Another black day in Jax reveals UGA as second-rate
One is hunting a third BCS title; the other isn't bowl-eligible. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Jacksonville — The game was a total loss, but the lesson imparted need not be. After yet another lost Saturday in Duval County, this much is beyond dispute: Georgia is no longer a major player in its division, let alone the nation.
Mark Richt began his somber media briefing by saying, “Well, here we are again.” And there they were, lopsided losers. It was 49-10 last season and 41-17 this time, and for all the good work Richt did in the early part of this decade, he and his program have been lapped by Urban Meyer. And Richt, once so clever and driven, seems to have run out of ideas.
He tried the color-scheme gimmick Saturday, presenting his players with black helmets after they’d warmed up in the usual red headgear. The upshot of this was to make Georgia look like an Arena league team and to cow the nation’s No. 1 team not one whit. After 11 1/2 minutes, the guys in the orange hats led the guys in the black hats 14-0.
“It’s not the helmet,” safety Reshad Jones said. “It’s what inside the helmet.”
Well, yes. With an extra week to prepare, Willie Martinez seemed even more witless than usual. As bad as the Gators’ first two touchdowns were, the third was an affront to everything Red and Black. Facing third-and-3 at the Georgia 23 with 1:32 left in the half, Florida ran a simple option. Tim Tebow faked a handoff and burst up the middle. He scored the touchdown that put him ahead of the hallowed Herschel Walker without being touched.
“They’re a good team,” said defensive end Justin Houston. “But it seemed like every time we made a bad play, they capitalized on it.”
In the first half Georgia had eight penalties. In the second it had four interceptions. If it was to have any chance against the Gators, it had to play a clean game. Instead it authored another in a series of messes.
If we’re to believe recruiting rankings, the gulf between Georgia and Florida shouldn’t be so pronounced. But Saturday was another installment of men against boys, and it called to mind the barb Steve Spurrier sunk into Ray Goff in this stadium 18 years ago: “Georgia gets all these players — I don’t know what happens to them.”
Players go to Florida and get, to invoke another Spurrier-ism, coached up. Players come to Georgia and are left to their own devices. Martinez is a substandard defensive coordinator, and no other position coach can be said to have done fabulous work. (Unless you count Kevin Butler, who isn’t a coach but who did sire the prodigious punter Drew Butler.)
Said Richt: “We’re 4-4 this season. I don’t think it’s an indictment of the program. I think it’s an indictment of where we are this year.”
Except Georgia has underachieved three times in the past four seasons, and as Richt himself noted Saturday: “There’s no guarantee of a bowl. The question is, will we play a game when we don’t do something that hinders us from being the best we can be?”
The Bulldogs have never lost more than four games under Richt, but they’ve never been 4-4 under this coach, either. Regarding possible changes, he said: “It’s not good to make decisions within minutes of an emotional game. You’ve got to settle your mind and settle your spirit, and then see where you are.”
As darkness fell on Halloween 2009, Georgia was again where it has been too often. The program that has all the resources was left to wonder why it has fallen so far behind Florida. And the ugly truth has never been more apparent: Florida might or might not have better players, but it absolutely has better coaches.
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1,165 comments Add your comment
dandydawg
November 1st, 2009
12:00 am
Dangerous…best idea yet. Same as Edwards…great back coaches were too stupid to realize the talent..
GTman
November 1st, 2009
12:00 am
MB, you just got routed by UF again and you want to hang your hat on the fact that you held Vandy to 10 pts?? Really?
Another indication of how far UGA (and apparently fans such as you) has fallen. We will see another example of how far you have fallen come 11/28.
Maybe you guys will become a respectable football team again when you forget about black this and black that and get back to blocking and tackling. That was just plain sad today. Even with UF being my second favorite team today, I would liked to have seen a competitive game.
THWG! 45-42…. Just the beginning.
stew
November 1st, 2009
12:01 am
my patience has run out. richt can’t coach. or can’t find competent assistants. either way. it is time to start over.
George "Kingfish" Stevens
November 1st, 2009
12:01 am
I knows that ain’t the real Keith Henderson, unless he gots somebody else to do the writin’ fo him.
Knowshon ain’t cross-eyed, he gots blu eyes. one blu east and da other blu west!
stew
November 1st, 2009
12:02 am
oh yeah, the uniforms sucked. not that the traditional colors would have done any good. Ga. Tech rules the state now. really sad
Dion
November 1st, 2009
12:02 am
does anyone know the requirements for a player 2 keep his redshirt. murray should have been playin by now. oh yeah willie martinez sucks, can i get someone to concur with that?
Dawg4Life
November 1st, 2009
12:03 am
forget being undisciplined, forget being outplayed, and outcoached. Until the dawgs get past the sense of entitlement of having stuck with the program as a determination of playing time, georgia will never make NCG. How do you red shirt two quarterbacks in the same year with Joe Cox and Logan Gray as your quarterbacks? how do you continue to trot Cox out game after game when he is ill equipped ill prepared and unable.
Gravy Train
November 1st, 2009
12:06 am
Let me get this right: Mark Richt has a mediocre season and the drunkard ignoramus faction of “fans” want him gone?
So do you think Pete Carroll or Bob Stoops are dealing with this as well? What about Jim Tressell?
Nah, their fans aren’t quite as delusional it seems.
Mark Richt built the high expectations that you feel entitled to. I know, let’s stab him in the back and bring in a corn bread coach who has a nice fluffy record. The only reason Boise State and Cincinatti and TCU are ranked so high is because strength of schedule was taken out of the BCS equation. But let’s not let small things like reality get in the way of our drunken, non alumnus, sans financial contributor, embarassments.
Let’s be like Mark Bradley and kick Richt around some more, and in public no less. No wonder Bush ever got elected with folks like this around.
Maybe this season should show you how impressive it is to have enjoyed numerous ten win seasons. No, because of Richt’s success you are entitled for more.
We’ve had a terrible Governor running this state into the ground and where are you? Senators out golfing and covering for their corporate pimps and where are you?
Let’s just focus all our disappointment on the best coach that Georgia football has ever had. It was him that threw all the picks today. It was him that stood by as Tebow walked into the endzone.
Sure Martinez probably will be demoted, but it will be done in a way that doesn’t damage recruiting.
Cox is playing because he knows the playbook best…Gray obviously only gets to read half of the field. That said, I agree we should like to develop others. Murray has a shoulder issue though and Mettenberger is really green.
I’ll leave it to you Playstation All-Americans to discuss.
THWG
November 1st, 2009
12:06 am
Does anyone know how the UGA/FL game ended up today?:-)
Roger
November 1st, 2009
12:07 am
Damn, even ESPN dogged on UGA. “It would be a rivalry if Georgia would beat Florida once in awhile”. Ha, good stuff…
GT For You And Me
November 1st, 2009
12:07 am
I can’t believe GA wore black and white. I guess it kinda went with the black and blue beating they took!
Big L
November 1st, 2009
12:08 am
It just ain’t good enough anymore. Grey is not the starter next year , get Murray ready. I tell you what, this WILL start effecting recruits. Richt has changed nothing, the two years we won the SEC, we lost to Florida. I am just tired of this and do not know if Richt can fix it.
THWG
November 1st, 2009
12:08 am
I agree with Gravy Train – keep Mark Richt and please sign him to a lifetime contract.
Signed, GT fan club.
northgacatt
November 1st, 2009
12:09 am
Hire Ed Orgeron as our defensive coordinator. Great recruiter good defensive mind and we can start breaking up,like it or not that great Vol staff
THWG
November 1st, 2009
12:11 am
I heard Florida just scored again. Tebow is now 3 up on Herschel.
Wil Walton
November 1st, 2009
12:11 am
Dangerous and Dandy… that would be nice,but not sure that he would avoid injuries.
Gravy… they DO get the same questions, we just don’t hear about it here in the south.
Whatever
November 1st, 2009
12:12 am
hmmmmmmmmmmmm…………………………..
Not Disappointed!
November 1st, 2009
12:14 am
“Richt wears black panties,” what coach in their right mind well want to come coach behind CMR if he is fired?” I know the bulldawg nation is mad at the moment, but just sleep on it. Anyone can yell and call names?
CMR needs to make some changes true, but not fired after 1 BAD YEAR! That is not realistic. This isn’t NFL Football!!!!
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:14 am
lol
Whatever
November 1st, 2009
12:15 am
UGA played UF tougher than they did last year……How’s that team on North Avenue doing?????? THWG!
ckgator
November 1st, 2009
12:16 am
Enough whining about eye gouging, Dawg fans. If anything, you should be furious about how undisciplined your team is – cheap shots and personal fouls galore. Remember when Spikes had to take himself out of the game holding his eye? I wonder what caused that?
If you want to suspend Spikes for eye gouging, you also need to suspend Davis for ripping Spikes’ helmet off, pulling his hair, etc.
Quit your belly aching. We stepped on your necks today. Deal with it.
Go Gators!
nate
November 1st, 2009
12:16 am
Gator Man,
You trash talk about as much as your football players and future students in the finer correctional institutions in the Sunshine state. Everytime I visit the Jacksonsville area, I am amazed at the illiteracy rate in the area for which the UF has greatly attributed to as well as the dense beach surfers dudes who invented that silly gator chomp…..who thought of that after drinking the bong water.
Get a refund check on the piece of toilet paper you call a degree, dude!!!
Gator bait
November 1st, 2009
12:17 am
Yes Gator fans you have it correct…UGA gets their @ss kicked by you and they come on this blog and abuse the GT people because it is all the cowards know to do…Before our games, they talk about how we are going to get killed especially when we play an SEC team and when we win, then they say “oh you did not play anybody”…funny but I do not see them scheduling any games against ACC opponents though they make fun of it every day. Would love to see a UGA and Clemson game..but noooooooooooo……neither team is ranked …but UGA won’t do it..
C and C Automotive
November 1st, 2009
12:18 am
Roy Mullins, i might be that little skinny sob you bought that rim off of. Georgia always did run a mighty d^%$ sh&$#y program anyway, i always thought.
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:18 am
((((( 8-1 ))))) hahahhahahahahaha
((((( 4-4 ))))) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Roger
November 1st, 2009
12:19 am
nate, your dawgs just got their ass beat,,,,, again by UF,,,, go to bed,,,,,
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:20 am
((((( Top 10 ))))) Hahahahahahahahahaha
((((( top 80 ))))) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
whats up with that?
November 1st, 2009
12:20 am
now that it is all over but the crying do you think Mr. College Football and the AJC sportwriters can take a look at GT’s Johnathon Dwyer as a Heisman candidate? 180 yds rushing tonight against Vandy, but nooooooooo all Barnhart can talk about is Spiller of Clemson..how bout getting your head out of Georgia’s behind and give Dwyer some favor..The ESPN announcers of the game said they felt GT was the best one loss team in the country, funny that national media starting to see it but not Mr. College Football blind as a goat in a hailstorm.. It would be nice to have the local media supports but will get the nations support without you one way or the other
G Man
November 1st, 2009
12:20 am
Richt is a good coach and he has very good coordinators. The breaks (including the calls) just didn’t go the dogs’ way. They’ll have much better luck next year. Keep the entire staff intact. Except maybe bring in Chan as QB coach. Too bad Cox doesn’t have another year. I like our thuggish players though, they give me hope and inspiration. Go Dogs!
bulldawg4life
November 1st, 2009
12:20 am
lets be clear, tech fans/one good yr. & you wanna think you’re the new coming w/a gimmicky triple option offense. once teams gets accustom to the foolery like miami, you’ll go back to the wet bar ery’week-n & play tie-the best shirt-knot. georgia will be fine, we’re hurting right now but we’ll be fine. ps. ALWAYS SCREAMING FIRE THE COACH, BUT THIS IS NOT CORPORATE-AMERICA, ITS 2-MEN LINING-UP/ONE-ON-ONE & WHO REALLY WANT IT. now if the other 10-guys react the same way, then missed tackles/miss blocks/miss coverages will not kill us, when we occasionally decide to do those things. doesn’t sound totally a coaches fault. PLAYMAKERS, WHO WANNA MAKE A PLAY – the team with the most playmakers normally wins and georgia honestly does not have many this yr. in that realm. WE’RE JUST A WRESTLING-TEAM RIGHT NOW, WEARING FOOTBALL PADS…tag, now its your time to hold/ pull a face-mask, smile for the crowd in the bulldawg uniform…etc, etc, etc CRAP THAT WHIP, MARK RICHT its time to get back to other schools knowing that somebody going to be helped-off the field((WE’RE NOT BRINGING IT, AND THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS ON THE STARTERS. DONT CARE WHO THE COACHES ARE)) jacksonville ran off tim couglin, and he went to new york to win a championship. PLAYMAKERS, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL is what MISSING
we’re fine, just need to stop being timid
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:21 am
((((( Orange Bowl ))))) Hahahahahahahahahahahah
((((( No Bowl ))))) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
whats up with that?
November 1st, 2009
12:21 am
now that it is all over but the crying do you think Mr. College Football and AJC sportswriters can take a look at GT’s Johnathon Dwyer as a Heisman candidate? 180 yds rushing tonight against Vandy, but nooooooooo all Barnhart can talk about is Spiller of Clemson..how bout getting your head out of Georgia’s backside and give Dwyer some favor..The ESPN announcers of the game said they felt GT was the best one loss team in the country, funny that national media starting to see it but not Mr. College Football blind as a goat in a hailstorm
Athens Born and Bred
November 1st, 2009
12:22 am
Look, I am as loyal to the UGA as a non-alumni can get. But what made Richt so great early in the decade was having great assistants around him, a strong we are going to win no matter the effort required, few penalties… Now our defense and offense even with really good players, forgiving for injuries, are lacking. Look around the college football world, Kirby Smart is running the Bama D and the are killing, Will Muschamp is at Texas. Both teams are #2 & #3 respectfully. All the love in the world to W. Martinez. But you have to cut the bleeding somewhere. Those two men were homegrown and bred. We need to bring in a top notch, fresh prespective for the D. otherwise it will remain stale and never get better just worse. Some fault lies with the players for not executing the plays, but when it happens repeatedly it falls to the coaches who coach them for not having prepared them properly. We need to act and act soon. Not this season, just let it finish playing out. I just can’t stand the fact that in my memorable lifetime against the hated Gators we are 4 for 20. It makes me sick.
Big L
November 1st, 2009
12:22 am
I love these Tech fans who wanna kick the Dawgs in a down season. Yeah 5 star players are going to tech because the high school triple option gets you to the NFL. Losers, none of you big city , crime city of Atlanta loving geniuses were talking this kinda smack when you were getting your heads kicked in for seven strait years. Tech had NFL players in those years too. How come tech is a football school when they win , but a smart basketball school when they loose?
slobodan
November 1st, 2009
12:24 am
It’s official. The Dawgs’ are a mediocre program. I’ll give Joe Cox an “E” for effort; but he is a “one read and throw” qb. If the first read don’t work, he’s lost and tries to run the play anyway. The defense needs total rebuilding. The Dawgs’ LBs are substandard. I’ll give Curran and “E” for effort;but, what type LB would you rather have in the center core of your defense? McClain/Spikes (6′4″ >240lbs) or Curran? The other LBs don’t tackle well and Curran is easily blocked. The Dawgs’ DBs are playing guessing games and never recognize routes or know where the ball is. They don’t have anyone that can rove and disrupt a la Eric Berry. The main thing with the recruiting; seems to be geared toward highly rated skill/track type players. Linemen and tough guy/football players seem to be low on the priority list..Tuberville and Fulmer found out last year; you better keep pace and adapt in the SEC.
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:24 am
Tell me again how great the dog nation is and how irrelevant Tech is
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
blue
November 1st, 2009
12:24 am
The reason we have second teir OFF and DEF coaches is because we dont pay our ass coaches kriby Smart at ALB makes 900,000 a year CWM and CMB make 220,000
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:27 am
Anybody else from georgia want to comment on Tech’s “gimmick, high school offense”?
DFWTX Dawg
November 1st, 2009
12:27 am
2nd rate my arse. I wish we were 2nd rate. CMR should have fired CWM at the end of 2006. The losses to Auburn and WV in 2005 combined with Blowing the 24-07 lead to the Vols. in 2006 should have convinced CMR that CWM is inept. Defensive Coordinator is a total misnomer of a Job Title with CWM running the defense. UGA’s defense looks confused, apprehensive, unsound, fundamentally inept, and completely undisciplined. Succintly, they look uncooridinated.
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:27 am
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Embarrassed
November 1st, 2009
12:27 am
Spent $3000 going to the game with my entire family of 6. Sat behind the ga. bench and saw firsthand the attitude and character of this team. Left totally disappointed not just that we lost. But the way we lost: Had to watch totally non-chalant Caleb King and Washaun Ealey dancing on the sideline in the 3rd and 4th quarter when we were down 2-3 touchdowns. Players who are just not focused and coaches that rarely discipline poor attitdues or mistakes on the field. This tells me that Ritch has lost total control of the team. After watching Georgia for the past 25 years, the last 2 seasons reminds me of the golf years. I hate to say it but I think Ritch is through…winning is not the only priority and unfortunately in this league, it has to be or you get left behind.
S3
November 1st, 2009
12:27 am
It’s time for UGA to leave the SEC for another league where they can contribute. Among the lesser SEC programs, Vanderbilt gas stellar academics; certainly not a claim tha UGA ca seriously consider. Today’s black grambling replica helmets was an embarassment to youselvrs and to the conference. Your image is now closer to Morehouse than Alabama and leaves your subhuman fan base harder for the rest of us to tolerate. Like Army, Yale, and other second tier teams, you have a few memories of glory (29 years ago), but the time is well past and you’re living on the better SEC team’s bowl contributions.
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:28 am
Hahahahahahahahaha
Reality Check
November 1st, 2009
12:29 am
Hey Mark- thanks for waking up to what Gator fans have known for years. A Richt coached team will NEVER threaten Florida’s dominance in the SEC East. He’s a nice guy, but he’s also soft.
HOW BOUT THEM GATORS!
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:31 am
It’s not Richt
It’s not Bobo
It’s not Searles
Its not Garner
It’s not Martinez
IT’S THE DOG NATION, DOG BLOGS AND THE DOG BLOGGERS.
You azzholes have completely destroyed your program in just 12 months.
Pi$$onaDAWG
November 1st, 2009
12:32 am
That was terrible, but did you see some of the calls in the Tech Vandy game? I don’t pull for the Dawgs, but I don’t want them getting embrassed either unless Tech is doing it. You guys should be pi$$ed enough by the time you get to Atlanta this year.
UGA VII needs to be fired for sure and that could help turn your season around. I really believe that. And quit the fashion show crap. It does nothing to the other team and it is not making the DAWGS respectable.
Elliot Garcia
November 1st, 2009
12:33 am
What was the name of the Georgia player that was trying to gauge Tebow’s eye out?
Alan Gaudry
November 1st, 2009
12:33 am
Richt had his chance with top rated running backs and top rated QB’s and couldn’t pull it off in the pass seasons with him at the helm. Richt had two weeks to prepare his team for florida and couldn’t even stay up with the florida coaching staff, It’s not about his record its about taking Georgia to the next level in SEC football. Georgia Fans who do you want to lead our future players to the next level? I for one have finally given up on the Mark Richt era.
Yelloe Fuzz
November 1st, 2009
12:34 am
Players and recruits read what you write and I’d bet 90% of the georgia players wish they had signed somewhere else. It’s hard to play well when you’re afraid of making a mistake and the dog nation puts that pressure on it’s players. You deserve every dissapointment you get!
tw3a
November 1st, 2009
12:34 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDOy-RMIpF0