LIVE BLOG: Georgia tries to avoid ‘trap’ against Tennessee
Bulldogs safety Bacarri Rambo goes through warmups at Sanford Stadium. (Brant Sanderlin)
ATHENS – So is this affirmation week or trap week?
Georgia plays Tennessee today. Honestly, I was a little surprised when the Glantz-Culver line (adopted by the AJC and Weekend Predictions, Inc. as the official point spread ) opened with the Bulldogs as a 15-point favorite and it immediately dropped to 13½ (though it has inched back up to 14).
The Dogs are ranked No. 5, and look like legitimate
Alec Olgetree, along with Bacarri Rambo, returns from a four-game suspension. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
title contenders. Other than some first-half hiccups in the SEC opener at Missouri, they have looked strong defensively and leveled Vanderbilt 48-3 last week. Tennessee isn’t as bad as some people think – Derek Dooley inherited a mess and really isn’t doing a bad job – but for the Volunteers’ defense to give up 555 yards at home in a 37-20 loss to Florida speaks to where the program is.
The “trap” concerns come from the fact Georgia plays at No. 6 South Carolina next week, in a game that conceivably could decide the SEC East. And, fact is, Georgia has laid some eggs against Tennessee in the past: a 45-19 loss at Knoxville in 2009, 35-14 loss at Knoxville in 2007, 51-33 loss in Athens in 2006, 19-14 loss in Athens in 2004.
But I think it’s more about this: People are waiting for something to go wrong. Georgia is 4-0, including 2-0 in the conference. It hasn’t started this strong since 2008, when it was 4-0 going into the infamous “blackout” game against Alabama, only to be body-slammed 41-30 at home.
In fact, the Dogs have not won their first three conference games in a season since 2005, when they started 5-0 (7-0 overall). Quarterback D.J. Shockley was injured and they lost the next game to Florida 14-10, as well as Auburn the following week. But they still won the SEC title that season.
The biggest news going into today’s game is the expected return of both safety Bacarri Rambo and linebacker Alec Ogletree. Coach Mark Richt has played coy on the subject all week but it has been widely reported that both players had been suspended for four games.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Time to open the cyber-venting lines. I’ll be back to chat shortly.
What are you thoughts about today’s game?
By Jeff Schultz
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1,545 comments Add your comment
BobDawg
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
EVIL…. you are right… but I will go for 5-0 right now….
Ward
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
Vols win with a hail mary
Brownies for everyone
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
Almost a block kick.. Geez
katherine
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
evil empire you dont know that….this very well could be a national championship team
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
Katherine……
The Vols struggled to move the ball on Florida in the second half….and Florida’s DL and OL dominated the Vols. So knowing Georgia is going to beat Florida is up for debate now.
evil empire
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
better have 3 guys on patterson…
Truth teller
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
evil empire
September 29th, 2012
7:26 pm
spin it however you want, this isn’t a natchamp team…
we will see. D didn’t look good. Is Saban’s daughter still getting drunk and having bitch slapping parties?
rivercard
September 29th, 2012
7:28 pm
All this whining. Your undefeated and you have an offense that can play with anybody.
Your defense isn’t great , but with that offense it wouldn’t be a shock to go to the dome undefeated.
Nobody else you play is really to be feared.
Truth teller
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
No penalties here guy’s.
nobody
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
Replacement Refs?
BobDawg
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
JB… all we want is a win right now… Let the media kill us this week and show up next week in Columbia..
Jim Jack
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
UGA has the worst defense in America. Thank GOD the offense could put up 51. Thank you, offense! GREAT JOB!
Russa
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
well the only way this game looks good is if the Vols beat Alabama
Vesaversa
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
Where is the defense? The Dawgs are not real contenders with this terrible defense.
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
Fitting end to this game…..with Bray throwing an INT.
Ward
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
Finally…
dawg555
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
Ballgame!
katherine
September 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
ward you suck as a fan
nobody
September 29th, 2012
7:30 pm
Gameplan against Tenn, blitz but dont sack. Bray will fumble or force an INT.
Here we go again...
September 29th, 2012
7:30 pm
Whew! We survive!!!
KDS
September 29th, 2012
7:30 pm
A WIN IS A WIN
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
RIcht does not look happy…..shouldn’t be……not a good showing today.
nobody
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
How can people say we have the worst defense when the WVU vs BAY game was 70-63?
oldfart
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
D better show up next week.
Truth teller
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
A Win. But a tough lesson for the D. USC does not have a Tyler Bray. So you will not see UGA Defense playing with only 6 guys in run support. mark it down.
Jeff Schultz
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
Yikes. Didn’t see that one coming. Here are three “Quick Takes” on the game. Let’s shift commenting over there and I’ll be posting the game column in about one hour.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/09/29/short-takes-georgia-shows-its-talent-and-its-ugly-side/
Big Crimson 75
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
JB — you’re being a little too tough, don’t ya think?
Winning the game is all that matters!
BobDawg
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
KATHERINE….. loved you on the blog.. Ward is a gurl….
evil empire
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
c’mon rivercard,,,play like this against sc and florida and you go gome with two losses…
KDS
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
Mark better have our boys ready next week or his weak coaching azzz needs to go
Jimmy Crack
September 29th, 2012
7:31 pm
CMR and Lil Dooley had a chilly handshake.
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:32 pm
The Georgia broadcaster using “we”……I didn’t know he was on the team. Is that his thing?
katherine
September 29th, 2012
7:32 pm
hahaha richt correcting that idiot reporter
Mike
September 29th, 2012
7:32 pm
Well it wasn’t pretty. But we got it done. Big test, and we won. National title teams win close games like this. We’re still in the race for Atlanta, so that’s all we care about. You can’t blow everybody out. We WON! GT can’t say that. MTSU! hahahaha
rivercard
September 29th, 2012
7:32 pm
nobody- obviously it isn’t the worst (#43 prior to game) , but it isn’t very good.
DAWGFAN
September 29th, 2012
7:33 pm
Gurley says Yes Mamme! What a terrific young talent! This guys is going to be one of the best to ever run for Georgia!
katherine
September 29th, 2012
7:33 pm
ok well girl or guy ward sucks as a fan
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:33 pm
KDS……
Are you kidding me???? Jezzzzzzzz………just waiting to jump off that bandwagon with 400,000 other Georgia “fans”…..are we.
William
September 29th, 2012
7:34 pm
Obviously Dogs are OVER-RATED!
Big Crimson 75
September 29th, 2012
7:34 pm
Bobdawg — good posts today.
It’ll be an advantage to Ga hearing how bad the Defense played all week long.
Ga’s got more horses than SC does.
Dogs win next week.
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:34 pm
What happened to Eddie Money…..yikes.
cooter
September 29th, 2012
7:34 pm
DAMN
Brownies for everyone
September 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
Katherine, Colorado, ucf, Michigan state, Boise state, and I could go on and on. It’s becoming a habit and not uncommon. I have been a dawg fan my whole life. I don’t think it’s much to ask to have a Ntl championship team once every eclipse. Can’t people get frustrated. Do you approve.
cooter
September 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
CHECK OUT KENTUCK AND USC ON ESPN2
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
Thank God…..Georgia won…..now Dawg fans can go back to winning the National Title next week instead of firing the entire coaching staff.
Hairy Dawg
September 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
Remember when Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner laid the damn ball on the ground to cost his team a chance late against the Vols in Tee Martin’s national championship year?
Crazy stuff happens. I don’t care as long as we win the game, but…wow. That was a mess of a game.
01HAWK
September 29th, 2012
7:36 pm
Not the best of hand shakes at the end between DOOLEY and CMR.
katherine
September 29th, 2012
7:36 pm
i dont really care who you root for brownies….im watching the braves now
KDS
September 29th, 2012
7:37 pm
Tampa- I will never jump off the wagon but I am ready for what this Georgia team derserve and thats a National Championship and great coaching
Tampa Gator
September 29th, 2012
7:37 pm
I am looking forward to watching SC play Kentucky. Florida made Kentucky look like a high school football team.