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
Dawg Wisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:29 am
I’m so old that I wear Depends under garments.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:29 am
The rest of us in the SEC will help pay him if you give him at least 10 more years of “wait until next year”.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:30 am
Richt is a better man than he is a coach.
Stinger
December 4th, 2011
12:31 am
Ahhhhhhhh-hhaaa-ha !!! I can’t stop laughing. I can still see that pick six and punt return. When I almost stop laughing I see # 4 running up the middle untouched for a long TD. Do you think you belonged in the Championship game? Didn’t think so.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:31 am
Voice… I did’t realize we were pals but since we are on friendly terms, I’ll answer your question. LSU is better than UGA. It really is that simple. UGA doesn’t have their depth. I’m very proud of their effort nonetheless.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:32 am
it reminds me of last years game……SC/UGA both got pounded.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:33 am
Who says I have to wear Depends?
Let's talk about UGA!
December 4th, 2011
12:33 am
Holy Crap!
There’s a Honey Badger loose in Mama’s trailer!
Somebody call 911 or Terminix!
Go Dawgs!
Sic ‘em!
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:34 am
I should have known that blogging with juveniles would eventually lead to potty talk.
WE RUIN THIS STATE
December 4th, 2011
12:34 am
Don’t blame Crowell. Coaches are paid to determine who is ready and who isn’t. The simple solution for Crowell was redshirting. The coaches blew it.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:35 am
Sometimes I don’t wear Depends. I simply soil my red panties.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:36 am
C’mon now he can’t be the next Herschel if he doesn’t play his freshman year….*LOL*
SC Man
December 4th, 2011
12:36 am
Looks like the yard dog stayed on the poarch.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:36 am
The coaches didn’t blow anything and no… they aren’t goiing anywhere, much to the dismay of GT fans.
Wtf
December 4th, 2011
12:37 am
Strange how if Georgia had of beat LSU they would still go play for the NC, while in 2007 Kirk Turdstreet said you have to win the conference to play for the NC. Unfortuantely college football is garbage. Until a NC can be EARNED on the field and not winning a popularity contest its lame. Thank god for the NFL where there is a playoff system like a real sport.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:37 am
I don’t always wear red.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:38 am
yes, UGA will continue to be the “state” National Champions. Congrats.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:39 am
Enough trading insults with children. It hasn’t always been fun. Good night.
Wtf
December 4th, 2011
12:40 am
Is halftime over yet?
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:40 am
It’ll get better with each passing day.
Mike da Tiger
December 4th, 2011
12:41 am
WTH was that in the 1st half? I was getting my consession speech ready. That was some dominate “ish” on defense. Kudos to the Dawgs for getting after it in the first half. You got too hyped in the first half offensively and left some points on the field though. You were spent emotionally in the second half and it showed. I ain’t mad at ya though. Don’t beat up Mitchell and King too much, both are good kids that prepare and play hard every week for you. Murray is one of the better SEC QBs but you got to get him a running game. Load up in the back field. You see how we do. Our 4th string freshman had three TDs. While the East is down; feast and let’s do this again next year. To all the GT and Gator fans on here you some nerve showing your faces on here. GT I guess you’ll be getting your taste buds set for some tex-mex food at the Sun Bowl and Fla you guys concentrate on stopping all the transfers down there. You’re down to 15 scholarship kids???
thwg
December 4th, 2011
12:41 am
This just in, Murray sacked again for a 10yard loss, 3rd and 18. What a pitiful performance – but please tell me where to send my ‘keep mark richt’ check. Go jackets!.
RICHT EMBARRASSED US AGAIN!
December 4th, 2011
12:44 am
LSU had his game plan cracked by halftime, and Richt was stupid enough to think he could get away with it the entire game. That’s the difference between a thinking coach, someone who has a brain, and someone who doesn’t have the talent to be in the big-time. Losing is not an embarrassment, but not having an intelligent game plan so you get schlacked by so many points is. Richt is making way too much money for someone who’s stupid. The bulldog nation is tired of it; we want a winner. Time for Richt to go somewhere else or retire.
Honeybadger
December 4th, 2011
12:46 am
I be running all over your team for TDs all day long. Here is a some background info on me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg
The honeybadger is greater than a bulldawg all day every day biznitches. HAHAHAHA
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:46 am
I hate to break it to you fella , when you beat Florida that got Richt an upcoming extension.
voice of reason
December 4th, 2011
12:46 am
Dawg Whisperer, you are correct. I am at a loss here. I do not recall LSU being in the top 10 recruiting classes over the last 5 years. Sort of confused how LSU could be so deep and UGA be so shallow at depth. The backfield is a disaster and with all the talent UGA has to recruit from it is deplorable that we have to go to defense backs to fill out the offensive backfield. Call it what you may but if LSU is that much deeper, guess who is to blame? Effort gets you so far, talent with wise coaching wins games. I hope to stay on friendly terms but it appears my opinion may be a little different than yours.
GTBob
December 4th, 2011
12:48 am
The coaches didn’t blow anything and no… they aren’t goiing anywhere, much to the dismay of GT fans.
Please keep them. If you guys get good coaches then we would never get within 3 touchdowns.
Dawg Whisperer
December 4th, 2011
12:49 am
I lied… sorry. MR will get a huge raise to add to his already hefty contract and he will continue to be an exemplary head coach and more importantly, Christian. I mean it this time, good night all!
bamaonline
December 4th, 2011
12:52 am
After playing the best schedule in the SEC( they played 5 teams with winning records and lose 3) will we go back to our coaching needing to be fired ever year? What would the year half been like if we had to play bama and Ark. vs Ky and Vandy?
timbo
December 4th, 2011
12:52 am
Dawg blogs look a lot different today than they did a week ago. Lots of confidence, we are going to shock the world, our offense is better than Alabama’s, our defense is better than Arkansas’s. Last week Richt and Bobo were great, now you want to get rid of them….again. So much for your dream team. Yes, we know, you are young and will be playing for a NC in 2 years. You said that 2 years ago. 42-10….and still waiting.
Honeybadger
December 4th, 2011
12:52 am
I don’t care when I be returnin your punts for TDs HAHAHA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg
We OWN the state of Georgia.
The
December 4th, 2011
12:53 am
Enter your comments here
230gr. Full Metal Jacket
December 4th, 2011
12:54 am
Devout Tech fan/alumni here, but I have to hand it to ya’ll — the dawgs played a helluva first half! I imagine the bookies in Vegas were so puckered you couldn’t have driven a ten-penny nail up their butts with a sledgehammer!! But then reality set in, and the same problem that has plagued UGA teams for the past few decades set in: Lack of discipline. How many personal foul calls were there? Arm tackling. Blown assignments. We’ve all seen this same thing happen before. They get backed up against the wall, and instead of coming out swinging like Dooley’s teams used to do, they panic and seem to lose their minds (If they had any to lose to begin with — particularly in prima-dona Crowells case). And not meaning to kick a dawg while it’s down, but Grantham has once again showed why he was a total failure in the big leagues. He does well against mediocre talent (and yes, that includes my Yellow Jackets), but he absolutely sucks big grimey donkey balls against true upper tier/top -10 teams. I personally believe that the 3-4 is not particularly well-suited for most college teams, UGA and Tech among them. But nothing to be ashamed of — Ya’ll had a great recovery from last years disaster (as did Tech, to a slightly lesser degree) and ya’ll will go to a pretty decent bowl game again. Good luck in whichever bowl you guys end up in, and we’ll see ya’ll next November in Athens!!!!
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:54 am
Tell em Timbo…..it’s always wait until “Next Year”
timbo
December 4th, 2011
12:55 am
Hmmmm…..are the experts wrong, or do the UGA coaches coach the 5-stars down.
WnE
December 4th, 2011
12:55 am
Honey, your team definitely took it to my team this year. Best of luck in the title game. Beat Bama. We need to get better OC and a HC for our team. Fire Bobo. Fire Richt. Promote CTG to HC. FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
Just Wanna Say
December 4th, 2011
12:57 am
Really Stinger? Really? How bad did we dominate you idiot? One good thing happened to y’all in the past decade and that got stripped from you. You still haven’t won a bowl game under Johnson. How about you win without cheating and then come talk to us you f***ing moron.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
12:58 am
They definitely don’t the same results as other coaches get with the same talent level.
T-DAWG
December 4th, 2011
12:58 am
This is the MO of CMRs teams. They basically waste opportunities which will get them past weaker teams. However, against elite teams, it will get you beat every team. This was a great year. Lets go to a bowl game and finsh the year out strong
Just Wanna Say
December 4th, 2011
12:59 am
WnE. Bobo might lose something, but the other 2 are not happening anytime soon. We won 10 games. Richt is here to stay. DEAL WITH IT!
Fails again..
December 4th, 2011
1:00 am
Up next Fal-cons collapse!
Book it Dano……………………
WnE
December 4th, 2011
1:00 am
Someone said it, and I can’t reiterate enough how fortunate we are with the way our schedule was this year. We could have potentially played LSU, Alabama, AND Arkansas this year, meaning we could very well have been 7-5 going into the championship game, meaning we would be 7-6 going into our bowl. We will still play in the capital one bowl, instead of the weedeater bowl in NE Bumble. If we would fire mark richt and promote CTG to head coach, we would be on the way to where we need to be.
timbo
December 4th, 2011
1:01 am
When IC (the savior) had that personal foul call late in the game, he turned his back to Mark Richt. A good coach would not have allowed that to happen. He has no control of his thugs, and they do not respect him as their coach. Want to know what your problem is, that is it, lack of discipline.
Jojo
December 4th, 2011
1:01 am
OMG, what a butt kicking in the second half! But if not for dropped passes, fumbles and poor special teams play, the butt kicking would’nt have happened. Once again, Georgia beat Georgia. If we can’t fix these things, we’ll be 0-2 at the beginning of the year and 0-2 at the end.
Ace70
December 4th, 2011
1:01 am
We love the fact that you guys want to keep Richt. I hope you give him 10 more years. The rest of us in the SEC will gladly make a donation to help pay his salary.
Fails again..
December 4th, 2011
1:03 am
and we thought they would only lose by 3 touchdowns? Looserville USA.. Yep!
They are who we thought they were….Pretenders…….
Cedrick
December 4th, 2011
1:04 am
This loss starts with CMR and the offense!!!!! Coach Grantham had the defense ready too play. How long did we expect to hold those guys to 12 total yards!! I can truly say when I saw BOBO call 2 running plays to start the 3rd qtr I knew then we were not going to win!!! This is the first time I have watched the DOGS since they lost the 1st two games!! All the hype surrounding them winning 10 games in a row was just that HYPE :/
Crowell
December 4th, 2011
1:05 am
Dat honeybadger be one tuff mofo. I tell you dat I played dis game wit all ma heart. Coach wuldnt let ma blaze last night so I couldn’t get up fo dis ding. We gon play in dis bowl game tho and show yall how we run dis state.
Just Wanna Say
December 4th, 2011
1:05 am
You already said that one time Ace70. Idiot. Richt certainly has his issues guys. No getting around it. He’s here to stay though.
Just Wanna Say
December 4th, 2011
1:06 am
Cedrick. The fact that you haven’t watched them since the 0-2 start means you have credibility. Shut up