A powerful performance by a suddenly powerful UGA team
Did this guy outcoach Paul Johnson? Yes he did. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
There have been times lately when we’ve wondered, “Who are these guys?” Because they weren’t the Bulldogs we’d come to know and admire. They were undisciplined and undercoached. They were always reacting to an opponent, never forcing the issue. They were a finesse team, and a team devoid of force doesn’t win big in the broad-shouldered SEC.
But on the final night of an underwhelming regular season, Georgia played as if it remembered its breeding. It acted like an SEC team. It ran the ball with fury and blocked like the crack of dawn and played big-boy football. And at halftime we were saying, “Who are these guys?”
Because these weren’t the Bulldogs of recent vintage. These were tougher, stronger, meaner. They had come into the stadium of a team looking to solidify its hold on a rivalry and a state, and they’d been the aggressor from the first. Indeed, they were the aggressor from the coin toss. Georgia won it and, rather than do as every coach does in modern football, Mark Richt didn’t defer his choice. He wanted the ball and he wanted it now.
And when his men got it, they pounded Tech in a way Georgia never pounds anybody anymore. Ten plays, all runs, Caleb King and Washaun Ealey taking turns, the unassuming offensive line blowing massive holes in the Tech line. Ten plays, all runs, and just like that Georgia was ahead in a game it was supposed to lose.
Give Richt credit: All week he had to answer questions — one from me on the Wednesday SEC teleconference — about the need for change in his program, and in this game he did change. He and Mike Bobo eschewed the fancy stuff and just Lombardi’ed the game plan, and it was beautiful in its brutality. Three Tech defenders had to be helped off the field in the first half, and after 30 minutes Georgia had outgained the nation’s No. 7 team by 141 yards and had outscored it by 14 points.
But it was only a year ago in Athens that Georgia had led by 16 points at the half, and within seven minutes that lead was gone. Everyone knew Tech would again come out flying, and sure enough the Jackets scored on their first possession. But Georgia needed only one play to answer, Caleb King taking a handoff and fleeing 75 yards. And from then on Tech was chasing, and in the end the fleet Jackets couldn’t run fast enough.
It came down to one possession. Georgia up six, Tech with a chance to win. The Jackets moved across midfield but unaccountably stopped running the ball. Four consecutive passes, the first three nicely defensed, the fourth simply dropped. (The second and third passes were defended by Reshad Jones, the Georgia safety who’d spent the last year answering questions about his missed tackle of Tech’s Roddy Jones.) And suddenly Georgia was the second-best team in Georgia no longer.
Richt and Bobo and Willie Martinez had outflanked the new genius Paul Johnson and had done it without A.J. Green, their best player. And the guys who did play outfought a Tech team known for its pugnacity.
And now we have issues galore. Does one blissful night off North Avenue override the worst season under Richt? Probably not. But for the Bulldogs and their coach and all his coaches, it had to feel good to reclaim state supremacy and to mar what has been a glorious Tech season. (To say nothing of wrecking the ACC title game.) What happens with Martinez and the other assistants can wait until another day. What happened Saturday night was a slice of deliverance 365 days in the making.
Back to our question: Who were these guys? They were the Georgia Bulldogs, only they weren’t the Georgia Bulldogs that contrived to lose five games this season. These were Bulldogs from a different time, a time when Georgia football was power football. (The Bulldogs rushed for 339 yards, the highest total under Richt.)
And if this is the way Georgia football it to look in 2010 and beyond … well, maybe the future isn’t so grim after all. Maybe the future is big and brawny thing.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,342 comments Add your comment
Channelled Spirit of UGA VII
November 29th, 2009
2:26 am
Daddy and I are painting the streets of gold red and black! Hope St. Peter don’t find out!
Scout Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:26 am
Bugkiller, we don’t call “dumbass” anymore, but we love you any more any way.
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2009
2:27 am
This just in!! Paul Johnson is NOT a god after all.
haha
November 29th, 2009
2:34 am
I will only post this once in the next 365 days bc its classless to do it all year bc we have been here before but……………………….30-24 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fort Worth Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:35 am
What? No St Simmon’s comment…must be laundry night in the basement and his mom needed the extension cord!
dumbfounded dog
November 29th, 2009
2:36 am
knats,ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah,joke by the coke
taint simons
November 29th, 2009
2:36 am
30-24 hahahahahahahahah
Tech was soft all year on defense bad luck vs Clemson
Mad Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:37 am
Woof! How ’bout them Dawgs! GO DAWGS!!! 30-24 GOSH IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HAVE THE TITLE BACK DON’T IT. YOU TECH FANS SUCK!!! GO BUZZ OFF LOL!
it'taint simons
November 29th, 2009
2:37 am
((((((((((( 30-24 ))))))))))))
St Simons is far too much for you to afford
DAWG COLONEL
November 29th, 2009
2:38 am
Thank God we don’t have to listen to the Jacket Luneys for the next year….NO MORE TALKING S%&@…..30-24 SAYS IT ALL.
Habib Mujahashijabbaslurpee
November 29th, 2009
2:38 am
I very sad the Jellow Jacket lose to Russ the Bulldog. Why do the Coach Johnson try to throw the ball when running working? I so angry I could punch a camel. My turban all in a bunch over this!
Kevin G.
November 29th, 2009
2:39 am
man this is the first time its felt normal to be a Dawg fan this season….GO DAWGS!….I loved Russ, damn good looking dawg
Mad Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:39 am
GO DAWGS!!! I SAY WE DEDICATE THIS WIN TO UGA IV!!
Mad Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:41 am
ALSO WE DEDICATE THIS 30-24 VICTORY OVER TECH IN REMEMBRANCE OF Uga VII.
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
2:41 am
Good win….so close, yet so far away for the Tech comeback! Gotta love rivalry games! As a Tech fan, and I’m STILL proud to be a Tech fan, I hate that we lost! Bobo AND Martinez MAY have saved their jobs for another year…. CPJ IS the ultimate strategists, afterall…. I kid! GREAT game by the Dawgs…I offer my humble respect and wish the Dawgnation the best of luck till we meet again!
Fort Worth Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:42 am
BCS is pissed! “We are required to give an automatic to WHO?”!
ozzfest
November 29th, 2009
2:42 am
I just got back from the game and the first thing I want to say is “Saint Simons, I look forward to hearing from you for the next 364 day.” Peace.
Habib Mujahashijabbaslurpee
November 29th, 2009
2:43 am
One time I saw a girl on the campus.
Rumplestiltskin
November 29th, 2009
2:43 am
You dogs keep talkin about being Acc champs but you don’t realize that this is a rivalry game and records don’t matter. You were preseason #1 last year and lost. It is obvious to anyone that knows football that Tech is the better team that didn’t play the best game. Maybe the layoff hurt, maybe they got out-coached, or maybe it was the turnovers but Tech lost the game on the field. They have still had an amazing season with more to go.
Charlie
November 29th, 2009
2:43 am
As I told you Tekkies yesterday, you have not won anything yet. Maybe you will exceed all expectations, and have a mediocre year.
caleb king for heisman
November 29th, 2009
2:44 am
caleb king is dirty…..2010 heisman!!!!!!!!
G. Tampa Bedwetter
November 29th, 2009
2:45 am
Bradley
You are a total moron. Georgia has had the better players all year long. Somehow, you have decided to ignore the piss-poor coaching of Georgia ………….. no, let me rephrase that please so that you can understand …………..
The 1980 Georgia National Champions would have lost at least 6 games with the current coaching staff.
I have been deeply involved in prep and collegiate football for 50 years. Georgias players are good; they have been coached down to horrible. As an example ……. I am willing to make a substantial bet that the Georgia safety; # 9 ; Jones, will have a long and sucessful pro career. The young man has tons of talent. Unlucky for him, Garner; Martinez and Skippy Dippy Richt have coached him down to the point, he may not even get drafted\ Trust me, he will be a very good pro player. In my opinion, he shoulod hire a lawyer and sue Georgia and all of their coaches for taking a Top 1 or 2 round talent and f’ing him up so bad that he will prolly not be chosen in the draft.
Please quit trying to b=prove that you are as stupid as Richie Richt and his church buddies
PS please help us put the “Water Girl” back in the damn kitchen
Coastal Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:46 am
I vote for Russ as the next UGA; who cares if he has a brown spot or two. What a great start. PETA doesn’t have a clue!
What a great game. They thought they were going to hang 60 on us.
Go Dawgs! Congrats to CMR and staff! Enjoy next week and lets recruit some big linemen.
Habib Mujahashijabbaslurpee
November 29th, 2009
2:46 am
That right, Rumplestiltskin ! You tell the Georgia Bulldog! We go to ACC game and will show them! Winner get 5th place SEC East trophy! Go Jellow Jacket! Buzzzzzzz. Sting them.
Fort Worth Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:47 am
Orange Bowl is pissed as well….”Aren’t there some WAC teams ranked higher..Oh yeah, there are!”
Habib Mujahashijabbaslurpee
November 29th, 2009
2:49 am
Coastal Dawg say “I vote for Russ as the next UGA; who cares if he has a brown spot or two.” I had a brown spot or two in the sari when the Coach Johnson throw ball at end of game! Why do he do that? Did he get Slurpee brain freeze?
Dawg since 1965
November 29th, 2009
2:51 am
Now the ACCCG = buy 1 get 3 free with 4 cokes and 4 hotdogs
30k tickets still available, will someone please buy some tickets!!
Charlie
November 29th, 2009
2:53 am
This kind of reminds me of the Hawaii game, laying the wood to another overrated team from a littleboy conference.
Habib Mujahashijabbaslurpee
November 29th, 2009
2:56 am
I am ready for big game in Tampa, but am worried that the Slurpees will melt too fast there.
Love GEORGIA
November 29th, 2009
2:57 am
Where are all the tech nerds that said they were going to lay half a hundred on the Dawgs. Payback SURE was wonderful. Thought you said paul johnson was the greatest coach ever. Ha HA HA HA HA HA HA
Seoul Dawg
November 29th, 2009
2:59 am
Glad that we won, but that is how it should be. No reason to brag about what should happen every single year when you line up against a bunch of Nerds. Hopefully UGA fans will remember that and not stoop to the levels of all the closet techies that have been out for the last year. A UGA win over tech = fewer public Nerds to deal with for 365 days. Glory, Glory!!
Fort Worth Dawg
November 29th, 2009
3:03 am
Rumplestiltskin…that’s your argument..”maybe the layoff hurt”? I agree, Tech had a great season and I applaud that. As a UGA alum, I root for Tech every week they don’t play us to show the nation that Georgia has great football players. One of my best friends was Scott Sisson(kicker) and as i was at Georgia and he at Tech, I still wished him the best every week…One week a year we hated each other, but that was real college football! Weeks off give teams time to recover and get game plans coordinated…Georgia did not have an additional week to prepare for an option offense..they adjusted!I hope Tech beats Clemson and beats anyone they play..makes UGA look better!
Tech Tony
November 29th, 2009
3:03 am
You outplayed us, period. I’m not going to run from that. The game plan to keep the game out of Cox’s hands was ingenious. And while the game plan was a stroke of brilliance, your team went out and executed and deservedly won. I applaud you.
365 in the making
November 29th, 2009
3:05 am
30-24buwhahahahahahahahahhahahah
Meanwhile...the last series in a nutshell
November 29th, 2009
3:05 am
1st and Dumb
2nd and Dumber
3rd and Dumbest
4th and Dropped.
And that’s the ballgame.
Island Five O
November 29th, 2009
3:06 am
In an apparent suicide the man formerly known as “the Island” jumped off Mallory Pier. A letter left with some crabbers said that since Tech lost against UGA his life had no meaning. A tatoo of 45-42 on his forehead identified him. He will be buried with the rest of Techs hopes and dreams.
Charlie
November 29th, 2009
3:07 am
Just imagine how many rushing yards UGA would have if they played in the ACC?
Charlie
November 29th, 2009
3:09 am
Thanks MB for providing all the motivation for the Dawgs to just go out and put a @sswhipping on the Insects. I am thinking more than one of your blogs ended up on the bulletin board.
PHIL
November 29th, 2009
3:16 am
Hey Mark, how’s that whole best play caller ever/ state football shift/ I gotta man crush on CPJ/hopey-changey thing workin’ for ya?
I’m proud of the players for their effort tonite. Proud of the work put in and the schemes developed by the coaches. and I am so proud of the fans here that step up and tell it like it is to these six pack poppin’, wife beater shirt wearin’ fans that haven’t played a down of football since 3rd grade.
Along with the O Line, the defensive scheme won this game. The defenders were in position to make tackles most of the time even though they didn’t sometimes. Let me clue some of you in, most of these guys we have on defense are either young or just not all that good. Isn’t Rennie still the leading tackler in the SEC? How many recruiting stars did he have when he came out of hs? Any? If you’re gonna tell me that we have great players that aren’t being coached, then tell me why this guy who wasn’t heavily recruited at all leads the best defensive conference on the planet in tackles. He receives the same coaching the rest of them do. Why can our coaches coach him from something few wanted to the best there is if they are no good? One because you can’t coach heart. And two, during the heat of a game, PLAYERS on the field make decisions instantaneously if they are going to tackle like they have been taught or going to try it some other way. Rennie decides many times to do it like he’s been taught. Others decide not to. That’s what they do, whether its a conscious decision or not that’s why we tackle high, why we tried to belly bump people out of bounds, why we have stupid personal foul penalties. When you know better and you do it anyway it’s your decision, not the fault of someone else who told you over and over and over to do it differently. And that’s just the kind of players we have. There’s not enough of them that are all that good and then when you ad the inexperience and the offensive turn overs, it’s really no wonder our defense isn’t that good. I don’t think Muschamp or Smart could do any better with them. They would just have had the same result maybe with a different scheme.
As to why we didn’t have this type of game plan all year, I think if you look at the SC Clemson game you can get that answer. SEC defenses don’t suck like Techs does. Way over rated, Tech has played no one. Can you believe they figured out a way to schedule two SEC teams and they were the worst ones in the conference? The only two they could possibly beat I might ad and today they probably couldn’t have beaten MS State.
As for next year, I don’t see that much improvement. We will have another Freshman QB, just like this year. We will have to play SEC teams again, not ACC teams each week. Surely Jones won’t go pro and with him and Rambo and the new guy coming in Safety will be knee deep, but we will lose two NFL tackles. We should have enough WR to run someone crazy, but I don’t think that the QB will have enough experience to do anything with them.
That doesn’t mean we won’t have a substantially better record. For one the law of averages says that the turn over discrepancy won’t go on again. Brandon Smith may never touch the ball on offense again the next four years. I know if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a better Christmas. But consider this…….We got ripped at OSU with phantom block in the back calls on punt returns, we dropped about 5 interceptions, neither will probably happen again. Then we got ripped at LSU, so that’s 2. I honestly don’t think TN beats us if we hadn’t lost to LSU so that’s 3. There will never be another collapse like there was against KY so that’s 4. So…….without some bad luck and some bad calls we’d be 11-1 right now. And that’s really the truth. Everyone would think Willie walked on the water, although there would be those who would complain that he couldn’t swim. So with a break here and there and some luck, next year could be a complete turn around and the team or the coaches wouldn’t really be that much better. Just the record. It was a really bad year luck wise. If you play long enough it will all even out.
Go Dawgs!
Omaha,NE UGA FAN
November 29th, 2009
3:18 am
How bout them DAWGS!
Bulldog Nation
November 29th, 2009
3:21 am
Paul Johnson, tell me how my ass tastes!
Jeez PHIL
November 29th, 2009
3:22 am
Thank God you didn’t add Tebow leaving with your analysis, because with Georgia being a couple of plays/bad calls away from 11-1, you might have Georgia as the early pick to win the SEC next year.
Nancy Mckeon Nancy Mckeon Jordy Benattar « Weight Loss and Dieting
November 29th, 2009
3:23 am
[...] A powerful performance by a suddenly powerful UGA team | Mark Bradley [...]
Chuckles™
November 29th, 2009
3:24 am
Ok folks – I went to the movies (go see The Blind Side – filmed in Atlanta – best movie OF THE YEAR) and took for granted that Tech would win, Georgia would get slammed & the crowing by Tech fans on their brand new shiny bandwagon would commence.
It’s 3am. I JUST checked to see who won. I am in SHOCK.
The moral of the story? Everytime the Vegas line shrinks towards the underdog does not mean that they are a guaranteed loser. I be the bookies are fuming over this one. Can you imagine? Good Lawd.
Also – I am a Boston College alum, so I have no Dawg (sic) in this fight.
GA Tech and the ACC Suck
November 29th, 2009
3:25 am
No finesse tonight just run it down the weaker teams throat
Duke
November 29th, 2009
3:48 am
No Chuckles, the moral of the story is that Saint Simons can suck it!!! 30-24!!!!
Wayne White
November 29th, 2009
3:57 am
Hey Bradley, go to HELL and kiss my ASS.
jesse james
November 29th, 2009
3:58 am
While standing and waiting for the Dawgs to come into the stadium, I had a Tech fan ask me if I really thought we had a chance to win? I told him I sure did. I would have loved to have seen him after the game. I would have told him 8 out of 9, you haven’t won at Grant Field since 99, and that Ga. and S.C. should play for the ACC championship.
The Watergirl
November 29th, 2009
3:58 am
Georgia’s worst team in yrs. just hammered the NATS best team in just as many yrs.!!!!! The world is finally back to normal, no worries dawg nation a new D-Coord and Murray is almost here!!! God I Love Being A Dawg!!!!
georgiagirl
November 29th, 2009
3:59 am
Great job team love it Mark Richt tell those players you are sorry for yelling at them for pouring ice on you. You really looked like a butt for that they were happy so was every one else in Georgia.
GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 30-24