Which Georgia team will show up against Ole Miss?
Will John Jenkins and the rest of the Dogs defense come out fired up again this week? (Bob Andres/ AJC)
A lot of Bulldogs fans are worrying that Ole Miss might prove to be a “trap” game for a Georgia team with a disturbing tendency to play down to its opponent’s level.
They wonder whether the defense that came out all fired up against the Gators after being called out as “too soft” will rise to the occasion without provocation. Even Mark Richt has half-joked that maybe someone needs to call them “sissies” in order to get Georgia defenders’ blood boiling.
Nationally, college football watchers wonder, like CBSsports.com asked, “Which Georgia team shows up? The one that beat Florida or the one that was pounded by South Carolina and barely beat Kentucky?”
Then there are others, like the folks at CollegeFootballNews.com, who see Georgia’s play against Florida as a fluke and believe the anemic showing against Kentucky comes closer to telling us what kind of team these Bulldogs are.
As CFN sums it up: “The Bulldogs had to go to a special place to ramp themselves up for Florida, and even then the team didn’t play all that well with just 273 yards of total offense with 14 penalties, three picks, and converting one of ten third down chances. That might have been a one-shot deal, and Georgia could easily slip back to its pre-Gator mold and be the mediocre team that struggled against a miserable UK team and had issues putting away Tennessee and Florida Atlantic. With a terrific pass rush and an aggressive defensive front that’s great at screwing things up, it’s possible the Rebels could catch an unfocused Georgia team napping a bit.”
In fact, CFN predicts exactly that, picking Ole Miss to knock off the SEC East frontrunner.
Of course, that’s not likely to be the consensus view this week. Most observers think that, while Georgia might have trouble coming out ramped up for Ole Miss, the Bulldogs still have too much talent to lose to the Rebels.
Still, it’d make a nice change of pace if Richt’s team came out this week with a determination to prove the naysayers and doubters wrong and put Ole Miss away early rather than following this year’s typical scenario of letting lesser teams dictate play early on while waiting until the second half to get rolling.
Georgia’s easily the better team. But will the Bulldogs play like it?
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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194 comments Add your comment
NCDawg
November 1st, 2012
9:08 am
The Plain Truth… the truth is that Tech used be a football power that has waned and it’s fans are too ashamed to admit it. They constantly bash UGA’s overall academics while forgetting that last year the school produced 2 Rhodes scholars and is one of the top business schools in the country.
Only losers call their rival’s coach a scumbag. Do you know the man personally? I sincerely doubt it. If you had any morals or ethics, you would refrain from impugning the integrity of someone you have never met or know personally. Our coach never told his fan base to punch any opposing fans in the mouth like Coach Johnson did. So I guess you forgot that one. I sure hope you get help for that weak little mind so you can remember that the next time you spout your asinine drivel.
Don’t worry, when you step in dog squeeze you can always wash it off and pretend it never happened.
dale
November 1st, 2012
9:28 am
Georgia Tech chose to reduce the size of their stadium by over 15% in 1985.
And their AD just left to take the same position at another ACC school.
dale
November 1st, 2012
9:35 am
And back to topic, I get that 2007 feeling from this team. I think they turned the corner. I think the Ole Miss game is over by halftime.
Bulldogs for Muschamp Lifetime Contract
November 1st, 2012
9:37 am
Your upset special of the week, sponsored by Kool-Aid
November 1st, 2012
7:56 am
Upset special: Ole Miss 23, Georgia 20
*******************************
I bet you were “Across the Wide Missouri” a few weeks ago
Swami Sez
November 1st, 2012
9:42 am
Thwe one that played against Kentucky…. Book it!
NCDawg
November 1st, 2012
9:44 am
I sure hope we are in for a replay of 2007. Except for the getting screwed out of the BCS championship game part and of course not going to the SEC championship game. But if the light comes on for these Dawgs like it did for the 2007 team… wow. That would be fun.
Mr. Rolaids
November 1st, 2012
9:46 am
Dawgs are enjoying its fluke win. Back to earth this weekend!
dale
November 1st, 2012
10:04 am
My favorite part of these boards is when people predict a score and say “mark it down.”
I wonder if any take that certainty to a sports book and make it interesting.
should UGA be having this discussion?
November 1st, 2012
10:14 am
Enter your comments here
should UGA be having this discussion?
November 1st, 2012
10:20 am
UGA ought to walk out on any field, like Brice Stadium in Columbia or in AU or Jax or Grant Field and expect to win. UGA, like any upper level, historic program should have a level of healthy swagger.
Swagger is NOT the in your face crap, like we saw with # 26, Mitchell. swagger is confidence, plain and simple. UGA needing to get amped up all the time, is not a good sign. The guys are maybe lacking in character.
UGA man, class of 71&73
GTBob
November 1st, 2012
10:28 am
The Plain Truth… the truth is that Tech used be a football power that has waned and it’s fans are too ashamed to admit it.
Ashamed to admit it? GT fans talk about it openly all of the time. Everyone knows we are a small shell of what we used to be. The fun argument is why.
GTBob
November 1st, 2012
10:30 am
Georgia Tech chose to reduce the size of their stadium by over 15% in 1985.
Yes, and they increased it by over 25% in 2003. What is your point?
MA English 1975
November 1st, 2012
10:34 am
@The Plain Truth: That little tirade has left me speechless.
BMOC
November 1st, 2012
10:36 am
Well, this hasn’t been a game I’ve been worried about, however looking at their schedule the only time they really looked bad was getting blown out by a mediocre Texas team 66-31 – the only game I remember Ole Miss playing. But they have been putting up close to 30 points a game, and have, except for TEX, held opponents to around 30 points (T A&M to 30, ALA to 33 @ ALA). They also scored 14 against ALA. So, I see the concern. On the other hand, if GEORGIA losses to Ole Miss, would really want to see them play ALA in the SEC Championship game anyway???
BMOC
November 1st, 2012
10:39 am
GTBob
Haven’t read your blog nor do I care to. My question is: WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING ON THE UGA SITE ANYWAY???
I figure yoiu guys have enough to talk about on the Tech site. Perhaps the D.. or lack there of.
dale
November 1st, 2012
10:42 am
Georgia Tech’s seating capacity is less today than it was in 1985. The fan base has diminished.
dale
November 1st, 2012
10:44 am
GTBob, why don’t you tell us why?
Bet it has something to do with Georgia football.
GTBob
November 1st, 2012
10:54 am
Bet it has something to do with Georgia football.
It has nothing at all to do with Georgia football. College Football changed and GT did not change with it. That combined with changes to Atlanta eroded the team and the fan base over time. The team is still eroding today.
joe jenkins
November 1st, 2012
11:58 am
I hope murray will play good for four quarters….and i hope rambo learns how to tackle better….i dont know whats wrong with him..he just dont seen in sync….he was being targeted by driskell…..come on dawgs take it ole miss…no time for let downs
gbal
November 1st, 2012
2:07 pm
With the supposed talet level that UGA has, we should not have to “GET UP” to handle Old Miss. That again seems to be the problem with UGA for the past several years…We are expeced to GET UP, when we really just need to develop a focus and discipline to maintan a levell of play that would be expected of our talent level and ability…
BAMA….. Are they ” GETTING UP” for every game??? They have beaten Old Mis, UT, MSU, MO, and Arky by an average score of 40 -8. Are they “Getting UP” for every game or are they simply playing focused and disciplined and doing a good job of scoutin their opponent and game planning??
Now Bama will GET UP for LSU… you can bet your arse… They GOT UP for Michigan in the opener with all the hype…. but otherwise they just play sound smart football.
In addition, out coach has basically said that he doesnt know if they will be up or not….. suggested that the press maybe do something to get them up with an insulting article??? What the YELL???
gbal
November 1st, 2012
2:18 pm
We should win 8-9 games a year just playing at a focused normal level and these wins should all be convincing… Similar to Bama’s 40-8 margin over their opponents thus far this year. Then save the “GETTING UP” for the 2-3 big games…… I agree that if it takes some major motivation to get thru 11-12 ballgames a season, your team has a problem.
gbal
November 1st, 2012
2:31 pm
Enter your comments here
Mr. Rolaids
November 1st, 2012
2:36 pm
<<<<<< Better stock up now dawg fans!
7576DAWG
November 1st, 2012
3:29 pm
I hope that Grantham has finally found out what works with this Defense and the 3-4. If Georgia’s defense dominates and we win 38-10 , something like that then I see Georgia giving Alabama or L.S.U. all they can handle in the Championship game and we will beat GT by at least three touchdowns.
LawDawg
November 1st, 2012
4:19 pm
Is CFN aware that Jarvis is healthy now. Our disappointing series of games (UT-SC-UK) all came while Jarvis was well under 100%.
Fair n Balanced
November 1st, 2012
4:52 pm
If they don’t play we’ll you have to blame the coaches. If they do play well…credit both players n coaches.
@Johnny Vaught
November 1st, 2012
5:12 pm
You should be ashamed to use that handle.
We won’t be scared. We won’t be intimidated. We will fight for 60 minutes. Yea, ya’ll should win….but that’s why they play the games.
GB's Hamburgers
November 1st, 2012
5:34 pm
I think Shultz called UGA an undeciperable team. There is good reason for that title. Every year … people try to figure out who UGA really is and if they will ever “put it together”. But one thing is always clear, with those athletes, when they occasionally put it together, no one in America can beat them. I’m thinking the last time every facet of the game was played with excellence, it was against Hawaii.
DrC
November 1st, 2012
5:50 pm
@ GTBob – I find it interesting that you actually acknowledge that georgia tech football sucks while most techies refuse to acknowledge this fact to any UGA fans. Now, I will explain our victory over Florida…our team came out ready to fight a very formidable opponent in a classic and brutally physical SEC game and we were fortunate to come out the victor in a game that could have gone either way. It was not a high scoring game of wide open non physical tackling that you often see in other conferences, but a helluva fight in the trenches where it is damn hard to protect the football. There were bodies going down left and right…some for a play or two and others for the rest of the game/season. I expect the same thing in the SEC championship against Bama or LSU if UGA plays determined enough to beat our remaining two SEC opponents, a second tier team, and a tech team that can salvage their entire season/program by upsetting UGA. It ain’t never as easy as some fans like to make it seem to win in the SEC, and there are at least five SEC teams (bama, uga, florida, LSU, South Carolina) that would have easily cake walked over the ACC and several other conferences this year! That is why everyone who truly understands and analyzes college football objectively concedes that the SEC continues to play at a higher level than any other conference and why nearly ALL of the national champions come from the SEC in the last decade. Hopefully for your team and conference this might all change someday, but probably not anytime soon.
GTBob
November 1st, 2012
6:12 pm
Now, I will explain our victory over Florida…our team came out ready to fight a very formidable opponent in a classic and brutally physical SEC game and we were fortunate to come out the victor in a game that could have gone either way.
There were 9 turnovers and 24 penalties for 227 yards. That wasn’t a classic and brutal game. It was a game between two undisciplined teams who were more concerned with talking trash and getting personal foul penalties then they were with actually winning. If you want to pretend it was a clash of the titans like last years LSU/Bama game then more power to you but it wasn’t. Georgia played slightly less bad then Florida and that’s how they won. Neither of the two teams are real top 10 teams.
Book it!
November 1st, 2012
6:18 pm
UGA loses to Ole Miss its back on the hot seat for CMR!
me Me ME
November 1st, 2012
6:19 pm
Mitchell needs to shut his pie hole and stop getting all those penalties.
2007 wa no different
November 1st, 2012
6:22 pm
Hawaii was a joke. UGA got pummled by Tenn and lost to a pathetic SC team at home which in itself a pathetic coaching job. Get off the Kool Aid people!
Bill King
November 1st, 2012
6:51 pm
JUST WIN BABY !!!!!!!!!!!
Diamond Dawg
November 2nd, 2012
7:39 am
Zebra, way to show your donkey arse. Fox News!…Really?! They are the only ones that will give you the unbiased truth you socialist loving moron!
FLA DAWG
November 2nd, 2012
8:08 am
I’d like to have confidence in The Dawgs to follow up that UF win with another one against arguably the most improved SEC Team that has had the toughest schedule – that being Ole Miss.
Hugh Freeze is a great coach and will have The Rebels jacked up and juiced though I don’t think they’ll need it.
On paper The Dawgs win this one by 10 points or more. But Ole Miss is for real and if our O does not come alive this week and the D does not play like last week then there could be an upset.
If JJ plays anything like last week we’ll hold ‘em strong. But Murray has to pass better and the receivers have to catch a pass that hits ‘em in the numbers.
The O Line (again) has to begin to step up and open holes or pass block. Still waiting on that.
Another thing Ole Miss has going for them is that we have Bobo as OC…….again.
Mobile Dawg
November 2nd, 2012
9:10 am
I would serve up a heavy dose of Gurley, Marshall, and Malcome, topped off with 10, maybe 15 tosses around the backfield, slants, mostly short stuff. Control the ball, clock, and the Ole Miss defense. With that plan I would predict 35-14 Dawgs.
Mobile Dawg
November 2nd, 2012
9:11 am
I would probably throw in a few runs for Tree out of the fullback position too.
I-DOG
November 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
GT Bob:
While I agree that this is a historically weak Georgia schedule, I disagree that any team could be in the top 10 by playing it. I’m not sure tech could beat TN or MO and Vandy would be a tough test for tech as well.
Georgia was supposed to play #1 AL in Tusc in game 2 of this season, but the SEC expanded and that game was replaced. They were scheduled to play 3 top 10 teams a the time time UGA played them (FL, USC, AL) and still might be playing BAMA next month.
Next year is a more typical UGA schedule with FL, USC, and add to that Clemson and LSU and it is no cakewalk. It might be an easy schedule this year for UGA, but tech would certainly not be able to navigate it.
PigIron
November 2nd, 2012
10:00 am
The Georgia team that showed up against Florida will lose to Ole Miss.
Rob in Chapel Hill
November 2nd, 2012
11:08 am
We don’t have to worry about playing down because in fact Ole Miss is decent. Dawgs will be pumped to play at home. No letdown from the Florida game. Quite the opposite. Will be riding the energy and boosted confidence. Two early touchdowns for Gurley, and the momentum takes the Dawgs to a decisive win. Murray will be much better, no picks and 2-3 TDs.
MWHDAWG
November 2nd, 2012
8:59 pm
Don’t blow off Ole Miss or Auburn at home(could be a burner). We still need to get past Tech…never a slouch!!!
Jimmy
November 2nd, 2012
9:44 pm
I hope the team is focused and intense for each game the rest of the season.
For some reason, we can come out fired up, but not focused.
As CFN rightly noted, we solved the intensity problem against UF, but not the focused part.
We can’t seem to get it together in all phases of the game when it counts.
We beat UF, but we should have blown them out given their six turnovers.
What’s the problem?
Jimmy
November 2nd, 2012
9:44 pm
PigIron:
Amen.