “lack of progress”, as you insinuate, but STILL play for the conference championship after having a losing season the year before!
UGA has a chance to win the whole thing. Florida just lost their chance. Tennessee, Kentucky, Vandy, no chance. Only UGA and SC. SC is about to go down. Maybe more than once. So if UGA wins out, see you in Atlanta. Will there still be a discussion by you incompetent writers at AJC then? Probably. You know the biggest thing in the state of Georgia sports is UGA. What better way to get attention than to bad mouth them and try to get the coach fired! LOL. Richt isnt going anywhere/
Go Dawgs! Much bigger than AJC!
Except Chip Towers.
Matt
October 16th, 2011
12:54 am
Alpo – Is that your name because you were DAWG FOOD TONIGHT?
oldfart
October 16th, 2011
12:55 am
fred
October 16th, 2011
12:25 am
This is football not dance or soccer. I wish CTG would have punched Franklin.
Actually this is college football where there should at least be a pretense that these are student athletes and that coaches are there to help mold them into young men. You are correct that this is not a dance or soccer but it also ain’t rasslin’. Grantham’s actions were totally unacceptable as was his bird flipping incident. Both perfectly acceptable in the NFL or rasslin’ but not in the college game. How do you think Dooley would have handled an assistant acting like that to a defeated opponent? So I’m hoping Richt shows the fortitude to publicly address this and not handle it behind closed doors. I personally don’t like players dancing and styling after simply tackling a guy, especially when it is following the guy gaining 7 yards on a run or catching a first down pass. That isn’t just classless, it’s ignorant.
And before someone else points out the schoolyard chant that “they started it” once again, fuggitaboutit. That’s Vandy’s problem. Grantham’s actions are UGA’s problem.
Consider this...
October 16th, 2011
12:55 am
Ga Tech and Florida both lose on a day where the Dawgs win, and the hostility in this article is off the charts. Coincidence? I think not. All of you Techies and Gator trolls need to get back to your own articles. Tech, you lost to Virginia…we beat Vandy. You lost to a crappy team, we beat one. Florida, you have lost 3 in a row to good teams…we have won 5 in a row against crappy teams. I’ll take the 5 wins.
As for the Grantham “incident”, I love it. Head coaches are supposed to be cool, calm and collected. DCs are supposed to be crazy nut jobs. Check and check. Grantham was sticking up for his players…kudos to him.
By the way folks, we get two weeks to prepare for Florida…win that game, and the only stumbling block left on the way to a 10-2 season is Auburn. Tonight was an ugly win against a bad team…but a win is a win is a win. We are 5-2 and 4-1 in the SEC. After starting 0-2, I wll take that every day of the week. GO DAWGS!
Same old...
October 16th, 2011
12:56 am
Anyone who predicts we’re beating Fla and easily is a moron. We haven’t easily beat anyone in the last 3 years except Coastal Carolina High School.
Jeff
October 16th, 2011
1:01 am
You have to love the fact that Jeff posted this article less than thirty minutes after Georgia Wins this game. Meanwhile GT lost to a Virginia team who is way worse than Vandy and no article bashing them saying how pathetic they looked and are THEY realy for VT, CLEMSON, FSU, and UGA. SOMEONE HAS DAWG ENVY MY FRIENDS.
Miss You VanGorder
October 16th, 2011
1:01 am
Can anyone explain why when Rambo intercepts late in the game, but with the game still not put away – and seemingly with no Vandy players very close – he TAKES A KNEE? Return it 10, 15, 20 yards and change the play calling, maybe even set up another score to put it away? What a novel freakin’ idea!!! Nah, lets intercept the ball, take a knee, lose a bunch of yards on the ensuing possession, get a punt blocked and nearly lose the game – to Vanderbilt. I see it as coaching, plain and simple. That same scenario wouldn’t have played out under Saban, Chris Peterson … hell, I don’t think it would have happened to Vandy if the roles were reversed and they were protecting a lead! UGA football sucks right now ,,,,, top recruits, top recruits, blah blah blah every year, mediocre results. If you get the players and it doesn’t materialize into wins, that’s poor coaching. Maybe Richt is getting tired; he has definitely lost something in the last few years.
Bernie Matt
October 16th, 2011
1:03 am
Watching BIG BLUE MADNESS, Cats basketball going to beat UGA by 30. Oh by the way, in 2 weeks, UGA makes Florida look like a top 10 football team again, and Richt is finally out!
REALUGAFAN
October 16th, 2011
1:04 am
It is hilairious to see all the Fair Weather Fan comments after every hard game, “Fire this coach, higher this coach, start this guy, bench this guy,” cry, cry, cry thats all you do. Look I am not saying that we dont need to keep improving, but shut up and enjoy the win. It was our 6th strait game, and our 2nd on the road, these are young guys playing with all their hearts, and Vandy wasnt going to play easy on their turf going into this game undefeated at home.It was a COLLEGE game, relax and enjoy an improved team from last year. Get ready for Florida and support your team like you are supposed to or just shut up all together. And really….stop all this pre-school fair weather fan Bull S&#$.
Stanco
October 16th, 2011
1:06 am
CMR=Dead Man Walking
Jeff
October 16th, 2011
1:07 am
Say rambo intercepts the ball and is hit by a WR and the ball comes out and now the have a 1st down with 2:30 seconds left. He had one stripped by Coastal Carolina. Special Teams Choked again tonight. plain and simple.
SiddyBoy
October 16th, 2011
1:09 am
Fire Todd Grantham !!! NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matt
October 16th, 2011
1:10 am
I’m with you RealUGAFAN No respect for a man who has won 101 game for you. We have news for all you Whiners there is another team in Georgia (actually 3) Go be a Tech, State, or Southern fan if you can’t stand CMR.
Buzz2011
October 16th, 2011
1:13 am
THUGA beats mighty Vandy.. Why doesn’t UGA play the real teams in that SEC?
kerryb
October 16th, 2011
1:15 am
Buzz2011, Why can’t Tech beat a team that is not a real team in the ACC. Pathetic.
Buzz2011
October 16th, 2011
1:16 am
Is this Granthams a joke or what? Richt is a joke.. This team has no discipline and should have went down to mighty Vandy>>You need coaching badly………
Miss You VanGorder
October 16th, 2011
1:17 am
I don’t know if there are so many “fair weather fans” or just those that remember the days of fundamental, disciplined football instead of guys acting like punks on and off the field. That’s a leadership issue … I hate to keep referring to Saban, but Alabama seems to get the recruits, keep folks out of trouble for the most part, win games, etc.. Why isn’t UGA doing the same? Oh yeh, leadership issues.