The UGA season game by game: Nine wins, coming right up
Ready: Russ the Temporary Mascot. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Sept. 4, Louisiana-Lafayette: The offense will look great. The defense will look ferocious. Aaron Murray will throw two touchdown passes, one to Logan Gray, whom Murray beat out for the quarterback job. Georgia fans will seize on this game as evidence that the Bulldogs are better than they’ve been at any time since 2002 if not 1980, but we have to remember the opponent. Prediction: Georgia 45, La-La 10.
Sept. 11, at South Carolina: Mark Richt hasn’t lost in Columbia, but he has had three very close calls. (The Pollack snatch-and-grab in 2002, the comeback in 2004, the narrow escape in 2008.) This is the biggest game of Steve Spurrier’s tenure in Columbia,and the Evil Genius surely has one last trick left. The Gamecock D flusters Murray on a day when neither team scores much. Prediction: South Carolina 16, Georgia 13.
Sept. 18, Arkansas: Through two games, Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense has held up its end. Here’s where the D wobbles. This is the Razorbacks’ first real game, and it’s one Bobby Petrino and Ryan Mallett have long awaited. For all his excesses, Petrino can design an offense, and Mallett is a a thrower of the first rank. It won’t quite be the Dogs-Hogs shootout of last season, but it will be close. Prediction: Arkansas 31, Georgia 27.
Sept. 25, at Mississippi State: Georgia has two losses. The other Bulldogs, who will have already played Auburn and LSU, could have two losses. And Georgia must travel to Starkville and endure the mellifluous strains of the cowbell. But here’s where the Bulldogs and Murray start to grow up. What seems another scary road test becomes instead just another of those Richt road triumphs. Prediction: Georgia 24, Mississippi State 17.
Oct. 2, at Colorado: The Buffaloes will be honoring the 1990 team, which won the Associated Press national championship. (Georgia Tech, you’ll recall, took the UPI title.) Richt is already fretting that Colorado and its crowd will be pumped for the occasion. Big deal. It’s still only Colorado, which finished 3-9 last season and figures to be looking for a new coach soon. Prediction: Georgia 30, Colorado 17.
Oct. 9, Tennessee: This will be one of the strangest days in Georgia history. Vince Dooley’s son brings his team to play in the house Vince-didn’t-quite-build-but-expanded-a-bunch-of-times. And Tennessee, which has beaten Georgia four times since 2003, has become a nemesis. Not this time. Derek Dooley’s team was picked to finish behind Kentucky in the SEC East, for good reason. Prediction: Georgia 30, Tennessee 10.
Oct. 16, Vanderbilt: Georgia is rolling now, and Vanderbilt isn’t a team capable of stopping the surge. The Commodores have a new coach but the same players, and the reason Bobby Johnson stepped aside in July was the reality of all his hard work resulting in a 2-10 season in 2009. This is the day the Georgia offense really gets going, the day a victory over Florida begins to seem possible. Prediction: Georgia 45, Vanderbilt 3.
Oct. 23, at Kentucky: Trouble is, Georgia still has a week to go before it heads to Jacksonville, and first it must make a stop at Commonwealth Stadium. This seems a classic look-ahead game, when means there’s danger involved, but we must recall that the Wildcats are working under a new coach in Joker Phillips and don’t appear primed for a big year. Georgia wobbles but prevails. Prediction: Georgia 24, Kentucky 19.
Loading ...Oct. 30, Florida at Jacksonville: Every Bulldog season comes down to this game, and Georgia, having won five in a row, goes to Jax believing this is finally the year the series turns. The Gators have no Tim Tebow, no Brandon Spikes, no Charlie Strong. They do still have Urban Meyer and an array of talent the Bulldogs can’t quite match. Maybe it’ll be different in 2011. Prediction: Florida 21, Georgia 20.
Nov. 6, Idaho State: ISU’s nickname is the Bengals. It won once in 2009. Its victory was in the season finale against Portland State, which finished 2-9. Its first two games of 2009 resulted in losses to Arizona State and Oklahoma by the aggregate tally of 114-3. It is coached by John Zamberlin, who’s 5-29 in three seasons in Pocatello. Georgia will set some records this day. Prediction: Georgia 70, Idaho State 3.
Nov. 13, at Auburn: It was the second-biggest win in a strange season. Georgia fell behind Auburn 14-0 at home and was poised to slip to 5-5, but the Bulldogs rallied to win 31-24 last November. (Then they lost to Kentucky the next week. Like I said: Strange season.) This time the game’s at Auburn, which doesn’t mean much in this series. And Georgia has better players. Prediction: Georgia 28, Auburn 20.
Nov. 27, Georgia Tech: The biggest win of 2009 was the emphatic back-to-basics defeat of the Jackets, who were ranked No. 7 in the nation. The belief here is that Georgia will be far better this season and that Tech won’t be quite as good. The belief here is that Georgia, having started the season 1-2, will wind up 9-3 and stamp itself as one of the teams to beat in 2011. Prediction: Georgia 27, Tech 24.
This was another sneak peek into Sunday’s special AJC College Football Section, which will appear in the print AJC. The 34-page section will preview Tech, Georgia, Georgia State, the SEC and ACC, top games, Heisman candidates and more.
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378 comments Add your comment
J Clay
August 28th, 2010
1:38 pm
Who knows about the record, but for the dumb a@# making comments about us not playing Alabama and LSU…Do you understand the SEC schedule? UGA plays Auburn from the West every year, each of the other 5 teams is on a 2 year rotating basis. Same for every other school, each only plays 1 every year (FLA vs LSU, Alabama vs UT, SC vs Ark, etc)…But somehow that UGA’s fault? Get a life.
jumbeauxtiger
August 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
Casey,
Based on your percentages Richt would have a 29% chance to beat the Gators.
J Clay
August 28th, 2010
1:43 pm
I’ll take 29% chance to beat the Gators….that is better than 3 out of the last 20….
DIT
August 28th, 2010
1:43 pm
On a comment I made earlier stating that we should go 10-2. That’s if this defense can get it’s act together quickly. If not than I would look at an 8-4 record. Not worried about scoring points. We will be fine there.
One week. Let’s get it going!
Beast from the East
August 28th, 2010
1:44 pm
gadawgs,
You are incorrect. UF returns 4 of 5 starters on the o-line. UGA’s line has more “starts”, but that does not necessarily translate into “good”. Both teams have o-lines that are rated in the top 1-5. Keep in mind, that those are just predictions. As we all know, injuries, suspensions, etc occur and that could change everything for either team.
You are correct that UF has to replace a number of great players from last year. We will play quite a bit of young kids this year. But to assume that UGA will be better because they have more upperclassmen is silly. Most of those upperclassmen haven’t performed too well so far in their careers have they?
Keep hoping UF’s run is over. I say it’s just getting started good. They continue to recruit as well as anyone in the country and they have the coach with the highest winning percentage in the country. DEADLY COMBINATION!
RxDawg
August 28th, 2010
1:46 pm
aarh
August 28th, 2010
12:22 pm
I agree 100%. When I read Hogan’s list all I could think about is where is May? I really don’t think any journalist for college ball is a UGA hater, but I think May is. Maybe Paul Slimebomb too.
Lashontavious
August 28th, 2010
1:47 pm
Mark-
With all the arrests,suspensions and dismissals are the Bulldogs going the have the usual “Perp Walk” before the home games?
Casey
August 28th, 2010
1:47 pm
Coach Mark Richt’s hard to beat coming off a bad season. In 2002, Richt lost a close 1 to Florida. In 2007, Coach Mark Richt beat Florida.
So, since this is Coach Mark Richt’s 3rd rebound season, I’d say he has a 50/50 shot at Florida, looking at 2002 & 2007.
Beast from the East
August 28th, 2010
1:48 pm
RxDawg,
I used to think May hated UF. He’s really strange. He gets on a team’s bandwagon and they can do no wrong. He sees anything he doesn’t like, and they can do no right. He’s as much an expert as we are!
J Clay
August 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
As a Dawg fan, I’ve gotten used to the fact lately that UF has our number and has been the better team…don’t like but those are the facts (hopefully changing soon)….But for the life of me I can’t figure out why the nerds from the ATL think they are better than UGA. 1 win in in the past 9 or 10 years? Check. Playing in a crappy conference (until maybe this year)? Check. Losing with your best team in years? Check.
DIT
August 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
I don’t care what CMR’s record is in Columbia. I have hated playing there since Dooley was coaching. It’s a tough place to get a “W”
Vernon Dee
August 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
Casey,
That’s nice but past performance is no guarantee of future results. Your reasoning and logic is flawed at best. 50/50 shot at Florida? Serious? This is a team that pounded you in the booty 41-17 and 49-10 in the last 2 meetings and you somehow think you can beat them with a freshman qb? I’ll take some of whatever you’re smoking please.
PTC DAWG
August 28th, 2010
1:53 pm
Not sure how many we’ll win, but I’m fairly sure UGA won’t lose to both Carolina and the Hawgs.
DIT
August 28th, 2010
1:54 pm
J Clay
I could not agree more. It’s the lack of a clue by MOST techies that sit there year after year pounding their chest saying that they are better, or should be better than us. Then comes their beat down in November. You would think they would take the hint after awhile, but they don’t.
Until we beat UF 2 in a row we have no room to talk. The same goes for tech. Frankly, I like our chances at beating UF 2 in a row than techies beating UGA two in a row. GO DAWGS!
2nd most innumerate Dawg fan...
August 28th, 2010
1:54 pm
Casey
August 28th, 2010
1:12 pm
Richt wins 70% of his SEC games, so 70% chance he beats Arkansas and South Carolina
Actually Einstein, that would be 0.7 x 0.7 = 49%
No wonder the GA lottery is such a money maker
NoGaGator
August 28th, 2010
1:57 pm
Casey -
Love that circular logic. The only way Richt beats UF is for him to have a bad year previously? LOL
On another note (already posted but must have been eaten in cyberspace) it looks like UF and UGA caught a break when Wilder committed to FSU. In the Plant – Manatee game last night, Blakely really made Wilder look bad – whether at RB or LB. I know it’s just 1 game but it looks like the raters got too hyped up on this kid due to his name and physique. Good luck with him noles.
Paul in RDU
August 28th, 2010
1:59 pm
UGA goes somewhere between 10-2 and 8-4
L to UF
Toss ups AU, ARK, GT,
Isn’t this year always the year that SC is going to beat UGA?
Doesn’t UGA always find a way to beat them?
Beast from the East
August 28th, 2010
1:59 pm
I see UGA losing to UF, Auburn. That’s it. I think they’ll be favored in every other game and should win them. If Murray struggles, then it could be as bad as 8-4, but i just don’t see that happening.
I see UF losing to Bama and dropping another one that they’re favored in. Which one that is, who knows? We usually lose one we’re supposed to win. Just hope it’s not against the Dawgs or that could stop us from making to Atlanta.
One more week!
Let’s all hope for an injury free season with lot’s of exiting football!
DIT
August 28th, 2010
2:01 pm
“Let’s all hope for an injury free season with lot’s of exiting football!”
Amen to that!
poopdawg
August 28th, 2010
2:01 pm
Vernon , are those Tebow Tears? Worried? Keep repeating that 100 times , i sure it makes you feel better.
outkasted
August 28th, 2010
2:02 pm
11-1 they beat both south carolina and arkansas
aarh
August 28th, 2010
2:04 pm
Vernon Dee- You missed the point. What I’m saying is that a lot of people liked Mett after his good G-Day Game performance, but that Murray was thought to be the favorite going into the competition originally. He was also more highly recruited as well. Yes, Murray didn’t perform as well in that scrimmage, but it’s not like he had much time to gel w/ the offense then. If I remember right, Mett didn’t have ot go against the #1 defense as well. The reports I heard was that Murray outperformed Mett in the other practices & scrimmages, but jsut not the one that got teh most attention. Either way, they’re both good QBs, but as long as we don’t lose anybody else to injuries or arrests, the team should be good enough to win w/ Murray. Keep in mind that all 10 starters return on offense except the QB, & I’m sure Murray will be better than Cox was last yr. Even though I don’t think everything loast yr. was as much Cox’s fault as people say, but the point is that he should have a better team around him. I know last yr. Cox even played better towards the end of the yr. once the team got better. The good thing is that w/ Murray only being a freshman…even if it takes him a while to develope…it should be good for the future, & probably even towards the end of the yr.
76-DAWG
August 28th, 2010
2:05 pm
If UGA had gotten rid of Martinez in 2007 or 2008 they would be pre- season top ten this year. Florida will fill the loss of Charlie Strong for the next 2 or 3 years. UGA could most definitely beat Fla. this year.
aarh
August 28th, 2010
2:07 pm
Vernon Dee- Oh yeah, & my screen name isn’t aaar…btw. Also, the FL. game wasn’t a blackout. I do think they over did the black out thing, & it didn’t workout too well against AL., but they did play well when they did it a couple of times the yr. before though.
Urban Meyer
August 28th, 2010
2:07 pm
Well, they say fan is short for fanatic, and there are a few of my Gator friends posting on here that qualify. Back off on the big predictions, I am already under enough pressure as it is. People are starting to talk about my discipline, or lack of it, in letting two freshmen arrested for underage possession, off with a slap on the wrist, while Mark gives a game suspension to his guy. Doesn’t Mark know you are supposed to overlook things like that, just give the kids a talking-to.
Some of the fans on here are thinking we have not one, but two guys that can run the Tebow package. Sure, they can run it, just not nearly as effectively.
Don’t even mention the Dream Team Mark is putting together. Don’t remind me about how he has upgraded his coaching staff. How is it going to look when the talent evens out, and the coaching evens out, yet I am expected to continue to beat the Dogs? I am already tight as a drum anyway.
TommyJack
August 28th, 2010
2:07 pm
Hard to see how dawgs will be anything but the classic underachievers. No one does it better.
No Matter What
August 28th, 2010
2:08 pm
Football forever…. yeah, we all say what tek did last year in the UGA and Iowa games. Nothing new this year Bend over cause another beatdown is coming
Glovely
August 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
I just can’t help but feel that a healthy, veteran offensive line unit makes all the difference. Thats been the missing piece of late. If OL unit stays healthy and plays to expectations it doesn’t really matter who is over center as long as he is intelligent and does not make poor choices (e.g. Freshman, David Greene). If OL dominates, Arkansas & SC will not score often enough. UGA should have the ball for 45 minutes each game. If UGA is 3-0 coming out of those first three games and keeps it going………that game in JAX will be HUGE!
Old Dawg Fan
August 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
Mark you are NUTZ!!!!!!! With one of the weakest Head Football Coaches in the SEC and the “worst” Offensive Cord. in the SEC, UGA will at best finsh “1″ game over “500″.The reasons follow: Murray will fold under pressure. The odds are we won’t even have a “backfield” due to the “future felons” that Richt has recruited. The loss to SC will set the tone for the year. Spurier is so far ahead of Richt as a “head coach” SC has a lead of 10 points before they even take the field. As much as I can’t stand Spurier it would be nice to have in Athens as “head coach”. I hope I am wrong but as long as Richt is “head coach” we will continue to slide down the rating in the SEC.
Old Dawg Fan
August 28th, 2010
2:11 pm
Enter your comments here
The Fightin' Phils
August 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
I know this, the Braves absolutely stink – the NL Champion Phils lose 4 straight to the Astros and the braves cant put any distance in the race???? Pathetic…..the nightmare is coming for you!
The Fightin' Phils
August 28th, 2010
2:14 pm
BOOM! Phillies are coming
Vernon Dee
August 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
aaar,
You have reasonable points. I’m just picking at you guys as a gator fan. Being a gator fan its what we do. We pick on the little guys like georgia.
poopdawg,
Was Tebow around for all 17 of the last 20? Nope. Factor him out of the equation and its still 15-2. I’m only counting his 2 wins and 1 loss as a 3 year starter. His freshman year he was just a role player as Chris Leak guided the gators over the dawgs. Now sit down like a good dawg and shaddup!
Question for OldDawgFan
August 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
Outside of Urban Meyer, name the SEC coaches that have a winning record against Mark Richt. What is Spurrier’s record against Mark Richt? Name 5 NCAA coaches with 9 or more years coaching with better records than Richt.
Don’t let your bitterness overtake logic.
DIT
August 28th, 2010
2:21 pm
Don’t pick on OldDawgFan. It’s his opinion. If he does not CMR he can go root for tech
I am not going to be the head coach at Alabama. I am the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
August 28th, 2010
2:22 pm
I can’t argue too much w 9 wins. Though, I don’t see us losing to Arkanssaww and SC. I can see losing one of those (more concerned abt Ark than SC). A loss to UF is not inevitable, but likely. Our third loss will come from either Auburn, North Ave Trade School, SC, or perhps an upset vs UK.
If we can get past both Ark and SC,(which is fairly possible) I see us very likely being
undefeated going into Jax.
Can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GATA
TampaGator
August 28th, 2010
2:27 pm
With the issues they are now facing in Columbia, I do not believe South Carolina now has a chance against Georgia. And Georgia will beat Arkansas easily, I blieve. But I also think their mistep will be with Mississippi State before playing Florida. If not, Georgia comes to Jax undefeated. And I truly believe Florida has an excellent chance of going into Bama territory and pulling the upset….a chance. And Georgia has a chance of beating Florida…a chance. It is down to Georgia and Florida in the East. But I think Florida is still too talented and too deep in that talent for Georgia. But it will be close.
Gators Rule
August 28th, 2010
2:31 pm
Even though I’m a huge Gator fan, I’d have to say this year will be Georgia’s. We have to let Georgia have a good year every 5 years. Georgia goes either 14-0, or 13-1. I say, 13-1 with a loss to you know who.
Mike Bozo
August 28th, 2010
2:32 pm
Many of you blind homers have forgotten that we still have a clown for a O C. Mark Richt is 10 – 10 the last 4 years in the SEC East. He will be 10 – 11 on 9 – 11 Book it.
PanamaGator
August 28th, 2010
2:33 pm
Urban will play a lot of freshman this year and next, might squeek out 9 wins, but look out in 2012!
GatorLid
August 28th, 2010
2:35 pm
The inexperience for florida will definately show, the wheels will come off a little in 2010, but the future will be right back on track in a year or two at most.
TampaGator
August 28th, 2010
2:36 pm
And…any DAWG fan thinking and posting the Gator offense will be worse off this year with Tebow gone….I have some really bad news for you…..the Gator offense is going to be a lot better this year with Brantley throwing and Demps, Moody, Gillislee, and Brown (those are some seriously good running backs) running the ball….and Thompson, Moore, Rainey, Debose, and Omaris Hines (4.33 speed when timed recently and 220 lbs at the hybrid TE position in passing downs….have one of your big OLB try to cover that!!!!)catching the ball. And the OL is very, very good and very, very deep….but Nixon and Patchan are currently hurt (Nixon’s knee injury might be serious).
Heater
August 28th, 2010
2:39 pm
Anybody notice that Mark Bradley brought up the past when talking about Georgia’s match up with Florida, but had amnesia when talking about Arkansas’ match up with Georgia? Nice. Guess referring to the 5-0 record, doesn’t help his case much. The odd thing is, if he can pick Petrino, who has an 0-5 record againt Richt, you’d think, just to be consistent if nothign else, he’d pick Georgia over Florida. But did not happen. the two widely different predictions, based on totally opposing assumptions, so one is wrong.
Gangsta Dawg
August 28th, 2010
2:40 pm
All you haters need to stay out of Sanford Stadium if you dont like the music. You Fuddy Duddies just sit around on your hands and complain. Please quit hatin on Washaun because he will be back and prove himself on da footballl field which is more than you haters will ever do.
TampaGator
August 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
GatorLid…..inexperience?????
Starters on Offense
QB – Junior
RB – Junior
WR – Sr., Sr
TE/HB – RSSoph
LT – Soph (started all year as a freshman)
LG – Sr.
OC – SR.
RG – Sr.
LT – Sr.
DE – Sr.
DE – Sr.
DT – Soph
DT – Jr.
OLB – Sr.
MLB – Soph (Bostic) or RSFr (Jelani Jenkins)
OLB – Sr.
CB – Jr.
CB – Sr.
FS – Jr.
SS – Sr.
That is not inexerience….that is a lot of very talented, very fast, experience on both sides of the ball for the Gators.
highlandsdawg
August 28th, 2010
2:41 pm
I think we’re in for a pleasant surprise in Grantham. So glad to have him over Kirby, BUT when Richt’s time comes, come on over Kirby as the new Head Coach of your Georgia Bulldogs!
GatorTed
August 28th, 2010
2:42 pm
THE RUNNING GAME WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR FLORIDA WITHOUT TEBOW. ALSO TOUGH TO REPLACE HERNANDEZ. FLORIDA LOST 67% OF IT’S OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION. FLORIDA HASN’T HAD A RUNNING BACK LEAD THE TEAM IN RUSHING SINCE 2006.
Slippery when Wet 5150.
August 28th, 2010
2:44 pm
Tech had a total of chances to look good and was 130-103 while UGA was 110-134. Yes, UGA beat TECH. I don’t think Tech cared enough about that game last year. CPJ made it clear that Tech had BIGGER FISH TO FRY(as mutts like ot post) and Tech did what was more important. An ACC Championship ment more for sure after beating UGA in 09.
Dawg'88
August 28th, 2010
2:45 pm
Funny…Bradley says that one of two losses will be to Arky because Mallett and Petrino have been “waiting for this fo a long time” and that it will really be Arky’s first game.
Where and when did I hear that before….Oh yeah…the ajc said the same thing last year before the Arky game…that was on the road against a porous D.
This year its in Sanford Stadium and the D can’t help but play better(but you know the 2nd half the Dawgs brought more pressure and Mallett got sacked or hit continously and Arky’s 2nd half performance was lacking). Guess what happens this time…a rout of pigs!
Reality Check
August 28th, 2010
2:46 pm
GT Mustang – You are off your rocker if you think Groh is a better defensive coach than Grantham. If that was the case don’t you think UGA would have offered and signed him?
Mark – Not bad picks but you are definitely wrong on games 2 or 3 and maybe even both.