Florida paper slams Dogs again: Most overrated ever
Buck Belue's touchdown pass to Lindsay Scott was a "fluke" play, the Orlando Sentinel says. (University of Georgia)
Say this for the Orlando Sentinel: They’re at least consistent in their orange and blue advocacy.
You’ll recall that the Sentinel, whose sportswriters appear to operate as an unofficial arm of the Gators sports information program, drew headlines a while back for ranking the Georgia Bulldogs as only the 64th best team in the country this season.
Before that, the Sentinel had been among the first of the media outlets in states surrounding us to get the Mark-Richt-on-the-hot-seat bandwagon rolling. And, of course, they did it in typical hyperbolic style, noting in complete disregard to the facts that “It seems almost every season Richt’s name comes up as being on the hot seat.”
Now the Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi has taken another flying leap into absurdity. In writing about the SEC Media Days, he opened his latest blog saying, “Keep hearing and reading about how Georgia coach Mark Richt is on the imaginary hot seat.”
Such talk, Bianchi generously allows, “is a disservice to one of the classiest coaches in college football and one of the best coaches Georgia has ever had.” (It was, of course, Bianchi who raised the “hot seat” question question to Richt at the SEC media gathering.)
Naturally, he was just setting up Georgia fans for the Sentinel’s latest swipe. The problem, he says, is “Georgia fans have way too high of an opinion of their program. In fact, I believe an argument could be made that Georgia is the the most overrated program in college football history.”
His case consists mainly of calling Lindsay Scott’s touchdown catch in the 1980 game against the Gators “one of the biggest fluke plays in college football history,” and he concludes that without the national title that the Bulldogs won that year thanks to Herschel Walker and Scott, “Georgia would be closer in history and tradition to South Carolina than it is to Florida.”
Yes, we all know Florida has dominated the Dogs-Gators rivalry the past 20 years (the only period of college football history Gators fans pay any attention to) and that Florida has won a couple of BCS national titles and Georgia hasn’t.
But Bianchi’s notion that Georgia football history is pretty much limited to 1980 is so far off the mark it’s embarrassing. If he checked NCAA records, he’d find UGA is ranked as one of the Top 15 winningest college football programs of all time … and ahead of the University of Florida.
It’s one thing to try and rile up a rival state’s fandom, but at least Bianchi and the Sentinel could try and keep it based in reality.
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468 comments Add your comment
TnDawg63
July 23rd, 2010
1:35 pm
When did you start playing football and when did you win your 1st SEC title?
Helluva big span there!!!
DawginOH
July 23rd, 2010
1:36 pm
I’m really tired of hearing about how Georgia fans are delusional. What about Florida fans, who all of a sudden think they’re in the same class as Alabama, a team that has won 10 more national titles than they have? If Georgia is so overrated, what does that make the Gators, who still trail Georgia in the overall series? If these two teams had only been playing since 1990, then I’d actually care about what Gator fans had to say.
robodawg
July 23rd, 2010
1:36 pm
Thanks, Sentinel, for the bullet board material.
Time Out
July 23rd, 2010
1:37 pm
Ok. I get where this writer is coming from. He has taken the approach of Local Sports Talk Radio – YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING STUPID to get people talking ala fat face Steak Shapiro.
Blackberry Cobbler
July 23rd, 2010
1:37 pm
Bianchi’s opinion is, of course, his bias. It’s wrong and biased.
But let’s be fair folks– there can be little doubt that UGA’s football program has become a more mediocre commodity in recent years. I just don’t see how that can be denied.
UGA has struggled while Florida and now Alabama have flourished. The on-field performance and off-field problems are an embarrassment. UGA’s overall record (10-win seasons, etc.) look impressive but more importantly, it’s record within the SEC is average.
As a UGA alum and big fan, I really hope CMR will begin to right the ship this season. If he doesn’t, I think his time in Athens will come to an end very quickly– much quicker than you might think.
Mark Richt Hater
July 23rd, 2010
1:37 pm
Mark Richt needs to beat teams that are 500 and over to be a good coach
Guess Who?
July 23rd, 2010
1:38 pm
When was UF’s first SEC title, 199?. They had ample opportunities in the 70’s and 80’s and always choked in either the GA game or against KY the following week. Talk about tradition!!!!
Tip your cap; they have done a wonderful job in the last 18-20 years, but that does not erase a prior century of football. With such remarks he demonstrates the “class” that has always been associated with the UF. Go Jorts!!
Mark Richt
July 23rd, 2010
1:39 pm
if memory serves me right the Dawgs owned the Gators in the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s and still lead in over all wins in the series. It was not untill Darth Visor arrived to coach the reptiles that they started to win anything. For years Florida was known as the most talented team in the conference but could never win it. I belive that would be over rated. The Dawgs will win this year and the Tables will start to turn back toward the red and black.
I COPY AND PASTED THIS COMMENT BECAUSE IT IS EXACTLY RIGHT. GODD JOB BEACH DAWG.AT LEAST I HOPE WE TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS.
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Truth from Outside
July 23rd, 2010
1:40 pm
To really tell the truth I kind of agree with the Article. Georgia has a good team nearly evry year and an’t make it no where. People on here keep talking about how Georgia is better than the gators..honesty they are not. if you have to refer to something back during segregation and in the mid 20th century then what do you have to say about today? Alabama’s program is waay ahead of both schools so why compaare. Florida Gators are on a different level than UGA..get over it..Georgis is the most overrated team and honestly they aren’t even exciting to watch..LMAO..talk about some real teams in todays sportts and Florida would be mentioned but not UGA..They may have started off number on a couple years ago but everyone knew Georgia wasn’t gonna remain number one..so don’t hate the writer because he made a good point…shows how classy many DAWG fans are..a lie still want help you because it shows how smart the fans are when they try and argue a point with an invalid one..the article still makes sense
St. Richt
July 23rd, 2010
1:40 pm
Yes, I’m sure the Lindsay Scott play still keeps Florida fans up at night. I’m sure that their multiple national championships and SEC championships since then have done nothing to help ease that pain. For the love of god, listen to yourselves Georgia fans. You are the most delusional fanbase ever.
Bring back the Leather Helmets...
July 23rd, 2010
1:41 pm
And we’ll teach those Gators a lesson again!!
ugajeanshortnation
July 23rd, 2010
1:41 pm
if memory serves me right the Dawgs owned the Gators in the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s and still lead in over all wins in the series. It was not untill Darth Visor arrived to coach the reptiles that they started to win anything. For years Florida was known as the most talented team in the conference but could never win it. I belive that would be over rated. The Dawgs will win this year and the Tables will start to turn back toward the red and black.
I COPY AND PASTED THIS COMMENT BECAUSE IT IS EXACTLY RIGHT. GODD JOB BEACH DAWG.AT LEAST I HOPE WE TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS.
__________________________________
I copied and pasted this because it’s not exactly right. uga dominated UF in the early 90s??? seriously? Starting in 1990 uga has what 3 wins in 20 tries??? Actually uga didn’t win a game in the 90s til 97…hahahahahahahahahahaha idiots
Bulldoogmaniac
July 23rd, 2010
1:42 pm
Keep writing this garbage! It will make it all the more sweet when we spank their a$$ this year!
The UGA Mentaltity
July 23rd, 2010
1:44 pm
I dont even need to read to know what this story is about. Everyone is always bullying us. Everyone knows we are the best they are just jealous…we win the pre season title every year and we recruit like the big boys. So what if we always lose the big game…I am gonna whine for days about this and start hurling insult at Tech fans. I am the token UGA fan…I predict a 14-0 season and a national championship every year.
The Ole Ball Coach
July 23rd, 2010
1:46 pm
The Orlando Sentinel is one of the worse papers in history and getting worse….it seems….
Dumbo
July 23rd, 2010
1:46 pm
When are you folks gonna wake-up, this turb Bianchi, has to suck UF off ’cause his “radio show” is below low on ratings and his agent has begged everyone to pick up his column to the point that it is basically a freebe column for any newspaper. The guy is a loser. The closest his show and columns get to Miami is Fort Lauderdale.
Black Toenail
July 23rd, 2010
1:47 pm
Truth hurts sometimes.
McDawg
July 23rd, 2010
1:47 pm
THERE IS ONE WAY TO SHUT THESE GUYS UP-UNTIL THEN WE WILL JUST HAVE TO TAKE IT
bamafan
July 23rd, 2010
1:51 pm
Florida has had an amazing run since 1991. However, before 1991, they were irrelevant. They won the SEC in 1984, but had it revoked………other than that, totally irrelevant. Florida fans cannot claim the last 20 years (good) and then ignore the previous 90, 70, 50, or 30 before that (bad). UGA had some good teams under Butts, a few more under Dooley, including the 1980-82 run, and some good teams under Richt. UGA is not as solid a program (over time) as many fans would like to believe, but the most overrated team in college football history is so far-fetched as to be beyond stupidity. .
brandon
July 23rd, 2010
1:53 pm
what a joke… georgia isn’t overrated. i’d say they’re rated pretty fairly as being a great college football program. it is not a top of the line program by any means. top of the line meaning consistently competing for national championships. under richt, georgia has competed for the south eastern conference on a regular basis. florida, however, has been that hurdle that the program has trouble clearing.
Swamp resident
July 23rd, 2010
1:55 pm
He’s only saying what we all are thinking. Sure UF football only really took off in the last twenty years or so, but what have we done in those twenty years. 3 national championships. How many for UGA in that time period? none. Well how long ago since your last one? 30 years. Guess what UGA, since you last got there, the SEC has become the home of the national championship trophy. Prove the world wrong UGA and win one. Otherwise, shut up and be content to win 9-10 games in a league where 11-12 is the standard. Bottom line is, all the UF bias of this writer aside, there is a lot of truth to what he says.
neutral fan observor
July 23rd, 2010
1:56 pm
Mike Bianchi is a bombastic flamethrower. He has some points that are valid and some that are downright stupid.
1) Ranking Georgia 64th- Just plain stupid. Dawgs are better than that and any rational, reasonable person knows that.
2) 1980 Belue to Lindsey was a fluke. Yep. It certainly was and will go down as one of the biggest fluke plays in history along with the Stanford-Cal kick return for a td. But what does it matter? It was a legal play and fluke or not it counts. End of story.
3) Bianchi on Mark Richt- Richt is not on the hot seat. True enough. And no offense to the dog fans but if I were Florida I would want Richt to keep his job. Gators pretty much own him. 7-2 with Meyer owning him 4-1 including a few blowouts why on earth would they want Richt fired? Facts are facts and one undeniable fact is that Meyer dominates Richt.
4) Bianchi on whether the UGA tradition is overblown. Yes and no. Georgia is in fact one of the 15 winngest programs alltime in both winning % and overall wins. They are a top 15 program and do have more sec titles than florida even if Florida has dominated the last 20 years. They do own the series head to head also. When speaking of tradition Bianchi would do well to remember that the dawgs have a 100 year tradition of football. Florida has a mere 20 year tradition.
5) The perception that Georgia has underachieved relative to their tradition is also true. The dawgs have a single national title although I really believe they won the 1942 title giving them 2. But what really separates the dawgs from other elite programs in the sec- primarily Fla, Bama, UT, and LSU is the dawg’s willingness to put up with long periods of mediocrity.
Georgia went 20 years without an sec title 1982-2002. That is unheard of to folks in Tuscaloosa, LSU, and Knoxville. 2 sec titles and zero national titles in 28 years would never be tolerated at Bama, UT, or LSU. Especially Alabama where they have a million mini George Steinbrenners. They would fire 5 or 10 coaches till they find the right one to win it all. Idiotic it seems but the point is that they flat out demand excellence.
That is the difference in wanting excellence(UGA fans) and demanding excellence (bama, LSU, or Florida fans). That demand for excellence is the reason why Les Miles is on the hot seat for a 9-4 season and Richt is not after a 8-5 season. It should be noted that Miles had 3 straight 11 win seasons and a national title while Richt as I mentioned just went 8-5 and is a mere 10-10 against the sec east the last 4 years. Everyone gets upset ala Bama-La Monroe. But no excuse for several upset losses such as losing twice to Vandy and losing to Kentucky in 4 years with such an enormous disparity in talent. His domination by Meyer alone is reason enough to be on the hot seat.
Bianchi has some good points and some absurd points. Overall he is just the florida version of the bombthrower Finebaum.
ga gator
July 23rd, 2010
1:56 pm
Dont be so upset Dawg lovers; this jackass slams UF all the time too.
Michael
July 23rd, 2010
2:00 pm
Florida’s on a 20 year run that may not end, but before that they lost 6 total games to my alma mater Mercer and were essentially as good as South Carolina is now. Did this “journalist” just graduate?
Ryan
July 23rd, 2010
2:00 pm
Hahaha, man UGA fans are so sensitive. Congratulations on owning the better overall record agains Florida. UGA really dominated in the 1930s and 40s.
Roy D. Mercer
July 23rd, 2010
2:01 pm
Florida paper just has to go after the Dawgs because they know we have a big fan base and just because you win two NC doesn’t make you God or as Lebron would say the King. Got create news and draw attention. I have been a Dawg fan for 50 years and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Let Florida enjoy it now, they have been the better team, but the Dawgs have never been overrated like you say. I see why Lebron went to Fla, the state stuck on itself!
ga gator
July 23rd, 2010
2:01 pm
Neutral observer; your post is pretty accurate with one exception; since I was born in 1952 (a lot more than 20 years ago) UF owns the head to head with UGA.
Twilb Dawg
July 23rd, 2010
2:02 pm
Hillarious. The guy is a well known Gator fan. His analysis is crap.
UGA has 12 Conf Titles, including 2 in last 9 years. UGA has the 3r most in SEC history. 1 behind UT and well behind Bama. Yet well ahead of UF and everyone else in the Conf (including 0 by USCe who has ONE conf title EVEr in 1969 in the ACC).
He is trying to stir up the Dawg fans and get some traffic to his site.
How about the fact that until Texas’s last title they had gone 40+ years between titles, OSU went several decades between titles, and so on.
JUNK. But the Gators and Nerds love it.
Oh Well, anybody with any CFB knowledge will write this guy off!
Roy D. Mercer
July 23rd, 2010
2:03 pm
I did not mean the state of Florida stuck on itself, I meant to say the Florida paper stuck on itself! I have many friends and family in Florida and by the way you got a damn good baseball coach from Clemson.
who cares
July 23rd, 2010
2:03 pm
this article could have been ghostwritten by j.schultz just to get a rise out of georgia fans.
you can either get all upset or just ignore it.
but, as usual, the media rings the bell and the espn, pavlov conditioned zombies start drooling and moaning right on schedule.
i hear the cash register ringing in all the money for the attention this is getting. ain’t making us none…..but we keep getting sucked in.
old timer
July 23rd, 2010
2:04 pm
Jejj Schultz is the Bianchi of the A>J>C.
HugoStiglitz
July 23rd, 2010
2:04 pm
Sounds about right. Its pretty consistent with what everyone else outside of Georgia thinks of the program.
ugaclassof2004
July 23rd, 2010
2:04 pm
Gator Bait 17-3
Bianchi really thinks UGA would be like South Carolina? He clearly hasn’t done his homework. UGA had good teams in the late 60’s and the 70’s, teams that took the Gators to the woodshed on a regular basis. The 1976 Team that played in National Title Game did so without Herschel Walker. And the Lindsey Scott play was not a fluke play, it was just well executed. Now the David Pollack INT vs. USC in 2002: THAT was a fluke play! UGA also had a nice little run in 2002-2005. Were ALL of those games flukes? Of course not! And I can’t seem to remember UGA ever having an 0-11 season like USC did in 1999. I realize this guy doesn’t respect UGA, and after the way the Dawgs have face planted against the Gators the last 2 seasons I don’t blame him. But to say UGA would be a perennial 5-6 win team without Herschel Walker, like USC has been through their entire history; just isn’t accurate.
old timer
July 23rd, 2010
2:05 pm
jeff
2010-2011
July 23rd, 2010
2:05 pm
Gators > Bulldogs
ugaclassof2004
July 23rd, 2010
2:05 pm
Bianchi really thinks UGA would be like South Carolina? He clearly hasn’t done his homework. UGA had good teams in the late 60’s and the 70’s, teams that took the Gators to the woodshed on a regular basis. The 1976 Team that played in National Title Game did so without Herschel Walker. And the Lindsey Scott play was not a fluke play, it was just well executed. Now the David Pollack INT vs. USC in 2002: THAT was a fluke play! UGA also had a nice little run in 2002-2005. Were ALL of those games flukes? Of course not! And I can’t seem to remember UGA ever having an 0-11 season like USC did in 1999. I realize this guy doesn’t respect UGA, and after the way the Dawgs have face planted against the Gators the last 2 seasons I don’t blame him. But to say UGA would be a perennial 5-6 win team without Herschel Walker, like USC has been through their entire history; just isn’t accurate.
76-Dawg
July 23rd, 2010
2:06 pm
Florida likes to play the mind game. They try and put doubt into UGA players heads. Last year it worked to perfection. UGA was beaten before they even started the game. You could tell during the 1st quarter that UGA was intimidated and had doubts as to whether they deserved to be on the field with Florida. The coaches acted the same way. Georgia needs to do two things to change the FLA. outcome 1st , they need to get mentally tough and 2nd they need to get the hell out of Jacksonville.
Brent
July 23rd, 2010
2:09 pm
I’m not sure Georgia is overrated, but there can be no question that historically they underperform (as had Florida before Spurrier…what was it Coach Bryant said? “If they ever get anyone who can coach down there we’re ALL in trouble”). The infrastructure for high school football talent in this state, while not as lush as California, Texas, or Florida, is at least as strong as those in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Georgia should do better than they do, but they either can’t keep their talent at home or they can’t coach up the kids they get.
So what is controversial about this?
July 23rd, 2010
2:09 pm
It is what it is. Funny that Georgia fans can’t see it for what it is.
Back in the days of the Slide Rule
July 23rd, 2010
2:10 pm
Them Bulldogs must have been something before electricity!!
a gator fan
July 23rd, 2010
2:12 pm
yeah this bianchi guy is way off base…even spurrier claims up to the fact uf couldnt touch uga back in the day….uga>>fsu
Sid Hill
July 23rd, 2010
2:14 pm
I’m neither a UGA nor a UF fan, so maybe you could call me neutral in this fight. But I’m an old (67) fan and as I recall, prior to Spurrier taking over as coach, Florida never did much in the SEC. I guess when you talk about “history,” it depends on how you pick the dates.
1979-2011
July 23rd, 2010
2:16 pm
GATORS=WEENIES
Gordon
July 23rd, 2010
2:17 pm
The answer to someone like Bianchi is to shut up and go prove it on the field. I’m a Tech fan, and I tell my Tech friends to stop whining about the things UGA people say about us or use the academic argument and just prove it on the field. When a team beats you 17 out of 20 times and wins 3 national championships as well, they can say what they want. UGA has been nearly as dominant over Tech (15 out of 20), so they can say what they want as well. Prove it on the field.
GTfan53
July 23rd, 2010
2:19 pm
As a Tech fan, I do think that UGA Football may be a little overrated in the minds of UGA fans, but I would think even hope that the same could be said about any college program. UGA has a rich history of high quality sports programs in most areas and one of the best Football traditions in the country. Richt is class individual and a quality coach.
I do hate to see all the squabbles between DAWG and Gator fans. After all, if weren’t for Gator fans, DAWG fans would be the most obnoxious fans in the country. (You didn’t think I could go too long without some kind of dig at you guys.)
sunny purdue
July 23rd, 2010
2:20 pm
The dogs only seem to remember the 70’s and 80’s. They forget the 50’s and 60’s when FL owned the series.
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth..
July 23rd, 2010
2:20 pm
Georgia was relevant. Just thought I’d summarize what the Georgia fans are saying in this blog. So what if they’ve been irrelevant for most of the last 30 years? They were great back before color TV.
Get Real
July 23rd, 2010
2:24 pm
When a newspaper constantly prints ignorant columns they destroy their credibility. I’d say that rag is well on their way to becoming equal to the National Inquirer. Just another example of gator arrogance.
Spike
July 23rd, 2010
2:25 pm
I’m with Sweat Socks. Either start beating the Gators, or be prepared for all the trash talking.
g8rh8r
July 23rd, 2010
2:27 pm
Yep, it’s pretty funny how Gator fans are able to switch off their memories to coincide with the arrival of Spurrier. Guess what, swamp suckers, you did, in fact, have a football program prior to visor-boy. And even with the Gator’s dominance since then, UGA still leads the series by 7 games. Maybe it’s because the majority of Gator fans are bandwagon jumpers who have no ties to UF whatsoever.