In the SEC Least, know who looks hot? Mark Richt and UGA
As Vince Dooley once said: "We've got good depth at dog." (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Two weeks ago we wondered if Georgia would win another game. (I was pretty confident about Vanderbilt and Idaho State, but the way the Bulldogs were fumbling and getting arrested you couldn’t know.) Now we wonder if they can win the SEC Least. (It’s suddenly possible.) And we also wonder if their coach isn’t again the most stable guy in his division.
Mark Richt has gone from losing four in a row, a personal nadir, to beating two division brethren by the aggregate score of 84-14. In the SEC East, where every team has lost at least two league games, this qualifies as a surge.
How uninspiring has this division, once the class of the collegiate game, become? Consider: Should it beat Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday night, there’s a chance Georgia, which not so long ago was 1-4, would go to Jacksonville favored over Florida.
Because the Gators are awful. And South Carolina looks eminently capable of doing the South Carolina thing, meaning build up hopes only to send them crashing. And the other three East teams are a combined 2-8 in conference play. A closer look at the Least;
South Carolina: Even by Poultry standards, the past three weeks have been dizzying. The Gamecocks blew a lead at Auburn, beat No. 1 Alabama by two touchdowns and blew an even bigger lead at Kentucky. Steve Spurrier botched the endgame in Lexington and was summarily demoted from Evil Genius to the New Les Miles. And Marcus Lattimore, the great freshman runner, got hurt against the Wildcats.
Florida: Watching the Gators lose to Mississippi State and erstwhile lieutenant Dan Mullen, it really did seem as if the Urban Crier was about to cry. (Given that the last Florida coach who lost to MSU got fired the next week, Meyer might have had reason.) His famous offense had managed six points against Alabama and now seven versus State. In between he’d managed to get outsmarted by Les Miles. Retirement looks better with every week, wouldn’t you say?
Kentucky: Joker Phillips, the new coach, has a new slogan: Operation Win. This marks an improvement on the old UK mission: Operation Lose In The Most Painful Way Imaginable. And the Joker did just beat Spurrier — would that make the Ol’ Ball Coach the Riddler? — in a game of national significance. But the Wildcats have also accomplished two things that required real effort: They made Florida’s offense look good for one night, and they lost to Ole Miss, which had lost to Jacksonville State.
Vanderbilt: It was believed new coach Robbie Caldwell wouldn’t win an SEC game this season. Hah. He has beaten Ole Miss and might beat Tennessee. He also lost to Georgia by 43 points. It’s still Vandy, I’m afraid.
Tennessee: As ever, the Vols’ schedule eases toward the end. By then, however, they figure to be 2-6 overall and 0-5 in SEC play. And the hiring of Derek Dooley, which went over well enough at the time, has begun to be regarded as another in the series of Mike Hamilton whiffs. (Athletic directors never look good when their choice messes up worse than Les Miles, who has become the most interesting man in the Western Hemisphere.)
Loading ...And then there’s Richt: Calm, cool — if Georgia’s coach is nothing else, he’s calm and cool — and managing to collect his thoughts. The offense looks good. The defense looks better. After starting 0-3 in the conference, the Bulldogs are on the move.
To win the division, Georgia needs to finish a game ahead of South Carolina, which holds the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Bulldogs. (A three-way tie could reset the tiebreaker.) But the Gamecocks still must play Arkansas in Columbia and Florida in Gainesville; it’s possible they could finish 4-4 in the league.
To get to 5-3, Georgia cannot lose again. It must win at Kentucky, in Jacksonville and at Auburn on Nov. 13. I’m not sure about that last game — Auburn’s pretty stinkin’ good, to borrow a Richt-ism — but neither the Wildcats or the Gators are any better than the Bulldogs. This could still happen, people.
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435 comments Add your comment
Hammer This!
October 18th, 2010
11:16 am
To all the people making somewhat valid points, thank you! To all the other grade school cry babies, please STFU!
Tiger Mom 02
October 18th, 2010
11:17 am
War Cam Eagle!
Gator Mike
October 18th, 2010
11:17 am
Murphy, thank you for your observation. I have been to every game this year except for the BAMA Game. Our offense really does stink, and it has been getting progressivly worse each week. Our offensive coordinator “offensive, arrogant and incompetent”. The UK Game was an aberation because UK is not a bad team.
It is hard for me to say this, but I never saww a Zook team look as incompetent as the Gators have against LSU and MS St this year. Sitting in the Swamp over the past 2 weeks and looking at our first half statistics tells the story. UF is not a good team. Currently, we lack leaqdership from the coaches and the seniors. Our collective arrogance and sense of entitlement have finally caught up with us. Perhaps this team will catch fire, but there are absolutely no indicators that it will happen.
This year’s Cocktail Party Game is up for grabs. The team that enters the game totally focused on winning will win this year. It is hard for me to say, but I have not seen any fire in the Gators for the past few weeks.
Good luck to your guys.
Hammer This!
October 18th, 2010
11:19 am
If it doesn’t already exist, can somebody please put together a blog where all the my team is better than yours crowd can go and rub doinks?
Coach13
October 18th, 2010
11:20 am
Why would beating Auburn matter if they are on the side? Why would a loss to an SEC West team affect whether we can play for the East? Seems dumb.
Matt
October 18th, 2010
11:20 am
Funny article. What is most likely to happen is either gt or uga has 5 wins going into their game and one team plays for a bowl and the other plays to keep them out.
ugadawg2005
October 18th, 2010
11:22 am
Mark wrote: To win the division, Georgia needs to finish a game ahead of South Carolina, which holds the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Bulldogs. (A three-way tie could reset the tiebreaker.) But the Gamecocks still must play Arkansas in Columbia and Florida in Gainesville; it’s possible they could finish 4-4 in the league.
To get to 5-3, Georgia cannot lose again. It must win at Kentucky, in Jacksonville and at Auburn on Nov. 13. I’m not sure about that last game — Auburn’s pretty stinkin’ good, to borrow a Richt-ism — but neither the Wildcats or the Gators are any better than the Bulldogs.
Mark – Look at the tiebreakers. If SC finished 4-4 and one of their losses is to Florida, then assuming that Florida beats Vandy the UGA/Auburn game is irrelevant.
In other words, the outcome of the UGA-Auburn game in deciding who goes to Atlanta can only be important if one of 2 things happens:
A: Florida loses to Vandy
B: South Carolina beats Florida AND loses 2 of 3 to Vandy, Arky and Tenn
Then again, example B does not necessarily make the UGA/Auburn game relevant. UGA could still win a hypothetical 3-way tiebreaker between UGA, SC and either Kentucky, Vandy or Tenn. Then again, UGA could still hypothetically do that if SC only loses 1 more game if that loss is to Vandy or Tenn and the teams all end up 5-3.
suwaneedawg
October 18th, 2010
11:23 am
I am a huge Dawg fan and I would love to see them run the table. I just don’t think they will. I still have concerns with them giving up the big pass play and that could hurt them big time this weekend. I hope that I am wrong, it will be one of the few times I am glad to be.
jimmymack
October 18th, 2010
11:24 am
new dog new swagger new defense new qb .we don’t have any thing to gripe about
Dave
October 18th, 2010
11:24 am
Winning cures anything. I mean ANYTHING!
Vick in a Box
October 18th, 2010
11:24 am
http://pricezack.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/instant-replay-in-baseball-what-is-it-going-to-take/
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
11:25 am
I’m like you, Rodster, I’ll believe it when I see it. I do have more hope than the past two years, because of the D. UGA has the 20th ranked defense in points allowed, at 17.4. The past two seasons, we were ranked close to 80th in that category
James Michael "Mike" Dunlap
October 18th, 2010
11:28 am
You morons make job searching impossible. Here I am, a Georgia grad about to get my MBA from Cornell, trying to find intelligent sports talk on the web outside of my own website, and I get sidetracked from what’s important by reading dumb comments. You people are undeserving of a man like Mark Richt.
Dave
October 18th, 2010
11:29 am
I kept wondering why everyone kept bashing our D.. We’re ranked 20th in scoring D? REALLY? I guess we shut people down until there is a blown coverage and they score a 70 yard TD. Once we get consistant (if it ever happens) we may be hell on wheels. The O was what bothered me initially, but with AJ on the field, it seems that has taken off as well. Course it was TN and Vandy…but I’ll take it however I can get it.
Mark Clegg, Jr.
October 18th, 2010
11:30 am
Tell me about it Mike. I’d maintain more steady employment myself if I didn’t waste so much time on the internet.
South's Top Dawg
October 18th, 2010
11:31 am
Anyone have a list of sports bars in Atlanta area with CSS?
dreaming
October 18th, 2010
11:32 am
what in the world makes you think you’ll beat Auburn? beating up Vandy?
wow… that new mascot has you guys delusional
Eyore
October 18th, 2010
11:33 am
Oh no. Mark’s talking favorably about the Dogs again. We’re doomed.
Nut Job
October 18th, 2010
11:34 am
I just don’t see us being able to stop Newton at all. He might run for 200 plus against us.
FRED
October 18th, 2010
11:35 am
I JUST CAN NOT SEE OUR DEFENCE STOPING NEWTON.
Nut Job
October 18th, 2010
11:36 am
Dave
October 18th, 2010
11:24 am
Winning cures anything. I mean ANYTHING!
Not Herpes or HIV…
Dave
October 18th, 2010
11:37 am
The only way to stop Newton is with a .44 Magnum. Scratch that….shooting him might make him mad. I just hope the D decides “Stop Newton FIRST, then deal with the repercussions later.” But first we have KY and Cobb to worry about……
Dave
October 18th, 2010
11:37 am
Nut job….I stand corrected….
Wah
October 18th, 2010
11:38 am
Wah, wah, wah. You Georgia fans are the biggest crybabies I’ve ever seen or heard. Get used to losing — LOSERS.
Mississippi State and South Carolian are now beating Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Hahahahahaha.
Oh yea, and the fact that all of the national college football anaylsts had to chastise Georgia fans for wanting to fire Richt was priceless too.
Wah, wah, wah…
Irvin Myers
October 18th, 2010
11:41 am
Wah… and the DAWGS are still beating GTU. It sucks to be a NERD.
Mark Richt
October 18th, 2010
11:43 am
SadDawg The “FACT” was we couldnt tackle worth a crap in 08 & Roddy Jones , Dywer & Nesbitt made us pay & if we hadnt twisted Nesbitts ankle in the tickle pile they would have beat us again last year, maybe this year we throw red painties at there fans & get all the fans to wear pink we might win , nawwww !!!
Wah
October 18th, 2010
11:45 am
You haven’t beaten them yet. Hahahahaha. You guys can lose to anybody on any given day — South Carolina, Mississippi State, Colorado. Oh! Did you forget that you lost to the lowly Buffalos who rank 102nd in points scored? Hahahahaha.
Irvin Myers
October 18th, 2010
11:48 am
Wah….the ACC Defending Champs do not lose to the NERDS of GTU – no matter what the record. WE RUN THIS STATE ya little Beotch.
More Lovin' Now
October 18th, 2010
11:48 am
Wow, one thing has definitely changed. All of the sudden, all of the fans who were two weeks ago calling for CMR’s head, are suddenly 100% behind him and this team. Must have been different fans ???? Yeah, right.
I don’t think you can tell anything about UGA or GT at the moment. Both schools played lousy opponents the past two weeks, and everyone declares everything okay, and the defenses fixed. I wouldn’t worry too much about either offense, but the defenses still scare me. But I do agree with Yogi Berra, “95% of this game is half mental.” Once the team(s) start believing in themselves, they can start winning. It does help that there aren’t any other great teams out there either.
Auburn could be good, but watching the Ark game was a lot like watching the NBA All-Star game: your turn to score now. UGA/AU game will be the same way. It will be which team commits the most turnovers (and thus doesn’t score on that possession) that loses. They might as well just play the Auburn games like they do overtime. Let each team start on the 20 and try to score. The team that doesn’t score on every possession loses.
UGAX
October 18th, 2010
11:49 am
AS much as I like the column by Bradley, it aint gonna happen. UGA will lose to the Wildcats and the Tigers, barely beat the Gators, and roll over the Maggets and Idaho State. Lookout Shreveport, here we come 9again)!
bart
October 18th, 2010
11:50 am
I have been a dawg fan for many years, and I really hope they win out. But…it seems unlikely. I don’t think we can beat Auburn; and with our history against Florida, I doubt we will beat them. Kentucky is a toss up. I think it’s time we admitted that the program has been going downhill since Van Gorder left. I’m just not sure anymore that Richt is the man for the job, as much as I respect him as a person. His success initially was with Donnan’s players, and Van Gorder’s defense won games for us. It’s time we took a cold, hard look at the facts.
TechFan
October 18th, 2010
11:52 am
UGA is still going to lose to Florida.
Will see!
October 18th, 2010
11:53 am
Still not sold on this team. The last 2 teams we played were horrid. UK game will tell all we need to know.
Will see!
October 18th, 2010
11:54 am
Maybe TECHFAN but we still beat the nerds!!!! NERDS!!NERDS!!NERDS!!
Will see!
October 18th, 2010
11:56 am
“lieutenant Dan” Was that Forest, Forest Gump line Mark??
WONDER
October 18th, 2010
12:00 pm
Let’s just digress a little……..
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:02 pm
Wah, the giggling (hahahahahah) gave you away, nerd. You are the only guys (gals?) to do that, as well as the usual over-cooking of the !!!!!!!!!
To get on point, though, the SEC, kinda like basketball in the ACC, is tough. You should know that, based on two, middle-of-the-pack SEC teams, beating the very two teams playing for the ACC Football Championship last year.
Bama last season whipped everbody they played last season, but struggled to win several times in conference play. Same thing this year – the SEC is killing itself.
Just like the ACC in basketball.
Do the hahahahahah all you want to, whether we are 7-4, or 4-7, you know what’s coming the Saturday after Thanksgiving, right?
Dawgboy
October 18th, 2010
12:03 pm
Uh, must win vs. KY, UF and Auburn. Riiiiight…..
Bluejazz94
October 18th, 2010
12:05 pm
All the negative references about Les Miles by Mr. Bradley amuse me. Mr. Bradley, are you aware of Miles’ record during his tenure at LSU? What about his 2 SEC championships and a national championship? And all of this without top notch quarterbacks. Hmmmmmm
UK THOROUGHBRED
October 18th, 2010
12:09 pm
If I was a UGA fan I would be worried about beating my Wildcats before anything else. I am just saying Stafford lost to UK his 1st game against them. I hope Murray does as well.
Dontavius Supremo
October 18th, 2010
12:09 pm
Let’s not forget that Georgia goes to Kentucky this week in a battle of the mediocre vs. the unknown. Sorry guys, I still think Auburn is relatively untested (Arkansas played much of the game without Mallet), so I remain unconvinced. Alabama stays as the best team in the SEC until I’m proven wrong. (South Carolina sure as hell ain’t the best.) Be(a)st in the East? Toss up between South Carolina and Georgia, and we know who won that game already. SEC down; PAC 10 up. And it IS next year now.
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:12 pm
Good point Dontavius, wish Mallet had missed 3/4 of UGA’s game with ARK . . .
Lowcountry Bulldawgs
October 18th, 2010
12:23 pm
Lets say UGA beats UK. Then the real problem comes into play. UF has a bi week this week to prepare for the UGA game. Not the UF needs motivation to show up to the game, but lets just go ahead and give them there first 3 game losing streak since 1988. Auburn is playing damn good football, but the game that worry’s me the most is still the UF game. Until UGA can stop the arse whoopings that take place in Jacksonville no victory can be assumed against the Gators.
dan
October 18th, 2010
12:26 pm
I swear to God, if Florida finds an offense vs. UGA and scores 40 + points, McGarity should come down onto the sideline and fire Mark Richt on the spot!!! I’m not even kidding! The Gators are terrible! And the SEC East is a complete and total joke! Scratch that! The SEC this season is a total joke! 65-43 in the Arkansas vs. Auburn game???? Is tackling just not a cool thing to do anymore?? Should I just go ahead and expect 58-55 Arena League Football scores in the SEC from here on out? Should I lower my standards and be impressed when an defensive coordinator ONLY gives up 30 points?
Florida can’t hang more than 7 points on MSU( at least UGA was able to score a garbage TD on them at the end). LSU slops around vs. UT and McNeese State! Bama beats Ole Miss in a lackluster effort! South Carolina craps their pants vs. Kentucky! THIS IS NOT COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL! It’s pathetic…just pathetic! Its like the SEC is doing their best ACC imitation! If this is the best that the SEC has to offer, I am not impressed!
MURPHY
October 18th, 2010
12:30 pm
dan,
Expect to see a much improved Gaytor offense against us in Jax. Urban is on a mission and wont be denied.Living here in Florida I can tell you he isnt a very happy man and he intends to show it against us! I think with us not having a week off it helps.We need to keep focus and momentum going.
MURPHY
October 18th, 2010
12:32 pm
dan,
Im gonna call and order some Lucky Les potion to take with me to the game!
tulevol
October 18th, 2010
12:34 pm
Whats the line on UK/UGA?
Alabama fan
October 18th, 2010
12:39 pm
We may be cutting corners by cutting a few players on medical redshirts and we might have players driving new cars but we are still the best team in the SEC
Dawg Trainer
October 18th, 2010
12:39 pm
Just when I was beginning to give MB some credit…Dooley a whiff? After 6 games? With less than 70 scholarship players?
Nevermind, you’re dismissed. Again.
dan
October 18th, 2010
12:40 pm
Murphy,
I don’t give a damn if the Gators have 4 weeks to get ready for UGA(folks make too big of a stink about a bye week anyway). The Gators offense is just not good. Its one thing to have a bad outing the first week, but when it happens again and again and again, its a problem. The Gator play calling is terrible, and Brantley is awful. I’m tired of UGA nutting up in this game. There is no reason for UGA to not be able to beat this Gator team by at least a TD. I’m even OK with a Gator win as long as its competitive. But if UGA gets blown got by the Gators like 41-20, then Richt should be fired. If you can’t beat the Gators in a freakin down year, then your program is pathetic!