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
Auburn Police Chief
November 15th, 2010
10:29 am
Our local jail is full of flea bags. We are sending the overflow to Birmingham.
Boss Dawg
November 15th, 2010
10:29 am
Who’s making excuses? The better team on the field won this year, no doubt. Newton is a beast, and we sure weren’t about to stop him. I knew UGa’s only shot was to outscore Auburn but that sure didn’t happen either..
Cheese For Your Whine
November 15th, 2010
10:31 am
You mutts are hilarious. I guess your mamas pulled you off the teet too early in life.
SEC whiners
November 15th, 2010
10:33 am
If Auburn runs the table, it will be funny to hear all the uga fans in January bragging about the SEC taking the national championship again.
What Goes Around
November 15th, 2010
10:34 am
Karma is a BEOTCH
Dontavius Supremo
November 15th, 2010
10:35 am
Excuses…excuses…excuses. This is tiresome.
What Goes Around
November 15th, 2010
10:36 am
Don’t think UGA fans will be bragging there, “whiner”. Why brag about something that’s going to be taken away after the NCAA is through with Auburn?
uga's girl
November 15th, 2010
10:38 am
For those of you AU fans whining about Toomer’s Corner, where is the money I’m owed for 4 different occasions where my windows were broken out by AU fans? Hmmmmmm. And I’m not the only one. It is the one game we now try to take a car with nothing UGA on it. Sad, can’t even proudly have our alumni stickers.
Talk about us whining, geez, “oh precious Toomer’s Corner, which we throw toilet paper on”, blah!!! I think MY total price tag is over $3,000. How much for the burned t.p.? I will pay that if you will pay for my windows. Deal????
What Goes Around
November 15th, 2010
10:38 am
Give SMU a call. They’ve “been there, done that”. They can give you some tips.
CMR
November 15th, 2010
10:39 am
Can’t we all just get along?
gk
November 15th, 2010
10:41 am
UGA has the most classless fans. Auburn fans normally don’t act like that, but when you have players faking injuries to stop the clock and make substitutions…its a problem.
And setting fire to downtown Auburn? Another classless UGA thing.
Its hick UGA fans that never stepped foot in a classroom there that are the problem too
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
10:42 am
That’s all you mutts will ever be. You will NEVER, EVER, EVER win a national college football championship. Deal with it.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
10:45 am
gk son you have a so many fire hoses that you like to use so often we figured we let you use them on something other than our fans.
SEC whiners IF Auburn runs the table and wins the NC I won’t be pulling for them and hell I even pull for the Gators in the NC….in a word you are dead to us.
Seriously
November 15th, 2010
10:49 am
waaaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaa
Poor little crybabies. waaaaaaaaaaa
You lost to a better team. Grow some balls and get over it.
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
10:49 am
@how2fish….I’m so troubled that we are dead to you. That just ruins my day.
Dave
November 15th, 2010
10:50 am
Auburn fans only booed your “hurt” player after the coaches told him to lay on the field to stop the game.
Yeah, that’s right. He was hobbling off the field until the coaches waved emphatically for him to lay down.
TOTAL CLASSLESS ACT BY UGA.
Losers Again
November 15th, 2010
10:51 am
What a bunch of asinine, whiny losers! Bill, stop your whining, and cheer yourself up by pretending that Obama has just won again. Remember how you cried with joy when he first won the presidency. Looks like that has really worked out well for everyone, idiot.
It was a football game, and Auburn just plain beat you! I’m not an Auburn fan, but have been there a number of times and have never run into the redneck, classless hicks that abound in Athens. Auburn stll able to tailgate, and don’t even crap and urinate in their buildings and outside in public.
And you talk about CLASS!
dawgie downer
November 15th, 2010
10:54 am
Auburn is an embarrassment to the SEC. I used to respect the Auburn program but after watching that classy display on Saturday, I now know the real Auburn.
jpdawg
November 15th, 2010
10:56 am
Mitch:
Go back to the dark hole you crawled out of, WAR EAGLE. And take your meth dealer Fairley with you.
OldFan
November 15th, 2010
11:00 am
Oh, that Cam and Fairley were on the Dawg side of the line. What heroes they’d be. Cam would be making CMR a genius, if he wasn’t playing TE, and Fairley would be Pollack with an attitude. All this whining about mean players beating up on our virtuous innocents is disgusting. Play the damn game on the field and whip ‘em next year.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
11:04 am
Pretenders so glad I could sow a little sunshine in your benighted existence.now shut up and go back to watching ESPN for breaking news on the CAMGATE sage..tick tock, tick tock..
dawgie downer
November 15th, 2010
11:05 am
Agree OldFan, just like we did the last 4 years in a row. let’s start a new streak in 2011.
Dogs Smell
November 15th, 2010
11:06 am
Typical Ga fans. Full of excuses because you’re bitter. Lucky to finish @ 6-6 and next year does NOT look to be brighter!
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
11:07 am
OldFan I remember beating the snot out of you guys the past 4 years and NEVER had to try and cripple your QB…and for the record Fairly couldn’t carry David Pollack’s jock..
embarrassing dawgs
November 15th, 2010
11:08 am
AUBURN IS A JOKE IN FOOTBALL HAVING WON ONLY HALF A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN OVER 100 YEARS OF FOOTBALL.6 SEC TITLES . AUBURN IS NOTHING, BUT A WANTER BEES. ALOT OF PEOPLE IN THE US ,DON’T KNOW WHERE AUBURN IS? !!!WAR CASH EAGLE!!!
Dawg73
November 15th, 2010
11:10 am
Looks like Alec Ogletree forgot the meaning of safety. When the other team runs a play action pass you don’t bite on the run and then leave the receiver wide open for a touchdown. There’s a reason they call the position safety.
5150 P.O.A.D
November 15th, 2010
11:13 am
KARMA is coming back on the DAWGS for all the years of DIRTY playing UGA has done for years.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
11:19 am
Dawg73 Alec’s a true freshman in only his second start…he forgot a lot but as UT can tell when you live by the freshman you die by the freshman..
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
11:20 am
You babies need to have your didies changed, your butts powdered and have mommy put you back to bed. Maybe when you wake up from your nap you won’t whine so much.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
11:24 am
Pretenders any news flashes yet on Camgate? Tick Tock…I foresee a ocean of Tigger tears in the near future.
LCDawg
November 15th, 2010
11:28 am
Fairley was NOT blocked into Murray. he lunged at his knee..watch the replays all you clowns who say otherwise. I also liked Cam Newton’s punch that they called a stiff arm. Oh well…it will only be a matter of
before we get the win as a forfeit.
Dogs Smell
November 15th, 2010
11:28 am
Will you dog fans ever just admit you got beat? Why do you wonder why anyone who doesnt wear rose colored glasses hate you ? You’re full of excuses and you always live in that 1980 past !
droopydawg
November 15th, 2010
11:37 am
Bacarri should be required to change his name back to Fudd the way he has been playing this year. You have to earn the name Rambo, son, and you clearly have not done it.
I agree, Bill, that the problem this year has not been the schemes on defense (really offense either). Our players (especially on both lines and the safeties) seem slower and weaker than every team we play. Hell, I would trade our O-Line with any team we have played (including the Ragin Cajuns and ID ST). They are pathetic.
Safeties and the lines, not the coaches. You hear that Dawg fans?
droopydawg
November 15th, 2010
11:38 am
Also, Fairley and Chizik are objectively bad human beings.
Ceasar
November 15th, 2010
11:39 am
You just refuse to recognize the curse of the “red panties”!! We never had a chance>>>
droopydawg
November 15th, 2010
11:39 am
Hey , AU fans: How does it feel to know that this could be your third undefeated season in the last 17 years in which you do not get an NC (and the second time because of rampant cheating)?
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
11:42 am
Now, now puppies, go to sweepy. Maybe you will feel better when you wake up.
Murray
November 15th, 2010
11:44 am
Nobody knows dee trouble I see, nobody knows but me.
CMR
November 15th, 2010
11:44 am
Anybody seen my hair gel?
Mike Boo Boo
November 15th, 2010
11:45 am
Coach, I’ll be late for practice today. I gotta stay home and make another baby.
TrueBlue
November 15th, 2010
11:47 am
I blame this loss on Bobo….after scoring 21 points from throwing the ball you go to running the ball in the 2nd half is way beyond me…
Bobo is clueless.
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
11:51 am
Waaaa Waaaa Waaaaaa
Pretenders
November 15th, 2010
11:51 am
@how2fish ….. Cam News Flash ………….. he stomped the flea bags.
Alabama Jack
November 15th, 2010
11:55 am
You really need more cheese with all your whine.
T-Bone
November 15th, 2010
12:02 pm
Ga fans set trees on fire at Toomer’s Corner–and that’s classy?
Arrest after arrest–and that’s classy?
A former AD with red panties on his lap and alcohol on his breath–and that’s classy?
A DC giving the opposing team the choke sign–and that’s classy?
OldFan
November 15th, 2010
12:03 pm
how2fish—I may be an old fart UGA grad, but I’ve also been a Dawg fan for 45 years. These things get settled on the field. Our heroes are their bums when the uniforms are different. Can’t imagine that surprises anyone. This game is over, the refs made–or didn’t make–the calls. When you lose 6 games, you’ve lost the right to complain about anything the other team does. Learn from this, get better, and stop whining about how unfair life is. If the players can’t deal with dirty play on the field, then this isn’t the same game I remember.
how2fish
November 15th, 2010
12:04 pm
Pretenders that is the truth we could not stop him..in a game that very well have never been played when its all said and done just like Auburn’s season..Cam was the one class act on the Auburn sideline during the game…
At the Game
November 15th, 2010
12:05 pm
UGA fans are by far the worst in the entire SEC. I have been to every Auburn home game this entire year and there are none remolely close to as terrible as Georgia. Georgia fans need to learn to learn to cheer FOR THEIR TEAM not just against the opponent. In Auburn we stand behind our team and cheer for them relentlessly. All UGA fans do run their mouth, all game long instead of cheering their defense on on big 3rd downs, they talk trash about Auburn. Maybe that has something to do with the loss. Poor fair weather fan base. Unreal.
No More Excuses
November 15th, 2010
12:08 pm
UGA you are 5-6. Stop trash talking! After the game still talking trash. Excuse after Excuse after Excuse. Enough already accept that you are a mediocre team this year and quit blaming EVERYONE else.
5150 P.O.A.D
November 15th, 2010
12:17 pm
So Durham & Barnhart
Just said on the radio that the SEC will not Suspend ANY UGA player that broke the rules in the Fight and Rushing the Field during the Auburn v UGA game.
The SEC is a JOKE. They make rules and don’t even act like they matter.
UGA quit whinning about AUBRUN breaking the RULES and going after your QB unless you want Most of your starting O and most of your starting D to have to sit the TECH game. You had too many players break the rules rushing the field.
UGA fans will love the TECH game. It kicks at 7:45 on ESPN. Thank God I don’t go to Athens anymore. All the DRUNK UGA fans are the worst. Don’t even think there is another SEC teams fans that are as CLASSLESS as DRUNK DAWGS.