Dogs’ bowl showing pretty much sums up the season: Lousy
Aaron Murray saved his worst game of the season for the Liberty Bowl. (Associated Press)
A mediocre season came to a pathetic end for the Georgia Bulldogs Friday as a talent-loaded SEC offense that had prided itself on regularly scoring 30 or more points a game failed to even score a single touchdown against Central Florida of Conference USA.
Unlike most of the rest of the year, Aaron Murray, wearing gloves in a game for the first time this season, looked every bit the freshman in the Liberty Bowl, throwing two interceptions and nearly throwing two or three more picks.
An offensive line that had underperformed most of the season turned in one of its worst outings, especially in the second half.
And playcaller Mike Bobo made no sustained attempt to establish a running game, allowing the Knights to blanket the Dogs’ receivers for much of the day when they weren’t blitzing Murray as he searched in vain for an open man.
Of course, maybe Bobo was taking a cue from his boss, Mark Richt, who in the first quarter apparently had such little faith in his ground attack that on fourth and inches at the 2 yard line he elected to kick a field goal rather than go for the first down and potentially the touchdown.
That capped off the Dogs’ best drive of the day, which featured a pretty nice mix of run and pass. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the day Georgia rested its hopes mainly on the passing of Murray, who never looked comfortable. The Dogs did manage a decent drive to open the second half but it bogged down, resulting in another field goal.
And that was pretty much it offensively for the Bulldogs.
Most of the pre-game talk had centered on the two teams’ freshman phenom quarterbacks, but thanks to rusty-looking offenses and a pair of turnovers each, the game settled into a defensive struggle.
The Knights, however, persevered with their efforts to establish a running game and eventually were able to wear down a Georgia defense that occasionally was guilty of poor tackling (how many times did Bacarri Rambo dive into the dirt at opposing players’ feet?).
Overall, though, Todd Grantham’s defense played well enough to win.
It was the offense that stunk the place up. Yes, UCF has a pretty good defense, coming into the game ranked No. 18 in the country, but Georgia’s uninspired play made them look even more formidable.
The day was summed up pretty well by the drive the Dogs began with a little over 7 minutes left in the game. A good run by Washaun Ealey was negated by an completely unnecessary chop block on the other side of the field, and then on first and 25 Ealey was stuffed. Next play, the woeful line play allowed Murray to be sacked. And then on third and 32, Murray threw the ball out of bounds trying to hit A.J. Green, who probably was playing his last game as a Bulldog.
On that depressing note, I’ll open it up for discussion of the Dogs’ dismal showing in Memphis. I’ll be back Sunday with more thoughts on the game and where the Georgia program goes from here. Until then, I hope everyone has a safe New Year’s celebration.
Oh, one more thing: Aaron, lose the gloves.
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908 comments Add your comment
Bob
January 1st, 2011
7:48 am
I am not a football analysis. In simple words I am the CUSTOMER! The product that I have seen this year on and off the field has caused me to move on to another product. I wish you well.
lucky dog
January 1st, 2011
7:50 am
What is this glove thing with Murry,needs to use bare hands as others do.
I gah-ran-tee 9 wins next year...!
January 1st, 2011
7:55 am
If we can play La. Tech 12 times…..FIRE BOBO!
Larry
January 1st, 2011
7:57 am
McGarity isnt going to do a thing. He was hired from FLORIDA, of all places. He wants UGA to go down hill. Why do you reckon he scheduled Boise St? If Richt stays, i see 4 and 8 or 3 and 9.
GODAWGS
January 1st, 2011
8:03 am
Richt should resign. He should have never have made Mike Dodo OC and has said he has no plans to. Fourth and inches and hes afraid to go for it – oh, I guess that was Dodo decision. As long as Richt is head coach the Dawgs will never be a title contender.
SuperB
January 1st, 2011
8:03 am
Everything you said is on the mark. Our kickoff receiving team also allowed a TD on the opening kickoff– thankfully called back. B. Smith ran a kickoff back what– 5 yards? Trinton Sturdevant was guilty on the chop block. Demarcus Dobbs was offsides– twice! Rambo stood there while a UCF RB ran right by him on one play. Murray and those gloves– what’s up with that? He stunk it up after the opening drive. Too bad CMR had NO backup QB.
Richt HAS to go NOW! I enjoy hearing my pastor on Sunday but I don’t want to pay $50 to watch him coach football on Saturday!
Dougie boy
January 1st, 2011
8:06 am
Enter your comments here
SuperB
January 1st, 2011
8:07 am
If McGarity doens’t have the nads to fire Richt– then let’s fire him! Scheduling ANY non-SEc team ourside Athens and that we can whip– is stupid. Boise? Ohio State? I’ll bet he NEVER ends the contraft to play UF in Jax!!! and playing an away game with UF EVERY year is stupid.
Rosezeee
January 1st, 2011
8:07 am
SORRY, but
I think Richt thought it was fourth and goal when he kicked the field goal rather than fourth and inches. Why else would you not even ask for a measurement?
And think Richt called time out with 3.17 left in the game AFTER the player went out of bounds because he thought the player stayed in bounds. Why else would you waste a time out like that at the end of the game?
Good bye Seniors, and Good Bye Juniors that are worth anything.
Good bye recruits that havent committed.
Why anyone would want to stay around or go to a sorry a$$ program like this is beyond me.
Coach Richt is a simple idiot – - always has been and always will be. Nuf said.
Rosezeee
January 1st, 2011
8:09 am
My New Years resolution – I will NOT go to or watch another UGA so long as Richt is the head coach.
I suggest everyone do the same cause its the only way to force change around UGA.
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
clarke county dogs
January 1st, 2011
8:17 am
play soft
Burning Question
January 1st, 2011
8:19 am
How many TD’s did UGA score yesterday??
Jimnalph
January 1st, 2011
8:26 am
Couldn’t happen to a worse bunch of pompous, sore, arrogant, and rude losers. Love it.
FedDawg
January 1st, 2011
8:28 am
….a lesson should have been learned for all the young Dawgs out there last night; HEART WILL BEAT TALENT……SO FREAKIN FIND IT !!!!
Message to
January 1st, 2011
8:31 am
Unbelievable and I could not believe what I was seeing. Literally a 4th and inches on the opponents 2 yard line, and Richt decides to kick a field goal? A record of 6-6, playing in a lower tier bowl that means nothing and you do not have the guts to try for a 1st down or touchdown? Pathetic, cowardly, stupid, embarrasing. I ask, would Saban, Meyer, Petrino, Miles, Chizik. others…. have made that same call? I am 100% confident in saying NO they would not. To all of them, the decision would have been a ” no decision ” and gone for the 1st down/TD with no hesitation.
Billyboy
January 1st, 2011
8:37 am
Dawg fans are about as smart as Bobo’s play calling. Just think, if Richt goes for the 4th and inches early in the game, and, UGA wins on a last second field goal, then, Dawg fans are claiming they are #1 and have turned the program around by beating O’Leary’s Knights.
Dawg fans then claim, they will beat Boise State to start 2012 and win the SEC thus play in the BCS National Championship game. Then, Richt can land a lifetime $10million a year contract.
But, everyone knows football is just a game of inches.
Hike!!!
January 1st, 2011
8:38 am
No improvement from start to finish this season with this team. They must be the worst “blocking” team i’ve ever seen, hence no running game. If Ealy manages to get past the line, he gets nailed by the nearest defender. Pathetic… all that talent and can’t even score a touchdown against CF !!!!
Please everyone… boycott the games until he either resigns or gets fired. What is going to happen in the meantime is Bobo will be “replaced” as OC hoping that will be enough of a change to keep his job.
That’s not good enough for me, but it will be for the AD. Send a message….
CenterofMass
January 1st, 2011
8:52 am
in the “big picture”…football is a passion, but, really-let’s face it-long term, the emotions of short-term losses, failures, etc. fade away. I do not excuse the total destruction of our once heralded program.
Years past, we had lesser talent who played with more passion under the leadership of passionate coaches. Think about Dooley/Erk Russell teams: often lesser talent, but more passion from players who didn’t need to be “baby sat”. I dare say, sometimes teams win in spite of their coaches. During Mark’s earlier years this was the case because he inherited good players.
What UGA needs now is a “George Patton”, kick *** field General, not some arm-chair Washington based bureaucrat who really doesn’t understand that we’re in a “war”. We don’t need any “community organizers” to lead our “troops” while we’re under siege…think about it..
Our institutions of “higher learning” are now nothing more than an integral part of the social engineering machine which attempts to fix the symptoms and not the problem. Let’s be honest…follow the money; after all is said and done, “the root of all evil, is the love of money”.
Dawg Dan
January 1st, 2011
8:53 am
Same team, same coaches, same result. We are the bottom tier of the SEC.
Show me the money
January 1st, 2011
8:54 am
“They came out with some pretty good schemes to keep me intact,” Green said. “They had a real good game plan for me. They kept me in front of them and just contained me real well.”
Green really gets it. It’s all about him.
Good riddance to this money grubber.
WarEagle
January 1st, 2011
8:55 am
The Tech fans are being unbelievably kind to you on this blog. Sure doesn’t look like the piling on you did on their blogs.
Chillahill43
January 1st, 2011
8:55 am
I just had the wurst dream Auntie Em. It was so real we wuz in Memphis and this litlle nobody team from Disney Wurld done rode they brooms up here and well you were in it Mr Scare Crow. And You to Mr Tin man and Mr Lion. And well the smallest of all Dawgs, Toto, wuzz there too. ( Cause my real dawg could forsee the smack down so he wuzz “sick”.) Golly gee we wuz Looking for A Brain. And. A heart and well we wuzz looking for courage too. And you know Auntie Em we never found any of those. But we did find a bunch of Munch kins and you know they
just beat the crap out of each of us. You know Auntie Em. We had no defense for them munchkins. So my real beyatch BoBo. Said we could go in offense but well that didnt work either Auntie Em. And then they just kept coming and coming oh it was SO REAL. Auntie Em . If only we had some magic. RED. Shoes. We wouldda! I mean we shouldda! Well I’m pretty sure we couldda. Oh so real. So so real. Well at least Im Home now.. That was just surreal ( or so real) Auntie Em. But I did learn one thing Auntie Em… We suck away and at home….
Glass house
January 1st, 2011
8:55 am
Novel idea…maybe UGA’s “talent” is overrated. At UGA it’s always somebody elses fault…the coaches, the strength dept, the officials, the other team cheated, blah blah blah…”we got the best players anywhere” blah blah blah. Maybe some other teams have great players, too
legionaire
January 1st, 2011
8:56 am
Richt appears to be doing things to make it easy for McGarity to fire him. Why would you drive 95 yards and settle for a field goal. It was the 1st quarter in a meaningless game. Why keep trying to pass without some help with the running game? Why not play backups if the starters are just going thru the motions? I think Richt wants out but is too proud to just resign.
bye richt
January 1st, 2011
8:57 am
time for richt and bozo to go …….. still think kennesaw state is interviewing …… or maybe a weight league program would be a better fit now
Jess
January 1st, 2011
8:58 am
I don’t get the Murray rap; he’s the best frosh QB I’ve ever seen us play and that includes Greene and Zeier. I’m just glad Munson didn’t have to call this game; woulda killed him right off.
Hike!!!
January 1st, 2011
8:59 am
Centerofmass
I think you are on the wrong blog.
We are not talking about Obama…..try Jay Bookman’s blog…you will, unfortunately, find people there that also spew that nonsense.
Jos
January 1st, 2011
8:59 am
10-6 Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Sanford Drive is having Knightmares Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha UCF – Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Colorado ( 4 and 7 but a least beat uga) Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. What a great year to be a dawg Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha .Even UGA didn’t have the stomach to watch you losers Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Our cup runneth over...
January 1st, 2011
9:01 am
How many players arrested so far this year? Come on guys, the Fulmer/Richt Cup can be ours again with some effort on your part!
Chillahill43
January 1st, 2011
9:06 am
Hey leg humpers. Follow the yellow brick road.. Youll find the wizard behind the Curtain- Oh he77 never mind.. He’s right there in front of you ..Or Wait is he in a Ford Truck? Hey honey say ” heartless gutless pathetic bunch of whining beyatches”. Then go get me some water so I can
drop off this Ton of Money I done stole from them fine wanttabee THUGA fans.
Really nice showing from the SEC Least 0-3. Well the real SEC starts playing today.. You pathetic bunch of losers do what your forefathers did. Look WEST ( SEC west) that is. Born in GA, Live GA, Love GA – ya’ll have turned the state institution into the Laughing Stock Great job. – A friggin college from Disney. – pathetic bunch everyone of you from Adams to the Water girl. Pathetic!!!
CenterofMass
January 1st, 2011
9:06 am
Hike, you’re the only one mentioning obama. if you don’t understand the analogy to war & leadership, then I can’t help you. Part of the problem is simpletons like you.
Big Ten
January 1st, 2011
9:06 am
The bowl games have obviously exposed the SEC as frauds. Pathetic.
Show me the money
January 1st, 2011
9:10 am
If I’m the high bidder for A.J. Green’s stuff on eBay, does the bid include him autographing the stuff, or does he charge extra for that? I need to know before I bid.
Lagdawg
January 1st, 2011
9:10 am
Just another horrible showing from a HC that does not know how to prepare his team to play football. Dawg fans, open your eyes. The proof is on the field and in the decisions to retain inept coaches. Richt should save us the agony and resign. Why do people think that no school has come calling for any of the coaches on this staff? they all suck and it is time for a change. If McGarrity doesn’t fire Richt, he should be fired. This will be the same story next year if he stays. I have been a Dawgs’ fan for 31 years and this is the worst showing that I have ever seen. You can keep telling yourselves that it will get better, that CMR is a great man. That may be true, but he is not a good head coach and as long as he stays, we will continue to fall to the bottom of college football, not just the SEC. If you are a top recruit, be honest, would you commit to this disaster of a program. This decision needs to be made now and not after next year. If we have to start over, lets get it done now to prepare us for the future. They had four weeks to prepare for this game and it looked like they started preparing on Thurday.
Kaleb King
January 1st, 2011
9:16 am
Did they ever resolve the case where Caleb King borrowed $500 from a female student, then threatened to show nude photos of her if she kept bugging him to pay back the money?
Why does Richt continue to recruit punks like King? Oh, now I remember – it’s to lock in the Fulmer Cup every year!
Woebegong
January 1st, 2011
9:16 am
I am afraid that UGA hurt it’s recruiting very bad last night. The 4th and inches field goal would tell any recruit, what kind of coaching to expect on the offensive end. I have a lot of respect for CMR as a man and he used to have good judgement, get fired up and be an inspiration to his players. Now, I believe, he really would like to be terminated from his head coaching job as he knows he doesn’t have that fire needed anymore. No person in thier right mind is going to walk away from 3 million a year, no matter his desire, or motivation. It is up to the Athletic Director to make the change and we just have to eat up the pay out money. If the situation continues as it most likely will, he will lose a lot more booster money than the payoff he would pay to let CMR go and hire a new coach. One has to question keeping CMR, in keeping his OC alone, but when you see a coach not even able to get fired up, in a bowl game, no matter it’s importance, you can feel it is time for a change. Do you think that the team feels any confidence in the OC, much less the head coach sticking by him? Most of this teams problems can be attrbuted to poor conditioning, poor offensive game plans, uninspired coaching, and poor discipline. If there are no changes made soon, this year will look like a success compared to what is in store for next year. I am a UGA fan till the end, but I was kind of hoping the end would be when I kicked the bucket; Not while I was still alive and watching my dogs play like the end was already there for them. Come on folks in the Admin. of UGA, I am 62 now and want to see a good UGA team before I go. It is a good thing I have many more interest in life than football played by my team. Would be a very long year if not.
derek in philly
January 1st, 2011
9:16 am
What does “talent-loaded SEC offense” offense even mean? As if being in the SEC confers some magical powers to your team that makes them better than everyone else. Fact is, the Bulldogs are just like any other college team regardless of their conference affiliation, and last night they looked average at best. The SEC performance in the bowls so far shows that they are just like any other conference, so let’s stop pretending putting those initials on your field gives your team superpowers.
The "Has-Beens" Between the Hedges
January 1st, 2011
9:19 am
Oh, how I dream of our long past GLORY
Oh, how I dream of our long past GLORY
Now, even little UCF beats us TO(O)
Truly, I long for those days of OLD
Then,Junkyard Dogs, now has-beens of GEORGIA
CASOFF
January 1st, 2011
9:21 am
When CMR was calling the plays it appears that the team was more creative and more original..now that Bobo has been calling the plays there for 10 years its been all downhill…to save your job take charge Coach..its time for BoBo to go…
Tom
January 1st, 2011
9:22 am
Can’t you folks give Central Florida a little credit? Why is it – UGA didn’t to this or that or this player was bad? How about considering that Central Florida is a good team (which they are); has some good players (which they do) and good coaches, and performed well ( which they did)? Give credit where credit is due.
Snake Doc
January 1st, 2011
9:23 am
I woke up this morning hoping to find the headline that says – Richt resigns!
Dang, just wishful thinking I guess. Still, one can dream the impossible dream!
Reality Bites
January 1st, 2011
9:24 am
O’Leary > Donnan + Richt.
dawgma
January 1st, 2011
9:24 am
We took the family to Liberty Bowl to give them a taste of a “formerly” great UGA tradition. Horrible – CMR absolutely coached a pathetic game including the 4th and inches on the 2 FG, the “take it to the dressing room” at the end of the 1st half with 40 seconds to play, the 1st and 25 draw play in the 4th, no imagination for a offensive scheme, no adjustments in the second half, etc, etc.
Team was flat and uninspired (as were the Dawg nation in the stands). CMR has lost the right to coach another year at UGA – he has completely lost control of the football program.
Boise State will beat a CMR coached UGA team next season – no doubt.
The "Has-Beens" Between the Hedges
January 1st, 2011
9:24 am
Don’t you know that Ga fans are legends in their own minds and will never give credit to another team for beating them.
Snake Doc
January 1st, 2011
9:25 am
Tom – I give Central Florida all the credit. They came to play, were well coached, they hustled, and for the most part they played hard nosed smart football. UGA, not so much, actually not one bit!
Reality Bites
January 1st, 2011
9:25 am
BTW assa Tech fan, I REALLY miss O’Leary’s defenses…..ahhh the good ole days…
Snake Doc
January 1st, 2011
9:25 am
Has Been – just proved your theory incorrect!
The "Has-Beens" Between the Hedges
January 1st, 2011
9:25 am
well some Ga fans
Buzzsaw
January 1st, 2011
9:26 am
The Dogs should hire Friedgen as the O-Coordinator. He took mediocre players at Tech and coached them up. I am a Tech Grad and it would really hurt, but it would be a huge hire for a team that needs a better offensive scheme.
Darius
January 1st, 2011
9:26 am
I know last night was a heartbreaker, but cheer up, there are some things for dawgs to celebrate this season.
1. A drunken, whoring athletic director.
2. Twelve players arrested.
3. A player suspended for violating NCAA rules.
4. Winning the Fulmer Cup for the most players arrested.
5. Winning the title of #1 party school (i.e., the most drunken student body in the USA).
6. A sleazy assistant coach who razzes opposing players, unethical coaching conduct in violation of NCAA rules.
7. A super sleazy head coach who thinks he’s a saint, but recruits thug wannabes, gangbangers, and illiterate morons.
8. A 6-6 record despite having a team full of 4- and 5-star recruits.
Really something to be proud of!