Georgia goes up 10-0, then goes down hard to LSU
After early success, it was a difficult night for Georgia's Aaron Murray. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
(UPDATED: 9:20 p.m.)
This is when all involved with the Georgia program will tell themselves, “Well, we got here.”
They will cling to the fact an inspired defense allowed LSU only 12 yards and zero first downs in the first half. They will bang their heads against the fiberglass Uga’s throughout downtown Athens over the what-might-have-beens, if two dropped touchdown passes on their first two possessions hadn’t left the team with only a field goal. They will grit their teeth as they mold toy Honey Badgers out of Play-Doh, then crush them with their fists.
But in the end, the Bulldogs’ return to the SEC Championship game after six years resulted in an ugly tilt on the scoreboard. The final: LSU 42, Georgia 10.
That might not tell the whole story. But it reaffirms what we sort of knew: Despite the season’s 10-game winning streak and the remarkable resiliency we witnessed after a 0-2 start, the Bulldogs just aren’t there yet.
“It doesn’t seem real right now that our momentum stopped,” said tight end Aron White, whose first-quarter touchdown gave the Dogs a 10-0 lead. “It really catches you off-guard when all of a sudden the accolades and the wins stop. It’s definitely going to take a while to get over. But at the end of the day, I don’t think a loss to the No. 1 team in America from the best conference in America is going to take away from the season we’ve had. We can’t say we’re the best, but we can say we were pretty damn good.”
Hard to believe, the Dogs led 10-0. They would have rejoiced more if they didn’t believe that it should have been 21-0, the residue of dropped touchdown passes by Tavarres King and Malcolm Mitchell. They will wonder how a game in which they once held a 134-7 advantage in totals so completely spun out of control.
“Basically we lost the momentum, they gained it and we couldn’t slow it down,” coach Mark Richt said.
Three months ago, the Bulldogs left the Georgia Dome after a 35-21 loss to Boise State, leaving most wondering about their direction, their resilience and, most of all, Richt.
That shouldn’t be the case any more. But the sting of 42-10 losses tend to sting a while.
Following White’s touchdown, the Dogs’ next 10 possessions resulted in seven punts and three turnovers (all leading to LSU touchdowns). The Bulldogs saw a game that they were implausibly dominating get turned around by a gravity-defying punt returner known in the swamplands as the “Honey Badger.” Sophomore Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to give LSU what the offense couldn’t: points. Then he brought back another one 47 yards early in third quarter – unofficially breaking seven tackles along the way. That set up a second touchdown and gave the Tigers a 14-10 lead.
Richt on Mathieu: “I’ll be honest: I enjoy watching the guy play football, other than when he plays against us.”
Soon, it was like somebody pulled the stopper out of the bathtub.
A fumble by quarterback Aaron Murray led to another touchdown. The Dogs’ wore down on both lines. LSU then ran them into the ground. The SEC championship was theirs, and the Dogs’ 10-game winning streak was over.
By midway through the fourth quarter, a Dome crowd that was two-thirds Georgia fans was two-thirds empty with a decidedly purple-and-gold tilt.
The Dogs will have a few weeks off before their bowl game. They’ll need it to recover — mentally moreso than physically.
About the what-might-have-beens: The Bulldogs’ defense forced six straight three-and-outs. But that success didn’t carry over to the offense. King dropped a third-down pass in the end zone on the first drive, forcing the Dogs to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Blair Walsh. Malcolm Mitchell dropped a third-down pass at the LSU 5-yard-line on the second drive, seemingly preoccupied with turning to run into the end zone. This time, Walsh missed from 45 yards.
A 10-0 lead against No. 1 just isn’t good enough when it should be 21-0.
“We wanted to have a better show then we ended up showing for 60 minutes,” Richt said.
It was a good show for a short while.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,203 comments Add your comment
Aaron Murray
December 3rd, 2011
11:12 pm
@The Real Deal
Who said:
“I swear to God could “Honey Badger ” be any more gay!”
Well, then, that fag just whipped my @ss!
Let's talk about UGA!
December 3rd, 2011
11:14 pm
Since we don’t have a team in Athens, I’m thankful for livestock.
Flo-Ri-Duh
December 3rd, 2011
11:14 pm
Georgia’s special teams were pathetic, other than Butler’s punting. They need a special teams coach bad. The blocking on kick off returns and punt returns was non existent. Why they had #61 back on punt coverage is beyond me. He was massive – no way could catch anyone. The offense became very conservative after the second possession. The only way Georgia had a chance was to throw the ball. Running up the middle for two yards on 1st down is not going to cut it. The defense was great the first half but 3 turn overs was worse than running up the middle.
Dogbegone
December 3rd, 2011
11:15 pm
Georgia fans, keep this in mind, your team is very young as so many of you are saying tonight, so that means you have many more SEC title games to lose as the years go by. Now that’s exciting. Wait til next year, no, wait until the following year, it goes on and on.
True dawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:15 pm
LSU good but they’re mighty alright lucky how the ball bounces your way! You act if Jordan Jefferson is Cam Newton! You act like either of your quarterbacks will be playing in the NFL next year! Bottom line they want. Put some honey on that badger!
dawgster
December 3rd, 2011
11:15 pm
You haters can say what you want, give us he!! for th schedule, but as far as deserving to be in the SEC game, I can assure you no team, not even Bama can say they held LSU to “0″ first downs in a game…Not sure if any defense has ever held the #1 ranked supposedly one of the all time great football teams in any Championship game to those kind of numbers….But hey they are very good and took advantage of every opportunity and their defense limited our offense, although I don’t think they caused two of our receivers to drop sure TD’s in the first half, but heck I know those are excuses. Oh just to add, everyone knows our injuries and situation with RB’s…It may us one diminsional, and you just can’t be that way against LSU…anyway congrats LSU, you are a very, very good team…The dawgs are young and will get better, not there yet but we were in lot better place than alot of you haters and your team were today..What Championship were they playing for…Well how about it?
Miles from home
December 3rd, 2011
11:16 pm
Could Georgia fans be more humble……..hahaha LMFAO I was at the game, and all I can do is laugh. I had two inbreed, white-trash rednecks, sitting behind me chanting UGA, UGA, UGA…… I kept my composure untill he told my little girl after the Tyrann Mathieu towchdown to SHUT THE F% up. That’s a way to stay classy you POS Georgia fan. After that I chanted LSU, LSU. LSU…all night long hahahahaha 42-10
Old Dog
December 3rd, 2011
11:16 pm
And it will still be “we had a good season, won ten in a row, let’s give Coach Richt a five-year extension”. And we can look forward to 7 more years of mediocre football with Richt and his best buddy Bobo. Where are all the kool-aid drinkers who have been predicting an upset all week? We need a better coach so the rebuilding can begin.
dogearred
December 3rd, 2011
11:16 pm
do not truly know what to think. we just cant seem to put it all together for 4 quarters against the elite teams. I have to think that there was improvement in several aspects of our game this year, but to play with the elite you have to catch the ball, block, have some heart, and play smart. i promise you Crowell would not see the field if he played for Saban. Man up!!!!
Ralph Kramden
December 3rd, 2011
11:17 pm
Hey…. did you hear ?….. LSU just scored again….. Bulldogs SUCK !!!
KevinToMergatroid
December 3rd, 2011
11:17 pm
If someone could please tell me why Ken Malcome did not start this game I would LOVE to hear it. We started a 170lb Junior that routinely goes down with arm tackles and gets knocked backwards on first contact (and has been suspended 3 times for discipline reasons this year), then we brought in a hobbled, gimpy Crowell (I am not question his heart as some do on these boards, as i don’t know the severity of his injury, but he obvioulsy wasn’t 100%), then we played a WALK-ON 170lb running back (I am sure Harton is a great kid with a lot of heart and pays his dues on the scout team, but from purely a physical standpoint, neither he nor C Thomas are SEC caliber backs). All of this while we kept a scholarship player, and former highly ranked recruit (Malcome was considered one of top 2 RB’s in state of GA when recruited in 2010) on the sideline. KM iced the GT game for us last week carrying tacklers after contact to move the chains and bleed the clock. His reward this week was to watch his team struggle all day and get no meaningful pt until Crowell’s mental lapse personal foul in the forth quarter when the game was out of reach. I’m not saying he would have been the difference that would have helped us win, but the fact is we moved the ball in first Q when LSU felt like they needed to defend a balanced offense. When they knew we were one dimensional, they pinned their ears back and shut us down. Ken Malcome gains yards after contact almost every time he touches the ball. I just don’t understand why he has been on sideline ALL YEAR! And dont tell me it’s because of ball security or pass protection; IC, CT & AM have all lost fumble this year, and I saw KM pick up multiple blitzes today with good blocks. Makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE !!!
OldFan
December 3rd, 2011
11:17 pm
Unfortunately for UGA….they will not win another SEC title for many years to come. Why?? The SEC West Champion will dominate this game for many years to come. LSU, Bama, Arkansas and a very young but talented Auburn team will be at the forefront long term.
Consider this...
December 3rd, 2011
11:17 pm
GT Bob – “Nope. I did not. I am pretty objective when picking games. After the Duke game, it was pretty obvious that our team had packed it in for the season.” No GT Tech team has ever packed it in for the season before the Georgia game (aka, the most important game of your season every season). Your team lost because Georgia was better…period.
Joe taxpayer – Give me a break. Georgia wins against good teams, but we also lose to good teams…just like everyone else. You folks key in on the losses. The Georgia football program is in a much better state than it was in during the 10 years prior to Richt. He’s a good man, a good coach and has us whiny fans complaining about 10-win seasons. Bad football or even mid-level football programs do not win 10 games in a season in the nation’s best conference consistently.
We want BOO!!
December 3rd, 2011
11:20 pm
Crowell has anger managment & Thomas is out with a knee injury. Boo Malcome for bowl game! I’m interested to see which Bowl game UGA will get after proving the critics right in that terrible Ga Dome loss to LSU.
Ralph Kramden
December 3rd, 2011
11:21 pm
Hmmmmm…. what bowl should Georgia go to now ?…… The Toliet Bowl….. Nope…. too good for them….. Hey…. LSU just scored again…. HAHAHA !!!
Ralph Kramden
December 3rd, 2011
11:21 pm
UGA did the state proud…. oops…. Too soon ???
Dogbegone
December 3rd, 2011
11:22 pm
Hey Stiggywiggy, your are right, dude, where was that meathead dog fan tonight. He looks like he’s going to have a heart attack every time I see him at the UGA games. I hope that he has many more years left in him to see the Dogs get whipped in several SEC title games going forward. He really needs to save his ticket money though and start pulling for LSU, Auburn, Alabama or Florida, you know, the only real SEC elite football teams.
True dawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:22 pm
All the people that are still hating on UGA can’t lift the first weight or run with the big dawgs in others not athletic at all. I know I still go it because that’s what I do week in and we out. Physical fit!
clay
December 3rd, 2011
11:23 pm
Too bad everyone can’t have has much class as the Ga. Bulldogs. I’m an LSU man but appreciate you bulldogs. Ga. Bulldogs are winners in my book!
The Real Deal
December 3rd, 2011
11:24 pm
To LBorne… Thanks for your words of encouragement, but it is just frustrating as all get out that LSU and BAMA (since Saban got there) is consistenly good every year. These two teams are in the hunt for a national title it seems every year. Where GA has only been in the talk one time in 10 years back in 2007. I really just want my team to compete at a high level every year, not every other 4 years! And I swear I don’t think the current coaching staff can bring us to that level of play. Maybe I am wrong, but in 10 years only one time has GA even been considered to play for the national title. And to be perfectly honest that year was a complete break down of the number one ranked team every week which allowed GA to back into the conversation!!!!!!
GTBob
December 3rd, 2011
11:24 pm
No GT Tech team has ever packed it in for the season before the Georgia game
Our team had no energy or emotion in that game. One of the players even said it after the game. I’m not sure the players care nearly as much as the fans do.
Kane337
December 3rd, 2011
11:25 pm
Way to show up in the 2nd half…………LOL
jlmadara
December 3rd, 2011
11:26 pm
The whole state of Georgia sucks.
Consider this...
December 3rd, 2011
11:26 pm
It must make people feel so awesome to go on the blogs of other teams and talk trash. Then again, other than the LSU folks chiming in, it’s not like the trolls were watching their team play today. I would rather be the team being criticized for losing the SEC Championship game than be the team sitting at home on the couch because they weren’t good enough to be playing in it.
Kane337
December 3rd, 2011
11:27 pm
The dome is not your friend UGA
Get a clue
December 3rd, 2011
11:28 pm
Acc and big 9 games suck
smart dawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:28 pm
Kudos to Yabba Dabba Dabo. It’s hard to beat a team like VT twice in one season.
voice of reason
December 3rd, 2011
11:28 pm
jlmadara, lets not go that far. I was born in La. moved to Ga. As far as I am concerned La. is only one step above Mississippi.
Ok State deserves a chance
December 3rd, 2011
11:29 pm
They lost in OT on a Friday when their school suffered a tragedy
JacketBacker
December 3rd, 2011
11:29 pm
Crowell is a thug. He comes from a thug program (Carver Columbus) played for a thug coach. Classless is all there is to this guy. How can he hobble to the sidelines one play and then be back in one play later for another inspiring 1 yd. run or limp, whatever the case may be. He went hog wild against some of those strong teams y’all played this year, but when you needed him he had an ooowwwweeeee. He does not have what it takes to compete on the level UGA deserves. Yes this is from a TECH fan.
Ok State deserves a chance
December 3rd, 2011
11:29 pm
INW P H U K alabama go dawgs
The Real Deal
December 3rd, 2011
11:30 pm
Hey Aaron Murray! Obviously you don’t seem to know what quotation marks mean! The nickname Honey Badger is GAY! Learn simple English writing!!!!
Consider this...
December 3rd, 2011
11:30 pm
GT Bob – After the game, one of GT’s players actually said, “we are just tired of being the little brothers”…LOL. He was crying…no emotion, really? I’m not sure you hve any idea what you are talking about.
cloudodust
December 3rd, 2011
11:30 pm
Stop with the we played LSU tough for a half. Well guess what? So did Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, Arkansas and probably a few more. Georgia is just another that did but couldn’t finish the drill. Nothing to be ashamed of with this LSU team. Anybody recall the words from Mark Richt to the camera coming back after the half? I don’t think the result is what he had in mind.
Let's talk about UGA!
December 3rd, 2011
11:31 pm
I’m going to bed with liquor on my breath, a tear in my eye, and my red panties on.
If I don’t die from alcohol poisoning or the venereal disease my sister gave me, then I’ll hang myself, in the front yard of mama’s trailer, with the garden hose.
Go Dawgs!
Sic ‘em!
Woof! Woof! Woof!
LSU OKIE ST
December 3rd, 2011
11:32 pm
It’s the only way
smart dawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:32 pm
As I said on the other blog earlier: Yesterday I watched a cat play with a mouse for 30 minutes. He would let the mouse go, the mouse would think he was safe, and then…He ate him.
Dogbegone
December 3rd, 2011
11:32 pm
Long live the UGA players majoring in Parks and Recreation. It might not be a bad idea to go relax at one of those parks tomorrow and wonder what might have been tonight if UGA players showed up for the second half tonight.
Let's laugh
December 3rd, 2011
11:33 pm
BTW, Jeff after your blog before and sheepish response after the game, I have absolutely no respect for you. At least Terrance and Cynthia were able to find other jobs, unlike yourself. I am done with your spineless baits.
Aaron Murray
December 3rd, 2011
11:33 pm
@The Real Deal
Learn to take losing better.
The Honey Badger
December 3rd, 2011
11:34 pm
@The Real Deal
That’s right.
Learn to take losing better.
Rick Grimes
December 3rd, 2011
11:35 pm
Wow what that uga defense walking dead in the second half
icedawg
December 3rd, 2011
11:36 pm
The killer, dropped passes. The receivers this year played pretty good ball. This game they stunk the place up. Had the Dawgs capitalized on the early opportunities it could have changed the complexion of the game. But they didn’t and LSU showed why they are #1 without question. LSU is deep, deep on talent. Dawgs are thin, especially at running back. Dawgs defense held out as long as it could but the melt down of the offense was just too much.
Ace70
December 3rd, 2011
11:36 pm
I hope UGA Gives Richt a 10 year extension. It will translate into 10 more years of disappointing losses.
voice of reason
December 3rd, 2011
11:36 pm
As long as Crowell can text someone on the sidelines or immediately thereafter a practice, he will be happy to stay at UGA. CMR needs to take his darn cell phone from him so he can concentrate on what he is supposed to do. Crowell is very selective on when he wants to be in a game. This kid has no heart.
Daryl
December 3rd, 2011
11:37 pm
It sure was rick. I shot one of those uga guys with an arrow and he fell as expected. I think his name was Crowell
Leroy
December 3rd, 2011
11:37 pm
Every SEC school should be grateful to be in the tpo conference in the country. LSU is the best and will remain so until others can recruit quality and depth that they have. Get use to it.
Shane
December 3rd, 2011
11:37 pm
I’ll kill all ya’ll
Dogbegone
December 3rd, 2011
11:37 pm
Hey Dog fans, just think, Texas A&M will be along soon to rule over you guys as well. Now that is exciting.
Fair and Balanced
December 3rd, 2011
11:37 pm
Lsu is really good. Maybe one of the best teams ever. We did well for a quarter and the defense did well for a half. Let’s learn and grow and come back next year.