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
Pay Attention
November 28th, 2009
11:52 pm
Apparently, you learned nothing from the Clem/S Car game earlier. UGA didn’t need to get better. They were missing two key players (the entire game). They just needed to play an ACC team. Meanwhile, you’re waiting for lightning to strike twice.
Dawgs88
November 28th, 2009
11:52 pm
F U Saint Simons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 30-24, Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Awful Coast Conference still sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BogartDawg
November 28th, 2009
11:52 pm
So there you have it! Two mediocre SEC Teams just beat the finest the ACC has to offer. Hope this ends the SEC/ACC argument. To Hell With Tech!!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Bubba
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
If A.J. Green and Rambo had played it would never have been close. UGA proves its supremacy again. Tech was obviously not prepared for the physicality of an SEC defense, thus all the injuries. Go toughen up a bit, ladies.
chracquet
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
any news on coach willie yet?
Herschel Talker
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
MB:
You are the best contrarian indicator ever!
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
WHERE ARE M, SAINT SIMONS, RAMBLE ON!!!, OLD GOLD, AND YELLOW FUZZ???
BulldawgGirl
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
GO DAWGS!! And for all the Tech fans that said you hoped AJ would play so you could beat our best–no AJ tonight and we still pulled it off!!
It feels great to finally silence Tech fans!! Now its completely obvious Tech doesn’t belong in the National Championship game.
SEC rules–
30-24 UGA over GT
34-17 USC over Clemson
37-10 UF over FSU
Opinion
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
Music City Bowl Here we come !!!!!!!!!!
J Dog
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
St. Simons,……………………..(waiting)
St. Simons,………………..(still waiting)
St. Simons, where are you??
Limeydawg
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
Mark, two grammar errors in the last three paragraphs. I know, you’re probably as excited as we are, but…sheesh!
Dawgwild
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
Saint Simmons= 30-24 (Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha) Dawgs are ACC Champs!
Where's Saint Simons?
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
ACC = Another Crappy Conference!!!!!!!!! ((((((((( 30 to 24 )))))))))))) ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
confused again
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
30-24!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!b
Spike
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
We suck and we still beat Tech. Tech is our bitches again. I hear Chan Gailey is free, give him a call!! SUck it, Tech! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
SanJoseDawg
November 28th, 2009
11:53 pm
Saint Simons wears a bonnet and bloomers … ’nuff said … just squirt some Black Flag on it and forget him/her. Next year, we’ll learn that turnovers and penalties do matter — really. Oh, Ealey is a horse — let him run.
Joe Bob Thibodaux
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
CONGRATULATIONS for a fine SEC performance and Excellent finish.
It is great to shut up the ACC chatter of GA TECH and
watch Georgia play with heart and style. I am proud of the Dogs.
Mark, as I said after the GA/LSU game, this is a good team and
about par with LSU. Georgia deserves to be ranked.
Again Georgia, a great victory.
Go LSU Tigers.
Joe Bob Thibodaux
red hill
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Yech still sucks!
Dawgs1988
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
30-24, bite me Saint Simons! How ’bout them Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Awful Coast Conference still sucks!!!!
S'aint Simons
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Eat a D!ck!!!!!!!!! St. S!mons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wawel78
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
I’m a UGA fan but ya’ll are nuts for calling Bradley stupid. I haven’t seen anyone calling for UGA to win this game. Awesome win but how about keeping Bradley out of it? He just made an educated opinion that turned out wrong – along with the rest of America.
Loran, Whatayagot?
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Mark, I want you to repeat your assertion that Paul Johnson is a better coach than Mark Richt. Coach Richt had a great game plan, made it work, and beat Tech at their own game at their house, or cottage. Johnson is a capable coach, but the best judge is head to head matchups. Richt came out ahead, and when he fixes the other problems, Johnson will be on the outside looking in. Thanks for stirring it up a little bit though.
Brookhaven Bulldawg
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
What a game!!! The rivalry is back, and it’s good to be on the right side of things.
St. Simons – “((((( 45-42 ))))) hahahahahaha” Is that really your response?
DawginLex
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Hey Mark,
I gotta go to bed so will you direct the nerd herd to send the Father’s Day cards to Sanford Stadium in care of Russ because:
Yellow Jacket Nation
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Please hide the rope from Saint Simmons….
tchance
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
I wrote today after the Carolina game there would be an SEC sweep from USC, Florida and Georgia. I’ll say it again, the top ACC teams would only be 4th or 5th in the SEC. Obviously Georgia and Carolina cemented that today.
By the way, havent seen anything from that ass h_le Saint Simons on here. Where are you????? You and all your obnoxious tech brothers have been talking trash since August. Must be tough to swallow knowing your best Tech team in 20 years couldn’t beat the weakest Georgia team in 20 years which means you won’t need to be wearing sunglasses cause your future against any SEC team, especially the Dawgs, it aint so bright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
senoiadawgs
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
That win was beautiful. Someone decided to let UGA play UGA style football.
Why did it take 12 games to learn to not let Cox lose the game?
Why did Ealy not start/play Game 1?
While the win was sweet Richt showed some fire!!!!
The scoreboard said 30-24 in favor of the good guys but even sweeter was Willie’s face, even he knew it was his last game. As a DC I am glad you are leaving UGA but I hope you land on your feet somewhere.
Only 1 game left with JC as the QB.
Finally ,play for a 50+ yard field goal? Cox hasn’t been able to throw a screen all year, that was a bonehead play call.
godawgs
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
We ran well, controlled clock, 1 giveaway (King- fumble), 2 takeaways, forced Tech to pass to beat us.
Almost lost by:
1- passing too much in 2nd half AGAIN– poor time possession
2- Willie’s 2nd 1/2 D poor tackling on long passplay and Dobbs on long run
3- Bobo’s poor red zone play-calling (too many pass plays)
4- Richt’s decision to try a 55 yard field goal, should have went for it, or fake field goal.
When Richt gets a 100 yard rusher, he’s almost unbeatable. Tonight, he got two.
Ga boy
November 28th, 2009
11:54 pm
Congratulations Dawgs. Tech you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. This is one sorry Ga team and your defense had no answer for them- with 2 weeks to get ready yet. Pitiful.
Now who in the world would pay good money to watch that game in Tampa???
S'aint Simons
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
Tell me how my D!ck taste !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
AIN'T Simon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
30-24!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TRUE DAWG
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
While order has not quite yet been restored to Georgia Football at least things are as they should be when it comes to our relationship with the North Avenue Trade School. To all those lovely Tech fans that predicted a 50 to 10 result , do not count your chickens before they hatch !
GLORY , GLORY , TO OLD GEORGIA !
bake
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
as a Dawg fan i’ll admit pj has done some great work in short time. but his cocky-azz attitude got the better of him late in the game. why in the heck did he think he could throw the ball down field on 3 straight plays? what a moronic…cocky attitude. throw out the drop on 4th down. i’m not saying tech would have won…but pj took their bread and butter away from them. it wasn’t working either but the shorter throws were. he choked…and it was GREAT to see!
coach smith
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
Saint Simons is….
back cowering in his mommy’s basement for another year
30-24 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Southern Gent
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
Enter your comments here
To most Tech fans: Good Game
To the smug tech jerks, “another routine win, don’t know what all the fuss is all about”
By the way, get your graduation rate up, last in ACC, and behind ours – of course…
Dadofadog
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
Take this one with the one we got robbed on against LSU and this grossly undercoached team shows what it can do. Oh, I wish 2010 were here already. I think my favorite part of the televised game were the camera shots of GT fans. They’ve had a terrific season and still, the UGA dread hung with them from the opening drive.
Our Turn
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
30-24
GT loves 3===D
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
bahahaha tech sucks
BG
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!! Tech sucks.
Jekyll Island
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
(((((((30 – 24)))))))) Hi from across the bay! St Simons you got you &%#$#@ kicked. How do you like us now? LMAO!
Tom
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
That dropped pass was a Reggie Ball moment……what a DA!!! HAHAHAHAHA GOOOOO DAWGS!
Clemson and Tech both lost to SEC teams. the ACC sucks!!!!!!!!!!
Saint Simons
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
You guys leave me alone, I am so ashamed I talked trash for a whole year, it was my first time in a decade I had a chance to talk trash, and it was great. I know we are not the caliber of the SEC, heck USC and UGA whiped the two teams playing for a JOKE ACC title. I am now a DAWG fan, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAWGS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Poor SAINT SIMONS DAWGS, living amonst a MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michael
November 28th, 2009
11:55 pm
Dont know what is more enjoyable.
The Win, or
EVERYONE MAKING FUN OF SAINT SIMONS!
DawgRock
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!! Russ for Uga VIII!!!!!!
B. Thomas is my fav receiver eva
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
thank goodness for the receiver from GT droppin the ball, i just laughed – and then again when he was cryin on the sideline! hopefully willy is still gone after this game, at least no longer the DC, he can just coach the secondary….or the cheerleaders
Where's Saint Simons?
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
Just as good on DVR as it was live. (((((((((((( 30 to 24 )))))))))))))) ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MyView
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
First of all, I think MR grew as a Head Coach tonight. When in his entire coaching career has he had to let the team win the game with a heavy run. Very little passing. And he relaxed and let it happen. The pessimist says that if UGA can fix the running game mid season as the dogs did, then they were not focusing on it hard enough from the beginning. Rarely do you see a team fix a glaring problem within the season. Usually it takes at least one off season. Us fixing the running game mid season shows that we did not emphasize it enough early in practice to be successful with it in games. Even I had begun to get down on Coach SS and the line. But apparently they were who we thought they were from the beginning. lol….GO Dawgs.
Right On Time
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it Monday yet????
Ready to put that crap right back in all the yechies faces I have listened to all year.
The world is back to it’s natural order.
UGA is better than yech. Always has been, Always will be.
SuperiorSEC
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
Hey ACC…………….Why bother?
rabiddawg
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
30-24 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. we beat them without the best receiver in the country and in a down year.
Jack Wood
November 28th, 2009
11:56 pm
Georgia Tech. A modest football program with a lot to be modest about.