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How much patience will the Bulldog Nation show this season?

10:24 am July 26, 2011, by Bill King

How hot will Mark Richt's seat get if the Dogs open with two losses? (Associated Press)

Much of the preseason talk about the Georgia Bulldogs has centered on the high-stakes nature of the first two games against Boise State and South Carolina and how much this ratchets up the temperature under Mark Richt’s seat.

Winning both games would be huge and would probably make the Dogs the early-season Cinderella of the national polls and media pundits, but not too many folks are predicting that.

Most fans I’ve talked to would be pretty satisfied to come out of those opening two games with a split, especially if the win was over the Gamecocks, giving Georgia an edge in the SEC East.

But what if the Dogs lose to both highly ranked opponents?

I’ve lost track of how many observers from outside the Bulldog Nation have put forth the idea that if Georgia starts out the season 0-2 that Richt’s fate will be sealed. I’ve even seen predictions that losing the two opening games would mean he wouldn’t last out the season.

I don’t think that’s the case, however.

Starting out 0-2 would not make fans and alumni happy (especially if the games are not close), but I don’t believe it would be cause for writing off the season. After all, as Richt pointed out Monday night at the Bulldog Club gathering at the Cobb Galleria, Georgia opens with what appears likely to be “the two best teams we play all year.”

Oh, I’m sure the “fire Richt now” crowd would be much in evidence on the blogs and discussion boards, but I think the majority of UGA’s supporters would recognize the high difficulty factor in those two opening games and the fact that, at 0-2, Georgia still could have a pretty terrific season.

But if Richt’s Dogs go 1-4 again, like last year, that would be another matter entirely.

That would mean losses to both Mississippi schools, including Ole Miss, which is expected to be the SEC West’s celllar dweller. At that point, the wheels might well come off the bandwagon and Greg McGarity would be under a lot of pressure to do something about it.

I really don’t think it’s likely to come to that, though. I will be surprised if the Dogs don’t go to Knoxville with a winning record.

How about you? Would 0-2 have you on the ledge, or do you think Richt can “withstand all the stuff that will come,” as he put it, if the Dogs lose to both the Broncos and the Gamecocks?

Got a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.

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433 comments Add your comment

Brown

July 26th, 2011
12:33 pm

Richt lost to Colorado & a Conference USA team last year. How bout that coaching? Now, he’s supposed to open up with 2 top 10 teams? Talk about being in over your head?

IslandDAWG SSI

July 26th, 2011
12:33 pm

Pete, you say your qb lost the game for Boise in 05? he was obviously the best qb on a team that had no business playing the dawgs. Georgia was stacked that year and thats why we won the SEC! Boise has beaten Oklahoma (big 12) Virginia tech (even worse, ACC) and Oregon (Pac 10 or 12). Talk trash when you beat a team from a real conference… THE SEC!!!

GO DAWGS!!!!

reality

July 26th, 2011
12:34 pm

@pete…pretty scary to face the big bad 6-7 Bulldog Nation….BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Chuckwagon

July 26th, 2011
12:37 pm

I think we lose the first two games to two teams with vastly superior coaching staffs, and it will be obvious that we lost the games because of our coaches. After 0-2, Richt’ll lose the team, we’ll finish around .500 and McGarrity will go get his guy. I am a huge fan, but this is the logical way for this to play out. Bummer.

Lowcountry Bulldawg

July 26th, 2011
12:37 pm

All depends on how the teams performs and handles itself those first two weeks. I am not going to bash CMR if we start 0-2 and are competing at a high level. Now we look like Turkey State U in those first two and look like we are getting served up on a platter for Thanksgiving then it will be a different story. Compete at the highest level they can is all I ask.

Joey

July 26th, 2011
12:38 pm

No, tide roll, your endless drivel about UGA offensive linemen is comical. You are boring and repetitive.

WDE

July 26th, 2011
12:39 pm

@Tide roll you want to talk about demanding answers…. ..stay trollish my friend http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bad2h

dre

July 26th, 2011
12:44 pm

Does everyone realize that declaring oneself “first” on a blog is passe in every place in the world except here?

Patrick

July 26th, 2011
12:46 pm

@Pete, what about the 2008 Hawaii Warriors who beat the Boise Ponies 39-27 and then went on to face UGA in the Sugar Bowl? How did that turn out? Something like 41-10, right?

David Granger

July 26th, 2011
12:49 pm

@ Vance Duly
re: Your 10:49 a.m. post

Have to agree with you, Vance. To me, the success or failure of this team (and Coach Richt) doesn’t rest on just the won-loss record.
Here’s what I’m hoping for:
1. We have no more embarrassing off the field arrests for stupid things. (How much sense does it take to know that you don’t have a driver’s license?)
2. The team looks ready to play from the opening kickoff, without taking most of the first half to get serious.
3. Every player on the field plays HARD until the whistle. Don’t want to see any more long completions at key moments because our DBs let up, thinking the play is over or that it’s looking like a running play.
4. We play to WIN, not just to “not lose”. A draw play off-tackle on third-and-long can be a good call once in a while…but not four straight third-and-long downs in a row.
5. We do not make stupid penalties at key moments of the game: No late hits out of bounds, no jumping early, no cheap shots because an opposing player had been “dissing” you.
6. No jumping around the opposing team’s logo. If we need a last-second field goal to beat Vanderbilt, for God’s sake, we have NOTHING to celebrate.
7. No dancing and boogeying on the sidelines in the late fourth quarter of a game we are LOSING.
If we can correct some of these stupid mistakes (and stupid actions), the won-loss record will take care of itself.

And frankly, I hope Coach Richt can get the team discipline (or lack of it) back under control. It’s not as easy as it used to be when you had an athletic dorm, but there could still be a reasonable curfew and mandatory study halls…which would take care of a lot of both disciplinary and academic problems. But when a coach lets team discipline get away, it’s awfully hard to get it back. I hope Coach Richt can do so.

With the talent we have, year-in and year-out…when was the last year we DIDN’T have a strong recruiting class?…a 10-win season should be a baseline expectation.

ckgator

July 26th, 2011
12:56 pm

The best UGA fans can hope for is to keep losing running backs so they have a better shot of finding the next HOTW (Herschell of the week)…. or so the logic goes.

In all seriousness, this year is a toss up in both the East & West. Dogs have as good a shot as anyone, though Dog fans remain notoriously high on their mid-level program. That’s the reality anyway.

NC Dawg

July 26th, 2011
12:58 pm

Someone mentioned at one time the fact that not one college has approached Bobo for a head coaching position. Bobo and his playcalling (stuff like 3rd and 16…Carlton Thomas draw up the middle – no gain) will be the downfall. Coach Richt needed to make one more change to his staff…and didn’t do it. Bobo is great on the recruiting front and great as a QB coach…but Off. Coordinator is another story. We need some creativity in the offense and Bobo isn’t cutting it. Go Dawgs!

Reality

July 26th, 2011
12:59 pm

If UGA has the entire offseason to prepare to play Boise St in Atlanta in front of 60,000 fans and loses, what exactly does that tell us?

If we go position by position, how many Boise St players would we take over our own?

How many Boise St. players would we have signed over our own?

If you have the better players, the home-field advantage, a huge advantage in travel, then it comes down to coaching.

The Boise St game is a clear referendum on CRM!

SkokieDog

July 26th, 2011
12:59 pm

Chuckwagon: You’re absolutely right. If we start 0-2, then we’ll do well to finish 6-6 after Richt loses the team. Those first two games will tell us a lot about whether or not: the defense has improved (can we defend the wheel route and make stops on third down?); the offensive line is able to hold its own; our untested running backs are as good as we hope they’ll be; our team is stronger and more durable, particularly in the fourth quarter; and our coaches have learned anything from last year’s embarrassments on the field. If we are able to see during these first two games that four of those five factors above have become strong points for our team, then our season will be successful.
And for those of you who can’t imagine a coach other than Mr. Richt succeeding at U.Ga., have you considered Kyle Whittingham at Utah? Don’t just say that his teams have played in a weak conference. The few times I have seen Utah on televised games, his team has looked well coached and, no suprise here, successful (measured in wins).
For the salary of the current head coach in Athens, we should see better results than we have in the recent past. If we’re going to be satisfied to be a middle-of-the-pack team, we should at least save some money on our head coach’s salary. Oh, and we could probably find an offensive coordinator who is at least competent for less than Mr. Bobo is making too. I’m just saying…if your team doesn’t win most of its games year in and year out, you shouldn’t be taking an enormous salary for yourself. I’m aware that the revenue streams at the U.Ga. Athletic Association make it possible to pay the coaches lots of cash, but doing so doesn’t make every coach’s paycheck a wise investment.

rational

July 26th, 2011
1:01 pm

Do they try for admission to the Big 12 to replace Nebraska or Colorado ? No. Do they try for admission to the PAC 10 like Colorado or Utah ? No. they instead join the WAC!! LMAO !!

First, they didn’t join the WAC, they joined the MWC. They came from the WAC. Second, do you really think Boise St had a choice in what conference they went to? They would join any of the major conferences in a heart beat if they had the choice to. No major conference has invited them at this point.

Pete

July 26th, 2011
1:03 pm

wiseoldawg……………. How can you be wise and old and still stupid enough to think that any team can join any conf.? Only a pure football idiot would think that.

Georgia beat Boise in 1 of the 2 worst season Boise has had in the last decade. That’s something to be braggin about.

You guys keep counting on a game that happened 6 years ago, that’s delusional! It’s better to look at the last couple years. 6-7 unranked, etc, the list goes on.

If uga stays within 3 td’s I’ll be surprised.

Rip

July 26th, 2011
1:03 pm

Handy List for Richt to use after losses this season (got from sports cliche dot com):

The final score is the only statistic that matters.
They outplayed us in every phase (facet) of the game.
They wanted it more than we did.
We had our chances but we let them slip away.
We came up a little short.
We don’t care about moral victories.
They caught us on an off night.
It just wasn’t meant to be.
Turnovers killed us.
They out-hustled us.
They out-muscled us.
They out-coached us.
We got a wake-up call.
We weren’t mentally prepared.
We came out flat.
We beat ourselves.
We only have to look in the mirror.
They ate our lunch.
They’ve had our number all season.
They own us.
This is a bitter pill to swallow.
It’s going to be a long plane ride home.
I take full responsibility for this loss.
We didn’t get the job done.
Not to take away anything from Denver, but we didn’t play like we’re capable of playing.
My hat’s off to them.
I tip my hat to them.
You’ve got to hand it to them.
Give them all the credit.
The best team won today.
He always has his team ready to play.
We can still hold our heads high.
These guys have nothing to be ashamed of.
They just made the big plays and we didn’t.
They stepped up and made the plays.
We didn’t match their intensity.
We didn’t maintain the intensity for the entire 60 minutes.
We lost our focus.
I don’t want to point fingers.
There were too many defensive lapses.
Our defense was a non-factor.
Our defense didn’t show up today.
We dug ourselves a deep hole.
We shot ourselves in the foot.
The ball just didn’t bounce our way.
We didn’t get the big breaks today.
We’ll just have to put this loss behind us.
I’m really proud of our guys.
It’s been a great ride.

OldFan

July 26th, 2011
1:07 pm

The team and the record will be better than last season’s. If morale holds and the younger players improve, CMR will be secure and will be given the opportunity to restore UGA’s standing. Then we’ll get back to the usual discussion about why we can’t win the SEC every year and the NC every other.

Mean Machine

July 26th, 2011
1:07 pm

ZERO patience this year, and it’s justified considering the past 2 seasons. Yes the first 2 games are good teams, but Georgia SHOULD be better. It’s time to exceed expectations for a change, instead of wringing our hands and worrying about losing to inferior opponents.

Pete

July 26th, 2011
1:12 pm

The excuses I enjoy hearing the most is:

Boise had so much more time to prepare.
We were out-coached
They wanted it more
We have better players but Boise just executed better.
Boise got lucky, if we played them again, we’d win.

Some of my favorite excuses…………. ahhh can’t wait to hear the list after Boise destroys uga.

How Bout Them Dawgs

July 26th, 2011
1:16 pm

@ Pete stay around I got some things for you. Will take a while to get it all out.

WDE

July 26th, 2011
1:16 pm

@Pete not sure I agree if we played the Smurfs in the 3 or 4 th game I think we roll you by 4 TD’s at least but with a new OL getting its first game experience as a unit I think 12-14 points is the most UGA will win by unless you guys really melt down…like you did in Athens.

How Bout Them Dawgs

July 26th, 2011
1:18 pm

You are the most delusional person on this blog.

Go all the way back to 05 when we destroyed you (and yes it was just as bad as it looked if not worse. We owned you in every aspect of the game not just your QB idiot.

Then when you look at the schedules from 05 on you will notice that the years you actually play more than 1 real team you lose at least 2.

wiseoldawg

July 26th, 2011
1:20 pm

Rational I stand corrected. However, a team can position themselves for consideration for conference admittance. Any team with designs on improving their lot with the BCS would be well served to at the very least send out feelers to conferences that are looking to expand or replace members.Boise made at best a sideways move to the MWC.
Pete, what happened in 2005 won’t have any bearing on this years game, just like last years records won’t. Let them play it out on the field,not through your big mouth.

How Bout Them Dawgs

July 26th, 2011
1:20 pm

You only play a big game at the beginning of the year so you have all offseason to prepare. And thats all you prepare for bc u play HS teams the rest of the season.

Then you run the table on joke teams and cry bc no one respects you for NC talk. Then you play in your bowl game that you have had 1.5 months to play for with a completely healthy team bc no one got injured playing the HS teams in your conference.

How Bout Them Dawgs

July 26th, 2011
1:25 pm

And Boise could have jumped to any conference they wanted instead they jump to MWC hahahahaha what a joke. Barely a sideways move. You say you just cant join any conference but during the realignment period you could have jumped to the PAC 10 (Granted they arent much better of a conf) but at least they have several good teams that could show how good or NOT Boise really is.

I would take everyone on UGA over anyone on Boise including Murray. BC at least murray has had his talents tested against good teams, Yours on the other hand gets all this recognition for throing for 350 on a team that would get beat a HS teams. I mean i could throw for 50 TDS in the damn WAC or MWC.

Boise is the JOKE of the NCAA and BCS. They keep stringing you along like maybe you will get a title shot if you continue to play cup cakes, but you NEVER will get a shot.

SkokieDog

July 26th, 2011
1:25 pm

Rip: Aren’t you actually minor league baseball star “Crash” Davis? Part of that list sounded familiar, and it’s hilarious. Thanks.

How Bout Them Dawgs

July 26th, 2011
1:26 pm

Come on Pete let us in on some more of your pearls of wisdom.