Richt got one thing right: Dogs’ performance against the Gamecocks was ‘embarrassing’
The Dogs dared Connor Shaw to throw deep on them, and he did just that. (Bob Andres / AJC)
If you had deliberately set out to script a completely nightmarish first quarter for Georgia against South Carolina, where just about everything went wrong for Mark Richt’s Bulldogs, you couldn’t have come up with anything more demoralizing for the Bulldog Nation than what transpired Saturday night in Columbia.
It was a complete failure on the part of Georgia’s defense, offense and special teams right from the get-go, with the first quarter being the worst a Richt team has looked since the infamous “Blackout” loss to Alabama in 2008.
On the first series of the game, Todd Grantham’s defense loaded the box to try and slow Gamecocks running back Marcus Lattimore, who had feasted on the Dawgs the past two years, daring Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw to use his arm and go deep to beat them. Which he proceeded to do on the second offensive play of the game, hitting Damiere Byrd on a 42-yard pass on which Bacarri Rambo went for and missed the interception.
Shortly after that Shaw found Bruce Ellington wide open in the Georgia end zone and the Cocks were up 7-0.
Georgia got a great kickoff return from Malcolm Mitchell, helped by a flag against South Carolina, but hopes that the Dogs could keep up with the Gamecocks fizzled on Georgia’s third offensive play as an Aaron Murray pass was deflected (which would turn out to be a frequent occurrence on this night) and intercepted. That turnover led to the Gamecocks scoring a second touchdown — on another play on which Georgia’s suspect pass coverage again left a receiver uncovered.
Then it was time for the Bulldogs’ special team collapse of the night, with a punt returned all the way by the Gamecocks’ Ace Sanders for a touchdown.
So, with less than 10 minutes having elapsed in the first quarter, South Carolina was already up 21-0.
The second quarter saw Georgia briefly threaten to get back into the contest when the Dawgs put together their one sustained drive of the half, finally lining up first and goal inside the Carolina 10 thanks to a great catch by Mitchell.
First down saw Todd Gurley bull his way to the Carolina 2.
Then Mike Bobo decided he wanted to try and score in the most conservative (and predictable) way possible and called another Gurley run into the line that gained a mere yard.
On third down, Murray tried to force a dangerous pass that fell incomplete. Rather than take 3 points, Georgia rightly decided to go for it on fourth down, but for some reason Murray threw a pass in front of the goal line rather than to one of his receivers in the end zone and ended up short — and with no points to show for an 80-yard, 15-play effort.
The game was essentially over at that point, although the second half saw the Gamecocks add a couple more touchdowns and give up one in garbage time as a determined Boo Malcome ran hard against Carolina’s second-string defense to avert a shutout.
The South Carolina defense had its way with Aaron Murray most of the night. (Bob Andres / AJC)
The main storyline of the evening was this: The Gamecocks’ defensive line dominated the Dogs’ offensive front all night, shutting down the “Gurshall” running attack and constantly harassing Murray, who had one of his shakiest performances in quite some time.
And while Grantham’s defense eventually slowed down the Carolina juggernaut a bit, there was no denying that early on they looked absolutely clueless as Shaw directed the Gamecocks’ offense just about perfectly.
So, once again, a Richt team that had soared into the Top 5 by beating lesser nonconference and midlevel SEC opponents came a cropper when it faced a good team.
It was a performance so flat and lifeless that ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit termed it “shocking.”
Actually, not so shocking for anyone who’s watched Richt teams in recent years repeatedly show up looking unprepared and unmotivated whenever they face a Top 10 opponent.
As the Georgia head coach himself put it after the game, it was bad enough that the Dogs lost, but “the way we lost hurts and is embarrassing as well.”
The emphasis there should be on embarrassing.
Feel free to share your own views on Georgia’s complete failure in Columbia.
Got something you want to discuss concerning UGA athletics? Or maybe a question you want the Junkyard Blawg to tackle? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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420 comments Add your comment
DawgVoiceofReason
October 7th, 2012
9:18 pm
You people are going nuts. FLA DAWG, you want to hire “Derek Dooley”? The UT people are “this close” to running him off for his complete lack of success at UT and you want to hire him?
Why don’t you get together with the Gruden lunatics and figure out which one we should hire or whether we should try both of them!!! LOL.
SenoiaDawgs
October 7th, 2012
9:30 pm
Oh and for those bashing Murray. When you have about 6 plays and Clowney admits the OL is tipping the snap what do you expect.
A short QB just set an all time NFL record it’s not his height. We constantly watch other players at other big time programs get better and better.
Often ours remain the same talent wise or take a step back. We are not that unlucky.
Pulaski dawg
October 7th, 2012
9:31 pm
I have championed and defended Richt for years but unfortunately now is the time to move on. For a team with this talent to be this unprepared is unreal. There are no answers except change. How can a player like Rambo be so under motivated as to let a receiver take an obvious interception away. Murray. Clearly has no clue but for the coaches to play him and let others sit or transfer—really.
And if he is our best hope then what does that say about recruiting. Redshirting for him to turn pro–
Surely that is not going to happen–No clue under pressure. As most Georgia Fan’s, I am disgusted and flabbergasted.
Illinois_Dawg
October 7th, 2012
9:38 pm
So lets hire Spurrier, Smart, Muschamp or the guy from Boise — Somebody with some fire under their belt!
jack bull
October 7th, 2012
9:43 pm
The good…
they still have true Dog fans support.
The bad…
AM is 0-10 against ranked teams. Hmmm. Has CMR forgotten how to coach, or is it something else? I’m going with something else.
The ugly…
our OL got whipped. and that was ugly!
My money is still on the Dawgs being in the Dome that first weekend of December..
uncledaddy
October 7th, 2012
9:59 pm
One thing I was not disappointed in was Mark Richt’s performance in that ESPN commercial with Lee Corso. If this coaching thing doesn’t work out, he’s got some true acting talent.
SSIgator
October 8th, 2012
12:42 am
uncledaddy
October 7th, 2012
9:59 pm
One thing I was not disappointed in was Mark Richt’s performance in that ESPN commercial with Lee Corso. If this coaching thing doesn’t work out, he’s got some true acting talent.
________________
Have you not been paying attention – he has been acting for the last eleven years in Athens.
tom
October 8th, 2012
7:49 am
UGA fans, your fellow SEC fans really hope you don’t get rid of Richt.
FLA DAWG
October 8th, 2012
9:11 am
DawgVoiceof Reason(?)
You continue to support a guy who is incapable of beating a ranked team for YEARS and then call others lunatics!?
D. Dooley gave UF all they could handle and came within a hair of beating The Dawgs despite having half the talent and depth as our Dawgs.
Their program was Kiffin – decimated and he has already gotten them respect – more than what we enjoy with our highly touted players.
Richt, Bobo and Grantham would have been fired by Bama, Auburn, UF and UT long ago. In fact, the last time three of those schools fired their non performing coaching staff they ended up winning conference and / or BCS Titles.
Now, argue with those facts.
It’s people like you that keep Richt and his “joke of a coaching staff” in Athens with contract extensions and raises.
Like it? Good. You’re going to see alot more of it if these guys stay.
FIRE RICHT – HIRE DEREK DOOLEY
schmeckdawg
October 8th, 2012
10:04 am
When does the hot seat talk start? Lost all 4 games to the decent teams we played last year and lost the 1 game we have played a decent team this year.
Something is BIG TIME wrong!!!!!!!!!!
stwing
October 8th, 2012
10:28 am
Enter your comments here
NC DAWG, you are delusional if you think Georgia has more talent than South Carolina. The Head Ball Coach has not only been coaching circles around Richt and crew, but he has also bee recruiting circles around them. You Dawg fans might as well get used to the fact that SC owns you now.
Cornerback1
October 8th, 2012
10:49 am
They weren’t prepared to play??????? But….. I thought they played Sandstorm at practice????
Old Dog
October 8th, 2012
12:31 pm
Dazed & Confused football should no longer be acceptable at UGA. Spend some of that excess cash for an excellent coach like South Carolina did.
Dawg Tired
October 8th, 2012
6:45 pm
The reality is understanding what you are willing to accept and what can be provided. Richt is a nice guy and a brilliant recruiter. He is the type of person that comes into a recruit’s home and a parent will turn their son over to for 4 years. However, few coaches can maintain their edge for more than 6 to 8 years and I believe CMR has lost that edge. He is loyal and kind, and has been too loyal to his staff. Willie Martinez was a D coordinator for one of the most visible programs in the nation. He remains unemployed yet CMR stood by him. Apparently CMR has great instincts when it comes to recruiting players but not coaches? I believe what we have is misplaced blame. Every team’s personality must ultimately reflect its coach, Saban, Spurrier, Miles, Muschamp, their teams are a reflection of their personality, intensity, and limited patience for mistakes. UGA reflects its coach as well. CMR is kind, forgiving, and retrospective. So are his players . . . that converts to 35-7 against a team and a coach that is none of those things.
LookWestUGA
October 8th, 2012
8:59 pm
Bulldog Fans – no question that Richt is a class guy and a good Coach. Problem is the fanbase doesn’t seem content in aiming for “good”, and agree that a new HC may be an answer. Maybe there’s a guy, full of youthful vigor and who has already had some success in the SEC, who is just west of you? What if you were to offer Vandy a lunch trade for their HC? Now he and Grantham would need to hug it out from 2011 heated moment, but you’d then have some guys with fire in their bellies leading your highly talented team. Just a thought – what other HC’s out there make more sense to the fans? You simply don’t want to take a step backward as we all know there ARE alot worse men and HC’s out there than Mark Richt. (exhibit A – see Booby Petrino!)
LookWestUGA
October 8th, 2012
9:03 pm
To Dawg Tired: EXCELLENT post and the truth in what you have written (pasted portion below) is pretty profound…
“Every team’s personality must ultimately reflect its coach, Saban, Spurrier, Miles, Muschamp, their teams are a reflection of their personality, intensity, and limited patience for mistakes. UGA reflects its coach as well. CMR is kind, forgiving, and retrospective. So are his players . . . that converts to 35-7 against a team and a coach that is none of those things.”
DAWG PERFECT
October 9th, 2012
8:43 am
Lattimore said, “we hit them in the mouth on the first play and they never recovered.” I think he said something even more important. Great teams dictate the tempo in big games. Our Dawgs seem comfortable in counter punching……certainly not the player’s fault. Come on coaches……don’t you remember your competitiveness when you played. Where’s the emotion……this is college not professional.
old dog
October 9th, 2012
4:16 pm
It cannot just be “short” QB’s. Russel Wilson and Drew Breeze have showed that. Bill, we are outmanned in the trenches. Until we get serious about good linemen, all else is for naught. S.C. whipped us up front like a dollar-watch on the spin cycle…pure and simple. If we played them again next week, they would whip us again up front. Every good team (and it took LSU until 1/2 time last year to exploit it) has whipped us up front. We sign great skill players, and have a second tier o-line. All the play calling, etc. will not cure that. If we had Alabama’s line, we could win about every game. Everybody looks good whan the trench-warriors are the real deal!
old dog
October 9th, 2012
4:21 pm
Bill,
I need your comment on our o-line……….it is really not good and makes everything else look bad! (Of course they look good against the patsies.) But really, why with all our other recruits can we not get some real, SEC linemen. Muschamp has passed us, Spurrier is WAY past us, and (laugh if you want) but Dooley will soon pass us…………..because they are all smart enough to start up front!
Willy
October 11th, 2012
8:25 am
Bravo!!!! You’ve hit them right there. I am looking forward to go fishing with my kids! Keep going.