Has Georgia duped us again, or was this just a hiccup?
Mark Richt wasn't pleased with his team's opener, and justifiably so. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
ATHENS – Teams like Georgia don’t put teams like Buffalo on the schedule to build character. Teams like Buffalo are put on the schedule because they’re perceived as safe, possibly even a punchline. Georgia was willing to pay the opponent $975,000 because that’s how much it takes now to find a school willing to suffer public humiliation and say, “Fine, hit me with that two-by-four. Just make sure our hotel has decent pillows.”
Something went wrong Saturday. Georgia paid for the entertainment, maybe a little exercise, but the expected embarrassment was closer to home. That might seem harsh given the Sanford Stadium scoreboard had a distinct tilt at the end: 45-23. But it shouldn’t be considered nearly satisfying, not for a program that went into the day with a preseason No. 6 ranking and aspires to something greater than just outlasting South Carolina in the SEC East Division.
Great teams don’t have first games like this. Great defenses don’t allow touchdown drives of 75, 94 and 75 yards to an opponent that went 5-19 over the past two years and was shut out twice by Temple. Top teams from the SEC shouldn’t allow a projected fifth-place team from the Mid-American Conference East 243 yards in the first half. The Bulldogs, a 37½-point favorite, led only 24-16 after two quarters — that because of a 100-yard kickoff return by freshman Todd Gurley, a gift goal following a blocked punt and a missed Buffalo extra point.
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said he had some choice "adjectives" for his players at halftime. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
Mark Richt is good in math. “If not for that, we’re losing at halftime.”
The defensive front got pushed around. (Buffalo rushed for 199 yards, including 147 in the first half.) Quarterback Aaron Murray frequently was off target. (Even Richt took a rare public shot at a player, referencing Murray’s overthrow to Tavarres King, saying: “He’s a veteran. You get a guy open like that on a post [pattern], you have to hit it.”)
Only Gurley and Georgia’s wide receivers were above criticism. Gurley was above everybody, actually. He had the kickoff return for the touchdown, two other scores on runs of 10 and 55 yards and he rushed for 100 yards on only eight carries in his debut.
But most Georgia players often looked like their heads were somewhere else, maybe Columbia, Mo., where the Dogs open conference play next week.
“Even the coaches had issues,” Richt said. He referenced plays when Georgia had 10 and 12 players on the field.
Was this an early hiccup? Or have we been duped again?
Nothing that occurred Saturday made you think this team is special. Actually, this was closer to a disturbing reminder of last season’s opener against Boise State in the Georgia Dome. The Dogs looked shockingly unprepared, unfocused and sloppy.
“I felt like garbage at halftime,” nose guard John Jenkins said.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Richt said. “I wasn’t thrilled with the way we played. We missed some early shots, offensively. We gave up some big plays.
“Am I concerned about it? Yeah. If we don’t play better than that next week, we’re going to come home sad.”
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was understandably animated on the sideline, and certainly at halftime with his players. His vaunted defense was missing five starters because of suspensions and injuries, but even he acknowledged, “That’s no excuse.” And he was right. Missing key players in the secondary doesn’t excuse the play of the defensive front.
“Play better,” he responded when asked what he told his players at intermission.
When asked if he delivered the message to the players that calmly, he said: “Not really. No. I don’t think you can [write] everything. I had some adjectives in there.”
Georgia carried its highest preseason ranking since 2008, when it was No. 1. The 92,000 fans who showed up expected more. They booed loudly in the first half. Thousands left at halftime. Thousands more left in the third quarter. The weather was humid, and the performance wasn’t worth sticking around for.
“If we wanted this to be a cakewalk, we should’ve came out and done a better job,” defensive end Abry Jones said.
Sometimes you don’t get what you pay for.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,006 comments Add your comment
REDDING
September 1st, 2012
9:16 pm
I’m a Buffalo Bulls fan and just want to say a few things.UGA fans need to calm down. Buffalo has a pretty solid team this year. Bo Oliver is probably the second best running back they have ever had (except James Starks starter for Green Bay Packers). Zordich can move well and get out of trouble better than most other quarterbacks. He can’t throw to well. Nuetz is sick and has great hands as a wideout. Solid and huge offensive line. Solid defensive line that was getting good pressure. You still doubled the score on them. The first half was close but Richt made great adjustments and got the game under control. Stop complaining. Your freshman running backs looked good…better than the knucklehead Crowell I think. Murray is a good quarterback that I hope the Bills draft because hes not afraid to sling it. I think Georgia will win the east this year. The MAC has good teams that play tough, theyre not cup cakes. The MAC is the best Mid-Major Football Conference in the country. Go Bulls, Go Bills, Good luck UGA beat all your rivals especially LSU and Alabama..theyre lame.
CigarDawg
September 1st, 2012
9:17 pm
The quality of football I’m seeing with AL-Michigan and AU-Clemson is a whole lot better than what I saw this afternoon. No first game excuses being thrown around for those teams.
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:17 pm
#1USC 20-0 against Hawaii………..see that is how you put away a cupcake paid for win team early and get your starters on the sidelines.
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:20 pm
Billy has been in the RAMBO Brownies
graphite
September 1st, 2012
9:20 pm
@Kingdaddy..Back at you..I too pull for all SEC teams playing out of conference…Sure was pulling for Vandy!!..Be safe
A-Ville Ranger
September 1st, 2012
9:22 pm
NYdude, weird post, did you just fall off a turnip truck ?
Bad Dawg
September 1st, 2012
9:22 pm
I concur Flat Tire. I honestly won’t follow recruiting much anymore. Give me a great coach that recruits players who represent the university well and I’ll be satisfied. After 11 years Richt has and continues to prove he can’t get the job done. Meanwhile Alabama just keeps on rolling while UGA gets passed by South Carolina, Arkansas, and maybe even Vandy. Its tough being a dawg fan these days when will the nightmare end?
Hot diggity dupe
September 1st, 2012
9:25 pm
If you’re the #6 ranked team in the nation, you better play like it.
If you’re an apologist, you better learn to take the criticism.
Tonight, we see exactly the difference between #6 & #2. And it goes waaaay beyond numbers.
80sDawg
September 1st, 2012
9:25 pm
Watching Alabama dismantle Mich with relative ease. Wonder if the USC lovers will still have them at #1 after the scrimmage they had with Hawaii. Bama is crazy scary!
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:27 pm
Any BETS on if the parents of the 20 year old that was drunk and fell to his death at the Dome will SUE the Dome for serving a minor?
Left Coast Dawg
September 1st, 2012
9:28 pm
@HardTruth – I’m pretty sure we had a freshman balling at Sanford Stadium today too, Bama isn’t the only team with one.
Game Watcher
September 1st, 2012
9:28 pm
Would love to watch Bama play outside in the heat and humidity like everyone did today…I’d be willing to bet thier players wouldn’t be moving as fast….they gotta be loving that air conditioning….will see how they do outside against a good SEC team…..
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:28 pm
Turn on the Bama game and see how you put away a top#15 team……UGa #6 and played that bad……Bama 21-0 over Michigan in the FIRST QUARTER.
I bet Bama will be playing 3rd stringer in the 3rd qtr.
ramguy68
September 1st, 2012
9:29 pm
I can’t believe all the negative comments after just one game. The Bulls only got 25 yds and no 1st downs on the #1 defensive unit in the second half. Relax, the season has just started.
Sad Richards
September 1st, 2012
9:30 pm
Saban and Bama are destroying Mich. Saban coaches hard nosed. Richt hosts pool parties. what a joke people…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 1st, 2012
9:30 pm
Bad Dawg
Its just glaringly obvious
Im mean did you watch the Boise st game they lost a bunch of players yet Peterson had them poised to win
look at how bama is playing tonight
we played a middle school team today and we made them look like we were playing a top 10 team
Ive been worried about Tennessee due to their QB; all the players they returned and how close they played us last year
after watching Tennessee last night and watching us play sloppy AGAIN in that sweat box today I really dont know how that game is going to go
10-2 is a good year! Right?
September 1st, 2012
9:31 pm
Clemson would be destroying Auburn if not for some dropped passes. Their QB is the real deal. Wonder if Dabo would be interested in trying the SEC? Hey, he just got the state’s #1 recruit to play at Clemson.
William
September 1st, 2012
9:32 pm
Buffalo may be better than advertised. Have you thought of that? Look at all the other teams that struggled today. Penn St., Florida etc. A win is a win. It wasn’t even close. Lots of possitives today. Will get it together for next week.
David Byrne
September 1st, 2012
9:32 pm
Same as it ever was.
Bad Dawg
September 1st, 2012
9:32 pm
Richt let those guys go to the pool instead of practice. lol. He obviously think his job is safe. I hope not!
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:33 pm
Game Watcher
September 1st, 2012
9:28 pm
Would love to watch Bama play outside in the heat and humidity like everyone did today…I’d be willing to bet thier players wouldn’t be moving as fast….they gotta be loving that air conditioning….will see how they do outside against a good SEC team…..
LMAO……………..so WHY isn’t Michigan playing better?
Give it up.
That is the best excuse I have heard for why Uga looked bad and Bama looks great.
I think I will save that one to post through out the season.
Dawg Tired
September 1st, 2012
9:33 pm
Some have been duped. I am not surprised by this poor showing today. Very few teams could afford to lose 5 starters on D and still be effective. Next week will be sad. Mizzou is significantly better than SUNY. We will still be without those 5 starters on D and Murray will still be trying to complete 50% of his passes and panicking at the sight of a defender coming towards him. Gurley, obviously the real deal, will hopefully get more than 8 carries, but with this coaching staff who knows. We are poorly prepared for games and then it actually gets worse during the game. SUNY was better prepared than we were. The boys from upstate NY did not cramp-up in the heat and humidity but we did. I jut don’t see how anyone sees any of this as a positive.
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:34 pm
UGa fans have you ever seen a Bama 31-0 score in the first half before?
LMAO UGa#6
Left Coast Dawg
September 1st, 2012
9:34 pm
@5150 – I guess you would know about cupcakes since that is generally what Tech represents for most opponents. Your B-Backs get plenty of carries against the 2nd and 3rd string players right.
Hot diggity dupe
September 1st, 2012
9:34 pm
Statement game by ALA. Mediocrity from UGA.
Bama14
September 1st, 2012
9:35 pm
Drown ‘em Tide! 31-0. No letup.
Bad Dawg
September 1st, 2012
9:35 pm
Flat Tire, Indeed, this very well could be an 8-4 season with losses to Missouri, S. Car, Fla or Auburn, and Tennessee. And who knows how good Tech is going to be. If Richt loses that many games with this schedule I think McGarity has to show him the door. No more excuses for all of these embarrassing on and off the field performances. The talent is here but the coaching is not.
Paul in NH
September 1st, 2012
9:36 pm
Denard Robinson looks like he took Bama to cover the spread
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 1st, 2012
9:36 pm
5150 UOAD
You need to call your coach, yea Turkey neck and have him watch the bama game too
Maybe he will come to reality and realize that middle school offense will never work against teams like bama
And by the way enjoy the bashing cause come Monday poor GaTech is going to be 0-1
todd
September 1st, 2012
9:37 pm
This team just isn’t well coached. They won because their players are just that much better than Buffalo’s. Despite all the talent in the world, when has the Georgia offense looked like a machine under Mike Bobo? Never. They are always sloppy.
Dawg Tired
September 1st, 2012
9:37 pm
William! Penn State will not win 5 games this whole season. Florida is not good. Their coach was a pretty good defensive co-ordinator (like Charlie Weis was a pretty good offensive coordinator). Not to mention that their QBs don’t know who the starter is, etc.
Hot diggity dupe
September 1st, 2012
9:37 pm
If you’re a UGA fan and you aren’t disgusted by the fact that our team didn’t come out looking as good as ALA did, THEN DON’T CALL YOURSELF A GEORGIA FAN!!!
Dum-Bass
September 1st, 2012
9:38 pm
Seriously and honestly every time I saw that #6 ranking I was scratching my head and saying “HOW?”
Dawg Tired
September 1st, 2012
9:38 pm
William – you may also have heard they’ve had some trouble up at Penn State during the last off-season.
10-2 is a good year! Right?
September 1st, 2012
9:39 pm
UGA struggled, but look at Penn State and Florida? hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Muschamp can’t decide on a QB and Penn State, well, I won’t go there…..
How about choosing a team that is not ranked #23 and another expected to win 2 games if they are lucky…
Dawg Tired
September 1st, 2012
9:41 pm
Hot diggity dupe – Thanks for saying that. I, like you, am sick of this poor coaching and preparation and getting outplayed by teams with inferior talent.
Dum-Bass
September 1st, 2012
9:42 pm
Maybe AL should have opened with Buffalo and UGA with Michigan. Now wouldn’t that have been interesting! Now there’s your huge difference in “real” coaches and “wussy” coaches.
Hard Truth Soldier
September 1st, 2012
9:43 pm
LEFT COAST DAWG, Your right! Now get the team to play like he did and people might mistake us for a top five team. TODAY we played like a team from the WAC.
dbc
September 1st, 2012
9:45 pm
The excuses fly every year. Bama’s pummeling #8Michigan, and CMR says we’ll be “sad” if we lose next week. Motivation should never be a problem. But at UGA, it happens as sure as the students return from summer break.
Hot diggity dupe
September 1st, 2012
9:46 pm
Anytime, Dawg Tired. Anytime.
The question is, are you rooting for The University of Georgia, or Mark Richt?
Because he can go coach somewhere else. The University will always be in Athens, GA.
Huh?
September 1st, 2012
9:46 pm
UGA fans can talk about missing defensive starters, a lack of intensity, vanilla playcalling, and every other excuse you can think of (including the weather???)…the FACT of the matter is that there is absolutely no excuse for UGA not to have beaten Buffalo in the ground. It’s Buffalo for God’s sake.
Bullfalo outgained UGA 243 to 188 yards in the first half??? UGA only led by 8 points at the half?
Say what you want, and make any excuses that you want….no way UGA looked like a #6 team…or an SEC contender for that matter. It was Buffalo for crying out loud.
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:48 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
Considering Ga Sou had more rushing yards on Bama than any other team I am not worried about CPJ. He runs his offense.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 1st, 2012
9:48 pm
31-7 with 25 seconds to go in the 1st half and Nick Saban is still trying go down field and score
Richt on the other hand would have already been in the locker room
buzz6868
September 1st, 2012
9:49 pm
of course they win lets add parkview to next years schedule
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 1st, 2012
9:50 pm
5150 UOAD
Nah I guess you arent too worried since your awesome coach cant seem to win against this UGA program you love to run your mouth about
Sad Richards
September 1st, 2012
9:51 pm
I hope We go 8 – 4 which looks very likely then Howdy Doody can get rid of Richt and hire us a real hard nosed football coach.
NORRIS
September 1st, 2012
9:53 pm
The D looked slowww! I mean really slow. We couldnt get past their front! Did we get a sack at all today?
5150 UOAD
September 1st, 2012
9:54 pm
Flat I hate losing to the dwags but I would still rather win the ACC.
I and most Tech fans don’t come out every Feb after the National Signing Day saying the JunkYard Dwag are Back. This Is The Year has been stated by thousands of UGa fans for the last 32 years.
Sad Richards
September 1st, 2012
9:54 pm
I love how some are trying to sugar coat this sloppy win…. I just have to remind myself that these guys cant face reality….
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 1st, 2012
9:57 pm
5150 UOAD
That statement about the Dawgs are back hasnt been made by this UGA fan
And I know too many Tech fans would rather beat UGA than win the ACC