5+1 reasons UGA’s loss was even worse than it seemed
Here's the first of Joe Cox's several interceptions. (AJC photo by Bob Andres)
1. With Georgia within 14 points and still 10 minutes to play, some 10,000 Georgia backers up and left. Think about that. You’ve paid for tickets, parking, food, hotel and gas/airfare to come watch your team, and your team still has a theoretical chance. (One tipped pass and it’s a one-score game.) And you have so little faith in your team that you walk out. And your program has won 10 or more games six times in the past seven seasons. This would seem to say, at least to me, that Mark Richt is losing his constituency.
2. When Georgia pulled within 14-10, it did its huddle-up-and-jump-around thing on the sideline, and I typed on the live chat, “I smell a late hit coming.” It came on the kickoff. Michael Gilliard, late hit. It is uncanny how this team cannot play by the rules.
3. Florida scored 41 points without doing anything extraordinary. No Gator rushed for 100 yards. No Gator had 100 yards receiving. Tim Tebow’s longest completion was for 29 yards. Not until the game’s final drive did Florida gain 30 yards on a scrimmage play. And the Gators didn’t throw a fourth-quarter pass (though Tebow was sacked once). And a merciful Urban Meyer had John Brantley take a knee with the ball on the Georgia 20. Think Spurrier would have?
Loading ...4. Joe Cox was supposed to be a game manager. Instead the fifth-year senior has been wilder than Matthew Stafford was as a freshman. Stafford had 13 interceptions in 2006 and didn’t start every game. Cox has 12 interceptions in eight games. And the second interception Saturday was just sad: Pressured, Cox tried to throw the ball out of bounds but couldn’t sling it far enough. The exact same thing had happened in Knoxville. Which brings us to …
5. Tennessee. It’s coming fast. If Georgia didn’t figure to finish ahead of Florida in 2009, neither did it seem any other SEC East school posed an imminent threat to the Bulldogs’ hold on second place. South Carolina is ensconced as a 7-5 or 8-4 team, and Kentucky and Vandy are Kentucky and Vandy. But Tennessee has now beaten Georgia and South Carolina and has played Florida and Alabama close, and that’s a scary sign. Because if Tennessee in Year 1 under Kiffin can have the same overall record as Georgia in Year 9 under Richt, what happens in 2010?
6. The black helmets. Just embarrassing.
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1,240 comments Add your comment
Dave In Tampa
November 1st, 2009
8:19 pm
We have just as much talent as any team in the nation. It’s all about coaching. They were not prepared. It was the worst time to mix in new pants and helmets….. Made us look bush league. I don’t want to give up on CMR yet. The past 2 seasons have been embarrassing. If he does not get rid of a couple coaches in the off season I will be changing my tune a year from now.
This team needs to win out and save the season, for the most part. Beat a good Tech team will help ease a frustrating season. Not sure the coaches will be able to get it done because with their offense you need to be DISCIPLINE………. We are in trouble.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:19 pm
maybe bobby’s slogan about being all you can be meant a felony is better than a misdomeaner.
UGA Rules
November 1st, 2009
8:19 pm
taken over from Miami, FSU and all comers, now known as the “Thugs” of D 1 football.
how low the program has sunk, just damn
jack bull
November 1st, 2009
8:20 pm
still waiting to hear who some of y’all would hire…
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2009
8:20 pm
Okay, another mystery quote: “We’re just going to look at the big picture at all positions.” For Tennessee Tech? For the rest of the season? What? Say something that people can understand, Coach.
"Real" Denver Dog
November 1st, 2009
8:20 pm
All you fair weather fans can KMA, Go Dawgs.
georgia74
November 1st, 2009
8:20 pm
Jack—come on man—-I’m a grad and I am soooo sick of “we win 10 games a year”——-NOT ANY MORE PAL. Herschel is gone too.
I care about RIGHT NOW—–and for the last 12-14 games we have not been prepared——and I am embarrassed the way this “team” has represented us.
We are 3rd best in the East—right now—-and that frigging hurts to say——when do you really feel we will win 10 games again??—-You and I both know it will NOT be in 2010. We are in dissaray and even Tech will be stealing the talent we need to compete.
I am getting old——-and getting old and tired of excuses—-we have had the players to win NC in the last 5 years and we are getting worse.
My Grandaddy used to say “if you are coasting—you are going downhill”—-and that my friend is exactly what we have been doing—-coasting and going DOWNHILL.
jOHN CHEEK
November 1st, 2009
8:21 pm
banshee, what kind of dikhed r u ? Saying !st gets you off?
This just in
November 1st, 2009
8:21 pm
Tebow scored again! How bout dem dawgs, sic em, woof woof
TW
November 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
At first I thought the Dawgs were wearing ugly helmets, but after watching the game I realized it was the team from Grambling that was playing the Gators.
Seriously though, we play a very poor brand of football. NOBODY wastes talent like UGA.
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
Be honest…wouldn’t like for UGA to end up below .500 so we could clean house?
jack bull
November 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
not jealous of UGA??? then why in the world are you on this blog and not your own?? oh yeah, that’s right, there’s not anyone on yours to discuss things with…..
TampaGator
November 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
2Dawgs…but the second best QB in the SEC, right now, will be the starting QB of Florida next year…and Brantley will have Moore and Debose back at WR to throw to. Brantley will probably throw 30 plus TD passes next year and the Gators D will again be very, very good. I think, in fact, the Gators will be even better next year based on the talent on that roster and the guys coming back from injury next year.
Delusional in Denver
November 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
Title says it all. Dawgs suck, if you can’t see it, or believe it, go shovel some more snow and get frostbite.
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2009
8:23 pm
jack bull – Jack Bull, if we can find him, would be better.
atl xmen
November 1st, 2009
8:23 pm
they are competeing for sec championshiops every 3 to 4 years..and now with the winner going to the national title game i look for them to be there within 2 years…when aj is senior…and fla is thew only reason they havent won the sec those other years..when tebow is gone with most of the seniors on their team..look for them to where uga is right now next year.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:24 pm
cheerleaders, i really wouldnt like that. i love athens. its my town.
Lowered Expectations
November 1st, 2009
8:24 pm
How quickly all you redneck curs abandon ship as soon as times get tough. For any team in the country outside of a UF or USC (which can reload every season), the year after losing 2 first-round NFL players is called a “rebuilding year.” Any moron could have told you that what you had in the pipe wasn’t worth dawg squeeze. I’m not surprised, but it pisses me off that you would can CMR, after what he’s done for that program, after one lousy year; all the success he’s had over 7 years, and he’ll fall victim to unrealistic expectations.
As a lifetime TECH supporter (and not a Tech-mite mind you. No, I endured 7 years of watching football so bad and boring it could make your eyes bleed: Reggie Ball running out the back of the end zone, throwing it away on 4th down, gomer gailey scratching his head in permanent befuddlement), the one thing that aggravated me about obnoxious redneck dawg fans was not the fact that most of them didn’t go to UGA (but somehow still felt it was their duty to rub our noses in it), but that they couldn’t figure out why 60K people didn’t want to pay to go watch crappy football. I suffered through what had to be some of the most aggravating crap in the FBS, but I didn’t blame the unwilling. Now ONE bad season and Athens will resemble a leper colony. Now you’re on the outside looking in and we see your fan base’s dedication. At least Tech fans gave their team more than one year. You rednecks aren’t DAWG fans, just a bunch of pathetic band-wagoneers. Next year they’ll be painting their heads white and gold and yelling TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!
See you in a month. Come git ya woopin!
Tocoa Dawg
November 1st, 2009
8:24 pm
There’s nothing to be jealous or envious of with this team, sad to say. Could care less about Tech, but the red and black have had a very forgettable season.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:25 pm
and who else would teach the new guys solja boy?
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:25 pm
Jack Bull….so far the names mentioned most on this board are Charlie Strong and Brian Kelly
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:26 pm
problem with richt is he either doesnt give a damn or is as lost as fart in a whirlwind.
atl xmen
November 1st, 2009
8:26 pm
spikes will gone and most of that def will be gone as well you might have some jrs leave early as well since the heart and soul is leaving..brantly doesnt scare me..uga has no problem with drop back qb most of the time….
PappyHappy
November 1st, 2009
8:26 pm
Time for some serious soul-searching on the part of the coaches — starting with the head coach. Did not see coaching on Oct 31. For Pete’s sake, I will never understand why Richt did not call time out and save a stupid ‘delay of game’ penalty!! Do they simply not have their own heads in the game??
They (the Dawgs) have a serious discipline problem on and off the field — that has been true since Richt came on the scene. WHY ARE THE CLOSE TO LEADING IN PENALTIES FOR DIVISION I teams??
UGA — IS IT TIME TO START LOOKING FOR A NEW COACH??
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:26 pm
So Willie, if we end up a little above .500 what happens?
Dawgie POO
November 1st, 2009
8:26 pm
How bout dem daaaaaaaaaaaaawwwgs. Ranked what 70th, congrats on that puppies. homecoming this weekend will fix all your problems, lift your spirits and renew your blind confidence in the dawgs, for one week! LOL
jack bull
November 1st, 2009
8:27 pm
i’m not that old, i’m just saying, who else would you hire? i’ll take 10 wins every year with a chance to win the SEC year in and year out…you’ve got to give UF some credit, they’ve been better than everyone in the country the last few years.. now, i will say that the losses coming to UT are unacceptable…
TampaGator
November 1st, 2009
8:28 pm
GADawg…I can’t make any sense out of your attempt at writing sentences. Are you sure you went to Georgia? If you are questioning Florida’s graduation rates for football players, the Gators under Meyer are doing OK in that department when compared to other SEC teams, I believe. Spikes came back for his senior year, in fact, and will graduate this year. Spikes behavior was a-typical (and I believe it was retaliation for all the cheap shots he received from Georgia players throughout the game) and he is a really good person and smart. Meyer is going to “have a serious talk” with Spikes about his behavior during the game, which was unacceptable to Meyer.
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2009
8:28 pm
atl xmen – I can’t remember the last time Tech finished 8-6. Never. Turn yourself in for a lesser offense. The may be able to get you into a program.
jack bull
November 1st, 2009
8:29 pm
strong or kelly? are you serious???
Yikes
November 1st, 2009
8:29 pm
can it get any worse than this? The answer is yes, unless both the fans and the university get serious and stop making excuses for the pitiful display of D 1 football we’ve seen this season. The players act like thugs, the coaches seem uninterested and the blind loyalists blog on that it’ll be fixed and get better.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:29 pm
cheerleaders, a little above .500 and i’m like the bad penny that wont go away!
73Dawg
November 1st, 2009
8:30 pm
Donnan went 7- 4 and was fired. Richt will go 6-6 at best, he should be fired.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:30 pm
good one del.
TampaGator
November 1st, 2009
8:31 pm
xmen…you better study the Florida roster. Yes, they will lose some people. But the Gators are loaded 3 deep at every position and they are having and will have a great recruiting year as well. And Brantley will scare you, and he is not a drop back QB only. He is extremely athletic and can run the ball. He is a lot like the QB at Utah during Meyer’s last year there (Smith at SF), but Brantley, according to Meyer, is much better.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:32 pm
donnan was a jerk. cmr is so sweet!
atl xmen
November 1st, 2009
8:32 pm
pappyhappy…its ok richt will be fine..he knows more about his team than anyone..even you…those coaches will have this team winning again real soon..each game the players are getting better and learning what to do and not to do..the flags and turnovers will stop…the defenses we play from here on out will not be that tough…
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
Exactly Willie.
And Jack Bull…I don’t know what do you think?
Dawghater
November 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
Hey Richt,
Break out those Black Helmets, Black Uni’s and Black pants for the Tech Game. Did Richt know those black helmets he brought out for a football game were better suited for a funeral!
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
take heart everyone: loran smith is going to take a look at the program from top to bottom and get this fixed.
LAdawg
November 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
The back of the the scoreboard at Sanford should be changed to “Welcome to the ‘Hood” with the gangsta music in the stadium and the gangsta attitude on the field. CMR feeds this to the players as if it makes him popular. I guess the administration at Morehouse doesn’t care about being popular; they are more concerned with creating a culture that will help their students assimilate into society as a whole and not just a segment of society since they are enforcing standards that are opposite of the gansta mentality.
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
And Goff couldn’t read
Dawg Gator--divided house!
November 1st, 2009
8:35 pm
Monty, thanks for your input. What I have experienced since moving to Georgia–which IS a GRREAT/Awesome state!–is that those who are Gators are too busy/mature to ‘hate’ like, sad to say, the ‘Dawgs do. You won’t find a bar/tavern in Gainvesille/TITLEville!, like they have in Athens called: Gator Hater! Hope your ‘experience’ with Gators at your brothers house was fun!
By the way, it was the Foundation for the Gator Nation,(by an UF grad who owns his own promotion company here in Atlanta) which started this “NATION” thing!–which Richt ‘copied’!
Leave it to the Gators to produce,i.e. GATOR AID!, ANOTHER thing WORTH copying/writing home about! GOOO GATORS!! GatorNATION, indeed!!
Here is an earlier print from one “classy” Bulldog fan, Please share it with your brother/other Gators by cutting and pasting:
Barkin’Dog
October 31st, 2009
9:01 pm
Somehow I get the feeling Florida may have held back a little the past three games, just to make Georgia look a little embarrassed today when they impressed the nation. Seemed to work, too. No matter how you slice it, Florida is a superior team. Not just in the SEC, but the nation… and they proved it today. This will be a springboard to an outstanding completion to the season, but throughout their title-winning national championship game in Pasadena. Then Tim Tebow will, no doubt, become an icon, an idol, perhaps the next Billy Graham… on steriods. That can’t be all bad. This country may need him someday. Heck, he might even be president within 11-12 years (in fact, as young as he was a stud in college football, I’d say he could be USpres in the next election or two… if he wants to). I’d probably vote for him, as I’ve learned to like the guy. He was first class in his closing comments about Georgia, too.
I wasn’t impressed with the Gators the last 3 games they played, no…but I was in this one. Congrats, Gator Fans. You deserve to crow! Now go win it all for the SEC.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:35 pm
LAdawg, amen. does the coach really think that the people who pay his salary hear that crap anywhere but the stadium?
jack bull
November 1st, 2009
8:36 pm
i would like to have Kirby Smart as our DC, seeing as he’s been under Saban for several years now., keep Martinez as the special teams coach, as we do need him to recruit south fla..
Delbert D.
November 1st, 2009
8:36 pm
Well put, LAdawg.
Jack Lambert dawg
November 1st, 2009
8:36 pm
Mark ,
Your line of work is pathetic. To sit here and fuel the lunitic fringe like your doing is low as it gets. These coaches and players have families. What your are doing is the dark side of college athletics and it makes me sick.
Like all true Georgia fans we are hurting today. Go ahead and kick us while we are down.. Do me a favor however, stay off our band wagon when we turn it around. The University of Georgia has some of the most loyal fans in America. Even after all the losses we have suffered the past twenty years we have no problem filling our half of the stadium in jax every year; and you know what, we will be back again next year.
By the way, if you watched the Brandon Spikes play on you tube and couldn’t see what happened you need to jumb off the gator band wagon. Perhaps you are planning to apply for a new job as a SEC instant replay official assigned to work only gator games. I hear the job pays pretty good.
willie martinez
November 1st, 2009
8:36 pm
goff could read; he just couldnt count.
cheerleaders
November 1st, 2009
8:37 pm
Jack Bull…what about as head coach?
And honestly, I don’t have a strong idea myself.
atl xmen
November 1st, 2009
8:38 pm
delbert d..2007 …2005..so on and so on..