An inspired UGA goes to 2-4 and ponders ‘running the table’
The Alpha Dawg: Mark Richt leads Georgia onto the field. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
ATHENS — The best 1-4 team in the land was so excited to be 1-4 no more that it did a victory dance in the locker room. Chief among the celebrants was the head Bulldog.
“Coach [Mark] Richt was the main one,” said Demarcus Dobbs, the defensive end. “He loves to get crazy after games.”
The past four Saturdays had yielded only a crazy sorrow. Indeed, as tailback Caleb King noted, the Bulldogs reacted with such fervor to Saturday’s thrashing of woebegone Tennessee team because their dancing had been so long deferred.
“It’s a silly dance,” King said. “But we hadn’t been able to do it for a while.”
Dobbs again: “It’s a lot different when you win. When you lose, everybody’s hanging his head and people are asking what went wrong. Today everybody’s vibrant.”
Not since Sept. 4 had the Georgia Bulldogs won a game. Not since Nov. 21 had they taken a lead against an SEC opponent. And the worst part of being 1-4 (and 0-3 against conference brethren) was that these Bulldogs knew, just knew, they were way better than that.
Here’s the redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, who was as good Saturday as most redshirt seniors ever get: “We feel like we can definitely run the table these last six games.”
Got that? From 1-4 to 2-4 … clear to 8-4? (Which would mean beating Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech.) As presumptuous as it might sound, there’s nonetheless something tangible backstopping that belief. That something is talent.
It took a lot of (mis)doing for a team this gifted to get to 1-4, and it took some effort for Richt to keep it from going totally south after the egregious losses in Starkville and Boulder. To his credit, the coach of 10 years’ standing changed some things.
The Bulldogs practiced in full pads Monday. (Richt admitted Saturday his light-contact approach to summer camp “backfired.”) The team dressed at the Butts-Mehre complex, doing the pregame Dawg Walk in full gear. Prompted by a caller to his radio show, Richt even led his Bulldogs onto the field.
And the result? Said Richt, speaking of his men: “They played beautifully.”
He also recalled what he had told his team after the full-contact Monday session: “If you guys will play like you just did, we’re going to be all right.”
Whatever has ailed Georgia — and when you’re 1-4, you’ve ailed — can be fixed. We saw Saturday the difference between a team with a bad record and good players and one with a bad record and bad players. This game was over after a quarter. Tennessee kept handing the Bulldogs the ball, and the Bulldogs kept taking it and scoring. And the best player on the field was the player Georgia hadn’t had for four games.
“We’re not going to give up,” said A.J. Green, the great receiver. “We’re all we’ve got.”
At peak capacity, Georgia has a lot. That was the message Richt sought to send with his Monday-in-pads decree, a message seconded on Friday by the former UGA linebacker Boss Bailey, who served as honorary captain for this game. Said Richt: “He felt like he needed to tell them that they weren’t playing ball the way ball should be played here at Georgia.”
On Saturday they did. They beat Tennessee by 27 points and spent the fourth quarter coasting. It would have been unseemly to embarrass Derek Dooley, the Vols’ coach and the son of Georgia’s greatest coach. (For the record, Vince Dooley watched the game from his home on Milledge Circle. His wife, Barbara, was in attendance wearing red slacks and an orange sweater, a look even the stylish Mrs. D. couldn’t quite pull off.)
By then, Richt’s team had long since proved its point: Georgia may have a bad record, but it isn’t a bad team. And now six games remain, time enough to do some damage.
Said Richt: “I never lost hope. I never lost faith. I never thought we had a significant amount of problems.”
Except for the losing. The losing was an issue. On this Saturday, as opposed to the past four, Georgia did not lose. It won and did its silly dance. It will dance some more before this season is done.
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797 comments Add your comment
Jimmy
October 9th, 2010
6:59 pm
” I never thought we had a significant amount of problems”. The team is 2-4. You have significant problems.
Thumper
October 9th, 2010
6:59 pm
Where in the hell is Tide Roll?? Not much to say…huh tide fans? That’s what all that smack talk will get cha….
layinlow
October 9th, 2010
7:00 pm
Saban ran off the field and didn’t shake Spurrier’s hand.
SOUTHGADAWG88
October 9th, 2010
7:04 pm
Saban don’t look like such a defensive guru right now..
Chicken Hammer
October 9th, 2010
7:06 pm
Saban actually did exchange pleasantries with SOS at the end.
FTF
J Clay
October 9th, 2010
7:06 pm
My pick of the Gamecocks on the Bradley live game blog looks pretty prophetic now huh
Dontavius Supremo
October 9th, 2010
7:08 pm
Georgia “looked” like Georgia today: coached up, fired up, and loaded up. Congratulations CMR. Maybe the casual Georgia fans will get off your back now.
N
October 9th, 2010
7:08 pm
Enter your comments here
TomDAWG
October 9th, 2010
7:09 pm
Hey Mark, just got done watching Alabama-S.C. game and I have a question about something not related to the Georgia game, Why does Stephen Garcia wear #5 and a guy on S.C. defense also wear #5? With the NCAA so picky about their jersey’s isn’t that some kind of violation? Just wondering. Thanks.
J Clay
October 9th, 2010
7:09 pm
My South Carolina pick on the Bradley live game blog is now looking pretty prophetic huh?
marietta dawg
October 9th, 2010
7:09 pm
Well Done, Dawgs!
poopdawg
October 9th, 2010
7:12 pm
The light contact approach backfired? That was the coach at the university of georgia not the middle school football coach. I have heard it all now.
poopdawg
October 9th, 2010
7:13 pm
Tomdawg there were 2 number 21 also. 1 offensive 1 defensive.
Run the table? Um, ah, To Where??
October 9th, 2010
7:14 pm
UGA man here, class of 71 & 73, married for 35 big ones to a Bulldog blonde babe with tons and tons of family and friends all Bulldogs. Most of my family are in The Classic City right now.
Having said all of that ……………..too little and too late. Why? Not impressed.
UGA still has no quality SEC caliber backs and in two or three deep capacity. Crucial this is and is why we are 2-4. Result of LOUSY RECRUITING.
UGA does not have a seasoned QB in the wings …….why? Lousy recruiting.
UGA really does not have a blue chip 330 lb. D linemen in the bunch and we are across the D. line, too small. Why? Lousy recruiting for about 3 or 5 years. LOUSY is this area …..Mr. Garndner.
UGA does not have smart, heady Def. backs and safeties. Why? Lousy recruiting for several years. 2009’s # 3 and # 9 are gone and we get two more just as lousy. We steal helmets too, now.
O line? Was obviously over rated. Why? Lousyy coaches and even worse recruiting trying to sign kids from all over the northern hemsiphere, instead of getting the good uns from right here in Georgia. See UT, Auburn, Florida and Alabama and SC with all of OUR O linemen.
Richt must go. Why? His record has for 4 or 5 years been only so so and lately we stink. Why?
Lousy Recruiting.
GO Dogs.
bart
October 9th, 2010
7:14 pm
Let’s not get too excited. Tennessee stinks. Let’s wait and see what we do against Florida and Auburn.
mike
October 9th, 2010
7:15 pm
and sheila is the slut of the south.
Chicken Hammer
October 9th, 2010
7:16 pm
you can have the same number as long as you’re not on the field simultaneously
Down South In FL hating some Gators
October 9th, 2010
7:17 pm
To all you folks that wanted Richt gone. STF ^. This team has character unlike you folks. Good win today Richt. Time to take the same type game into the next 6 weeks and pee on some gator parade garbage.
TomDAWG
October 9th, 2010
7:18 pm
I missed that one poopdawg. Maybe athletic department gets a discount for using same numbers, lol.
tim
October 9th, 2010
7:19 pm
uga will lose at least 3 more and not be bowl eligible…ut gave you that game today
Jj142
October 9th, 2010
7:19 pm
So Da’Rick had one catch for minus three yards, so technically Nash nance had a better game? He won’t be saying that much.
TomDAWG
October 9th, 2010
7:20 pm
Guess that makes sense chiken. Thanks.
rodney hollis
October 9th, 2010
7:20 pm
i’m still dancing , i never lost faith / hope or love , its a new season now – play with your hearts and go dawgs go
SteveW
October 9th, 2010
7:24 pm
If the Dawgs want to be contender’s next season, they better recruit – 1) A couple of good corners. Boykin, and Smith will be ok next year, but not alot behind them.
2) A great RB
3) A great WR
Other than that, things should be fine.
Are we Dawg fans feeling better about losing to SC and Ark, w/o our best player, after what both those teams put ‘Bama through?
Colo. had a week to prepare for us.
Miss. St. – now that’s another matter.
Smart like a Fox
October 9th, 2010
7:24 pm
Mark why would you mention running the table? You have brain damage! Not to mention you are gonna get every one thinking it is plausible. Your nose is always covered in poo. Ga finally wins a game and you “go there”. You should be regulated to writing appliance reviews.
Down w/ the phillies
October 9th, 2010
7:25 pm
It’s not like they just beat Bama. They beat a sorry sorry UT team. Wow, lookout Auburn, lookout Florida…HA
SteveW
October 9th, 2010
7:25 pm
How does a 5-0 coach with some solid wins get nudged closer to the door? Les has been doing some good coaching this year – we’ll see how the UF game goes. But give the guy a break. He’s 5-0.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
October 9th, 2010
7:26 pm
Glad to see Sturdivant’s knee holding up. He adds a lot to the O line. This is the way I had expected UGA to play all year.
UT obviously in rebuilding mode but have quite a few good skill players – they should be tough again in the next couple years.
Joe Mama Angie Daddy
October 9th, 2010
7:27 pm
LSU SUX!!!!!!!!
Dawg Trainer
October 9th, 2010
7:27 pm
Well congrats to you Dawgs for the win today. FWIW, we’re both 2-4, so this only means bragging rights for a year. I constantly reminded you of 45-19, you can now give me 41-14. See you in Knoxville next season!
Swampdog
October 9th, 2010
7:29 pm
Nice analysis Mark,
Only one correction……
As good as Vince was in his days, even great, the real inspiration and motivator of the Dawgs was the legendary and unstoppable Erk Russell. Coach Dooley was the administrator. It was EK who was the passion and energy source of those teams, and Coach Richt would do well to seek inspiration from the old game films from the Dooley era that show Erk’s fabled dome trailing blood from his head butting players helmets to motivate his defense in critical games.
CigarDawg
October 9th, 2010
7:31 pm
A satisfying victory for the Dawgs. However, let’s not look too far ahead just yet. UT is a terrible team with a first-year coach who hasn’t proven he is qualified to coach Div I yet.
We are 2-4, so this win in no way validates the coaching competency, philosophy or strategy. Whatever the outcome of the season, any honest fan must agree some reassessment of the program is still in order. The SEC East is very weak this year and anything other than domination is an indictment of every program.
Enjoy your victory, young men, but come back Monday ready to work again.
Hopeful
October 9th, 2010
7:32 pm
there was mention AJ might be back next year b/c of how he felt he let the Dawg Nation down. i would be surprised but there is a very good chance of an NFL lockout coming so. . .
dagnabit
October 9th, 2010
7:33 pm
“we’re all we got”. I suppose A J is taking flower arranging to get his degree.
layinlow
October 9th, 2010
7:34 pm
Now all of these ” you showed em Richt” idiots are going to propagate the message board. Listen we beat a very young team with no depth. Better wait and see how we fare against Auburn anf UF before we bring out the Richt pom poms. This one win didn’t erase all of the serious issues with this program. There are still big problems like player arrest and an overall undisciplined and soft team. If some of you fans are happy going 8-5 and probably even sub .500 this year then so be it. But I want to have a chance to compete for a National title since it has been 30 years. I was 10 and now I’m 40 and hopefully we can get another one before I take a dirt nap.
poopdawg
October 9th, 2010
7:36 pm
Tomdawg , jax st had 2 QBS with the same #11 both black and big. Perilux(?) from LSU and the kid from Northside in warner robins.
Dennis
October 9th, 2010
7:36 pm
What a great win! And just look at how UT season turned around last year after trouncing UGA. Not!!
poopdawg
October 9th, 2010
7:37 pm
I forgot, go LSU!
45ACP
October 9th, 2010
7:40 pm
Congrats to the Dawgs!
Maybe the bama trolls will STFU for a while now.
tdog
October 9th, 2010
7:42 pm
We are 2 and 4 and we beat Tennessee! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
poopdawg
October 9th, 2010
7:43 pm
Especially paul finebaum.
Bitter chicken aka (steve spur)
October 9th, 2010
7:44 pm
boc boc boc boc cockoldoddle doooo, hahahahahah bammer went down!!!now go eat some crow bammer nation, our boys kick yaaawww as—-s up and down the field massive “D”, punk as—-s bammer punks, get a new coach and well a new team, hahahahahahahahah looser’s hahahahahahah no shows run over bt a freshman, my god a freshman, hahahahahahah looser’s pick up ya banjoe now and stop picking your noise red necks, cry all the way home looser punks, goina loose again and again, hahahahah
Bitter chicken aka (steve spur)
October 9th, 2010
7:45 pm
bammer nation sux, loosers hahahahahahah
SoCal Dawg
October 9th, 2010
7:45 pm
TN gave us the game but we took advantage of the gift. We looked like we wanted it. If CMR can’t get the job done he really needs to go, but I sure am pulling for him. Good win!
Go Dawgs!
CigarDawg
October 9th, 2010
7:46 pm
I’m with you, layinlow. “Cautiously Optimistic” should be the watch word for the rest of the season. There is nothing that can mitigate the 4-loss streak, though, and some personnel changes are in order at the end of this season.
Bitter paul f-bomb
October 9th, 2010
7:47 pm
south carilona cheated or something ref’s cheated, whatever, wheres legion
missouridawg
October 9th, 2010
7:49 pm
I don’t know about running the table, but I smell a nerd feast coming in November!
dawg fan in bama
October 9th, 2010
7:50 pm
Do not care how bad TN is perceived to be; this was a total team effort and a good one. Except for three lapses on defense. Dawgs shut them down. Grantham is starting to get the kids going. I hate the poor start as much as anybody; but to not enjoy what you just saw is ridiculous. Go Dawgs; way to fight on every play.
Eddie
October 9th, 2010
7:51 pm
Where did all the haters go?
Bitter bammer nation
October 9th, 2010
7:53 pm
“O” my god help!!!help!!!, pleasr no!!!we loose yaaaaaam, mommmmmma help