Bulldog Nation wonders: Where do we go from here?
Was Georgia's humiliation by South Carolina more than just one loss? (Bob Andres / AJC)
So, how do the Georgia Bulldogs and their fans bounce back from the debacle in Columbia?
Saturday night, Mark Richt started making his case for shrugging off this disappointment and looking ahead when he said that “whether you lose by 28 or lose in overtime, it counts as one loss.”
True. But sometimes a loss is more than just a loss. This one hurt in a lot more ways than just the won-loss record. Richt’s team looked so bad that even the happy-talk ESPN announcers ripped into them for their disappointing showing in the nationally televised contest. I’ve no idea whether that sort of thing hurts in recruiting, but you’ve got to figure it’s certainly not helpful.
Plus, the manner in which the Dawgs lost and the fact that they once again failed when faced with a ranked opponent has left the UGA fan base pretty demoralized.
That malaise lasting the rest of this season and translating into more empty seats is a distinct possibility.
Richt is right that there are games still to be played and history has shown the Gamecocks are prone to stumble down the stretch. So they certainly could wind up losing two and opening the door for the Dawgs to return to the SEC Championship game if Georgia wins out (though at this point the SEC East playing out exactly the same way as last year seems to defy the odds).
And, of course, that would still be contingent on Georgia beating Florida, which at this juncture looks like a much bigger challenge than was envisioned six weeks ago.
Still, even if the Bulldogs somehow manage to make their way to Atlanta again, the prospect of facing the collegiate buzzsaw known as Alabama brings up visions of last year’s meeting with LSU. There’s a been there, done that feeling to that scenario.
Sure, a season with 10 or 11 wins is definitely preferable to what we went through in 2009-10, but if you’re not realistically playing for a championship, what galvanizes the fan base? What does Georgia have left to play for, if the Gamecocks win out? Finally beating Florida two years in a row for the first time in more than two decades?
It’s not like a win over anyone else on the schedule is going to excite Georgia fans (though losing to one of them probably would mark this as a train wreck of a season in its own right). If Georgia loses to Florida, say, and finishes 10-2, the result would likely be another non-BCS New Year’s Day bowl in Florida. I can hear the collective yawn from the Bulldog Nation now.
But hold on. What if Georgia does regroup, the offensive line improves, Todd Grantham’s defense finally decides to try living up to its offseason hype, and the Dawgs finally blow the Jacksonville jinx to smithereens and beat the Gators? Remember 2007? The Dawgs didn’t make it to the SEC championship, but they finished the season as one of the nation’s hottest teams, got a Sugar Bowl bid and wound up as the No. 2 team in the nation. I remember most Bulldog fans being pretty satisfied with that season. Who doesn’t like a postseason trip to New Orleans?
At least one analyst, CBSsports.com’s Jerry Palm, sees the makings of a similar story this year. Palm has South Carolina winning the SEC East, falling to the Crimson Tide in Atlanta and winding up in that SEC Championship loser’s purgatory known as the Capitol One Bowl.
As for the Dawgs, he sees them beating Florida and finishing the season 11-1. With Alabama playing in the BCS title game, Palm forecasts the Sugar Bowl would take a one-loss Top 10 Georgia team as its SEC replacement to face the Big East champion.
That might sound unfair to Steve Spurrier and Gamecocks fans, but as Palm notes: “Bowls, the BCS games in particular, have a history of passing over teams that lost their league championship game if there is any other decent choice. Bowls fear that those fans, who just traveled to a neutral site game at the beginning of December and went home disappointed, might not venture out in as high of numbers a month later. 11-1 Georgia would qualify as a decent choice. In fact, the Bulldogs might even automatically qualify under BCS rules if they finish in the top 4 of the standings.”
No, it’s not the sort of championship the Bulldog Nation hungers for, but as football seasons go, such an outcome would be not too shabby.
So, yes, as Richt noted, the sun did come up Sunday, the Bulldogs “do still have an awful lot to play for” … and Georgia fans still have a team to cheer on to better days.
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407 comments Add your comment
Red-N-Black
October 8th, 2012
9:16 am
I lovem and support my Dawgs, but the truth is we are mediocre. Get used to it until the coaching or administration figure out how to be elite – again.
ConsiderThis
October 8th, 2012
9:17 am
Interesting that when FSU lost to NC State, Jimbo Fisher apologized to the fans. When Auburn lost to Arkansas, Gene Chizik apologized to the fans. When Georgia lost, Mark Richt made sure to blame the entire team.
FLA DAWG
October 8th, 2012
9:17 am
Red & Black and FOOLS GOLD,
Yep, and until Dawg Nation screams loudly for a change (as we did to unload Martinez) we will continue to watch more of the same from Richt, Bobo and Grantham.
Gotta tell ya that I am more disappointed in Grantham this season than anyone. I’ve written for years that Richt and Bobo had to go but thought we needed to give Grantham more time. This season of dozens and dozens of points rolled upon us by unranked teams is enough.
FIRE RICHT – HIRE DEREK DOOLEY
HavasuDawg
October 8th, 2012
9:20 am
Watch the Gator coaching staff (led by former UGA safety Will Muschamp) on the sidelines. Then watch the Dawgs’ coaching staff on the sidelines. And get sick to your stomach.
GB's Hamburgers
October 8th, 2012
9:24 am
Lowered expectations …. a more realistic view of the UGA program will mitigate much of this agony. Georgia is a upper mid-level SEC team. Don’t expect more and you won’t be disappointed.
ThreatLavel
October 8th, 2012
9:24 am
Yeah, clearly we will go 11-1 and travel to the Sugar Bowl. Did you watch the game , Bill. Have you watched the last 30 years of uga football. We don’t man up. Our coaches don’t have it. Our players are punks and quitters. Maaco bowl is more likely…new years day bowl?!? We are garbage this year. Watch tech beat us. Your article is terrible.
Strat Cat Dawg
October 8th, 2012
9:26 am
I’m just as disappointed as everyone else at the disastrous game. However, disregarding the trolls, it’s pathetic to read posts where Georgia “fans” give up on the team and coaches after one bad performance in a big game. You same “fans” were oohing and aahing for the first 5 games. People, everything in life doesn’t work out perfectly every time out. You wimps writing that stuff have had days where everything went wrong and you screwed up and life still went on. Watching on TV, everything possible went wrong at the beginning of the game. The missed INT by Rambo and the deflection of Murray’s pass and amazing effort by the SC defender to make the INT were in the category of “breaks of the game.” Suck it up. The season is far from over and the Dawgs have a great opportunity to show their pride, learn from the experience, and GATA from here on out.
ThreatLavel
October 8th, 2012
9:27 am
Hey, gators waiting, we beat you last year. Hahahahahahahaha…you such. Now shut up and put on your jean shorts.
HavasuDawg
October 8th, 2012
9:27 am
@ThreatLavel, the players are not to blame. No matter how talented they are, they need to be coached properly; they need discipliine, they need conditioing, and they need MOTIVATION.
JIm Doannan as in Doans Pills
October 8th, 2012
9:37 am
Where Do We go from here? CLEAN HOUSE! We were flat? Good teams and football programs never come out flat in Big Time Games!
Since Vince
October 8th, 2012
9:38 am
This season id OVA.
Since Vince
October 8th, 2012
9:39 am
is
Rolaids man
October 8th, 2012
9:41 am
It was a Great weekend!
Dumb Dawgs
October 8th, 2012
9:44 am
Spurrier knew he could draw us offsides on that 4th down play on their side of the field. Richt was so clueless and Todd Grantham is a bust!
Guess what?
October 8th, 2012
9:45 am
Tech did your program more harm by losing to the Dawgs in 2009 and 2010 because u might have fired Richt then instead of being stuck with him forever.
There was medicine to take – losing to Tech – that u got out of taking.
But now u r paying for it.
Face it.
With Richt, Spurrier owns u again.
Blither Blather Lou
October 8th, 2012
9:49 am
I see the Dawgs losing to Florida and at Auburn. They will struggle with everyone else ecept Georgia Southern. Ho hum its UGA football as usual.
DIT
October 8th, 2012
9:51 am
Go Dawgs! Beat UK……
For those that actually thought that UGA was going undefeated and to the BCS game. Sorry your dream was busted. I love the Dawgs, graduated from UGA, but I have to say most true Dawg people knew we were not going to go undefeated this year. Look at our O-Line.. way too young. Defense, don’t have an answer on that one. We all thought they were going to do much better.
Still, Dawgs are my team and I will back them after this embarrassing loss just as much as the week before agianst UT.
Next game Kentucky. Go Dawgs!
dale
October 8th, 2012
9:52 am
Strat Cat, it’s not just one bad performance in a big game, this is Georgia’s MO in big games. They can’t play in big games. They wilt. I swear their level of play is inversely related to the game’s Neilson rating. What was the last big game Georgia won? A game where the nation tuned in?
RealDawg
October 8th, 2012
9:54 am
Love my dawgs. Dissapointed but not acting like a d-bag. I will be at whatever bowl we go to spending time with my family and enjoying life.
Fools Gold
October 8th, 2012
9:54 am
Well its another day UGA football. Love my Dawgs and I like and admire Mark Richt. Lets be real people it aint happening under Richt. Go ahead and admit it I know its hard. Time for a change in coaching and the culture in Athens.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
9:55 am
Lobosolo
Truth?
Columbus
CMR
October 8th, 2012
9:55 am
You’ll keep buying those pickup trucks. I love seeing myself in those commercials. My hair and tan look so good.
sprouse27
October 8th, 2012
9:56 am
The problem is that UGA could and should be a lot more than we are. Beating up the little kids on the playground and then losing when a kid close to our size shows up is hardly the type of program we should be. UGA has all the resources. How many times do we watch other SEC teams win BCS titles with kids from GEORGIA? The talent is there. The head coaching is NOT. And that falls squarely on CMR. It has for a long time now and yet we get hopeful every year, that THIS year it will be different. *grin* Unreal. You know the definition of insanity….. CMR is a great guy. But just NOT a great head coach. It’s that simple. We regularly lose to teams that we should beat and instead of getting UP for the big games, we go the other way. Dawgs got smacked in 1st quarter and gave up. No emotion, no fight, just that deer in the headlights ‘oh no, here we go again’ look. Murray is good QB, but not the leader on the field he needs to be galvanize the team and keep fighting back. Maybe it’s too much to expect from him, but he certainly can’t count on the coaching staff to manage it. Would LOVE to see coaching changes in Athens. Maybe we have some ups and downs as a result, but that’s preferable to seeing the continual 8-10 cupcake wins and some mediocre bowl. Georgia is just a classic underperforming team. We ARE pretenders unfortunately, and we seem to be the only people who don’t know it. Amazing what a good head coach can do. SC wasn’t much before Spurrier got there, and look what’s happened since. 3 straight losses. One guy, if he’s the right guy, can make a difference. CMR is not even close to that. Will McGarrity replace him? I doubt it. He’s bad, but not bad enough unfortunately. So get used to what you’re seeing now. I don’t know how many seasons of the same we have in the future. Is what is is…..
RobB
October 8th, 2012
9:58 am
Unfortunately what this game shows is that UGA is not one of the elite schools in the SEC. They produce good teams but not a great teams. UGA will always be a bridesmaid, but never the bride. We’ll put together decent records depending on the easiness of our schedule, but we always lose the must win games.
Personally, although I like coach and he took over a football program in disarray and made it respectable, but he can’t take it to the next level and we will always be the bridesmade.
With as much talent as UGA has had over the years and with top 10 recruiting classes year after year and we still can’t win? I would say with the talent UGA had on the field last night, there is no way a Spurrier or Saban or even the guy at FL would have been blown out like UGA was last night. Those guys may even have won the game, but at the very least would have made it more competitive.
The question is: Do we like Mark Richt enough to be satisfied with always being a bridesmaid, but never a championship or do we accept the fact that Richt can’t take us to the next level and make a change.
Fools Gold
October 8th, 2012
10:00 am
Fans giving up? Havent you been paying attention to Richts records. Passionate fans expect and demand better; thats not being fair weather fans. Some of these Kool aid drinking fans need to support their local little league teams where everyone gets a trophy and they dont keep score.
FOOLS GOLD AGAIN....
October 8th, 2012
10:03 am
WE NEED A COACH WITH AN ATTITUDE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN RICHT POP A VEIN OR THROW A VISOR OR HEADSET. THIS JUST SIGNALS THAT ITS OK FOR THE PLAYERS TO PLAY LACKLUSTER, BECASUE THERE WILL BE NO PUNICHMENT..WHAT…… MAYBE A FEW LAPS……..GOT A CASE W/6 GALLONS OF THE KOOL-AID LEFT…PUTTING IT ON CRAIGSLIST FREE STUFF
castle pines canine
October 8th, 2012
10:03 am
We must face one thing. Steve Spurrier is the best college coach in the land. He didn’t go to Bama to do this, he didn’t go to Ohio State to do this, he didn’t got to Southern Cal to build this. He went to South Carolina and did this. Give him his due respect. He is blatantly honest. He tells it like it is, and now he wins at South Carolina. Think about it, he torched our defense with a third rate, mid tier quarterback. His defense killed our offense with average line backers, average secondary, and tremendous line. You see he figured out a way to maiximze his players. We don’t do that.
OkieDawg
October 8th, 2012
10:08 am
It’s all good. We are just one win away from being bowl eligible. We should get that done against Ga. Southern. Then it’s off to Shreveport for the Advocare Independence Bowl. We gonna party like a rock star. And the coaches will get a bonus check for making it to a bowl game. It is good to be a Dawg.
Just Sayin
October 8th, 2012
10:09 am
Thanks Dawg88 @ 11:52pm for putting things in the right perspective.
hirejongruden
October 8th, 2012
10:09 am
If Governments can be overthrown with social media, so can the Mark Richt Regime. Stop buying tickets, start buying picket signs. See you at the game in 2 weeks! I will be on the corner of Broad and College with the “Fire Mark Richt” sign. Anyone care to join me?
HammerDawg
October 8th, 2012
10:10 am
A coaching change is needed! At minimum Bobo must go, but in reality Georgia will remain
exactly what it is today, an average team, as long as Richt is head coach. Hopefully, the AD and
decision makers are as tired of watching Great players get under coached and out coached by
more and more teams as most of the knowledgable fans are….
Don
October 8th, 2012
10:10 am
Some of my Carolina friends have been on my case about Richt. That he was showing no emotion and saying he lacked passion durring the game. Well hope our fans show some passion at Sanford Stadium. That atmosphere was something else at Williams Brice. We do need a culture change in Athens for sure.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
10:11 am
Columbus
Truth?
Lobosolo
Brainiac
Let us know when you have returned from the Jedi Kool-aid temple to give everyone on this blog some insightful knowledge on why this coaching staff is really the best
Richt = 8-10 wins and mediocre bowl
October 8th, 2012
10:11 am
I’ve been a Richt supporter, but it was evident after Sat night, that the team was ill prepared. Why is it when you look around at big time programs and they have a marquee match up, they always seem to have a few wrinkles in the game plan, but Richt and Co. trot out the same ol’ game plan, week after week, year after year. Sometimes we out athlete the opponent which gives us a false sense of confidence, but when we meet a team with equal talent on the other side of the ball and are PREDICTABLE it makes for easy pickings.
The problem I see with this staff is they have all gotten fat, happy, and lazy. Who scripts out a game plan and runs said script regardless of the outcome – Besides BooBoo?
We have all these extra scholarships lying around, and knew the one area of major concern would be the O-line, so instead of going out and recruiting 3-4 Juco hosses to shore up the one glaring weakness, we sign one and decide to take our chances with a true freshman – albeit he’s going to be a great one, he should have been able to come in as a sub this year and get his technique down without being thrown to the wolves. That’s how Bama, and LSU do it. You rarely see anyone that’s not a Jr or Sr on their O-lines. They recruit big strong athletic linemen, give them a year or two to develop and focus on getting bigger and stronger and working on technique so that when they do get to play as Jrs and Srs they are well developed and well coached.
We do a great job if not outstanding job of bringing in skill position players, but for the life of me I CAN NOT figure out why we can’t recruit good O-linemen. It’s been a problem ever since Richt has been here. The best O-line we had was 2002 and guess what those were Jim Donnan’s players.
If we lose to UF, I think McGarrity’s hand will be forced. We have too much talent and too much available talent in the state to continue down this mediocre path. 10 wins and a Florida Bowl game isn’t going to cut the mustard any longer, not when 7 straight years and SEC team has won a National Title and some teams have more than one in that span.
nobody
October 8th, 2012
10:13 am
we are all frustrated….but it is time to let it go and move on…if we don’t future recruiting prospects may not like what they see…time will tell
DunwoodyDawg
October 8th, 2012
10:13 am
Please correct me if you can. Name a big win the Dawgs have had in the last 4 seasons. This is not a reaction to one loss. This is a one fan who is finally facing up to a cold sobering truth. Our record over the past few seasons is nothing but fluff. When it comes down to it, we don’t perform against good teams. Subsequently, we aren’t a very good football program right now.
So, we need to ask our collective selves is this acceptable? Is this just who we are and that’s OK? We will beat crappy and mediocre teams and that is our lot? It seams the the folks in power feel that way.
As for me, I am over it. With all the top quality football talent on our doorstep it is just unacceptable that our team not fill out recruiting classes with top quality players. It is not acceptable that we cede our position in the SEC East to South Carolina. It is not acceptable that year after year our team lay and egg every time we face a quality opponent.
Greg McGarity and Alumni Board what are you going to do about this?
nobody
October 8th, 2012
10:15 am
time to let it go….so much more to lose if we don’t
THE Dixie Redcoat Band
October 8th, 2012
10:15 am
Amazing that some of you guys actually think UGA will run a table. What about UF, Auburn, UK, ‘Ole Miss? Come on….
bill arp
October 8th, 2012
10:16 am
we go to the Ga Dome on 12/1, that’s where we go. Hide-n-watch.
Dawg Haus
October 8th, 2012
10:16 am
I support Coach Richt and will always love the Dawgs, win, lose or draw, but that beating was just painful to watch. It definitely gives me reason to doubt their ability to win in JAX, but I still hope they do. If not, it’s another ho-hum season where maybe we’ll actually BEAT a Big 10 team on New Year’s Day. Beat Florida and there’s still a lot of play for this season. USCe is prone to choking anyway. Here’s to better days. Go Dawgs!
Just Sayin
October 8th, 2012
10:18 am
@nobody,
I totally agree……let it go!!! We are now in the EXACT boat as other lowlife programs like: LSU, FSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Southern Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc.
Neutral
October 8th, 2012
10:23 am
I think the Dawgs can still run the table and I totall agree with “just saying”. We are out of the NC picture, but so are all those other spectacular programs mentioned. Even the loser of the FL-SC game in 12 days will be out! Let’s regroup and go for a big bowl and possibly play in the SEC championship game. It ain’t over til it’s over and pessimism gets you nowhere!
Capital One ???
October 8th, 2012
10:24 am
I ust have went to the wrong bowl game last year…Outback Bowl loss to Michigan State.
Even losing the SECCG, we were not respected enough by the bowls to earn a Cap One bowl.
So it was a little less that purgatory.
Neutral
October 8th, 2012
10:28 am
Does anyone know the answer to this question that I still believe is a possibility? If UF beats SC and UGa upsets UF (and all 3 teams run the table)…..who represents the East in the Championship game?
FOOLS GOLD AGAIN....
October 8th, 2012
10:32 am
IS BILL COWHER OR JOHN GRUDEN AVAILABLE??? ANY ONE KNOW???
Bill King
October 8th, 2012
10:35 am
My bad. Georgia was in the Outback, not the Capitol One. I tend to get those two bowls mixed up.
Neutral
October 8th, 2012
10:37 am
Go Dawgs!
GATiger
October 8th, 2012
10:38 am
Neutral, I’m guessing you meant to include the assumption that all 3 finish with the same SEC record. If that’s the case, then the team with the highest BCS ranking at the end of the year would be declared the East champ. This would have been the case last year if Arkansas had beaten LSU.
Neutral
October 8th, 2012
10:39 am
Bill,
Do you know the answer to my question at 10:28?
DrDawg
October 8th, 2012
10:39 am
Auburn is just two years out from a National Championship. Look what can happen. Guess what? Tennessee is ready for a big upset and they will beat SC.