Same old problems plague Dogs in loss to Spartans
Brandon Boykin had a career day against Michigan State — but it wasn't enough. (Associated Press)
Mark Richt’s Bulldogs didn’t have to find any new ways to lose in the Outback Bowl — instead, they simply let lots of familiar problems resurface in suffering another second-half collapse and dropping a three-overtime battle with Michigan State.
Again, the Dogs wasted a superlative first-half defensive effort by giving the opponent a couple of cheap touchdowns thanks to turnovers by an erratic Aaron Murray, whose two interceptions put the Spartans back in the ball game.
Again, Georgia’s almost complete lack of a running game made the Dog’ offense one-dimensional. And was anyone at all surprised when Isaiah Crowell, reduced to a backup role, limped off the field after a handful of runs?
Again, placekicker Blair Walsh, once one of the nation’s premier specialists, proved himself more a liability than a weapon and ended up costing Georgia the game by missing two kicks in OT.
And again, playcaller Mike Bobo seemed incapable of adjusting to the realities of what was happening on the field and stubbornly stuck with what wasn’t working.
With the middle of the Spartan’s defensive line as solid as a brick wall, Bobo continually called for runs up the middle — often with delays that turned into tackles for loss since State was getting into the Georgia backfield so quickly. Early on, Georgia was able to have some running success on the outside, but once MSU adjusted to stop that, the Dogs basically were no threat on the ground.
To top it all off, with the Spartans continually blitzing from the corner, Bobo insisted on calling slow-developing downfield passing plays, an all too familiar scenario made even worse by Murray’s poor decision-making when pressured and Georgia’s tight ends being a nonfactor in the game.
Overall, Georgia relied too much on its big-play capability and never was able to really sustain anything offensively against the talented Spartans defense.
Typical of the day was what happened with a little over 3 and a half minutes left in regulation. Needing a first down or two to kill the clock and ice a victory, the Dogs went ultra-conservative and ultra-predictable — two hallmarks of Bobo’s career as a playcaller — by trying again in vain to run Richard Samuel up the middle.
It surprised no one, and the fact that it didn’t work didn’t surprise anyone, either.
And then the banged-up Georgia defense, which had played well most of the day, looked gassed on the Spartans’ last drive of regulation, getting no pressure on MSU QB Kirk Cousins, who cooly passed his team down the field to send it into overtime.
Just think how ugly things might have gotten had Brandon Boykin not played the game of his life in his farewell performance as a Georgia Bulldog, nailing a Spartan receiver for a safety, scoring on a thrilling 92-yard punt return that saw him reversing direction and weaving his way all over the field, and then moving over to offense to catch a touchdown pass for his third different score of the day.
He’ll be missed big-time.
So two disappointing losses bookended a Georgia season that started out 0-2.
Sure, the 10 wins between those four losses and an SEC East title is a big improvement over last season.
But, looking ahead, even though Georgia returns a lot of talent and will have another favorable schedule next year, if the problems that continually reared their head this season aren’t addressed, it’s going to be tough for Richt’s program to take the next step forward.
Got something on your mind concerning UGA athletics or a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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1,469 comments Add your comment
lizarddo
January 2nd, 2012
7:26 pm
Hey coach, go adopt some more kids and quit pretending you know anything about football. Thanks, i’ll hang up and listen…
browndog
January 2nd, 2012
7:26 pm
It was a fun game to watch though. The lack of a running game was the real problem. Defense played very well. UGA should be proud of this season and get ready for 2012. Thanks for an exciting season!
K-Baby
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
Richt’s checklist for 2012 season:
1. When you have a play caller like Mike Bobo, you have to take the points with a field goal in the 1st quarter. If he had done this, we would have won the game in regulation. You have to learn when and how to be aggressive.
2. Find another offensive coordinator or call the plays yourself. Bobo is too stubborn to learn how to be an effective play caller.
3. Another reason to find another offensive coordinator: There is an obvious difference between how well our defense is coached as compared to the offense. There are still too many missed assignments on offense.
4. Recruit and develop more agile offensive lineman. Bigger does not automatically mean better.
5. Hire a running back coach who was actually….now get this….a running back when he played.
6. Open up the quarterback competition to give Mason and LaMay a chance to start. Murray does not have the ‘it” factor. As Skip Bayless would say: “He has the choke gene”.
It will be easy to think of more later.
A sickening and disgusting game today…….
OrtegaDawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
This one really hurt guys.
We will see
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
We will see how good of of a athletic director we have. Open up all positions for playing time!
old timer
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
Bo Bo and Murray both sux.Richt right there too.
St. Bernard
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
The story of Richt’s time at UGA is the inability to put his foot on the gas and keep it there. Richt has never demonstrated aggression on offense.
bilbo799
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
Leave the D out of this. The D set us up to win this game and lost its edge because of the awful OFFENSE. FIRE BOBO.
dawginduluth
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
“Conservative play calling” did Georgia in according to ESPN announcer. Why does Bobo constantly drop what is successful?
Dawgs88
January 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
Bill,
Love your articles but this game is why I do not understand why anybody wants to keep Richt. Sure he won 10 games this year, but against who? This team has suffered from lack of discipline and coaching on at least one side of the ball since about 2005 in my opinion. Richt may be a nice guy and get great recruits, but that seldom turns in to magic on the field. Todd Grantham was the reason Georgia was even remotely competitive this year. Bobo, or Bozo as I like to call him, is a disgrace of an OC. He uses an archaic offense that fools nobody and he poorly executes it to boot. Also you would think that with the issues Georgia has had on special teams for the past several years, Richt would get it through his thick skull that UGA needs a special team coordinator. I just do not understand Richt’s thought process on how evaluates his team. Oh well I guess we’ll be back to the same mediocrity until Richt either quits or retires. It’s a true shame that with all the talent this state has, that its top tier school hasn’t won a national championship since 1980. Pathetic really.
Frank Lane
January 2nd, 2012
7:28 pm
This article is an excellent analysis of the game and the problems that keep UGA from reaching its potential.
Did Orson Charles go to the NFL before the game. I never saw him even thrown to the whole game. Why we cannot let Aaron through short passes other than bubble screens is a mystery to me. And I once coached a national championship football team.
Macclenny_dawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:28 pm
Until Bobo quits calling plays we will never win a championship!!! Richt needs 2 hire someone with some killer instinct!!! Bobo has no clue!!! Richt once again sticks with a guy because he is a senior. Loyal Richt and conservative Richt. Bill our worst case scenerio came true this season. 10 wins and only 1 signature win against a bad Florida team. The future is no brighter than some 10 win seasons. Very dissappointed in our staff!!!
Ghost of Munson
January 2nd, 2012
7:28 pm
Hobnail boots are falling from the sky
2012Dawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:29 pm
richt needs to go back to calling the offense, put bobo in charge of qb’s and let these backup’s come in when murray gives the ball away. special teams still looks suspect, while running game is in need of keith marshall or mike davis!
mark
January 2nd, 2012
7:29 pm
how’s that punch tasteing,where’s all of the Richt lovers 0-4 against the decent teams, HOW LONG…I SAY HOW LONG …..IS THIS BULLS$$$ GOING ON, Grantham needs to be the head coach starting TOMORROW!!! and Murry sucks plain and simple, can’t see over the line thus has to throw outside or deep,pittiful…clean house or we will be loosers again next year, 2 game loosing streak, you think they can beat Mizzu?
Alphare
January 2nd, 2012
7:29 pm
No way Bobo will be let go. He is Vince Dooley’s wife’s niece’s husband.
Dawg4Life
January 2nd, 2012
7:30 pm
Yes I to cannot get over the continual runs up the gut when they are clearly not working. This more than anything ticks me off with Bobo. When the game was on the line and we were handing off to C. Thomas up the middle, I was just cringing that he would not cough it up with his lack off size. Did we throw one screen all day? I sure hope our new kicker performs. Until next fall, Go Dawgs!!!
SouthGADawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:30 pm
UGA Tight end sux, they missed blocks all day allowing MSU to takle our backs for losses and rushing Murray. The commentator even talked about MSU coming unblocked by the tight end.
ATLnative
January 2nd, 2012
7:31 pm
Yep, its one thing to get outcoached or outplayed, but to continue making the same mistakes in play calling, have bad decision turnovers, not have a “play all out to win” mindset, not play 4-5 qtrs and to not make decisions around your weaknesses (no money field goal kicker/running game) is just unexcusable. CMB gets replaced/demoted in the off season. GM will know that is mandatory. I don’t even feel better knowing MSt. is a better team than Cent. FL was.
From Tampa
January 2nd, 2012
7:31 pm
What’s going to kill us in 2012 is what killed us today (and also Kentucky and LSU) — OUR OL CAN NOT BLOCK! Scary part is that 2 of our Senior OL will be drafted in 1st or 2nd round. What’s going on between us and the OL of elite teams like LSU and Bama?
AFDawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:31 pm
The big concern is that the coaching staff doesn’t seem to be learning from past history. The Bulldogs have become so predictable my son and I predicted everything that was going to happen in the game before they even ran the play. First, handing off in the backfield on 4th and goal from the one yard line — it never works. The play takes too long to develop with the box stacked and allows penetration. Second, not trying to make first downs with over two minutes left in the game — I knew they were going to tie the game, we left too much time on the clock. Lastly, kicking a field goal on third down — I knew we would miss the kick. You don’t play not to lose, you play to win. Also, have we taken blocked kick attempts completely out of the play book — I saw numerous opportunities to block kicks and punts. It is so frustrating to lose because of the coaching decisions when you can tell your team is the better team on the field talent wise.
Yo Vince
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
Billbo799… Oh yeah, everyone thinks Jaw Jaw is Harvard of the SEC. Ha, just a party school full of little Atlanta Brats that can’t read or play D 1 Ball…. Loser U
tc
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
CMR likes bobo and supports him. The only way for bobo is going to be let go is if CMR think he has to for him to keep his job. It is sad. CMR is weak! He needs to be fired.
Gdawg 84
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
I will need the 8 months off to get excited again. the last 2 games were absolutely brutal.
sdb
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
Our game to lose. We just got beat on the O line all day. At one point they had 16 tackles for a loss. Walsh had a great career, but time for a new kicker. 43 yards!?!?!?!?!?!?!
DawgVoiceofReason
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
I’m not sure I understand (and I don’t think it was the right decision), but why is trying a field goal on third down “playing not to lose”. If we make it, we win. I don’t get your point.
SouthGADawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:32 pm
Hutson Mason should have been playing, Murray looked scared.
villedog
January 2nd, 2012
7:33 pm
Enter your comments here
Yup
January 2nd, 2012
7:34 pm
Article summed it up. More of the same to follow unless somebody (McGarity?) makes people accountable.
Would Saban/Miles/etc. put up with same ole same ole?
Techster
January 2nd, 2012
7:34 pm
Welcome to our world…
dawginduluth
January 2nd, 2012
7:34 pm
“Georgia relied on its big-play capability….” Text book FSU/Bowden-era football.
Ghost of Erk Russell
January 2nd, 2012
7:34 pm
Q: What do the Georgia coaches say to the team at halftime?
A: Great game, guys. Let’s go home.
There is no other way to describe the difference in the teams fielded in the first half and second half these last two games.
barneyfife
January 2nd, 2012
7:35 pm
Amen, Bill! What did Einstein say about insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result? UGA’s 10-3 belies how bad the coaching is. Bobo is just the beginning of their problems.
It's Boo Boo, not Bobo
January 2nd, 2012
7:35 pm
Dawgs know this, but with their weak minds, they tend to forget, so here’s a reminder:
Georgia Tech is a very highly ranked academic school that has a football team. Its alumni and fans have real lives and careers that don’t depend on the football team for their happiness.
Georgia, on the other hand, is basically a sell-your-soul-to-the-devil football factory that also gives diplomas – worthless as they are. They have unholy coaches like Mark Richt who have no scruples or ethics, who recruit morons who barely got through high school, and collect huge paychecks whether they win or not.
Now, can you remember all that?
tc
January 2nd, 2012
7:35 pm
I AGREE! FIRE CMR and replace him with Todd Grantham
Same old problems plague Dogs in loss to Spartans – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Best Dogs Online
January 2nd, 2012
7:35 pm
[...] webmaster@technorati.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
Rob
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
Surely, Richt won’t get a new contract without having to get a new OC. Bobo just can’t call plays, thats all there is to it.
george
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
what a great start to the new year. Another loss from the pathetic puppies! Did this really surprise anyone? For a team that has ZERO significant wins in the last 5 years you would think you idiots sure are full of yourselves.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
HUTSON MASON
HUTSON MASON
or
REGGIE MURRAY
REGGIE MURRAY
GATA
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
The problem is NO RUNNING GAME, period. Now, who gets the blame for that, I don’t know. Bobo? O line? Running backs? Until the offense is balanced, UGA will not get to the next level.
dogearred
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
Everybody on the Georgia bandwagon with 10wins against mediocre teams. These are problems that have been there the whole time. Only to be exposed when playing decent teams. If these highly paid coaches can figure it out then they need to go. I am tired of getting sick to my stomach everytime I watch this crap.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
January 2nd, 2012
7:36 pm
I do have to say if CUZ………….CUZ…………….CUZ……………………………..Prayers are still with you an Baylie. I have not seen many posts from you.
I hope you and BAYLIE are well and I an sorry if this loss made her day bad. you know I am a TECH fan so I don want UGa to lose but I do want Baylie happy and content.
I hope she is well XIXOXOXOXOX and Prayers for Y’all in this New Year.
Alphare
January 2nd, 2012
7:37 pm
Bill,
you should list out all the names who wrote in your blogs that dawgs are as good as LSU or better than LSU. I mean bunch of dawg fans said UGA’s defense is as good as LSU’s and more potent in offense than LSU. Those fans help keep Mr. Bobo as the dawg OC.
If you single them out, they won’t show up ever again.
Can't Watch Anymore
January 2nd, 2012
7:37 pm
taking a knee at the end of regulation???
wasting an opportunity in OT to try and get closer???
leaving a time out on the board in the 3rd OT???
ANOTHER run up the middle, and ANOTHER, and ANOTHER, when it was painfully obvious to folks watching other games that the other team was stopping the run cold???
AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!
Smartso
January 2nd, 2012
7:37 pm
Oregon would slap us silly.
tc
January 2nd, 2012
7:38 pm
What happens at halftime in the UGA locker room. Someone on here name one game where we made positive needed adjustments at halftime and game out playing better. Normally it is the other team that makes adjustments and comes out playing better.
DAWG08
January 2nd, 2012
7:38 pm
Would someone out there who knows bobo close PLEASE tell him next year to run the freakin ball outside the tackles more!!!!! I want to bust a freakin hole in my tv every game!!!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 2nd, 2012
7:38 pm
3 years and still havent beat a top 25 team
heliplt
January 2nd, 2012
7:38 pm
i have questions and need answers. Q#1 what idoit named crybabywell the #1 running back in the country last year? Q#2 when you have 17 running plays that end with lost yardage why run the ball 3 times and then punt at the end of the game when you need to keep the ball from Mich. St? is bobo really that stupid?
Frost Dawg
January 2nd, 2012
7:38 pm
75% of Bobos plays are know before the game starts and it has been this way for years. How does he keep his job after today? I won’t be able to watch ESPN for two weeks.