UGA heads to Jacksonville having left Kentucky in the dust
These were six of Washaun Ealey's 30 points. (AP photo)
LEXINGTON, Ky. — On the morning of Oct. 9, the Georgia Bulldogs were 1-4. We mention this because … well, because it’s Oct. 25 and they sure as heck aren’t 1-4 anymore.
They’re a robust 4-4, having won three SEC games by the aggregate score of 128-45. They’re 4-4 headed to Jacksonville in a better frame of mind than the hated Gators, who’ve lost three in a row. They’re 4-4 and maybe they haven’t beaten the Who’s Who of BCS Bullies, but it wasn’t so long ago Georgia couldn’t beat anybody anywhere.
And now you’re asking: Is this apparent resurgence the real deal or just a red (and black) herring? And the answer is …
It’s real for this simple reason: Georgia was far too talented to have been 1-4, and we’re finally seeing what happens when that talent is brought to bear. The Bulldogs won big in a place where South Carolina lost just last week not only because Kentucky messed up — though the Wildcats did more than their share of that — but because some big-time players made big-time plays.
Brandon Boykin took another kickoff back 100 yards. A.J. Green rose up a couple of times and reminded us that he’s the best receiver among collegians. (Also that he was sorely missed throughout September.) Justin Houston did a Lawrence Taylor all over the Big Blue — sacking the quarterback, recovering a fumble, coming within a step of making his own Kroy Biermann deflect-catch-and-score memory.
And Washaun Ealey, whose fumbles on the goal line and misadventure in the parking garage became the symbol of that staggering start, came to the Bluegrass and rewrote his bio. He’s no longer Washaun Ealey, the man who cannot be trusted in the red zone. He’s now Washaun Ealey, the Bulldog who nearly outscored Kentucky by himself.
Five touchdowns for Ealey and one for Boykin and three early Kentucky fumbles made this easier than it should have been. (And a cosmetic fourth-quarter rally made the final score closer than the game itself.) Georgia got way ahead — it was 28-3 after 23-plus minutes — and buttoned it down. Aaron Murray threw only 12 passes, and that wasn’t because the offensive minds Mark Richt and Mike Bobo got stupid; it was because they got smart.
The first rule of politics also is the first rule of football: When your opponent is in the process of destroying himself, get out of the way. The ‘Dogs applied enough early defensive pressure to discombobulate the ‘Cats, and the rest was simply for form’s sake.
Yes, there were too many times when Houston and the rushers didn’t put Mike Hartline on the ground, and the Kentucky quarterback found unencumbered receivers. But we saw clearly here that Todd Grantham’s 3-4 can deal with a multi-faceted offense that’s cleverly constructed, and it’s unclear we can say half as much about Florida’s shockingly inept attack.
Simply put, Georgia goes to Jacksonville with a chance to stamp itself as the only real challenger to South Carolina in the SEC East, and who among us saw that coming after the losses in Starkville and Boulder? If you’re asking if this defense looks capable of derailing Cam Newton’s run to the Heisman at Auburn on Nov. 13, the answer frankly is no. But it could come a monsoon that day and Georgia might win 3-0 on a 60-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.
What’s important is that the Bulldogs have given themselves a chance to right a season going wrong. Sure, the schedule has had much to do with it, but the early schedule was tougher than calculus. (Especially without Green for Games 1-4.) A youngish team has gotten better the more it has played, and these past three weeks it has been pretty doggone good.
The Tennessee and Vanderbilt games were in Athens. The Kentucky game always loomed as the pre-Jacksonville obstacle, and Georgia came to Commonwealth Stadium and stacked 44 points on Kentucky and never let the hosts have a sniff at victory. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it came at a perfect time.
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286 comments Add your comment
UGA owns you tasty bees..
October 23rd, 2010
11:42 pm
Ealey comes through big in a big game. Defense became sloppy late in the fourth, but if you think about how the time of possession was in the game, they were out there 3/4 of the game. The D played good. Stopped the run. and did a very good job of shutting out a specialty offense’s go-to player. Made Kentucky find other ways to beat us. Hartline is a better passer than Brantley, and Trey Burton is “no ” Randall Cobb. UF is in for a game this year.
Tweets that mention UGA heads to Jacksonville having left Kentucky in the dust | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
October 23rd, 2010
11:42 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley and katy roland, Andrew DeMillo. Andrew DeMillo said: RT @MarkBradleyAJC: #UGA heads to Jacksonville having left Kentucky in the dust. http://bit.ly/9VsOYr [...]
Spete birddawg
October 23rd, 2010
11:43 pm
Go DOGS,Coach M.R. stop wasting the talent,whoop that tayter,read wilbur smiths the Sunbird.done deal dog.?
dan
October 23rd, 2010
11:44 pm
Hey as long as long as this team is scoring points, thats all I care about. We don’t have any talent on defense, so I don’t care if we give up garbage TD’s at the end of the game. I think its obvious that Bobo is an idiot and that Mark Richt is a second tier coach, and a three game winning streak isn’t going to erase this fact. Its going to take a lot of luck for this team to make it to the SEC. But as long as they can put up points, we’ll have a shot vs. Florida.
td
October 23rd, 2010
11:44 pm
RoswellDawg
October 23rd, 2010
11:17 pm
Let me say that a “W” is a “w”. However, as a loyal but critical Dawg fan, I think Bobo’s play calling was absolutely horrific in this game. Thank God that Ealey showed up for this game. It’s good to see him back to form and capable of handeling all the carries instead of splitting them with Caleb. Does kentucky have someone that can Match AJ, Orson Charles, Kris Durahm, etc? The answer is no. I saw time after time opportunities to play action ot AJ or one of the other targets, but we cont. to run the ball. props go to the O line, hell of a game guys. Geathers has made an immediate impact. What gives with our secondary and our D as a whole? They should have kept the Cats under 20 points but gave up with the game in hand. I hope the coaches noticed that too. Not trying to be doen right now, again, a win is a win. I’ll take it. Let’s go beat Fla’s azz!
And this is why CMR makes the big bucks and you my friend do not coach the DAWGS. Did you even read Marks comments? KY was self destructing and CMR did not want to throw the ball around and take a chance of interception. Smart plan not bad game calling.
CJ_NC_DAWG
October 23rd, 2010
11:45 pm
Hershel Can’t Talker,
Really?
Maybe we could get Saban to coach at Georgia…. LOL
Do you people remember Ray Goff? Jim Donnan?
Remember Glenn Mason (thank god he turned us down)
Remember how many guys turned down 3/4 of a million last year to coach our defense?
How many VOLS fans are glad Phil Fulmer isn’t still coaching UT ….
Coaching changes are only sometimes good…look at Notre Dame….
Get a life…. We will win 3 of 4 remaining if not all 4…and a bowl….
saint richt finishes with 8 wins minimum…. nobody else gets arrested through next year….
Don’t you think he’s pissed about this season? The suspensions, the scrutiny, the distractions, the AJ debacle?.
Georgia has something to prove….and i think they will….Don’t F@#$ with a Junkyard Dawg!
Baseballdawg
October 23rd, 2010
11:50 pm
Maybe CMR should begin coaching his a$$ off in August. Good win.
Mike Smith
October 23rd, 2010
11:53 pm
Good game overall by the defense. There still seems to be a player or two not paying attention. That led to some wide open receivers on plays where the line got pressure but couldnt quite get the QB down. Still, the turnovers more than make up for that. I would have liked to see them hold UK off the scoreboard a little better, but overall, another solid effort by the D that continues to look much improved under Grantham.
Jethro Bodeen
October 23rd, 2010
11:53 pm
I told you Mr. Drysdale that Georgia would win out and Tech would lose out!
dbc
October 23rd, 2010
11:55 pm
I wish there could be cheers and high fives all around. But this UGA team is still lost. The play calling still stinks, the pass defense is atrocious, and the players who suck still strut like roosters after making a play they should make every day, but don’t and celebrate like they just won the game. Yes, still alive in the mighty SEC East — Florida has a week off to soothe their team and like always, Urban will have his way. Maybe not by a lot, but UGA will find a way to lose. I don’t even want to contemplate what Auburn and Cam Newton will do to UGA because it doesn’t even seem sporting. Bottom line, another season of what if’s and why not’s. CMR will do just enough to buy another year and we’ll be having these same debates a year from now. I wish, just once, a UGA team would actually play to win instead of not to lose.
bardawg
October 23rd, 2010
11:56 pm
I’ve got to say ,after my chastising of the dawgs earlier this season , I’m damn proud of ‘em.After all t.he years I’ ve followed the dawgs , I know better than to give up on them the way I’ve done, and I’m the one who deserves the chastising. I don’t know what magic CMR worked on these boys , but it had to be some sure ’nuff special mojo.Just hope we an keep it up. GO DAWGS& GATA!
UGABugKiller
October 23rd, 2010
11:56 pm
Should Georgia beat Florida? Yes.
Will Georgia beat Florida? Probably not. And it won’t be the defense’s fault.
Why? Because Florida has the bye week before the game. AGAIN.
Because Mark Richt has a pathological inability to beat the Gators as the head coach of Georgia (never seemed to be a problem for him at FSU), especially when the Gators are ripe for beating (Zook years).
Plus, how many of us in BulldogNation will be on pins and needles, praying to Jesus and crossing our fingers that (insert player name here) won’t be arrested between now and Saturday?
Mark… the team is playing better on the field, that is true. This is no Willie Martinez soft as pillows defense. The offense is still not greatly managed by Mike Bobo (today notwithstanding), but they’re better with AJ. But do you trust this team off the field? I don’t.
I don’t trust them because in the five-plus seasons after BVG left, Richt’s soft hand lost control of a football program with arrest after arrest after arrest.
I hate that I have to hope that no one gets arrested this week before the Florida game. We shouldn’t even have to THINK about that.
Our Greatest Player EVER shouldn’t have to come out at tell our head coach that he’s lost control of the team and needs to take it back.
Win, lose, or whatever… I just want to get through this cursed season without any more embarrassments OFF the field.
Because
We Drink This State
October 23rd, 2010
11:58 pm
Here’s a toast to the best 4-4 team in the land! I see that Coach Richt is not being called “a magician”. Where was that magic the first 5 weeks? But its better to fall on your face early & surge late than vice versa.
CJ_NC_DAWG
October 24th, 2010
12:00 am
Oh yeah, and give Bobo a little credit for his commitment to a balanced attack and play calling, which has his freshman QB efficiency rating near the top of the league…Murray is not turning it over….and the defense is taking it away…..
FalconUGAFan
October 24th, 2010
12:00 am
Agree 100 % with UGABugKiller…JSS should be here directly…..
mexdawg
October 24th, 2010
12:03 am
I don’t know what we’ll do the rest of this season but I do know we can beat the dirt dobbers with our second string.That’s a given.That will have to wait first we have to take care of the water lizzards.LET THE BIG DAWG EAT!GATA.
Dawg 555
October 24th, 2010
12:04 am
Bradley….great column. Dead on. Go Dawgs!
bardawg
October 24th, 2010
12:07 am
dbc, something tells you have’nt been around long enough to truly appreciate the history of the Ga/ Aub game . Too many times I’ve seen one or the other ranked ( sometimes in the top 5) get a little too cocky about themselves and be on the wrong end of a horrendous ass-whipping. Please keep in mind ,that’s why they play these games, ,ENJOY
kgb
October 24th, 2010
12:10 am
The pass defense still has a long way to go………..receivers are still just way too wide open way too often……..
Dr Morpheus
October 24th, 2010
12:15 am
The Dawgs’ offense was ultraconservative because the run game was working and we continued to pile up the points. Why get fancy when you’re killing the other side? I expect us to open it up against UF.
UGA heads to Jacksonville having left Kentucky in the dust | Mark … | ENA news
October 24th, 2010
12:16 am
[...] Read the original: UGA heads to Jacksonville having left Kentucky in the dust | Mark … [...]
san diego dawg
October 24th, 2010
12:17 am
Awesome game! What a thrilling weekend with a UGA victory and watching the nerds get absolutely annihilated by a mediocre Clemson team. One program is on the rise and one is becoming an embarrassment for the state of GA. With their pending losses to VT, Miami & UGA, the nerds will have a must win game against Duke just to become bowl eligible.
azdawg
October 24th, 2010
12:21 am
Couldn’t agree more w/”playing time They need to just let Vance Cuff watch.” bench that kid he could have cost GA the game. Even w/a win I’m not encouraged the way the D played on 3rd downs and the way the D Cood called the game. Way too many 3rd and long given up for 1st downs. If I’m FL I’m lickin’ my chops after watching that. If it wasn’t for good ole number 42 (Houston) sacking the KY QB it would have been worse. I don’t see why DC didn’t rush 5 w/one up the middle preventing their QB from stepping up. Take away KY’s 4 TO’s and this could have been another loss for GA, i’m convinced of it.
Play D like they did tonight and FL wins again. Ya just cannot play D like that w/o continous pressure on the QB. GA just does not have good enough CB’s to make up for a lack of QB pressure.
Don’t think FL won’t be ready. I doubt we’ll get handed 4 TO’s in JAX. D cannot continue to give up those 3rd and long. And our Offense will be playing against a bigger and better FL D. I just don’t have the warm fuzzies from what I saw in Lex tonight from the D.
dan
October 24th, 2010
12:24 am
UGAbugkiller
You put far too much emphasis on this bye week. Florida’s problems aren’t going to be magically solved in 2 weeks and if they are then Urban Meyer is like the greatest college football coach of all time!
UGA can’t control whether or not Florida has a bye week. And they can’t focus on where they are in the SEC standings. All they can do is focus on their execution.If they prepare for Florida like they are a regular opponent as opposed to some insurmountable obstacle that they have to overcome, they will win their share of games vs. the Gators. Most of the years that the Dawgs have played the Gators, they were either equal or greater in talent than Florida( 2008 and 2009 being notable exceptions). But they lose because of the mental roadblock that Florida has over them. UGA has had little trouble beating Auburn and LSU the past few years. If you can beat these teams, you can beat Florida! But it won’t happen with gimmicks and uniforms it happens with execution( don’t let the 2007 endzone dance or Blackout games fool anyone. The Dawgs won both of those games by out executing Florida and Auburn). Trust me, if the Dawgs got out there and execute, they can beat Florida bye week or not.
Bobo needs to go
October 24th, 2010
12:24 am
What is this 1975? You only threw 12 times? You have AJ Green and Aaron Murray and you only throw 12 times….?!?!?!?! That may work against Kentucky, but it sure as hell isn’t going to work against UF or Auburn. The conservatism in this offense kills me. BOBO NEEDS TO GO!!!
Hairy Dawg
October 24th, 2010
12:27 am
The only thing that bothered me tonight was the unwillingness to go for more points with the ball at the 35, three timeouts left, and a little over a minute remaining in the first half.
That was about as conservative as it gets. In the end, it didn’t matter a bit.
MIKE BOBO
October 24th, 2010
12:27 am
Yes, I only threw 12 times because I am an idiot…..I don’t know anything except to give it to a tailback up the middle. Yes, I realize that I have AJ Green, but I want to be like Vince the Prince and take it back to 1970s offensive college football. Play action is the only thing I know….
uga_fan39
October 24th, 2010
12:28 am
Pass defense is horrible.. KY moved the ball at will against us. 3rd down conversions are simply too easy against us. Rambo is constantly out of postion and looks lost. Hopefully Ogletree can come along quick to give us some better coverage and tackling ability at the safety postion. Not too sure about this 3-4 scheme, looks like it doesnt transition well to the college game.
The Ghost of Wally Butts
October 24th, 2010
12:28 am
Sorry, but our 3-game win streak is against Tenn, Vandy and Kentucky. I’m just not ready to drink the Kool-Aid yet.
Now then, if we had a 3-game win streak against say….Florida….Auburn….Tech….then yeah, hand me a glass-full.
I still say we are headed for either 6-6 or 7-5, depends upon the Tech game.
Shreveport, here we come. Green can sell another jersey.
Mark Richt
October 24th, 2010
12:28 am
I really want to start calling the plays again. Bobo is an idiot…12 throws in one game….he’s a wimp.
todd brown
October 24th, 2010
12:29 am
finally. beware water lizards. this dawg is gonna beat u down next week. get ready!
GTBob
October 24th, 2010
12:29 am
I honestly think UGA will beat Florida. Florida is pretty bad this year so if you cant beat them this year then you have problems. I don’t give them much of a chance against Auburn though.
Aaron Murray
October 24th, 2010
12:29 am
Had I known that Bobo would only let me throw 12 times in a game, I would have gone somewhere else….
san diego dawg
October 24th, 2010
12:30 am
holy cow velasquez destroyed lesnar.
#1DAWGINMISSISSIPPI
October 24th, 2010
12:31 am
To all the Tech Fans that really believe Tech beats UGA in Athens this year LOL<LOL<LOL<LMAO,ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dream on Bugs!oh and KM UGA A$$ !!!
srcdawg1
October 24th, 2010
12:32 am
if not for three fumbles, where would we be be? our “D” STILL SUCK”S. great win, Do you think AJ has been a difference? great weekend tech looses, giant’s & ranger’ win. FALCON’S play today.
He Hate Gator
October 24th, 2010
12:32 am
Time to hate gator…
Bart
October 24th, 2010
12:36 am
Grantham got burned on the blitzes for big plays all night long, that QB is really smart and Kentucky’s offense can score and put up yards. Thought it was dumb to blitz on them, they were having a hard time when Georgia dropped 7 or 8 into pass coverage with a lead. With a big lead, you don’t need to be blitzing, especially when you get burned. Cuff can’t handle 1 on 1 coverage against anybody, so you can’t blitz like that.
Fix that, and the defense holds them under 20 the rest of the year.
srcdawg1
October 24th, 2010
12:37 am
please mr. murray maybe dumbo was saving something for the gator’s. who know’s.
Hairy Dawg
October 24th, 2010
12:37 am
I don’t give a damn about Florida having a week off. We need to go out there and take it to them. We whine about all the different circumstances around that game almost every year, but we’ve had weeks off before that game and had our asses handed to us. It’s time to man up and bring a win home to Athens. Screw the Gators. Screw them into the hottest depths of Hell.
Go Dawgs.
srcdawg1
October 24th, 2010
12:41 am
come on guy’s we WON!!!! it does not matter how. let’s go get the gator’s. if we lose we can still fire cmr & dumbo. go DAWG’S
Chuck Uga
October 24th, 2010
12:48 am
What happened to “Finish the Drill?” One major weakness a mid-level program like Georgia has is a coaching staff who doesn’t understand what Steve Spurrier does. You play 60 minutes and you don’t let up until the horn sounds. Why? Because you have a team that ISN’T as good as people think. UGA needs to develop a consistent attack, and that means play the game the same against Kentucky as you would against Florida or Auburn. That is how a team develops. Not by running around and laying down late in the game. Not by running in obvious passing situations. Bobo and Richt pulled back, and so did the defense. Kentucky was neck and neck with SC and Auburn. That was not the case tonight. UGA should have played a lot harder. This effort will come back to haunt them. I still see UGA finishing no better than 6-6. That means a slpit of the last 4 games. And please Mark, DO NOT accept a bowl game if you are 6-6. You do NOT deserve one.
bigcalidawg
October 24th, 2010
12:53 am
Whew! Thank goodness I can read brainless babbling by men with inferiority complexes. When we were losing, the trolling decreased. Now that we’re winning again, it’s coming back.
Only difference is that Tech is downright sorry and now the DAWGS are gettin’ flamed by Gator fans that know we’re gonna win by 3 touchdowns next week.
This will be a fun run. We certainly earned it.
Dawg 555
October 24th, 2010
12:57 am
Give the team some credit for turning this season around! We are more than capable of kicking some gator butt this year. Just play mistake free ball. God, I hate the gators….Let’s Go Dawgs!
srcdawg1
October 24th, 2010
1:04 am
go DAWG’S.lets beat fla!
rincon dawg
October 24th, 2010
1:06 am
Go dawgs ugly but big win now beat the heck out of that team down south.
Time to turn the curse back on them.
Go dawgs
Mark Bradley
October 24th, 2010
1:07 am
Going to bed. Thanks to all for hanging with me this long day/ night.
rincon dawg
October 24th, 2010
1:08 am
The curse of TEBLOW will be started go dawgs
crap sandwich
October 24th, 2010
1:10 am
Defensive effort was great out of the front seven……her comes the but……Cuff anod Rambo on the weak side just are awful. Commings and Williams I have nothing but praise for and played an excellent game and are really jellying together.
Now back to Cuff, how bad is this DB? Awful is too kind a word, and Rambo where the heck is he on the pass? Pushing Cuff on one play, stumbling over him on the next. I really hope Smith is back this week, and we need to start Ogletree. ANY team can have a field day with our weak side defensive backs and Auburn will feast on that side. If UF has any offense at all, look to Cuff he is your answer to at least 28pts per game.
Fort Worth Dawg
October 24th, 2010
1:10 am
I love the bile spewing from Tech fans on this ‘dawg’ site. Especially from “UGA BLOWS”! We may finish with a worse overall record, but consider if UGA played in the ACC? And when we beat you in Athens this year, to improve our dominance over you, year after year…will back up everyone’s impression of the ACC. It would be another embarrassing loss from a top ACC team to a “lower tier SEC team”! Then again, after losing to Clemson, you can’t even be considered a top ACC team.