Dawgs as consensus favorites: ‘A lot of pressure on us’
Vegas thinks Mark Richt will be striking this pose after every regular season game in 2012. (Jason Getz / AJC)
We’ve already established that Vegas oddsmakers like the 2012 Dawgs, but it turns out they’re so high on Mark Richt’s upcoming team that the folks who come up with point spreads have installed UGA as the early favorite in every game on the schedule.
At the Golden Nugget, Georgia is a 3-point favorite over Missouri, a 13.5-point favorite over Tennessee, a 2.5-point favorite over South Carolina, a 4.5-point favorite over Florida and a 6-point favorite over Auburn. And Pregame.com rates Georgia as the favorite in every game on its schedule.
Of course, as has been discussed here, Richt teams have had a disturbing tendency in the past to falter under high expectations, and playing as the favorite every week is going to be as big a challenge this season as rebuilding that offensive line and getting the special teams to quit rolling gutter balls.
The Athens Banner-Herald talked with a couple of the team leaders about Georgia playing as the favorite at the Pigskin Preview in Macon.
“It’s great that people say that, but I think it does put a lot of pressure on us to go out and just win games,” safety Shawn Williams said.
And quarterback Aaron Murray noted that, with a key difference, the Dawgs face a similar problem to last year, when they had to ignore all the media noise about their coach being on the “hot seat.”
“Our motto last year was, ‘We’re on the bus and we’re not listening to any outside noise,’” Murray said. “There was a lot of negative noise, and we wanted to ignore that. The hard thing now is to ignore all the positives and people wanting to pat you on the back and tell you that you’re great and this and that. We have to ignore that, too, and just do what we did last year.”
Or better.
After last year’s 0-2 start, the Dogs reeled off 10 straight wins and took the SEC East, only to end the season with a couple of disappointing losses. But as a team loaded with returning talent and playing the favorite’s role every week this fall, just notching 10 regular season wins again probably won’t be viewed as an entirely satisfactory outcome by many in the Bulldog Nation.
Loading ...But what would constitute a disappointing season in your eyes? Less than 10 wins? Or perhaps anything less than the SEC championship? Feel free to weigh in with a comment, vote in the poll or both.
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340 comments Add your comment
The Truth Detector
June 13th, 2012
9:24 pm
Forgot to add one thing to my UGA season scenario.
Murray is forced out of games this year, Does Richt remove the redshirt from Mason( The UGA golden boy backup) or does he risk not keep LeMay happy and bringing him in? If LeMay is not used early and out of the gate I can see the LeMay fan club from N.C getting mad and heading out for a transfer and taking his little brother’s committment with him.
MattinATL
June 13th, 2012
9:40 pm
Not saying it would put CMR on the hot seat, but anything less than 11-1, and a chance to win the SECC, and National Championship, will be a disappointment to me.
Mobile Dawg
June 13th, 2012
9:55 pm
I don’t remember the specific pick six you’re referencing but I do remember some snafu’s. I also remember Shockley coming in off the bench providing some spark. Got to take the good with the bad I guess.
Dawgbreath
June 13th, 2012
10:06 pm
Don’t see how we favored @ USCe.
wreckmaniac
June 13th, 2012
10:13 pm
Another national championship for the Dawgs !! CMR is the premier Koolaid salesman of all time.
Apple should have hired him after Jobs died.
wreckmaniac
June 13th, 2012
10:15 pm
Any school that has Bama taken off their schedule can do anything !
wreckmaniac
June 13th, 2012
10:16 pm
Bradley needs to write an article titled “HOW MANY YEARS WILL UGA GO UNDEFEATED ?”
cynicaldawg
June 13th, 2012
10:39 pm
How did CMR ever get off the hot seat? By winning the SEC east by default! We did not beat anyone rated higher than us. And we challenge mighty Boise to play in our home state and were out classed!
Mobile Dawg
June 13th, 2012
10:47 pm
He’s really not off the hot seat. Expectations are high and it won’t go over well if he doesn’t deliver. He has the perfect hand dealt to achieve.
GwinnettDad
June 13th, 2012
11:07 pm
Dawgs will be really fortunate to be fourth best in the SEC. They simply do not play with the discipline necessary in crunch time, and sad to say, that is all about 1) coaching 2) the inability for so many players to stay sober during the season 3) the character defects of the players leading to stupid plays.
Pit Bull
June 13th, 2012
11:12 pm
All this talk about nothing. The summer is hot and boring!
Graeme'10
June 13th, 2012
11:14 pm
D will be fine…Pressure is on AARON MURRAY AND BOBO!
WhiskeyMan
June 13th, 2012
11:26 pm
Graeme….ur nuts So many losses with police issues WE need our Defense boys to step up until the real BOYZ stay out of trouble!
mreed14
June 13th, 2012
11:48 pm
Wow there are a lot of sad people posting about how terrible Georgia is. If you need that outlet to make yourself feel better about your life then more power to you. I can’t wait for this season, it’ll be a fun one GO DAWGS!!!!!
SystemOfABobo
June 14th, 2012
12:10 am
14-0! Why say persons are sad!?
TimeDog
June 14th, 2012
1:05 am
Georgia’s loaded this year—the dogs will win 11 games and play in a big bowl—-mark it down! Dog D —best in the sec!!!
SupposedDawgArguer
June 14th, 2012
1:27 am
We have all the tools plus RICHT/Bobo!
RPh DAWG
June 14th, 2012
2:19 am
So, we are favored over Mo., Tn, S.C., Fl., Au? Without checking scedule, I think all of these games are road games. I think that we will lose 2 or 3 of these. Disappointment, thy name is Georgia. Two weeks into season, we will be 1 and 1. Peach Bowl, here we come….
RedandBlackDAWG
June 14th, 2012
6:13 am
SSI Gator,
I believe this article concerns the coming season. Are you really gullible enough to think you can convince folks on here that UF is going to get the crystal ball this year? I gotta get me some of that stuff you are either drinking, snorting or smoking. It must make Xanax seem like an aspirin.
East Repeat
June 14th, 2012
6:26 am
Who shipped the Kool-Aid to Golden Nugget in vegas. Favored over SC in Columbia, forget about it! Total joke, congrats Dawgs on your preseason SEC Championship. Dawgs lost their last 2 games, underperformed, etc…Preseason poles are also big on Clemson, who ended the season even worse than the Dawgs. Another big winner (per the main stream media) this fall is Obama. Bulldawgs will have better season than Obama, but not by much.
To Tell the Truth
June 14th, 2012
7:56 am
PRESSURE?
Are you freakin kidding me? How? GA has not WON JACK in 30 + years!!!! So we all expect the same from the LACK LUSTER PROGRAM!!!
SC wins the East!!!!!
Enough Said!!!!!
Old Dog
June 14th, 2012
7:59 am
If I remember correctly, the Dogs were the favorite over Michigan State in last year’s bowl game. You saw what happened there. We haven’t changed ANYTHING!
uga1984
June 14th, 2012
8:25 am
Another column… another slew of posts talking about the CMR should be fired if he doesn’t win it all, or at least win 10 games. Most of these comments are probably made from people who have never played sports at a high level.
For those who want CMR replaced – who would you replace him with??? UGA can always go back to the 90’s where we were indeed mediocre. There are only a handful of coaches that are PROVEN in college football – & many of them come with baggage. I, for one, do not place winning above everything else. I’ve said it many times, if I had a kid that wanted to play football, I would hope that he would choose UGA because of CMR!!!
All Saints
June 14th, 2012
8:35 am
In tribute to our blessed martyred Saint Jan Kemp, let’s all bow our heads for a few moments of silent prayer. Thirty years ago, this courageous young lady risked everything to expose the corruption and academic fraud instigated by Vince Dooley, sleazy practices that continue to this day under Mark Richt.
And now, let us all pray for Saint Jan…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you, you can now return to your normal activities.
Ole Big Dawg
June 14th, 2012
8:54 am
We are the Georgia Bulldogs…expectations are to be in Atl each and every year with the opportunity to compete for championships!!
icedawg
June 14th, 2012
9:04 am
These are someone’s predictions, hardly reality. But great to be considered slightly stronger than most opponents. Talent-wise we should be able to line up with most anyone. Hopefully the rest of the team can stay out of the slammer.
old dog
June 14th, 2012
9:05 am
If we had the o-line, nobody could beat us. The rest of the crew is ready……..or o-line will be exposed, however, against the better teams.
Cosmo
June 14th, 2012
9:07 am
the “G” on the side of the helmet stands for “girls”
ruadawg
June 14th, 2012
9:36 am
Tech Nerds making comments on an article about UGA, why were you reading it anyway? I guess since you don’t have a legitimate football program you feel the need to read about a a real team. For all you Bammer Rednecks, just a reminder DH has not commited to you and your midget coach.
I know that....
June 14th, 2012
9:46 am
Hines Ward isn’t installing a darn thing at Georgia. He came to visit to see what it might feel like to coach – he took a job with NBC for this year. Sheesh – you guys really go places in your head that make no sense sometimes. check that – most of the time!
KeepDreaming
June 14th, 2012
9:46 am
I was just in Vegas and the Dawgs were not favored to win every game. The best odds were for LSU to win at all at 5-2. Dawgs were at 9-1. Who bets at the Golden Nugget anyway?????
Donald Duck
June 14th, 2012
9:57 am
Quit calling him “CMR” – God, that’ sounds dumb.
Donald
June 14th, 2012
10:07 am
The schedule and the experience are all in the Dawgs’ favor. This may be Richt’s best and last shot to get a national championship–but not a gimme. It never is in the SEC. They should run the table with that schedule. They have nine starters returning on defense as well as experienced people at all the skill positions on offense. If they do not get to the SEC championship game undefeated, it will be an epic fail in my eyes. Beating Bama or LSU once we get there is another story. Go Dawgs!!
Admiral Ackbar's other brother
June 14th, 2012
10:15 am
Anything less than a trip to the SEC championship game is a disappointment, especially with this year’s schedule.
Joey
June 14th, 2012
10:35 am
SSIgator’s team didn’t win a game in the month of October – that’s right the whole month – and he’s here on here for every UGA post on the AJC, crowing about UGA’s loss in the SECCG. Hey, doofus, has UF ever lost a SECCG? How about a bowl game? Badly? I can think of some ugly games where your genius got pounded when they were the favorite – remember Notre Dame, Nebraska?
UGA was not very good last season, not at all. That fact should give you pause . . .
Tastes like chicken
June 14th, 2012
10:42 am
Has there ever been a more idiotic posting name than east repeat, when it has never happened? Ever?
Y’all had a good year last year, but there was no “east repeat.”
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
10:47 am
uga is favored over south carolina because uga has a batter team and has more talent over all. defense , offense and maybe even special teams too..
connor shaw is a back up qb who cant pass under pressure. uga has the edge there…wide receiver uga has the edge..running back is more of a draw now since lattermore will be having to try and recover from a knee injury. defense is a no brainer..uga has the edge there to at just about every spot. the o-line might be a draw as well although uga will have a bit more talent..i really havent put much thought into the south carolina game as they will be starting connor shaw and most likely rely on marcus to move the ball because if they want connor to last the whole game they better not ask him to run against uga,,his little body will get messed up..this is the first time in a long time that uga will have this good a defense coming back while at the same time having a ton of quality experience on offense at the qb position a long with some really good running backs..coach richt will be fine and this hot seat talk is just crap as the powers to be at UGA will give him a brand new contract after this year when he at least will have a shot of winning the title.. even during the stafford and moreno days the defense was not this good. i dont think they had this many jrs or srs on defense in like 6 years which makes a big difference.just look at the past winners from the sec…all the teams had jrs and srs at just about every spot on defense.
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
10:50 am
ackbar….i would agree with you on that and so would coach richt and the whole football team in fact i think the uga football team would be disappointed if they didnt make it to the NCG..
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
10:57 am
old dog…mich st needed uga to miss 3 very makeable field goals to win that game…wasnt the line like 3 or something ? mich st offense didnt do jack until the very last drive and it was a busted play that did it for them…that long run by the qb when uga over ran the qb and gave him 20 yards to run down field….this year uga will have more experience than just about every team they play which uga has not had that for at least 6 years years..it is lining up really well for uga finally…
SSIgator
June 14th, 2012
10:57 am
Joey, relax. You are getting way too worked up.
Obama Stinks
June 14th, 2012
11:00 am
Pressure?????? In the words of Ray Finkle, “what would you know about pressure”? This economy stinks and our president is even worse. The private sector is doing fine???
He got me 4 years ago but won’t this time.. please don’t make the same mistake folks.
NObama 2012.
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
11:02 am
coach richt was never really on the hot seat…..the powers to be at uga know better even if some of you clueless uga fans dont …only people who talked hot seat were the arm chair wanna be qbs…the higher ups never said 1 time that coach richt was in dager of losing his job
harold
June 14th, 2012
11:03 am
SEE JUNE 13 POSTS AT 10:18 and 10:44.
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
11:13 am
those other teams in the sec that won NC had the better team those years and also had more talent as a whole, than UGA…it is richt”s and uga “s time right now,,,,they might could win the next 2 or 3 out of the last 5 years since this years class on defense decided to stay, that will give everyone under them 1 more year to add experience to their play…very bright future for uga and coach richt
DawginLex
June 14th, 2012
11:15 am
Look, SIMPLE STUPID IGNORANT GATOR is back
Can’t wait for your next spine tingling 5 year old post
Gonna call me a girl again?
Gonna ask me to go buy Summer’s Eve?
Gonna ask me about my crayons for my poster for Jacksonville?
Gonna talk about how Richt is a bartender?
SSDD
At least Chip Towers had the guts to ban you.
atl xman
June 14th, 2012
11:15 am
should have read the next 5 years, not last 5 years
Mike Bobo 17 INT
June 14th, 2012
11:16 am
Let the pre-season hype begin, 9-3 at best….SOS year after year…plenty of hype and no substance.
DawginLex
June 14th, 2012
11:18 am
SIMPLE STUPID IGNORANT GATOR
Shot by his own troops
The knowledgable gators have disowned him long ago
Embarrassed by what he types
DawginLex
June 14th, 2012
11:19 am
ah the interception idiot is back too
Hey moron, why don’t you and STUPID SIMPLE IGNORANT GATOR get a room??
Joey
June 14th, 2012
11:31 am
“those other teams in the sec that won NC had the better team those years and also had more talent as a whole, than UGA…”
******************************************
atl xman, I am a UGA fan, but I am not a fan of those who rivise history. Who was more talented than UGA in ‘02 and ‘05?
How about ‘07?
Nobody, that’s who. And don’t blame conspiracies and politics for keeping UGA out of the Big Game in those years.
Richt kept us out by losing games we shouldn’t have lost. UF the first two years, then UT and SC in ‘07 were all underdogs to UGA.
Richt just didn’t get it done. Maybe he will this season.