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
Sane Tech Fan
October 31st, 2009
10:55 pm
Wally, have another Captain Morgan and ginger ale…
GatorGuy
October 31st, 2009
10:55 pm
Dawg Fan,
Cheer up. The following people/teams/organizations are ready to support you in all your endeavors.
1. Sen John McCain
2. Sen John Kerry
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Rep. Cynthia McKinney
6. France
7. Kentucky Colonels
8. Keith Olbermann
Stay Tuned. We are still trying to get a firm commit from the Buffalo Bills. And yes, it is true, CMR is taking a long hard look at that Chick-Fil-A franchise in Snellville. As my long time readers know, I still think that Church’s Fried Chicken is a better fit for his style.
Major props to CBS for not showing the UF Zapruder film (Belue to Scott, 1980).
Happy Holidays to You & Yours
I am
Your Gator Guy
UF 87
JaxDawg
October 31st, 2009
10:56 pm
Willie Martinez should be let go NOW!! He has TWO FREAKIN WEEKS to prepare and the best he can do is trot his same tired ol cookie cutter one size fits all soft zone defense out there?!!
Richt’s blind loyalty will be his undoing.
-Cox should be on the bench-PERIOD! Turn the reigns over to Gray and Murray they are the future.
We’ve had 21 turnovers this year and Cox is responsible for 14 of them!!! 11 INTs and 2 Fumbles! At least ONE INT EVERY GAME! IF A.Murray is as good as advertised we will lose him after his redshirt sophmore/Junior season, so why not burn his shirt and get him work now to prepare him for next season. He CAN’T do any worse than Cox
-Fire Willie NOW!!! Let Garner run the defense for the rest of the season and have Damon start working up a short list so we can make the move right at the end of the season and preserve recruiting.
-Move Samuel to LB NOW, he will be more valuable to the team and himself in this position. Ealy, King and Thomas can handle the run duties, let him go ahead and start the transition now so he’ll be that much more prepared for spring drills.
If Richt CAN NOT make the tough descisons then he needs to go PERIOD. I think Richt has the ability to be an elite coach, but he’s got to grow a set and be willing to cut dead weight. THIS is a prime example of why you DO NOT HIRE FRIENDS. Nine times out of 10 NOTHING good will come of it.
I still love the Dawgs and as I took my sons Trick or Treating tonight I kept my gear on here in Jacksonville.
The players, fans, and alumni ALLL deserve MUCH better than what we’re getting. I will say Bobo called a good game today, and it would have been interesting to see what Murray could have done vs noodle armed Cox!
This Program is at a crucial turning point. Either heads remain buried in the sand and we will continue to wallow in medocricy OR the TOUGH descisions will be made and the ship will be righted.
IF SOME MAJOR CHANGES DON’T TAKE PLACE SOON, then Tenn, GT, Auburn, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and even Miss State are going to blow right past UGA, there are signs at all of them that they are closer to doing so than not.
Jonny Rotten
October 31st, 2009
10:56 pm
It just a down year, we lost playmakers. We can still win out and make sure we are ranked next year when we get a good QB. I see us competing for the MNC in two or 3 years. Things are fine, leave CMR alone.
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
10:56 pm
Let’s go deep here (unlike the UGA offense this year). For those saying that CMR could not walk away from his job… my understanding he is a devoutly religious man (which I am NOT). Shouldn’t that be enough for him to understand the signifigance of his position regardless of MONEY?
Mobile Dawg
October 31st, 2009
10:56 pm
I thought the AJC reported a few days back that per Richt Martinez wasn’t going anywhere, a gurantee given to a recruit? Martinez is part of the problem but the bar is set by the head coach, at least at UF and UA, those two have set the bar in the SEC.
jdawg
October 31st, 2009
10:57 pm
The hardest part to bear is this: As bad as this year looks, next year looks even worse. We will be starting a true freshman with no experience at quarterback. Our best defensive players, to the extent we have any, will be gone, and we are going to get hammered by bama, tennessee, and florida in recruiting.
savanadawg
October 31st, 2009
10:58 pm
Oh, and one more thing for us dawg fans too chew on. Back in 2000 we we’re looking for a coach right!!!! Well there is one we could have easily had whom was already proven and had National Championships but sad to say somebody said his offense wouldn’t work in the SEC. What profoundness. I sometimes wonder if Georgia folk’s know what a “WINNER” is?? Football is not about what scheme you run. It most definitly IS about WHO is running it.
lj
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
It’s the truth. I’m a Vol fan but I follow Georgia closely simply because I live here in the middle of it. Richt reminds me of Phil Fulmer, loyal to a fault. Sticking with Randy Sanders for so long is what I believe ultimately did Fulmer in.
Georgia’s defense has been horrid under Martinez, & the offensive side has looked pretty weak since Richt handed over play-calling to Bobo.
Tucker
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
Can we see some more of those pictures of Mark Richt and the Dawgs jumping off the diving board in the pre-season? Looks like they were practicing for the dive they knew they were going to take by the middle of the season. Of course that would be the dive from any semblance of national or regional prominence. Top recruits going with the Dawgs defy logic.
Jake Scott
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
The Bulldogs will beat Florida next year.
Tommy
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
Heck, I’d like to see CWM coaching these kids on the sideline. I noticed today after one of Florida’s score, they showed the bench and the defense was just sitting there like oh well, no emotion whatsoever. I’d like to see Willie in there with a clipboard, have them in a huddle chewing them out, giving them instructions or something instead of just letting them just sit there. That’s what coaching is all about.
CMR Must GO
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
Show you the difference between a program with class and a program without class with a thug mentality. I noticed that, unlike Georgia, that GT didn’t jump up and down on Vandy’s V after destroying them tonight. Nor did they hold a “dance” contest. GT is classly, Georgia is the opposite of class.
DW
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
*Mark* So, who would be the candidates for defensive coordinator for Georgia?
jhol
October 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
I hate to say it , but the boys at the trade school are skilled, and afraid of their coach, and have a very good, disciplined system, and are AFRAID of making mistakes, don’t get me wrong, I love UGA, but I am a realist, I have seen them both play, we are in trouble with our team and I hate to say it
Mobile Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:00 pm
Relax jdawg, the fish are still biting in the Gulf. Maybe we can take a few recruits fishing, or did Alabama already try that.
Ed N.
October 31st, 2009
11:00 pm
Please go back to our traditional uniforms–silver britches, red or white jerseys, red helmets. Quit playing around with our schools tradition!
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:00 pm
Sane Tech Fan… near future, probable. Long term, maybe. CFB is cyclacle (spelling?). GT dominated in the mid 1900s. There’s nothing to say it might not return. I hope not, I would rather see competitive games as it brings a good feeling to the end of the season.
GatorGuy
October 31st, 2009
11:01 pm
News Flash from Washington DC
The Obama Healthcare bill making its way through Congress has just rec’d a new amendment Seems that the controversial “Public Option” has been altered to include Dawg Fans. The way it works is as follows:
If your team is not good (like UGA) you can go outside the network and root for another team until your alma mater gets its act together. I think this will draw strong bi-partisan support from loyal Dawg People who are unhappy with the team they are stuck with. I will keep you posted on any developments.
Nighttrain99
October 31st, 2009
11:01 pm
Richt will soon accept the head coach position at FSU. He’ll leave the progam just as he found it…. a mid-level SEC East Team with great talent but a poor coaching staff. Alabama = Saban, LSU = Miles, UF = Meyers, UGA = ? When will UGA alumni man up and not contribute their $ for 8-4 coaches?
A sad Dawg Fan
October 31st, 2009
11:02 pm
I knew the game was lost, right at the beginning when GA deferred posession to the 2nd half, and ran the ball the first few plays of the game. GA, sad to say, must give up trying to establish the passing game with a running game that is non-existant. GA must get back to the basics and learn agressive offensive blocking schemes with controllled authroity. We make way too many mistakes and have too many penalties to have a dominate rushing game. Discipline must come from the coaching staff first. It doesn’t matter the quality players you recruit, if you do coach the basics.
Sane Tech Fan
October 31st, 2009
11:02 pm
Walton. Yes. I was pulling for my UGA today for several reasons. Much rather have them be in a meaningful situation at year’s end.
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:02 pm
Tommy, haven’t seen a defensive coah doing that on the UGA sideline since CBVG was there…
Gator D
October 31st, 2009
11:03 pm
I figured we would win, but I was disappointed with the way Georgia played. They were starting fights, poked Tebow in the eye and a host of other things. I was glad to see my Gators just walk away from most of it.
Brandon Spike Eye Gouging Video
October 31st, 2009
11:04 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDOy-RMIpF0
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:04 pm
Sad dawg… why cna’t UGA establish the run this year? Loss of Moreno? Searles? What’s the problem with the running game? Someone please tell me???
Mobile Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:05 pm
To late GatorGuy, congrats to the War Eagle and GT, got ties to those schools also. Always a Dawg first, and will be pulling for UF, UA, or LSU for the MNC….
Gator Growl
October 31st, 2009
11:05 pm
Mark Richt is known as a good coach. Urban Meyer is known as a great coach and is one more national championship from being a legendary coach. Sorry Georgia, but he’s THAT good. And recruiting is only a third of it. LONG LIVE THE POPE!! And BTW, you BETTER hope he goes to ND, It’s the ONLY chance you have to take back this series.
Final Assessment
October 31st, 2009
11:05 pm
Would Urban Meyer win with Georgia recruits? Absolutely. Steve Spurrier asked, what happens to these top recruits once they set foot on the Georgia campus? The answer is, not a whole heck of alot.
An SEC caliber quarterback, as some posters have suggested that Joe Cox is not, would not make a bit of difference. If CMR could lose to Florida by a score of 49-10 with a quarterback like Stafford, the Dawgs quarterback situation is not really the problem.
To make my case for the difference a coach can make, take a look at the 3 years Florida had Zook. Excellent recruiting but very poor program management and coaching. Insert Urban Meyer with those same players and you have a national champion.
CMR is not as bad as Zook, but the Georgia assistants are much worse than the assistants under Zook in those 3 years. Net result is what you are witnessing.
GatorGuy
October 31st, 2009
11:05 pm
Balloon Boy says ” Hey Dawg Fans, if UGA will put Colorado on the schedule, my family promises to stage another hoax. We could call it “Preseason rankings”, or CMR motivational tricks, or my favorite
“If only Stafford, Moreno, etc…………….. were still here.
BooHoo
October 31st, 2009
11:05 pm
is there a high school team in athens you can cheer for?
vuduchld
October 31st, 2009
11:06 pm
UGA has been a medicore team all year. Look at the wins, all except one could have easliy been losses. This program is going nowhere over the next several years and will be lucky if the dregs of the SEC won’t surpass them. UGA is in danger of not only going to a bowl, but acheiveing a winng season. This team sucks.
McDonoughGator
October 31st, 2009
11:06 pm
First of all, my remarks at not at the UGA fans. My remarks are to Mark Bradley. I have great respect for the Georgia program, their history, and their tradition.
I am from north Florida, but I have resided in the Atlanta area for over 27 years.
Mark, what is your problem? You bait the UGA fan base with crap like, ” Ga has Florida right where they want them.”
My biggest gripe with your little wimp butt is this, why do you continue to run our coach and our program? Give it a break. Take all of your personal “Kentucky” bs out of the argument. Give Urban Meyer a little credit.
I have personally met you. You would be hard-pressed to carry a flute during half band performance.
Be a real man Mark, give the University of Florida, and Urban Meyer a little credit. You couldn’t wear Tony’s pants with Jay Leno’s ass!!
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:06 pm
Gator D… I thought I saw some of the same things. However, not being on the field, I am not sure what was said to provoke. Personally, I don’t care what is said to me, but most of the younger generation DO.
uberVU - social comments
October 31st, 2009
11:06 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley: Another black day in Jax reveals UGA as second-rate. http://bit.ly/1hZsJe…
Sane Tech Fan
October 31st, 2009
11:06 pm
BTW, Walton…. good luck in your scrimmage game next weekend against Tenn. Tech.
Vince
October 31st, 2009
11:07 pm
If that cross-eyed kid had not left us for the NFL, we would have beat the Gators
Pit bull
October 31st, 2009
11:08 pm
Matineze is taking the dawgs down. Coach Richt is leting him. Why? Only Coach Richt knows for sure. The level of Coaching in the SEC has risen since Richt first arrived. We now have excellent assistant coaches at many schools. At Ga Richt thinks by paying his assiatants the same big money makes them excellent Coaches. What a freaking joke that is. Damon Evans, it’s your move! Lead, or give the job to someone like Foley of Fla for example.
Snoop Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:09 pm
Are you mangy mutts crazy? Martinez works for Richt. Bozo works for Richt. Richt is making $3M per year = $100 for every student enrolled at UGA. RICHT IS A LOUSY COACH. He’s lived off Donnan and all the talent that has grown up wanting to wear the Red and Black. IT IS TIME TO FIRE MARK RICHT THE PREACHA MAN. Don’t blame the assistants; blame the man.
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:09 pm
Final Assessment… VERY good points sir (or ma’am)!!! I was saying the same thing in 2004 when CMR was using Donnan players to win against WEAKER coaching in the SEC.
DC Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:09 pm
Gator Fan, your public option idea is very funny.
To Sad Dawg Fan and others: Yes, college football success is largely determined by the quality of the coaching staff. That’s why Nick Saban can take a depleted Bama roster and have them positioned as a legitimate national championship contender in two seasons. The guy has game, and so does Urban Meyer. Leadership sets the standard. Leadership sets the expectations. Leadership sets the tone. All of these SEC athletes have the talent to win. They just need the tools and guidance to lead them to victory, something the Bama and UF coaches are providing.
jacketnation
October 31st, 2009
11:09 pm
aaahhhaaaahhhhhaaaaahhhhaa. We scored 56 on Vandy and had 600 yards offense. We won again and you lost…again. What a great Halloween. Trick or Treat!
Yuck
October 31st, 2009
11:10 pm
Gator Guy,
Whatever. You’re a loser. You put down UGA instead of praising your own team. Classy. I am glad most Florida fans aren’t like you.
Wil Walton
October 31st, 2009
11:11 pm
Sorry Sane Tech Fan, forgot to include you guys too… winning agains the WEAKER coaching at Tech as well.
alpharetta
October 31st, 2009
11:12 pm
Man, the Oregon players are half the size of SoCal players. They may just beat SoCal outright tonight with their ugly-colored uniform.
Louisiana Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:12 pm
Is Richt going to ride the lame horse (AKA Joe Cox) into his sunset. The season is a wash, put in a new QB to get some experience for next season. Get rid of Bobo & Martinez. DISCIPLINE!! We can only shoot ourselves in the foot so many times before the foot falls off. Penalties are killing us because the Dawgs are not disciplined!! Sic ‘em dawgs!!!
Bradley listen up
October 31st, 2009
11:12 pm
now that it is all over but the crying do you think Mr. College Football and Mark Bradley 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, what about you Bradley? You going to ignore GT too?
Snoop Dawg
October 31st, 2009
11:13 pm
Make the Mutts wear black inr mourning until Da Preacha Man is gone…
Pit bull
October 31st, 2009
11:13 pm
Gator Growl, if Meyer leaves the gators you should still be Ok. Folley is going to find the best man possible. If he doesn’t perform, Foley will can his ass and get another replacement like he did for Zook. Are you listening Damon Evans and Adams?
45ACP
October 31st, 2009
11:14 pm
I guess Pete Carroll at USC has forgot how to coach also.