Mike Bobo and Mark Richt aren’t why Georgia lost to Auburn
Auburn might have had more sacks had it not been for Aaron Murray's scrambling ability. (Associated Press)
Some more thoughts on Georgia’s loss to Auburn. …
As I mentioned briefly Saturday night, you can quibble with some of Mike Bobo’s calls in the game against the Tigers, particularly when he tried things (I’m thinking Branden Smith in the wildcat or screen passes to the short side of the field on third-and-long) that seemed to have much less of a chance of working than simply throwing it in A.J. Green’s direction.
And while Auburn hitman Nick Fairley (I feel the need for Purell hand sanitizer after just typing his name) is more than a handful to block, the Dogs’ pass protection faltered a bit too often Saturday. The Dogs only gave up four sacks, but that amount might have been close to doubled had it not been for Aaron Murray’s elusiveness and scrambling ability. And besides taking a lot of late hits, Murray was hurried on some key plays, like the too-high pass to Kris Durham in the end zone late in the third quarter when one of the backs missed his block.
And, yes, you can question Mark Richt running out the final 50-odd seconds of the first half rather than trying to get some more points. Perhaps he also should have been a bit more forceful in warning his kickoff return team about the possibility of an on-side kick to open the second half. And, frankly, I think he blinked in the eye-to-eye confrontation with Auburn when he called for a field goal at the end of the third quarter. When you’re in a shootout with an offense that eats up clock, you have to make the most of every possession you get.
But overall Bobo and the Georgia offense were what kept the Dogs in the game, and with the exception of the on-side kick I don’t think Richt and company got outcoached by Gene Chizik.
The reason Georgia lost against Auburn was pretty much the same reason the Dogs have lost five other games: The defense just isn’t up to current SEC or past UGA standards.
And this isn’t a complaint about Todd Grantham’s schemes. It didn’t matter what signals he called Saturday against the Tigers defense, the players on the field simply weren’t capable of stopping Cam Newton and company. The lack of a nose guard able to take control of the line of scrimmage has pretty much submarined Grantham’s attempt to install his 3-4 defense this year and unless Georgia manages to scrounge up a big JUCO player, I wonder how much better it’ll be next year.
Of course, nobody has really stopped Newton, so I’ll give them that. But as a frustrated Justin Houston lamented after the game, the Tigers did a lot of damage with players other than Newton running the reverse, including gashing the Dogs for 31 yards one time and 48 yards another time. Houston blamed “blown assignments” and defenders not being “where they were supposed to be,” adding, “Some guys weren’t as focused as they need to be and it hurt us. It’s been hurting us all season.”
Indeed it has, especially in the secondary, where Georgia’s safety play has been consistently poor. Bacarri Rambo may have snagged a key interception on a tipped ball Saturday, but otherwise his play was tentative much of the evening. And while I suppose it was to be expected that Georgia would be keying on the run since that’s Auburn’s bread and butter (that’s all they did in the third quarter), the Dogs defenders seemed to completely forget that Newton also can throw the ball. He ended up completing 12 of 15 passes (80 percent) for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and that was with a couple of drops in the first half by wide-open receivers.
Come to think of it, on just about all Auburn’s completions the receiver was open. You expect that sort of thing early in the season after a new defense has been installed. But when it’s still happening in the 11th game, you have to conclude the folks out on the field mostly just aren’t capable of getting it done.
Finally, a couple of observations on the way our so-called “country cousins” at Auburn handled this major rivalry game. Afterward, Chizik might have declared himself “disappointed” and “not happy” about two of his players getting ejected when tempers started to flare late, but as I noted in my previous blog he seemed to be doing anything but trying to keep his players’ emotions in check on the sideline.
And then there was the reaction of the Auburn fans when Georgia linebacker Reuben Faloughi went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter, resulting in the Tigers’ hurry-up game getting slowed down momentarily.
They booed the hurt player.
Really classy. War damn eagle, indeed.
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636 comments Add your comment
AU, were cheating just comes natural, always has, always will.
November 15th, 2010
8:47 am
Enter your comments here
1983AUTiger
November 15th, 2010
8:47 am
JB – after seeing your defense Saturday, I would be worried about the Georgia program. We will be just fine.
AU, were cheating just comes natural, always has, always will.
November 15th, 2010
8:47 am
NCAA Hammer coming…..Can’t wait to see Cam blow them kisses…..
1983AUTiger
November 15th, 2010
8:48 am
JB – after watching your defense Saturday night, you have your own problems to worry about.
Good post Mark
November 15th, 2010
8:48 am
Richt is the King of Hypocrites.
JB
November 15th, 2010
8:49 am
1983AuTiger… got news for you….without the hired gun on your team, you’re nothing special, maybe 7-5
1983AUTiger
November 15th, 2010
8:51 am
I have never seen as many hyprocrites as are coming out of the woodwork. Four years ago we had to sit and watch Knowshon Marion intentionally try to humiliate Auburn. Dancing on the sidelines and running his mouth non stop at any Auburn player he could find. Where was the outrage then?
I have a new puppy
November 15th, 2010
8:51 am
I have been trying to come up with a name for my sons new puppy. I finally came up with Georgia, because all she does is whine.
1983AUTiger
November 15th, 2010
8:52 am
JB – Do you have any proof that Cam has taken money? If so you need to turn it over to the NCAA. If not get some new freaking talking points.
I have a new puppy
November 15th, 2010
8:52 am
1983AUTiger
Brandon Spikes sure shut his pie hole up in 2008 when he slammed his sorry but down on the first play in the game.
Dog in Athens
November 15th, 2010
8:59 am
Our line is substandard, I truly don’t think it’s the kid’s fault, they are a talented bunch. I think Searles is not putting them in a good position to jell by starting a different crew every week, and moving them around to different positions constantly. Our running backs are vastly, and I mean vastly overrated. Caleb or Washaun would only be able to start for maybe 5 or 6 teams in the SEC. I know they would be helped by having room to run, but a great back, i.e. Moreno, gets yards whether he has huge holes or not.
Defensively, Rambo has not been the same since having his lights turned out against Auburn last year. I can’t really fault the kid, being knocked out on the field is hard to get over. Watching him run alongside Newton from the five yard line to the end zone on Auburn’s first touchdown is hard to get over, as well. No nose tackle worth his JUCO salt is coming to Georgia when there are other, more productive teams out there to play with. Perhaps Bean Anderson can stay healthy. He is a perfect body type to play the spot. I just truly worry what our O is going to do next year with no AJ.
And, ONCE AGAIN, the excuse coming out of spring ball will be ;our O line is awfully young’. This happens every couple of years, and the coaches seem unable to prepare for it. I like CMR, big fan, but his staff seems overwhelmed at times. Perhaps we’re just on a bad run of luck, but I really think his leash has got to be tightened to the ‘one more year’ point. Bottom line is you can’t pay a coach 2.5 -3 mil a year and go 6-6 for very long.
Jborodawg
November 15th, 2010
9:08 am
“…. Justin Houston lamented after the game, the Tigers did a lot of damage with players other than Newton…Houston blamed “blown assignments” and defenders not being “where they were supposed to be,” adding, “Some guys weren’t as focused as they need to be and it hurt us. It’s been hurting us all season”….especially in the secondary, where Georgia’s safety play has been consistently poor…Dogs defenders seemed to completely forget that Newton also can throw the ball. He ended up completing 12 of 15 passes (80 percent)…”
What’s all that got to do with, “…lack of a nose guard…”?
WarEagle
November 15th, 2010
9:23 am
It was a great win for my Auburn team on Saturday, however, what has been lost has been the play of Aaron Murray. I would be excited as a Dawg knowing this talented QB will be around for at least a few good years, he’s probably the best young QB in the NCAA for years to come; I think the Dawg defense will be much better next year; both GT and UGA have new defensive systems that will take some some to implement, we’ll see.
WarBeagle
November 15th, 2010
9:27 am
Auburn has a good team this year, but after Newton leaves it might be a struggle.
Too bad about the cheapshots/illegal hits by Farley. Even worse about those AU fans defending it…fools galore.
jb52
November 15th, 2010
9:28 am
we pay are head coach $64k a week our DC $750,000 a year….. we have 8 strength and conditioning coaches on staff and 3 chaplains (one of which is CMR brother in-law)….. we lead the conferance in off the field problems….. and we look confused and out of shape against everyone we play…… I have seen Zero inprovement with this team this year…. except the Murry Kid he has gotten better all year, but he was pretty good to start with…… it is a real shame because UGA has got the talent to win at a high level….. but if we are going to have all these high dollar payrolls at UGA then we need to start holding them accountable for the product they put on the field…… and I am not blaming the kids at all, this season falls on the coaching staff.
jcatl
November 15th, 2010
9:28 am
Malzhan > Grantham, and has better players to run his game plan. Some of the pass plays to Lutzenkirchen in the end zone were possible because excellent play calling and execution put defenders out of position. Cam Newton will win the Heisman and if he stays healthy be a force in the NFL.
WarBeagle
November 15th, 2010
9:29 am
“I have a new puppy” I have a new name for Farley. “Punk a$$ thug”. Because he is a cheapshot fool that you call racial epitats if he weren’t on your team.
jcatl
November 15th, 2010
9:29 am
I should add that Aaron Murry is a helluva QB and will be great in a few years. Patience, Dawgs.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
9:32 am
Bill great article , from the pre game announcement that Cam was starting and the Barners gleeful reaction the mood was set. Cam a great player and from his playing to the crowd to his play on the field he was just superb. Cam is not the reason so many UGA fans are so p.o’d about this game, in the end we lost to a better all around team, its the again classless way the rest of the Auburn team and coaches played..hell Cam was a model opponent compared to his coach. That being said I hope the kid is clean and Auburn gets to keep this years record intact winning record intact..they have sold their souls to get it. The more Auburn wins the more the Chiz acts like a school house bully and encourages his players to follow his lead.
SavDawg
November 15th, 2010
9:32 am
I beg to differ on Bobo and Richt. Let’s see. Rinning out of the I formation and throwing the ball deep, we’re up 21-7. All of a sudden it’s shotgun and mayhem ! What ever happened to ” I’ll keep doing this until you stop it ? “. I do agree about to offensive line. They are fat, sloppy and out of shape. A major disappointment this year.
jcatl
November 15th, 2010
9:35 am
how2fish – Chizik may really believe that Newton and Auburn are innocent of any recruiting violations and this may contribute to the intensity that he’s showing on the sideline. The media has already tied the noose when the NCAA has yet to even investigate Auburn. Read between the lines on Mike Slive’s statement the other day.
collegeballfan
November 15th, 2010
9:41 am
King, it sounds like you believe you know more about football than Richt and Bobo ever thought about knowing.
When Richt is fired, you will publicly submit your application as his replacement immediately; or you do not have a pair.
Dogs Smell
November 15th, 2010
9:44 am
Mitch you are right on. I noticed that as well. Georgia was choop blocking , Georgia players ran on the filed, Auburn players stood on the sidelines while the coaches did their job. Richt was busy yelling at the refs and on Monday Georgia fans once again are making excuses !
atlvol55
November 15th, 2010
9:44 am
Bill, your criticism is way off and shows a very limited memory.
Lets review some of UGA’s antics on the field the last few years.
1. 2001, UGA jumping on the “T” in the middle of Neyland Stadium after win.
2. The classless Larry Munson talking about putting a nail through the throat of Tennessee players after the game.
3. UGA players doing the “Souja Boy” dance throughout the entire third quarter against Auburn a couple of years ago.
4. The endzone celebration against Florida in 2007
5. Mocking Hawaii’s dance in the Sugar Bowl.
6. Knowsheon popping up and strutting every time he had a three yard run.
Yeah Bill; Richt and his UGA boy’s have always shown a lot of class to their opponents.
JB
November 15th, 2010
9:46 am
By the way…..From this Dawg Fan….Congrats to South Carolina…….Good year guys……
$750,000!!!!
November 15th, 2010
9:46 am
Grantham should be given a huge raise to $850,000 in 2011! He’s a genius—remember: he used to coach in the NFL!!!!!
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
9:46 am
jcatl sorry that dog won’t hunt..he has his players back I got that and I fully agree he should. However he is the coach of a lot more than one player and his actions put them and the UGA players at risk, pumping fuel on a already tense situation. Allowing that “player” to strut around the field acting the way he was a direct challenge to a group of proud young men, that no one got hurt was more luck than design. There was a lot of sympathy for Auburn’s stance on Cam among the UGA nation prior to this game I’m afraid a lot of that has dissipated along with our respect for the Auburn program in general, Auburn has adopted a “us against the world” attitude due to this issue…and the actions of a few coaches and players Saturday has moved that closer to the truth.
Dogs Smell
November 15th, 2010
9:48 am
Georgia , Once again What is Auburn gonna do when Can is gone excuses ! Do tell us what will Ga do next year without A.J and a hand full of others that will be leaving? Dont think you’re gonna be better than UT next year as it looks as though they found a QB who has 3 more years as well and a whole bunch of talent that are in their freshman year. What does Ga’s future look like ?
Auburn Fan
November 15th, 2010
9:58 am
Do you UGA fans see how badly your team behaved? Regardless of what Auburn did, do you really think your team represented itself well? Just one example was the team running on to the field. Those players should be suspended and that is a coaching problem. Lack of control. Personal fouls = 5 for UGA. Your team started it and just was not able to finish.
Pippi LongSausage
November 15th, 2010
10:00 am
Get outta here Bill…..and don’t let the door hit you in the vagina on the way out.
Over Paid BIG TIME
November 15th, 2010
10:00 am
I agree. Coaches have little to do with winning and losing. Bill don’t you agree that Richt should be getting around 7.25 an hour for coaching the Dawgs since they make so little difference? Aren’t we idiots for paying multi-millions to a man that keeps losing more and more games??? Pay him minimum wage and let assistants be volunteer assistants and we likely win 5 games so exactly what are we paying this man to do????
Todd
November 15th, 2010
10:02 am
Damn, you’re regressing again.
Big picture Bill, come on dude. Who gives a crap about the Auburn outcome, point is Ga’s out of the race before they even showed on the plains, yet again.
Question, who’s fault is it for the 1st half performance in Jax, where we lost, thus ending the season as far as winning the SEC East.
How come so many people don’t get the fact that the goal is to get to Atlanta. Most of the time we’re out of the race before we play Auburn under MR>
dixiedawg
November 15th, 2010
10:02 am
I personally think the SEC commissioner should be looking more closely at #90–Fairley and his over aggressiveness. The block he gave Murray in the back would get him thrown out of the game and suspended for most of the season if he did it in the NFL. Why is he getting away with it in college football? Those kind of hits can end a career in a hurry and possible even paralyze the player. I have watched Auburn all year (my husband is a big Auburn Fan) and have seen this over and over from Fairley. His late hits have been called rarely but they are happening almost every play. I have pulled for Auburn when they aren’t playing MY DAWGS but not anymore while Fairley is on the team.
I think Coach Bobo and Rich did an excellent job. I don’t believe either got out coached by Auburn’s coach. If our defense played half as good we would have a winning season. I know we have a new coach–very high paid one at that. We expect to be on top immediately but as we have seen this year it may take another year or so for Georgia to become Defensive Powerhouses. Hopefully we will get some big defensive guys to sign with Georgia for next year.
Bill I love your column and feel this one was right on the money. Keep them coming.
David
November 15th, 2010
10:05 am
I would like to tell Auburn to burn in hell. However, you dawgs whinning is the same ole same ole.
The only justice you will ever get is when you guys beat them. You have low standards when it comes to winning and therefore all you have is girly whinning. Grow a pair Ga and then you can complain about dirty competition. In fact, shame on you for not kicking them in the ass.
monty
November 15th, 2010
10:06 am
I can assure AU trolls that if GA had a #90 who kept driving their Heisman candidate QB into the ground taking 2-3 steps after he released the ball before hitting him, then they would be crying bloody murder on their blog site too (if they even have one). Don’t pretend you wouldn’t. Geesh!!
Grantham missed an excellent opportunity to instill confidence in GA fans that his 3-4 scheme will oneday work but for whatever reasons he couldn’t pull it off. Maybe it was the players, maybe it’s the scheme, I don’t guess it’s Granthams fault when AU receivers are wide open or is it? But it did seem like there was no one within 5 yards of Cam Newton whenever he wanted to run. Couldn’t defend the pass or the run, makes for a long day. Great athlete admittedly but the worse part was that he smiled on every play,never was hit hard or worried at any point.(Invincible)He dictated all day.
Ty
November 15th, 2010
10:06 am
Hey Bill…Maybe you should tell the WHOLE story.
About the player being injured and Auburn fans booing. We booed becuse it was obvious the injured player was going to make it to the sideline to be attended to. The Georgia coaches were on the field screaming at the player to get down to delay the game. We never want to see a plyer injured and the whole crowd clapped several times when Georgia players were injured and got up. But this was a obvious attempt to slow down the game and stop the fast paced offense. Also note that this was done in thew LSU game also.
The late hit on Aaron Murray in the 3rd Q was obvious a late hit and the flag was justified. BUT…lets talk abou the ejections and what led up to that. How about the chop block early in the game and the other two that were missed all against Nick Fairly. Also please look at around the 13:30 mark in the 3rd Q and the kidney shot Cam takes. Also look why Mike Blanc threw hi punch…Look at what happened to Nick Fairly on the play. Just saying PLEASE tell the whole story!!!
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
10:06 am
Auburn Fan how many Tiggers would have been on the bench if Justin Houston has repeatably tried to hurt Cam Newton? Right didn’t think so..moron you started the game with 2 personal foul penalties..and we started it?
RussDawg
November 15th, 2010
10:08 am
Bottom Line
Game was lost when Coaches called for the FG at end of 3rd
We hadn’t stopped them all day and up till then They weren’t stopping UGA
UGA stopped themselves with that call, took all the wind out of it.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:09 am
They can try all they want to defend themselves for their actions, but it just doesn’t matter. On Saturday, everyone saw how classless the Auburn program really is. What a bunch of low-lifes.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:11 am
I agree Russ. I was saying we had to go for it at that point. What in the world did we have to lose? Richt definitely blinked and all our mo was gone ..
monty
November 15th, 2010
10:11 am
DOgs Smell-”Georgia was choop blocking , Georgia players ran on the filed”
Just another AU grad who didn’t attend classes!
SEC whiners
November 15th, 2010
10:14 am
If Fairley wore red & black, you dawg fans would kiss the ground he walked on and write a song about him hunkering down.
It hurts to get punched in the face and have no answer but to dogpile on number 90. Then unleash the rest of your thugs onto the field. Chizik didn’t even have to restrain his sideline, they were disciplined enough to stay within the lines – maybe thats why they had the 49 to the 31.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:16 am
UGA lost because our D could not stop Newton at all. We are where we are (5-6) because we don’t have any stars or game-changers on the Defensive side of the ball. We must find some D recruits who can play big time college football. Our D can’t keep us in the ballgame right now, and it’s not Grantham’s fault. He doesn’t have the personnel.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:18 am
It hurts to get punched in the face, but it hurts moree to get speared in the back well after the play is over! What an idiot.
SEC whiners
November 15th, 2010
10:18 am
Last I heard uga only signed 4 and 5 star recruits
Auburn Fire Chief
November 15th, 2010
10:20 am
Real classy move, setting Toomers Corner on fire. You mutt fans are the absolute worst in college football.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:21 am
You’re delusional
SEC whiners
November 15th, 2010
10:21 am
“”Real classy move, setting Toomers Corner on fire. You mutt fans are the absolute worst in college football.”"
If you can’t make a statement on the field, I guess you have to make it somewhere
Former Georgian
November 15th, 2010
10:24 am
What is wrong with you people!!! Georgia lost! Get over it and quit making excuses. I was there and the Auburn students only booed after Coach Richt signaled the player not to come off the field. This happened right in front of us and was very obvious. It was a hard hitting game on both sides. Yes there was some things that shouldn’t have happened by BOTH sides. But for a coach to tell his players to retaliate against someone is really low. I grew up going to Georgia games and have many family members that are big time Georgia supporters, and always have wanted Georgia to win. But thes year, GO TECH!!!!!
Freddie
November 15th, 2010
10:25 am
Hiring a mercenary QB for 1 year just reeks of “class”. When I think “Auburn” I think “class”. Especially after watching that classy performance on Saturday!