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
Cheech & Chong
October 18th, 2010
12:41 pm
Pass the bong, Mark.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
12:42 pm
MURPHY
October 18th, 2010
8:49 am
said…………..” Urban has 2 weeks to change the offense and im sure he will be ready for the Dawgs”
………………………………………..
He had all summer to prepare for Miami of Ohio…how’d that work out?………26 total yards of offense in 3 quarters…..its never been Meyer….its been Tebow. Guess what Tebow aint here
Crystal Football
October 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
I can see it now. UGA wins the east, then demolished Auburn in the SEC title game. They move up to No.2 in the nation and in an epic show down they beat oklahoma for the championship. bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa bwa. Yeah, right.
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
patrick, I believe Urban won his first BCSCG with Teabow as a seldom used backup.
reality check
October 18th, 2010
12:47 pm
One game at a time please…. we have accomplished nothing except beating 2 teams not as good as us. Admit…. that is an accomplishment after loosing to Mrs. State and Colorado but none the less…. slow down and let’s just see what we do each week.
Florida will be laying in wait with a week off. Could we switch and play them this week?
Go DAWGS!
Yo Mark
October 18th, 2010
12:48 pm
What are smoking? Can you give me your dealers name? That must be some good stuff.
producewiz
October 18th, 2010
12:48 pm
all Georgia fans have to do is send all their complaints to Gainesville. Just sub “Gators” and Meyer for “Dawgs’ and Richt. You couldn’t tell the difference in opinions going on in the “Gator Nation.”Never has a program collapsed this fast.
Mike
October 18th, 2010
12:48 pm
UGA appears to be on a roll here:
1) they have their full team for the first time all year.
2) the defense which is already top 20 in the nation in scoring, seems to be getting better and better.
3) the Auburn game is tough, but they have been here before. In 2006, an unranked UGA squad went into Auburn and blew out the top 5 Tigers.
Much like 2006, this year started in turmoil. The loss of AJ Green, a freshman QB, and a new defensive scheme. In 2006, it was the loss of Senior QB Joe T. forcing Freshman Stafford and Cox to all the sudden get into a QB battle during the season.
Richt and his staff got things going that year and never looked back. It looks like the same is happening this year. Sometimes it is good for a program to go through a crisis. The staff appears to have shifted the right gears so far.
Urban
October 18th, 2010
12:50 pm
Come on down for your annual A*R*S*E whippin.
Jethro Bodeen
October 18th, 2010
12:52 pm
Take it to the bank..Mr. Drysdale! Win out!!
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:52 pm
Crystal, go fix my lunch.
And sweetheart, no sane UGA fan expected any titles this season. You silly nerds come here, posing as UGA fans, spouting unrealistice stuff, so you can come back as the nerds you are shrieking, ” you UGA fans are delusional . . . . . .blah, blah, blah.
We know who your games.
Camp Town
October 18th, 2010
12:52 pm
Oh dee Bulldawg race track five miles long, doo dah, doo dah.
Dirty Dawg
October 18th, 2010
12:53 pm
The last thing this Georgia team needs is to start thinking beyond the task at hand. Turning this mess around has started and you like to think that you can handle a Kentucky team that’s a little banged up. Then you can look to Florida who’s clearly as beatable as they’ve been in who knows how long…then you’ve got Auburn??? Well, at least we’ve got ‘em where we want ‘em – at Auburn. Let’s hope they’ll need to use the hoses on us at the end of the game….but then that’s thinking beyond Saturday and we don’t get to do that.
Mike
October 18th, 2010
12:53 pm
Forgot to add that Murray is looking like a seasoned veteran. He reminds me a lot of how well Shockley played in 2005. However, Murray will likely be here for 4 years, instead of one and done.
Auburn’s defense has been very poor this year, especially against the pass. With Murray playing well, AJ Green, and the variety of other weapons on offense, I see no reason why UGA cant expect a great offensive game against Auburn. The question is, what can Grantham’s D do against Newton?
Hopefully, UF will not figure things out in their week off. UK will be a tough test for Grantham. Randall Cobb ate up Willie Martinez. Lets see what Grantham has in store for him.
Ford Dealer
October 18th, 2010
12:55 pm
“Here at Georgia, we have a saying …. finish the drill. What that means is when the game’s over, go to downtown Athens, get drunk, drive a car and then sell your jersey”
But, hey, doesn’t my F150 look fabulous, dahling?
Dawgstyle
October 18th, 2010
12:56 pm
UF fans already jumping ship on Meyer!! and they try to criticize the Bulldawg nation….Classic!!
Peeeee Ewwwwwwwww
October 18th, 2010
12:57 pm
I smell a wet dawg.
Auburn Fire Marshal
October 18th, 2010
12:58 pm
Come on down, mutts. We have the hoses ready.
nocumentum
October 18th, 2010
12:59 pm
Beating a bad Vandy team, one week after beating a maybe even worse Tenn team – both games in Georgia’s own backyard, mind you – doesn’t show me much. Go beat Kentucky in their house after what they made Auburn go through and after what they did to SC — I’ll then start wondering ….
patrick
October 18th, 2010
12:59 pm
adDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
patrick, I believe Urban won his first BCSCG with Teabow as a seldom used backup.
==========================
I believe you are wrong……………Tebow was used extensively
.
As a college freshman, the Gators coaches largely used him as a change of pace to the Gators’ more traditional passing quarterback, Chris Leak.[3] Tebow’s contribution to the Gators’ 2006 college football season was as a key back-up who helped the Gators win college football’s national championship game for the first time since 1996.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:00 pm
Tebow made his college debut coming off the bench behind Chris Leak in a goal line situation against Southern Miss. He rushed for a touchdown on a designed quarterback scramble on his first play.[34] In his next game, he led the team in rushing yards against UCF.[35]
mark twain
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
LET US GET DOWN TO BASICS, TN AINT NO GOOD, NEITHER WAS VANDY, SO LETS GET REAL, WERE OK BUT HOW DID WE GET OK? NOW WERE NOT GOING TO THE BCS, SO LETS CORRECT OUR PROBLEMS FOR NEXT YEAR. REDSHIRT WHO FOR WHAT REASON? PLAY THEM ALL, CAUSE THEYRE NOT STICKING AROUND ANYMORE AFTER 3 YRS, CAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO. tech might win two more games, then all can assume they are much worse than thought. also TECHEES please correct your ENGLISH it is horrible. REMEMEBER PJ WAS THE ANSWER TO ALL YOUR PROBLEMS.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
He made his SEC debut against the Tennessee Volunteers on September 16. His performance included a ten-yard run on his first carry and converting a critical fourth down near the end of the game, which led to the Gators’ go-ahead touchdown.
Uga V111
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
Well, Peeee Ewwwwwwwww, don’t lay down under me . . .
jumbeauxtiger
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
Mark, Miles may be unorthodoxed but the bottom line is the Tigers are 7-0. Noone predicted LSU to be undefeated at this point.
We very well may lose to Auburn but his teams play hard and never give up. There is something to say to that.
MR
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
I guess you have to hang your hat on something. Tenn. and Vanderbilt, two of the worst teams in the SEC. Did UGA hold MSU to 10 points, I think not. Still have Auburn…they will not be a cake walk. I think you put to much into these two home wins.
Rubin Hood
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
This Murray kid is growing up before our eyes. Having AJ Green back is a blessing. Carlton Thomas may be turning into a nice change of pace back.”O” line still needs to open holes for the running game against quality opponents. Just focus on KY, don’t even think about the Gators. Go Dawgs!
WHAT?
October 18th, 2010
1:01 pm
Kentucky? Possible – Florida? Possible, Auburn – Well, I thought Tennessee would beat UGA and didn’t. I thought Vandy would beat UGA and didn’t. Again, Auburn? Anything is possible.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:02 pm
Tebow’s biggest game in the season came against the LSU Tigers on October 7, where he accounted for all three of the Gators’ touchdowns, passing for two and rushing for another. Tebow had a one-yard run on the goal line for his first score, a one-yard “jump pass” to tight end Tate Casey, in which he jumped in the air and double-pumped his arm before releasing the ball, and a 35-yard play-action pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy.
.
He single handedly won that game and had he not Fla would not have played the BCSNCG
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:03 pm
Tebow finished 2006 with the second-most rushing yards on the Gator team. What is seldom used is ur knowledge of football.
.
Again it was Tebow…not Meyer
MR
October 18th, 2010
1:03 pm
mark twain is an idiot. Talk about the bulldogs and leave tech out of this conversation.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:05 pm
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
patrick, I believe Urban won his first BCSCG with Teabow as a seldom used backup.
==========================
I believe you are wrong……………Tebow was used extensively
.
As a college freshman, the Gators coaches largely used him as a change of pace to the Gators’ more traditional passing quarterback, Chris Leak.[3] Tebow’s contribution to the Gators’ 2006 college football season was as a key back-up who helped the Gators win college football’s national championship game for the first time since 1996.
.
Tebow made his college debut coming off the bench behind Chris Leak in a goal line situation against Southern Miss. He rushed for a touchdown on a designed quarterback scramble on his first play.[34] In his next game, he led the team in rushing yards against UCF
.
Tebow’s biggest game in the season came against the LSU Tigers on October 7, where he accounted for all three of the Gators’ touchdowns, passing for two and rushing for another. Tebow had a one-yard run on the goal line for his first score, a one-yard “jump pass” to tight end Tate Casey, in which he jumped in the air and double-pumped his arm before releasing the ball, and a 35-yard play-action pass to wide receiver Louis Murphy.
.
He single handedly won that game and had he not Fla would not have played the BCSNCG
.
Seldom used my asz
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:07 pm
So I guess the teams second leading rusher is consider “seldom used” you are a moron Saddawg
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:08 pm
Oh yeah, Patrick, what 6 running plays and 2 passes per game? Look, Teabow was great, and UF misses him bad.
I’m just saying Urban Myer is a great coach, and he will win without Teabow. I don’t think Tim played on his 14-0 Utah team.
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:12 pm
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:08 pm
Oh yeah, Patrick, what 6 running plays and 2 passes per game? Look, Teabow was great, and UF misses him bad.
I’m just saying Urban Myer is a great coach, and he will win without Teabow. I don’t think Tim played on his 14-0 Utah team.
===============================
he SINGLE HANDEDLY BEAT (with the only TDs…3 of them..LSU. Had LSU won Fla would not have 2 NCs …so yes moron….he was INSTRUMENTAL in the 2006 BCSNC
SEC lunch links | SportsTalk South
October 18th, 2010
1:13 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if Georgia can win the “SEC Least.” [...]
patrick
October 18th, 2010
1:14 pm
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:08 pm
Oh yeah, Patrick, what 6 running plays and 2 passes per game? Look, Teabow was great, and UF misses him bad.
I’m just saying Urban Myer is a great coach, and he will win without Teabow. I don’t think Tim played on his 14-0 Utah team.
============================
Vandy could win 14 games a year in UTAH’s conference…..How is he doing without Tebow and Strong and Mullen?
Can't We All Just ......
October 18th, 2010
1:14 pm
Hold hands, sit around the camp fire and sing Kum Ba Ya?
Siskell & Ebert
October 18th, 2010
1:16 pm
Two thumbs down on UGA
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:17 pm
Talking football, Patrick – why the name-calling? Nobody’s supposed to disagree with you. Leak threw for 3000 yards for UF in ‘06.
And, no, averaging 6 runs for 31 yards is not so impressive, no matter what place that puts you on the team.
gt
October 18th, 2010
1:20 pm
I glad you can figure out who is real. I am thinking Miss. State is pretty good though they looked like Miss. State against Auburn. Georgia has to play Auburn in Auburn. Next week’s LSU game is the biggest of the year. If LSU beats Auburn and Auburn is looking ahead to the Alabama game, Georgia will pull one of those meanless upsets. My guess is Florida beats Georgia because it is the only thing left for Florida to save a horrible year, Georgia thinks they are past all that by beating the two worst teams in the SEC.
Big Daddy Powell
October 18th, 2010
1:20 pm
Ga is going to get the beat down put on them by UK this weekend. Sc and Auburn had better D and a much better ofense than GA and UK should have won both games. UK knows it can beat Ga as it did last year at your house. Sorry GA fans but you are dreaming if you think for one second you can win the east. lol UK will win 35 to 17. Your coach will be fired at seasons end. and all of the top 5 recruiting classes might show up with your new coach next year.
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:21 pm
Teabow has many NCAA records and probably was the best college football player other than Herschel. Not arguing that point. Just saying you can’t credit Teabow with Myer’s 1st National title.
AWJ
October 18th, 2010
1:23 pm
You guys crack me up. I love it when non-UGA fans come on here and get all fired up because THEY think that WE think UGA is awesome and going to the national championship every year. Nobody on here is saying that UGA is awesome this year and is going to a BCS game or whatnot. The point that is being made about the victories over UT and Vandy is that UGA is playing BETTER than we were in Sept. THATS IT!! It does not matter who we are playing against. It is a matter of things like our players being in the right position, making the right reads, creating turnovers, knowing where to be, and things like that….
thanks for the entertainment…
Athens Bail Bond Service
October 18th, 2010
1:24 pm
We are pleased to off a new discount for away games. Once you return to campus and get a dui we will offer a 25% discount.
Corch Myer
October 18th, 2010
1:26 pm
I need some rehab time!!!
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:26 pm
“Georgia thinks they are past all that by beating the two worst teams in the SEC.”
********************************
Come on gt, find a post (by a real UGA fan) who think everything’s fine at UGA. 3-4 is not fine.
Barbara Streisand
October 18th, 2010
1:26 pm
People, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.
Come on, sing it with me.
SadDawg
October 18th, 2010
1:27 pm
…who thinks…..
Does
October 18th, 2010
1:28 pm
Switching to Geico save you 15% on your car insurance? Is Mark Bradley delusional?