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
The Turd Pickler
December 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
Fire Bobo!!!! oh wait, Fire Richt!!!! No wait… ummmmm I am out of excuses… wait no I’m not, UGA beat LSU in 2005, oh wait that didn’t matter
otis the drunk
December 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
is the game over? did we win? Damon went to pick up the women and left me all alone
BreakingNews
December 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
Bama is the ONLY team in the entire SEC that can come anywhere close to hanging with LSU! Still love my Dawgs…LSU is just plain nasty!
GtDawg
December 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
Someone pleeaaaasssseeeee explain to me why Ken Malcome is being disrespected with little PT. He fumbled once this year but ran hard after that. What’s the deal?
MC Jacket
December 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
Larry Munson says….”Hmmm…this gumbo tastes like Dawg meat.” Go Jackets!!!
JD
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
I only hope that Murray gets back to the SEC Title game next year as if that is his biggest game (during his UGA career) and his legacy is remembered by it then another QB that turns out to be an overall dud.. Stafford and Greene have been the best QBs so far and without a title game redemption chance for Murray next year it does not matter if he sets every UGA passing record, another dud.. I have never seen so many bounced passes, behind the receiver, etc.. I know LSU has a tenacious D and the receivers dropped a few, but he has to step up and play solid when the defense is giving the effort they did…The D had them in the right position to push this into the fourth quarter and Murray playing just horrible hurt them today.
#11, #1 and #2 plain out stunk up the field today… #2 must be scared to tackle as over the season he has ole’d many runners (South Carolina fake punt where he could have knocked the runner out of bounds or at least taken out his legs comes to mind off the bat) and although he is good at other areas if he can not hit and wrap then he is in for a very short career in the NFL…
Murray simply is way better that what he did today so I really do hope that this is not his legacy (getting to a SEC title game and laying not just an egg, but MANY EGGS!)…
Richt had nothing to do with this outcome.. You have to put the blame on the QB first and yes everyone has bad games, but this is what a QB lives for… Showcase your skills in the title game against the #1 team…
If UGA does not get back to it next year and they win 9 or 10 games, but no SEC or NCAA championship then perhaps Richt needs to get some QBs that do not hurt the team and focus on getting back to being RUNNING BACK U with QBs making safe throws, screen passes, etc..
A great first half where I actually believed UGA would push them to the end, but Murray F’ed that up today… Then it just steam rolled.
Don’t blame the D or coaching on this one Dawg Nation… Go ahead and take up for your QB on the forums if you want to, I do understand he has carried you guys through some games, but today you would have been better off if he only made safe throws to compliment the defense…
I guess you live and die with 5 star QBs when you promise them pro style offenses to get them.. Today he killed you.
Funny
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
Yes, like I said earlier during the week. The local AJC guys baited you rednecks into thinking (well may be thinking is too strong of a word) that those neutered dogs had a chance to win today. The dogs played 3 teams worth a darn all season and all 3 beat them. Aaron Murray isn’t quite you redneck hyped him up to be. And, what about the 2nd coming of Herschel? Baby-boy Crowell, yea right!!! I couldn’t have had a better day and than to see the GA dogs get their azzzes handed to them. THWG!!!!
30066Tiger
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
DELUSIONAL DAWGS …………… they’re probably Republican conservatives
Ga D! on November 29th, 2011
Ga’s D is the best in the SEC!!! Lsu will have trouble moving the ball against this angry, nasty D! Ga upsets lsu—mark it down! Ga 27 lsu 24
kentuckybulldog on November 29th, 2011
I don’t see LSU scoring more than 24-28 at the MOST. Georgia will score at least 14-21 points. Georiga to cover EASY….
bwell on November 27th, 2011
I know if we come out and punch the mess out of LSU; and get a lead like Ark. We will win.
dawgfan on November 27th, 2011
It will be a good game. Our D can definitely hang with their O. They’re mostly just a power running team. We match up well with them there.
UGA Insider on November 29th, 2011
UGA 24 LSU 20
LSU and Bama will pay in the MNC as the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the SEC……
DawgLifer on November 29th, 2011
If LSU thinks they’re about to come in and wear this defense down they’re sadly mistaken. The Dawg’s are impressively deep as well as LSU on defense but I believe our offense is significantly better. We have a bevy of weapons.
Howard on November 27th, 2011
Jeff…I totally agree with you…I’ve been saying and writing in my sports column that I’ve done for 36 years that Dawgs have a great chance to beat Lobbying Les Miles.
#1-they’re playing and peaking at the right time,
#2-they got the better opponent to play (no-one wants Bama in my estimation),
#3-Les Miles is no Nick Saban and is due for one of his clock or play-calling disasters,
#4-it’s a home field advantage for UGA and on artificial turf (Les can’t eat grass unless he brings his own) and the crowd will be nuts for the Dawgs,
#5-Georgia has the largest offensive line in all football and can handle the manhandling LSU’s d-line normally dishes out,
#6-Aaron Murray is indeed the best QB they’ve played and his receivers are vastly under-rated,
#7-Georgia has a good kicking game to match LSU,
#8-if Crowell and other runners being their A-games, it becomes a tossup in my estimation.
Destin Dawg on November 29th, 2011
Dawgs have a more diversified offense.. we need to win special teams, field position, O line needs to man up and establish the run… then we can pass.. like JJ says.. I’m sure Grantham’s Junkyard Dawg defense can limit LSU Running games..
UGA 31 LSU 28 in OT..
cloudodust
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
Michael, The score was deceptive? Hadn’t heard that one in a lopsided loss in years.
priceless
December 3rd, 2011
8:57 pm
nothing beats watching the dogs get embarrassed on national TV. maybe they’ll get a bowl game with coastal carolina. that’s more their speed!
Wallydog
December 3rd, 2011
8:58 pm
IT IS TIME FOR HAROLD TO GO. VERY EMBARRASSING FAN!
Thuga
December 3rd, 2011
8:58 pm
Hey PerroGrande.
Get some tissues you big crybaby. Just like typical leg humper. Always playing the it’s not fair game.
You is right about #1. He’s a prize!
PerroGrande
December 3rd, 2011
8:58 pm
Turd Pickler, go eat some of your pickles….please.
playmeortrademe
December 3rd, 2011
8:58 pm
Sorry, but wholesale changes are needed, not a extension. Winning 10 easy games, losing the only meaningful conference game, and getting thumped against the only two top 5 teams you played. The division title was not earned but a gift from Arkansas and Auburn. Richt just cannot get to the next level. Nothing against him, he brought UGA up from a pretty bad place after Donnan. But he peaked in 2007 and quickly proved he couldn’t keep UGA that level. Time to try someone new.
TheTruthHurts
December 3rd, 2011
8:58 pm
I said before the LSU game that Richt should get no more then a two year extension. After the LSU game, I still say the same thing. No more then a two year extension, but, NOW, this two year extension should be contingent upon Richt canning Bobo and getting a real SEC-calibre coordinator. McGarity should make Richt do it. Bobo is not up to the job.
Dogbegone
December 3rd, 2011
8:59 pm
Dogs play the first SEC team of year with a winning SEC record, besides South Carolina, and get their butts kicked all over the field. I love it. Pretenders one and all. When was your last national football title dog nation? More than 30 years ago. Pitiful for a team with all of the high school stars you recruit year in and year out. It was nice to see that fewer of the players went to jail this year, I guess that’s improvement.Cry me a winner.
The Turd Pickler
December 3rd, 2011
8:59 pm
UGA is still the better team… If it wasn’t for Bobo being a moron, Richt being a horrible head coach, Mathieu returning a punt for a TD, Murray fumbling and throwing a pick 6, UGA giving up 200 yds rushing and 42 unanswered points, we would have won this game!!! UGA clearly has the better team!!!! If they played again UGA would win 42-0, LEEEEEEEEEEEEEET’S GOOOOOOOOO DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWGS WOOOOOOOOO!
F’n clowns!!!!
thwg
December 3rd, 2011
8:59 pm
THis just in, LSU intercepted Murray for another pick 6! Dawgs exposed as the mediocre team and irrelevant program they are. Good news is you have to keep richt now thank goodness. Can’t wait to.see he dawgs her waxed by a mid tier big ten team. Plus next year you may actually have to play a big boy schedule.
dogpoo
December 3rd, 2011
8:59 pm
wow- PLEASE give Touchdown Jesus Richt an extension- will guarentee that UGA will continue to crap their patns in big games………..you dawgs are dumb and dumber if you dont insist this clown be let go
Wallydog
December 3rd, 2011
9:00 pm
Yeah, we got blown out by the #1 team in the country, probably the best #1 in ten years. But the first half showed we can hang with the best. We’re not #1, but we ARE getting better. I’ll take my chances with Richt than you idiots anyday.
Let's laugh
December 3rd, 2011
9:00 pm
Make all the jokes you want about people from Bama, but we would never put up with the likes of Richt for as long as you all have. NO FREAKING WAY.
PerroGrande
December 3rd, 2011
9:00 pm
I can’t find any tissues thuga, GT & the Gators bought them all out.
JB
December 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
Good WIN LSU. You really are special. WE played over our heads in the first half and I don’t think you guys saw that coming. You regrouped in the second half and showed the college football world that you are the best. Looks like you’ll play Bama again…..And I’ll put my money on you guys. Good luck.
DUMBO
December 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
Funny….us rednecks think you should learn to watch your mouth….my little brother graduated from UGA 2 yrs ago and is finishing Med school in ATL and someday that redneck will be all you have when you fall over with a heart attack watching UGA kick Tech’s butt
frosh
December 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
Am I the only guy who saw Crowell turn his back on CMR after coach called him down for that unsportsmanlike episode in the third quarter?
NEXT #14
December 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
NOW………LET MY SAY THIS………SOME OF MY VERY BEST FRIENDS ARE DAWG FANS & I LOVE THEM DEARLY! I HATE FOR THEM THAT THIER TEAM LOST BUT AS USUAL FOR THE LAST 3 WEEKS I’VE READ PURE HATRED & UNCALLED FOR VIAL COMMENTS ABOUT MY BELOVED SCHOOL FROM THE (MAYONAISE EATING,TRAILER TRASH LIVIN’,SISTER SCREWIN’) DAWG CROWD ON THIS (FREE TO COMMENT BY ANYONE THAT LOVES FOOTBALL BOARD) & FOR YOU I’M LOVIN’ THIS MUCH DESERVED BEATDOWN!!! THE REAL “BIG DOGS” WILL BE PLAYING IN N.O.!! TUNE & WATCH HOW IT’S DONE!!! THEY WILL NOT BEAT US TWICE……NICK WILL SEE TO IT!!!! MARK IT!!!
Nadsmasher
December 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
Started game mixing it up, had LSU off balence. Second half BoooBoo forgot what was sucessful. Also there is a big problem with that “kitty” Crowell. Kitty is a nice way of saying what I think about that guy.
JB
December 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
Let’s laugh………………and we’re fixing to sign him up for 5 more years of this. Geez.
Bob
December 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
Wow….look at all the haters back…..fire the coaches, Dawgs sux…..you all can kiss my as<<<……LSU showed they are good, and we gave them mistakes to help, however, we were in the game until the 4th quarter, no moral victory here, but I didn't see any other team at least playing for a championship. Lets call it the way it is….UGA is a good team, not as good as LSU or Bama but good none the less….I thought 9 & 3 would be great going into the season and they were 10 & 2….no shame in losing to the #1 team in the nation in the championship game. A lot of haters out there can't claim that. Coaches are fine, defense is improving and I don't think that Bobo is all that bad. You haters would like us to fire the coaches and end up like Tenn or Ohio State….not going to happen. CMR is good, another 10 win season and I don't care who was on the schedule. This is a young team and will play good for a while. All teams cycle, LSU or Bama will have bad years coming too, what then fire Saban & Miles….If you measure your team just by MNC then most years, almost every year, your going to be disappointed…..My Dawgs played for the SEC championship, yes they lost. Yes, I'm disappointed. But we were there, and maybe again next year. Now win the bowl game and get primed for next year's run!!!!!!!!!!!!!
whatthe
December 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
I thought Bobo called a really good game. The defense was stellar in the first half, who could have predicted the Honey Badger would crack open the game? The Bully’s fought like the junkyard k-9’s of old. CMR was on top of his game throughout. Our proud siver britches just got hold of a powerful bunch of Tigers. I am proud of our team and will support CMR and the boys! Go you silver britches.
Pope UGA XXIII
December 3rd, 2011
9:03 pm
I think “next # 14″ refes to the number of teefers that he probably
has left in his trailer park 8th grade drop-out mouth. He probably doesn’t
have more than 13.
Did your parents have any children that received their G E D ??
Funny
December 3rd, 2011
9:03 pm
UGA dogs, today, looked like every last one of them is INTO same sex marriage, the male variety. And, what about their D-coaches red lipstick? You rednecks fans have been a hoot this week!!!!
The Turd Pickler
December 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
UGA is still the better team… If it wasn’t for Bobo being a moron, Richt being a horrible head coach, Mathieu returning a punt for a TD, Murray fumbling and throwing a pick 6, UGA giving up 200 yds rushing and 42 unanswered points, we would have won this game!!! UGA clearly has the better team!!!! If they played again UGA would win 42-0, LEEEEEEEEEEEEEET’S GOOOOOOOOO DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWGS WOOOOOOOOO!
F’n clowns!!!!
I'm Just Saying
December 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
Uganja plays the weakest schedule in years and get to the Championship because Lattimore gets hurt. Suddenly Ugump is a dominate team???? Delusional dawg fans start cypher’n how they gets to the National Championship by beating LSU???…Mutt fans do yourselves and the rest of the world a favor…quit trying to use that lump on top of your shoulders…you can only embarrass yourselves….kind of like that beat down tonight….No running game = no Championship…Highsiah Crookwell is not an SEC RB….
t2go
December 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
Wow! Lsu is just THAT good! It was like two different games. Was over pretty early in the second. Disappointed but they seem to be headed in the right direction. WTF w Crowell?! What is this guys problem….Ive been a defender of him but he really seems to have a bad attitude…the unsportsmanlike…15 yards!!!! He wasnt even in the game at that point( and didnt seem to be in the game when he was on the field either) Is he the kind of guy we thought we got rid of at the beginning of the year?!
Not sure what to think. I think the D is much improved and could be great….offensively I still think we are lost!!! Now Richt will probably be around for more years and ya know he wont get rid of Bobo…I fear it will be much of the same…10-2 or 9-3 seasons? I hope Im wrong and hope they can keep it moving forward. These guys have heart…just wonder about the discipline(COACHING)….
k483
December 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
What if……King and Mitchell had not dropped those passes (net + 11 points)…..the replay guys had done their job and caught #7 when he flipped the ball before crossing the goal line (2 points for fumbling out of the end zone, right? +2). Then…..well….the score would have been 35-23. Still a whipping, considering all the damage was done in the second half. LSU doesn’t even get off the bus until the 2nd quarter.
NJ Dawg
December 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
So I guess I’m just not quite ready to jump off of the Fire Mark Richt train. It has become crystal clear to me that UGA will never win a national championship under Richt. The thing that I notice more than anything year after year with Richt and whatever staff he has at the moment is that they can never field a complete team consistently.
When we had Stafford and Moreno and a great offense…our defense sucked. Now I have to give CTG many kudos because the defense is vastly improved this year but now that we finally have a good defense again we have zero running game, an offense that’s horribly inconsistent from game to game and pretty horrid special teams (sans a few good returns by Smith and Boykin who are the only bright spots on special teams).
LSU consistently seems to field a complete team year after year, Bama seems to consistently field a complete team year after year. I just can’t help but think that when you can’t ever consistently field a complete team that’s good in all phases of the game it’s a coaching, staff and recruiting issue and the buck ultimately stops with Richt.
There’s certainly worse coaches we could have and we may win a few more SEC championships with Richt but mark my words…never will there be a UGA NC under Richt and if that’s the goal (that is the goal according to McGarity) why beat around the bush and leave him hanging around? 10 win seasons are great and I’ll take those all day long versus last season but that’s not the goal here according to our AD.
PerroGrande
December 3rd, 2011
9:05 pm
GtDawg, Bizarre is the only word I can find for why they didn’t pound it with Malcome. Nobody has been able to shut him down.
2010 BCS CHAMPS!!!!!!!
December 3rd, 2011
9:05 pm
Third year in a row a team from the west destroyed a team from the east. UGA should have never been there in the first place with their easy schedule. Oh well, at least you have 1980.
thwg
December 3rd, 2011
9:05 pm
Good point dogbegone – the dawgs get hammered by the only good teams they played. I love ready the blogs from these dawg idiots trying to convince us uga has all his potential. Same story every year. Truth is uga is synonymous with vandy. Thank goodness psu is gonna get your next coach sullen. Now what r u idiots gonna do after richt gets fired next year.
Belcher
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
CMR back to the hott seatt!!!!!!!!!
2010 BCS CHAMPS!!!!!!!
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
Wonder how many UGA fans will get arrested tonight?
harold
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
MILES & SABAN ALWAYS PROVE THEIR WORTH. JUST LIKE UCF LAST YEAR—RICHT DOES NOT. HE IS NOT A CHAMPIONSHIP COACH. THE EAST IS SO WEAK. UGA HAS PLAYED NO ONE OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE UNTIL LSU. UGA NEEDS TO MOVE ON RICHT!
Dawg fans RELAX
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
To the football fans who have good sense listen up, we have a lot to be proud of beacuase many of you on here 3 month ago were hoping for 8 wins. Last year we couldn’t win the Liberty Bowl. LSU is very good. We had our chances but they beat us. We have A LOT to build on. We can go 11-3 if we win a bowl game and we have everybodyu important except Boykin coming back. Lets stop firing coaches and build on these growing pains. Next year if we lose then I’d be more upset. I mean we was below .500 last year so what do you guys want REALISTICALLY?
JB
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
Would like to see Murray more consistent. When he’s on, he pretty good…..but when he tanks, he tanks….We have for 2 more years of him and Richt also, and Richt will say he;ll open the QB competition all day, but he won’t. He ride Murray( or UGA) to the ground.
TexasDawg
December 3rd, 2011
9:06 pm
Well, great first half. Still looks like the SEC tells the refs to make sure the higher ranked team wins the Championship. AKA, the Honey Badger’s (non) touchdown. Probably would not have made a difference, but who knows.
UGA needs a tailback; IC isn’t cutting s a joke; hope he’s gone next year and Samuel gets the rock.
For all the Gaytor fans pulling for LSU, where did ur team play today? The toilet bowl?
2010 BCS CHAMPS!!!!!!!
December 3rd, 2011
9:07 pm
“Murray simply is way better”
If you consider mediocrity better, good for you. Reality says otherwise.
Matt
December 3rd, 2011
9:07 pm
And only a dumbass expected a different outcome. It was comical to hear the idiots on 750 and 680 talk how uga would or could beat lsu. Look at the comparitive stats between common opponents. DUH. BLOWOUT. This city is full of uga delusional homers.
NEXT YEAR DAWGS PREVAIL!...
December 3rd, 2011
9:07 pm
How smart was it to wait until the 4th quarter to run Ken Malcome. I think the game would have went a little different had Malcome played a little earlier. His 4th quarter performance (not long, but productive) showed that he should have shared time with Samuel and Crowell all season. Dawgs got Murray coming back with that great young WR depth that should have a leader more sound than King. Defense will be pretty good next year as well. I can’t wait to see what the dawgs do with their new recruits
DUMBO
December 3rd, 2011
9:07 pm
Funny………….Mid Town boy…I thought you were still in jail for trying to talk a undercover cop into a little rump wranglin’ action for money…so they finally let you out…have fun down at Swingin’ Richards!!!!!!!!!!!!