Are Dawg fans’ BCS title hopes for 2011 realistic?
When will Mark Richt get to hoist one of these crystal babies like Nick Saban? Or will he? (Associated Press)
It’s that time of year between signing day and the beginning of spring practice when college football fans look ahead with optimism. That certainly applies in the Bulldog Nation, where many, if not most, fans appear to have concluded that the 2010 season will see an improvement in the Dogs’ on-field performance. A frequent refrain I’m hearing is that 10 wins, at least counting the bowl if not in the regular season, doesn’t seem out of reach, even with all the questions surrounding this team.
And if you then look ahead to 2011, with a year of experience at QB and the new defensive scheme established and battle-tested and a fairly advantageous schedule, well, the sky seems to be the limit in many fans’ estimation.
Yes, just three months after the debacle that was the game against Kentucky, some Dogs fans are daring to think BCS national championship in 2011. We’re nothing if not resilient. (Or deluded, I’m sure Bama and Florida fans will say.)
One of those true believer Dawg fans recently raised the issue with Olin Buchanan, Rivals.com college football senior writer, asking him when he saw Georgia winning another national championship. “I’m hoping 2011 is our year,” the fan added.
After retracing Georgia’s history winning national titles and having some years where a catch or two might have provided the opportunity for another, Buchanan didn’t exactly give the fan the answer he was hoping for.
“Most championship teams have strong defenses and reliable, experienced quarterbacks,” he noted. “This past season, Georgia had neither. Junior Logan Gray and redshirt freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger will compete to be this fall’s starting quarterback. We’ll have to see if one emerges as a reliable passer. Meanwhile, coordinator Todd Grantham was brought in to bolster a defensive unit that was the third-most generous in the SEC last season. Can he rebuild that unit back to usual SEC standards? Again, we’ll see.”
Loading ...So how do you feel about Georgia’s prospects? Is a 10-win season this year the minimum you would find acceptable? Do you really think the Dogs, probably minus A.J. Green, can surpass Florida and Alabama out of the SEC and become a BCS championship contender in 2011? If not then, when? On the latter point, feel free to vote in the poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
Become a fan of the Junkyard Blawg on Facebook.
Follow my updates on Twitter.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
613 comments Add your comment
Ponce DeLeon
February 20th, 2010
11:57 pm
romebuzz, no QB and a tailback with 5 personalities.
ROLL TIDE
February 20th, 2010
11:57 pm
all bs aside, how can ga fans really like richt? 85% of puppies problems are the HC period. if yall cant see that, there is no hope.
romebuzz
February 20th, 2010
11:58 pm
true, true
Ron Zook
February 20th, 2010
11:58 pm
Roll Tide, don’t put down RIcht he was 1-2 against me afterall.
Bill Bates
February 21st, 2010
12:00 am
Which Hershel ran over me?
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:01 am
all 5
ROLL TIDE
February 21st, 2010
12:03 am
i hate to inform the puppies but there recruiting is no where as good as it has been the last 4 or 5 years. yall could be in for a big shock.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:03 am
There are no way that the sorry pups are going to win any chapaninship of any kind.They are also going to get beat by GT this year.Tech should have won in 2009.Everybody who was the best team.What is wrong with UGA people,are they on drugs.This is crazy and completeley unrealistic.Leave up to Uga people to live in a bubble of imagination!!!!!!!!
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:03 am
bama you lost 9 of 11 starters on defense that won you a nc. how do you replace the mountain
01HAWK
February 21st, 2010
12:03 am
Q: Did you hear about the fire in Georgia football dorm that destroyed 20 books?
A: The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet.
Snoop Dawg
February 21st, 2010
12:03 am
Ponce de Loin,
Fact checker, please. Bimbo the dwarf Terry Bowdoin couldn’t attract any woman that wasn’t mighty lonesome and ugly. When Bowdoin took over Auburn, they had been the National Champs. For the next four years, every major statistic was worse than the year before. The fourth year, Auburn had cornered last place in every significant SEC football statistic and were solid losers. The only difference between Richt and Bowdoin seems to be physical.
Ponce DeLeon
February 21st, 2010
12:04 am
One thing that I would have to say, if you could win a NC by the quality of your women, UGA would win every freakin year.
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:06 am
no ole miss would
Snoop Dawg
February 21st, 2010
12:08 am
As bad as the Bulldogs are, they will definitely beat the Georgia Tech thugs next year with that stupid offense that the Jackets have. It will not even be close, since Georgia Tech plays in a junior league–the ACC. The worst teams in the SEC can put a smackdown on any ACC team any day of the week. Otherwise, Richt is going to drive UGA right into the SEC cellar. I cannot understand why the Bulldog Nation wants to keep Da Preacha Man when he obviously cannot coach or even provide a presence of authority on the sideline as if he was empty of emotion. Once Richt is fired, the future will be bright again as the State of Georgia is the very best for football talent.
.
February 21st, 2010
12:09 am
Bill you made me laugh so much my wife had to go in another room. What the he!! you been smoking? UGA win in 2011….damn Joke. hahahahahahahaha
What do you think, the SEC teams are all gone roll over to the dawgs? Think again Bill.
Pago Flyer
February 21st, 2010
12:10 am
Why not….UGA has had a Top Ten recruiting class for the past ten years!
Ponce DeLeon
February 21st, 2010
12:10 am
Snoop Dawg, sorry dude but you are incorrect. Bowden took over in 1992, first year went 11-0 and had 20 game winning streak and the story about the coed is true. Auburn was last NC in the late 50’s. check your facts dude.
DirtyDawg
February 21st, 2010
12:10 am
Hell people. If you’re gonna wish for something, wish for this year…we’ll wish for next year…next year.
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:10 am
they lose at usc and to uf also to the buffs.
ROLL TIDE
February 21st, 2010
12:10 am
quit being medicore and get richt out of there. its one thing to get beat, but the lack of discipline they display on a football field is insane. its really embarrassing to be at a college level. for that alone, he needs to be gone.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:11 am
This is the craziest thing I have heard in a while.The soory pups will probably get beat by Miss State.I don’t know what planet the pups fans are on.It is sure not EARTH!!!!!
Ponce DeLeon
February 21st, 2010
12:12 am
ROLL TIDE, don’t fire him, its like having Ray Goff again.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:15 am
Wait a minute,this ia a joke right?
Island Dawg
February 21st, 2010
12:17 am
Bill, please stop. This is exactly what opponents’ fans want to hear.I very reluctantly renewed my contribution last Monday based on a most likely unfounded hope that ditching head missionary in chief Willie may pay off, but to even suggest BCS champs in ‘11 is absurd. How many snaps do Murray and Mett combined have? Oh yeah, zero since we had to appreciate the loyalty of Cox’s arm while not finally figuring out Ealey was a stud (guess that greatly warranted 5* rating did not sound a bell)and we had a running game until around the AU game and oh yeah, maybe burning a stud QB’s redshirt may make sense while building on the future. This crap has to stop; if our coaches can’t find an play the best we need to find coaches who will. I only get an 80% deduction on Hartman Fund but get 100% on church donations. Make sense? Reminder: we got less than 2 full starting seasons out of f’ing Moreno
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:19 am
he would set h. walker
KJ
February 21st, 2010
12:19 am
“There are no way that the sorry pups are going to win any chapaninship of any kind.They are also going to get beat by GT this year.Tech should have won in 2009.Everybody who was the best team.What is wrong with UGA people,are they on drugs.This is crazy and completeley unrealistic.Leave up to Uga people to live in a bubble of imagination!!!!!!!!”
I assume by “Tech Man”, you mean “Man who cleans the toilets at Tech”, given there’s no way someone who types up that grammatical nightmare could ever get into Tech, or UGA, or even DeVry.
Ponce DeLeon
February 21st, 2010
12:19 am
I gotta go to bed and laugh myself to sleep.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:21 am
Ga will lose to USC,Tenn,UF,GT,And Auburn.So UGA FANS GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE COOKIE JAR AND GET IN THE REAL WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Florida Dawg
February 21st, 2010
12:22 am
Is it possible that maybe we can beat Florida before we think about a BCS Championship?
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:22 am
no they will; beat ut and auby
Blue Max
February 21st, 2010
12:22 am
Is Murray or Mettenburger as good as Stafford? Is Washaun or Caleb as good as Knowshon? How many NC’s did Stafford and Knowshon have? Better than that what was Staffords record against UF?
Blue Max
February 21st, 2010
12:26 am
Bill King is no fool, he is preaching to the Bulldawg Choir. I can’t count how many of these fools think that Grantham will lead them to the promise land. Dude was fired by the Cleveland FREAKING BROWNS!
Kirby Smart
February 21st, 2010
12:29 am
Marky, Marky can you hear me Marky, I am coming to take your job away.
romebuzz
February 21st, 2010
12:29 am
tech wins with a hs offense and ugag can not win with a pro-style offense
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:30 am
KJ: Your are right,there where some mistakes with that post! I was in shock what I read. I was not paying attention what I was doing.I thought that we where getting invaded by mars.If you went to UGA,you diffently do not have the right to judge me.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:32 am
I hope this will not make me have bad dreams tonight!!!!!!!!
gatorsense
February 21st, 2010
12:32 am
UGA will need to upgrade every aspect of their talent base. Stop making bone head penalties, cut down on the injuries, and learn to play as a team BEFORE they will ever win a SEC Title much less a National Championship.
Richt has yet to prove he can get to the next hurdle in acheiving Title runs.
Bama and Florida have more than enough talent to play second level players and be more than competitive against the best UGA has to offer as of today.
Good Luck..too many questions need to be answered at UGA ..
KJ
February 21st, 2010
12:37 am
Um, I “diffently” have the right to judge you, regardless of where I attended school. You should probably go back and pass 4th grade English before you post again.
Tech Man
February 21st, 2010
12:49 am
KJ: You must be one of those pup fans.(OR MAYBE A UGA GRAD)You live in distant world.A world that people walk around in a state of confusion.I am leaving now.You need to get in the real world.I hope the best for you.I hope all this crap I have read tonight does not make me have bad dreams.If I am a 4th grader,you must be starting pre school!!!!!
KJ
February 21st, 2010
12:56 am
Yes, I’m starting preschool. Sick burn. Your posts definitely put me in a state of confusion, I’ll give you that much.
RxDawg
February 21st, 2010
1:18 am
Except that we’ll probably have a freshman QB.
Unless Logan can pull through.
RED DOG 77
February 21st, 2010
1:27 am
Tech man, Romebuzz………Who do you play this year ? You gearing up for a big NC year this 2010 or is it 2011 ? What in tarnation are you doing playing on our board ? Here for just a few laughs ? What is your record against UGA in say, the last 10 yrs ? Who won on the flats last year ? Is UGA far superior to GT in football ? if not, why not ? How has GT done in bowl games lately ? can GT stay on the field with UGA this year ? how about any of the top ACC teams they play this year ? What do you consider to be GTs biggest games this year ? Name 4, think you can win any of the four ?………Honestly, now ?………Who’s your daddy ?…..Come on now, dont be shy….who’s your poppa ?….whats your record gonna be this year ?…You gonna be able to stay on the field with anybody this year ? Honestly now, your gonna be kind of weak this year arent ya ?….Now tell me the truth, Are the above questions the real reason you spend your time on a UGA blog ? Be real honest now and tell me again……..Who’s your Daddy ?
Island Dawg
February 21st, 2010
1:27 am
Tech Man, no way that “diffently” was a typo. Seriously, before calling people out on their education or lack thereof you might consider turning on your spell-check first, rube.
Tater Tot
February 21st, 2010
1:32 am
As an airplane is about to crash, a female passenger jumps up frantically and announces, “If I’m going to die, I want to die feeling like a woman.”
She removes all her clothing and asks, “Is there someone on this plane who is man enough to make me feel like a woman?”
A man stands up, removes his shirt and says, “Here, iron this!”.
Jim Paschall
February 21st, 2010
1:35 am
Georgia will be 10-2 losing to Florida and another team to be named later.
RED DOG 77
February 21st, 2010
1:44 am
UGA will be 11-1 while whuppin Fla. and losing to a team to be named later.
BirdDawg
February 21st, 2010
1:44 am
Bulldog59 makes a great post. Richt will have this team back where it belongs again. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong this past season and the Dawgs still had a decent season, even with a brutal schedule. With so much uncertainty surrounding the team, they were in almost every game that they lost and few plays here or there could have turned those losses into victories. I think the Dawgs have the talent to be title contenders, only time and circumstance will tell if they actually get there or not.
Jason
February 21st, 2010
1:56 am
A little premature, don’t you think? I know it’s a slow news time for UGA football until Spring practice begins, but this is just silly.
sarfdawg
February 21st, 2010
2:00 am
This is the kind of trash that contributes to coaches’ getting fired. There is absolutely no reason in the world to talk about a BCS championship only weeks after part of the group was ready to run Richt out of town.
Let’s go back to setting a realistic goal of beating Florida, winning the East, and then playing for an SEC Championship. Do those things, and then we can start the national championship talk. Until we go in that order, national title talk just stirs the pot and digs a shallow grave for Coach Richt.
Matt
February 21st, 2010
2:08 am
This article is complete garbage! There is no way that UGA will be undefeated next year, yall are going to lose at USC and REMEMBER THE GATORS OWN YOU! GATOR BAIT