Georgia’s ascent to SEC title game is positive sign for future
Mark Richt has Georgia back in SEC title game for first time since 2005. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
In Mark Richt’s first five seasons at Georgia, the Bulldogs played in three SEC championship games. In the next five, they played in zero. So this somewhat qualifies as a welcome back to relevancy.
But does the euphoria of playing in the conference title game against LSU on Saturday project to long-term significance?
If Georgia’s 10-game winning streak wasn’t the mere residue of a soft schedule, if Richt once again truly is in command of this program, if the relative off-the-field peace – let’s put Isaiah Crowell aside for a moment – isn’t some aberration, then the Dogs can celebrate much more than a division title.
Georgia may suddenly find itself in a position to flip the power structure in the conference.
That’s not to suggest LSU or Alabama may implode any time soon. (They won’t.) But given the Dogs’ youth and ascent, the maturity and resiliency following the 0-2 start, returning talent, and an expected impact on recruiting, completing for SEC titles may be the norm again. And competing for SEC titles means relevancy on the national landscape, as well.
Athletic director Greg McGarity isn’t that far removed from having to ponder making a coaching change after this season. So he has been careful not to be overly effusive in praise or make grand proclamations in recent weeks. But he didn’t hesitate when asked about the future.
“The potential is there for us to build on what we’ve established this year,” he said. “Things are definitely going in the direction we want them to be going in. But you can never stop having a sense of urgency.
Isaiah Crowell (center), the subject of rumors in recent days, will suit up, but Richt wouldn't address status of his running backs. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
“I think we’ve seen in this conference that you can turn things around quickly. That’s evidenced by what Steve [Spurrier] did at Florida. It’s evidenced by what [Nick] Saban has done at Alabama, and what he and [Les] Miles did at LSU. The difficult thing is staying competitive. If your recruiting falls off or you have [coaching] turnover, you can fall behind in a hurry. Look at what happened at LSU before Nick got there. Look at Tennessee now.”
The Dogs don’t need to upset LSU in the Georgia Dome to validate their season. But not getting blown out would help. And they have a legitimate shot to win this. Aaron Murray is playing that well. So are his receivers. So is the defense.
The biggest problem is the running game in general and Crowell in particular. He has been a cyber-rumor with ears in the past few days. Pick one: He malingered at practice; he feuded with teammates; he quit; he got suspended. The only certainty is that his health (lately his ankle) has been an issue all season.
Crowell was at the Dome with his teammates Friday. He is on the “dress-out” list. Richt again declined to comment on the status of any of his running backs. But McGarity chuckled when asked about the suspension rumor, saying he knows nothing of it and commenting, “I’d know, wouldn’t I?”
If the situation is weighing on Richt, he hid it well. He seemed at peace. He referenced his 100th career win at Tennessee, the comeback against Florida, the wins over Auburn, Kentucky and Georgia Tech. It was a news conference of reflection for Richt, which is unusual for him during the season.
“We’ve had a lot of really special times with this team this year,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it maybe as much as any season that I’ve coached.”
He referenced the 0-2 start, the 6-7 record in 2010 and “all of the things I knew were swirling around, which I’m sure intensified. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it, but I knew it was out there.”
When a national writer asked Richt if he felt vindicated, he responded: “This year in particular I’ve been very thankful for everything that’s happened. I’m thankful for a group of men who bought in back in January and went through all the things you have to go through to create team atmosphere and chemistry.”
It got them to the title game. It could get them to more in the future.
By Jeff Schultz
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608 comments Add your comment
jsmooth
December 3rd, 2011
10:56 am
Go tech:
Another nerd from the tech side of the tracks! Go on your own board, uh oh, I forget, nothing to talk about except that Sun Bowl perch. Man, I am excited about that! Maybe, tech will bring 1000 fans and will get beat, yet again, in a meaningless bowl.
SiddyBoy
December 3rd, 2011
10:57 am
Jeff:
Always enjoy your column.
Hope CMR is around for a long time.
Don’t know (Well I guess I do) why the “Anti-Christian” attitude prevails among SOME readers. I’m both a well educated, successful UGA graduate and a Christian. They are not mutually exclusive. I love UGA football and CMR has class when SOME around him (and on this blog) do not. As he says, being a football coach is what he does but it’s not who he is (and that means he’s going to Heaven when he dies).Also, CMR’S values and influence are ETERNAL while his coaching record is TEMPORAL. He is both a great coach and a fine man of GOD. So, praise GOD and go “DAWGS”.
Ray
December 3rd, 2011
10:58 am
You know what some of my fellow Dawg fans are a class act when it comes down to Crowell.
Last year before he got here it was PLZ COME TO UGA!! DON’T GO TO BAMA.
Now you just diss the guy like there is no tomorrow what if Keith Marshall does decide to come here and doesn’t perform or turns in Ealey #2 except with a better attitude then what you diss him as well.
I love my Dawgs family but COM’ ON MAN!
Homepage | MrSEC.com
December 3rd, 2011
11:03 am
[...] Jeff Schultz: “Georgia may suddenly find itself in a position to flip the power structure in the [...]
Buzz2011
December 3rd, 2011
11:14 am
The big Dawgs talk about ” triple floption”" from GT..Let me remind you leghumpers, next year we will have the defense to parlay with a running game you can’t stop now.. We burned you for 245 yrds this year on the ground and were off a little.. What about stopping these weak SEC teams for 50 yrds, what a joke..You fear the OPTION and you always will. Now go get that 38 -10 Tiger pawing..
MMA Lonnie
December 3rd, 2011
11:15 am
You jerks just don’t understand why we occupy. These fat cats like Bush and Ragan and there cronies make everything unfair for the rest of us while they sip there oil martinis. Obama will stop this and make sure we finally get that money we have worked so hard for.
Russ' Chew Toy
December 3rd, 2011
11:22 am
@ GTBob — and yet UGA owns GT like a pair of old shoes. Which means by comparison you are the ultimate in pathetic football. Kinda sucks to be you, doesn’t it?
MMA Lonnie
December 3rd, 2011
11:22 am
You jerks don’t understand why we occupy. These fat cats like bush and ragan and there cronies get rich on our backs sipping oil martinis while we suffer. Obama will make sure we get that money that we have worked so hard for.
Atlanta Gator
December 3rd, 2011
11:24 am
Good luck to the Dawgs. I’m afraid they’re going to need it.
Hater
December 3rd, 2011
11:35 am
Buzz2011… I’ll take 28 points and UGA. You willing to put your money where your mouth is? Congrats on the 245 yards rushing. How’d that work out for you?
dawg4life
December 3rd, 2011
11:38 am
Hey GTBob, Good luck in your game today…. oh wait a minute…. Have you booked your tickets to El Paso yet? The only thing UGA needs to do is remove Tech from its schedule. We hand them a beatdown, and drop a spot in the polls. At this point, even beating Tech is dragging us down.
War Dang Dawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:39 am
There are a lot of comments from Gators. If I wanted a loser’s opinion, I’d hang out on a UF blog. Or maybe a Tech blog.
please
December 3rd, 2011
11:39 am
Shultz and the UGA fans are delusional. The puppies aren’t in the same league as Bama and LSU. Narrow victories over a host of weak opponents will culminate in an embarrassing slaughter against LSU to the tune of something like 35-3. Aaron Murray hasn’t seen anything like the LSU defense and he will be totally inept.
bamaguy
December 3rd, 2011
11:42 am
Good Luck to the Bulldogs today. I will be there wearing crimson (a compromise I made with my UGA buddy I am going with. I won’t wear a Georgia sweatshirt but I will wear a solid red one).
Ray is correct about Crowell. Why would any top running back want to come to UGA if you are ready to trash any kid who doesn’t instantly turn into Hershel reincarnate?
TampaGator
December 3rd, 2011
11:45 am
War Dang…..
What is your definition of a loser?
Winning 3 national titles and a lot of SEC titles since 1996? Well, if it is, Florida is a loser.
P.S……when is the last time Georgia won a national title?
Man, if you are going to come on here with that stuff…..you should have data to back up your post. Otherwise, you come off as an emotionally controlled person without any sense of logic thought processes.
TampaGator
December 3rd, 2011
11:49 am
and….War Dang Dawg…..
The last time I checked, Schultz’s column is not a “Georgia blog”……but you can find them on the AJC website. Why don’t you go to one and “not think” or “read” on one of those. Just a hint.
grandmachick
December 3rd, 2011
11:51 am
Go Tech!
Do you mean like we buried TECH AGAIN!!! By the way what is your super Tech team doing today? Not playing in a championship game huh. Well maybe next year or the next or the next………
GO DAWGS!!!
TampaGator
December 3rd, 2011
11:52 am
My prediction for today’s game:
LSU 38, Georgia 24…..with the score 24-21 LSU into the 4th quarter, when LSU takes over the game due to depth and overall talent. And…yes….your kicker makes 1 of 2 FG attempts. It is going to be a great game for…..3 full quarters.
Snowball in Hell
December 3rd, 2011
11:58 am
The problem with these divisional championships is that the OOC games don’t even count. At least the SEC game isn’t as bad as the PAC-12 playoff game this year, with Stanford sitting at home watching a 6-6 UCLA team play for the Rose Bowl. Oh well… At least it wasn’t a “rematch” yawn…
Still, Georgia could have lost every one of their OOC games in addition to losing to South Carolina straight-up, and still been in the CornDawg Bowl today with a 7-5 overall record. Bizarre…
Chuck Allison
December 3rd, 2011
12:00 pm
What is the benefit of being first? I see folks celebrating being first and I see no benefit. Those who are first usually have absolutely nothing to say. It makes those people look very ignorant, so I assume there must be some benefit of which I do not know.
Snowball in Hell
December 3rd, 2011
12:02 pm
Chuck Allison,
You’re just jealous because you aren’t first.
First!!!
GulfShoresDawg
December 3rd, 2011
12:22 pm
GTBob = Energy Vampire! Good luck in the Bowl game GT…I am a FAN,not a HATER…Go Dawgs!
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(Richt fan for life)
December 3rd, 2011
12:40 pm
@Please 11:39 am… That;s the same crapola you were putting out last year about Auburn. What a difference a year makes. Wonder where Saban and Chizik will watch today’s SEC Championship game. I;m certain ALL the Bammers will be pulling for UGA although it probaby won’t help us. You can bet your doublewide that UGA will show up.
Snowball in Hell
December 3rd, 2011
12:45 pm
You get a trophy just for showing up.
Corn Dawg
December 3rd, 2011
12:51 pm
I wish I was a Honey battered CornDawg,
That is what I’d truly love to be.
Cause if I was a Honey Battered CornDawg,
Honey Badger wouldn’t tackle me.
Brainiac;s '
December 3rd, 2011
12:52 pm
My poor brainiac doesn’t know the difference between a ; and a ‘… I feel so neglected
Braneiac
December 3rd, 2011
12:54 pm
does not compute…
does not compute…
does not compute…
Brainiac;s '
December 3rd, 2011
12:55 pm
CornDawg… I wish you were a honey battered CornDawg too, then all fire ants would have their way with you…
Snowball in Hell
December 3rd, 2011
12:57 pm
Nobody thought I’d make it either.
Ray
December 3rd, 2011
12:58 pm
You know another funny thing is it’s quite funny how we forget just how much Crowell means to the team if you look at the GT game one in which he was out we couldn’t even get over 150 yards in rushing offense and then the Kentucky game when he left the game with the injury the running game went south . I’m not in any way saying some of the things Crowell did over the year was right, but don’t be a hypocrite as in be a fan one minute and then quit on him the next minute.
Because of something that to me gets blown out of proportion compared to many things other teams and people in general do.
whatsgoingon
December 3rd, 2011
1:27 pm
The ONLY reason UGA has managed to scrum it’s way into the SEC Champ game is because of their ridiculously easy schedule they have played. Just look at the conference records of those teams – Ole Missy, Misery St, TN, KY Jellies, Vandi, panzi-FL – and UGA – with the exception of Auburn – could have very lost any of those games. What’s the conference record of those teams? Like 8-40??
MMA Lonnie
December 3rd, 2011
1:29 pm
yuo people talk about georgia and lousina football and these guys running around in tights meanwhile bu$h and regan and his fat cat banker cronies are sipping oil martinis while we suffer through another georgia football game season. I hope the game ends in a tie and then we can start to focus on obama and he will give us the money we worked so hard for.
yo
December 3rd, 2011
1:29 pm
Well only because it will put a damper on the farce called a BCS championship I am hoping the Dawgs send LSU to the game with one loss.
Then I hope LSU drills Alabama so we can listen to all of the Dawgs cry about how they are the best team in the nation and what coulda been and shoulda been.
That would be in the perfect world.
But it won’t happen so LSU wins this one too.
bigdon
December 3rd, 2011
1:31 pm
Go Tech! and GT Bod: Your comments are sophmorice and show serious irrelevancy. Who gives a afdf4$@ what tech thinks. Go run the triple floption and we’ll see you in the Play School Bowl next year in Tifton, Georgia. Luzers! P.S. Your coach needs tiddy liposuction big time.
bigdon
December 3rd, 2011
1:32 pm
He shouldn’t have breast fed all you yellow jastards.
Russ' Chew Toy
December 3rd, 2011
1:49 pm
@SSIgator — Serious question. You post on this blog on average about 3 minutes 24×7. Is your hatred of UGA really your number one priority in life? If you’re such a rabid football fan, why is that you prefer to spend all your time on the blog of a team you hate instead of a team you claim to support? Seriously, is it because you actually have no connection to UFL, and your hatred of UGA stems from the fact that they never accepted your college admittance application?
I genuinely feel sorry for people who are so insecure that they devote their entire lives to trying to talk down something they don’t like instead of supporting something they do like. What a sad, pathetic life you must have.
Confucius say
December 3rd, 2011
2:12 pm
Just because team play cupcake schedule this year doesn’t mean they win next year.
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:15 pm
I can’t believe some SEC fans want a PLAYOFF.
You must be CRAZY. The SEC has won MNC’s without the playoff.
A playoff will pit teams that shouldn’t have a chance to win game because of BAD match-ups.
The SEC would; more likely than not, have won the last 5 MNC’s if a playoff was in place.
Bama, LSU, or UGA would have been eliminated before the championship game due to physical play or a match-up not in their favor.
Chili Dawgs
December 3rd, 2011
2:16 pm
Hold on, is Georgia Southern having a hard time with a second-year football team, at home?!
Leave the football to the big boys in North Georgia.
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:22 pm
Chili Dawgs then why does UGA want to play Ga Southern the week before TECH next year? Well, Ga. Sou. will be losing the Senior QB and UGA shouldn’t have much trouble and not learn Much leading to the TECH game.
Russ' Chew Toy
December 3rd, 2011
2:24 pm
@1-eyed Jack — thanks for the head’s up on the GT merchandise. Think I’ll stock up on it. It’s perfect for wiping my backside with when the missus forgets to buy the Charmin. We fans do in the loo what the players do on the field. Wipe up with buzzfuzz.
Chili Dawgs
December 3rd, 2011
2:27 pm
The Dawgs want to play another team that runs the triple floption to prepare for the annual wrecking of teck. As if we need the practice.
Russ' Chew Toy
December 3rd, 2011
2:33 pm
Urban Myer – You’re right. Aaron Murray can’t carry Tim Tebow’s jockstrap. That’s because you have it wrapped so tightly around your face. Last time I looked, the crybaby didn’t play for UF anymore. Let’s talk about THIS YEAR, shall we?
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:33 pm
But CHILI DAWG……………..WHY? I thought UGA didn’t FEAR the T.O. Tech runs? What extra practice do the Daws need against the High School O Tech runs?
Chili Dawgs
December 3rd, 2011
2:37 pm
Or maybe because we know we can beat it, easily.
Spend less time blogging, and more time ending your streak of virginity, nerd.
When you finally “do it,” I’ll buy you a drink.
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:41 pm
Houston trying to keep it close. back to within 7.
http://www.atlantahaulitallinc.com
Custom made bird houses with a football flair. Pictured is a UGA helmet. We will do any team. the Head-2-Head/ House Divided can be any teams you wish to have matched. It can be teams that don’t play, but the husband and wife went to different colleges or maybe the children attend different schools. Pleas check it out and EMAIL your request. My friend will forward the emails to me.
Have fun dawgs. It should be an entertaining game.
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:44 pm
chili dawg…………….you talk Virginity? If your DAWG is CHILI then you ain’t getting NON, but you talk about others bedroom prowess? Nice try.
LIVE: Georgia (with or without Crowell) go for SEC title | Jeff Schultz
December 3rd, 2011
2:44 pm
[...] • Georgia’s ascent a positive sign for future [...]
5150 UOAD
December 3rd, 2011
2:46 pm
NONE sorry missed the E kinda like you missed getting your girl an O.
Chili Dawgs
December 3rd, 2011
2:48 pm
Not bad, nerd. That was funny, except the part where you’ve never seen a woman naked.