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
Mike S.
October 24th, 2010
9:56 am
Mark B., will you remind us again why Florida virtually always gets a bye week before the Georgia game to rest, recover, and game plan while Georgia almost always plays a game. Then they head down to the Gators’ backyard and routinely get ambushed. It’s like Georgia is handed a .22 and Florida a sawed-off shotgun before each matchup and we’re told “it’s not that big of a deal, the best team will still win.”. That’s a joke, a couple of Georgia’s best teams that won SEC Championships still lost in Jax without a week to recover. What if Shockely had had a week to recover from injury and we weren’t stuck with Joe T. and lost in a close one? What if the two Davids’ SEC Championship team had had a bye, they were clearly better than Grossman’s Gators. If it’s the schools fault I’ll stop sending money and supporting that game, if it’s the SEC’s fault we need to appeal the scheduling, because for a game that’s usually the biggest of the year we put ourselves at a disadvantage every year!
kral
October 24th, 2010
9:57 am
I’m leaving now, but if ever the beauty contest system needed to go this is the year…A playoff including all conference champions is the right thing to do…Bcs is like the old bowl system it makes me sick…..
New Contracts
October 24th, 2010
9:59 am
With these 3 wins, look for Richt and Bobo to get brand new, long-term contracts with huge bonuses and raises!!!! they’ve got it figured out now and will be at UGA for years to come!!! The Dawg O is rolling now and will not be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill
October 24th, 2010
9:59 am
Jim Donnan picked the cats to win.
SC Boy
October 24th, 2010
10:06 am
Sorry but the best receiver in the country is Alshon Jeffrey. Plus he has integrity something sorely missing from Green and the UGA players in general.
Dawgs Win the East!!!
October 24th, 2010
10:08 am
These Dawgs will not be denied. SC will lose to florida and arkansas. Ga beats Florida and Auburn and will win the East, and pull an upset over alabama in Atlanta!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
10:08 am
Run it UP
Please pass some of that kool-aid your drinking, because I need it
Im drinking the 2-7 against FL kool-aid right now and am not impressed with this team yet sorry
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
10:09 am
Dawgs arent beating AUB no way, not this coaching staff
FLA DAWG
October 24th, 2010
10:17 am
Losses against SC, Ark, Miss State and Colorado and wins against La La, UT, Vandy and KY do not constitute a record I am proud of for The Dawgs.
Even a win over hapless UF would not change our embarrassing defeats.
This season the big game is not UF…………it’s Auburn.
We’ll know if there has been a real turnaround during that game.
The Dawgs don’t even have to win it to convince me.
But they will have to keep it close.
Ed
October 24th, 2010
10:22 am
Georgia had the bye-week last year, and got steamrolled by Florida.
NO EXCUSES. BEAT FLORIDA.
JunkyardDawg
October 24th, 2010
10:25 am
Hows the whether down their st simmons?
{{{{{{{{{{{{30-24}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} ahahahahahahaha
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
10:26 am
Ed
I agree
The issue is will this coaching staff ever take this game seriously
m
October 24th, 2010
10:28 am
Good job JunkyardDawg in getting two of the seven words in your post spelled correctly.
((((((((((((((((((((((((( 45-42 ))))))))))))))))))))))))))
coming to a huge concrete septic tank near you!
Dawg_Mike
October 24th, 2010
10:31 am
“But it could come a monsoon that day and Georgia might win 3-0 on a 60-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.”
I don’t know about you but Walsh is beginning to worry me a little. The misses are not long range, they are very much in his comfort zone…. I”m just sayin,,,
Ed
October 24th, 2010
10:31 am
Red said “To all you fairweather fans who jumped shipped on UGA and talked about firing CMR, please stay out of the blog! You’re not welcome in this ship.”
Hey Red, the jury’s still out on Richt. If we lose to what’s obviously a mediocre Florida team on Saturday, then fire his ass and find someone who’ll step up to the Gators (consult the folks at Ole Miss and Miss. St., they never seemed to bothered by UF). It’s time to man up.
Dawg_Mike
October 24th, 2010
10:31 am
Butler has found his groove, so hopefully Walsh can do the same. We just might need a game winner one day soon….like maybe next week?
Redneck Bill in Trailerville
October 24th, 2010
10:35 am
Well, a 6-6 season and a trip to Nashville is nothing to sneeze at. That’s what I say. Anyhow, got to go and fix a hole in the side of my—uh, manufactured housing. Then it’s a big bag of fried pork skins, a case of PBR, and the Falcons.
Georgia Blows Out Florida
October 24th, 2010
10:35 am
Finally—with florida way down in talent and coaching, this is the year that the Dogs can finally get an easy, blowout win and shutup the obnoxious florida fans for a year!!!! Ga 44 Fla 17!!! These dogs are the new beast in the east!
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:37 am
The Dawgs more pumped and ready to play last night than I remember in a while, from the opening whistle. They need the same against Gators and play loose, reckless and have some fun. Florida’s offense isn’t near as good as Kentucky’s. 7 points against Miss. ST….Really ? I like our chances….
Dawg_Mike
October 24th, 2010
10:37 am
It’s time to Man up against UF. Play to win instead of playing not to lose.
I fully believe this version of the Dawgs will show up and fight hard and smart.
This is Murray’s first WLOCP start and the kid has ice water in his veins. No worries.
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:39 am
Dawgs 28- gators 14
tim
October 24th, 2010
10:39 am
if you puppies don’t beat my sorry gators this year you never will. In over 25 years of watching UF this is by far the worst coached team I have ever seen, Brantley trying to run the spread option is like a cow flying…the offensive line, although injured, is bad….no running backs and a O coordinator who looks like he’s coaching on Mars…….this year UGA 28 UF 13
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
10:39 am
Ed
Well said again, I will add this
If we lose to FL Saturday, Richt will be 2-8 vs them,
Now anyone please explain to me why he should be the 6th highest paid coach in college football
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:41 am
We go to Jacksonville with two things. confidence and some swagger……
it gives us a chance.
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:43 am
tim, we feel the same………………..but, we freeze normally when we see ya’ll………put up a cardboard cut out of Tebow on the sidelines…..that will help ya;ll……LOL
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:46 am
Gators REALLY missed the boat with Aaron Murray. He would be perfect running the
gator spread…….I believe Christian LeMay de-commits after Murray named SEC Freshman of the year.
JB
October 24th, 2010
10:48 am
LeMay might end up a Gator. Brantley is a bust….( in that offense)
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
10:50 am
I wish mike boob would de-commit from our offensive coordinator
FLA DAWG
October 24th, 2010
10:50 am
Flat Tire,
Yep, even if win beat The Gators (and that is still a big “if”) I don’t see how anyone can gain confidence in beating losing teams.
But if we lose to the losers (again) then Richt should make an early release deal and depart from Athens.
Ramguy
October 24th, 2010
10:51 am
The week off by Fla does concern me. It seems like they have a lot weeks off before they play the Dawgs. They take a bus to the game (Dawgs have to fly) and have a week off before they play. Just how much of advantage do those guys need?
1eyedJack
October 24th, 2010
10:54 am
Crush your enemies…drive them before you…listen to the lamentations of their women! What is best in life? Go Dawgs!!!
FLA DAWG
October 24th, 2010
10:56 am
Ramguy,
They get the home field advantage every damn year.
Why we don’t make a deal to play them every other year at The Georgia Dome is beyond me.
It would be a sellout everytime.
But the bottomline is that with the exception of a couple of UF losses since Richt has been here we weren’t even close to winning.
John
October 24th, 2010
10:57 am
The Dawgs look like a team again. We should all be encouraged – if not convinced.
Let’s see what happens in Jacksonville this weekend. UF has been taking elephantine-sized dumps on Dawg Nation’s mid-Autumn joy for years. Until they don’t, I’ll assume they will again.
As average as the Gators are this year, Coach Urban would probably like nothing more than to derail UGA’s apparent resurgence to salvage 2010. The great man has had an extra week to prepare for us, and I won’t sell him short.
And his gut has to be in knots every time he thinks about the one that got away, now plying his skills at Auburn. Especially with the Gators current offensive woes.
A coach doesn’t often have the opportunity to have two players-who-are-like-sons-to-him; especially in consecutive order.
Cam’s got Tim’s knack for showing out after big plays too. Apparently the SEC refs have taken notice and decided en masse, not to take notice. Does that remind anybody of the recent past? Man, if Fate had allowed Cam to continue his matriculation in Mosquito Pit, USA, it woulda been a seamless transition.
Great players both, that’s for sure.
Ramguy
October 24th, 2010
10:57 am
This was a good win for UGA. They created turnovers and took advantage of them. This wasn’t a cheap win. Remember Kentucky beat SC (and SC gave Auburn all they wanted as did Kentucky) last week after being down 28-10 and the Dawgs came out after halftime and went down and scored. That was a statement.
Predicted BCS rankings
October 24th, 2010
10:57 am
Team
Oregon
Auburn
Boise State
TCU
Missouri
Michigan State
Alabama
Utah
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Stanford
Nebraska
Florida State
Arizona
South Carolina
Arkansas
Virginia Tech
Iowa
Miami FL
USC
Iowa State
Hawaii
Navy
Oklahoma State
Northwestern
GaGator
October 24th, 2010
10:59 am
Ramguy
I’m affraid one week off still isn’t enough for my sorry Gators.
Ramguy
October 24th, 2010
11:01 am
Fla Dawg
Losing to Fla started well before Richt got there but he sure hasn’t done much to stop it. I agree that the game should be alternated between the Dome and Jacksonville. To heck with the tradition. Let’s start a new one.
tim
October 24th, 2010
11:01 am
JB that’s funny…I agree with you on Brantley..he’s not that good, and he’s fragile. Look for a lot of Trey Burton..BTW UF has the ESPN #1 OB jeff Driscol coming in Jan all 6′4″ 240 pounds of option QB. Like I said get us this year. LeMay is rated much lower than Driscol, but Murray is a stud so look for LeMay to decommit…LSU perhaps.
GaGator
October 24th, 2010
11:01 am
FLA DAWG
Get real, you folks loved coming to Jax when Dolley was kicking our a$$, give it time you will love again.
Ramguy
October 24th, 2010
11:09 am
GaGator
I wouldn’t sell Meyer short. There about a bunch of other schools that would love to have him. That week off really concerns me. At least we’re not like Ala. They were really screwed by the schedule. Saban isn’t whining. He’s right.
RxDawg
October 24th, 2010
11:20 am
We shouldn’t of lost to Colorado. That one hurt… But other than that, I’m proud of the Dawgs. They have hung in and worked out the kinks in order to be a competetive team. Maybe we will actualy beat Florida, who knows?
Mayo
October 24th, 2010
11:25 am
And Tek lost…..
tim
October 24th, 2010
11:30 am
I would love to able to sit here this morning basking in the Fl sunshine laughing at UGA thinking they can win. I can’t simply put if you do not win this year you may never taste victory again in this game or at least for a long time to come. This is a BAD UF football team,our coaches don’t seem to have a clue as to who or what we are. Maybe Meyer should have stayed retired he is certainly coaching like someone who is. They seem to have that round peg in a square hole mentalilty with Brantley much like they did with Chris Leak, the flavor of the day seems to be T Burton. I ‘ll let you in on a little secret he’s nice energetic etc etc not the best player on the field though, Fl best chance to win is by letting JB do what he does best throw the ball down field, which for whatever reason they seem unwilling to do. So like the rest of Gator Nation I will limp into the Gator Bowl next Saturday hoping to see something different not really expecting anything though,best of luck UGA and welcome to Jacksonville.
Dawg Fud
October 24th, 2010
11:30 am
Defense was terrible. Need to get that cleaned up. Second half total collapse.
Duh'Quan Poohkraine
October 24th, 2010
11:33 am
We just beat a very good Kentucky team with one of the most potent offenses in the league. However, Kentucky exposed an area of weakness that goes back 4-5 years and that is our Cornerback play. We’ve replaced the lame Prince Miller and Bryan Evans with Vance Cuff, who runs around with his head in the sky and his thumb up his arse. Lakatos is got to start earning his coin and straighten these DB’s out. We’re giving up WAY to many 3rd and long plays this year.
Beep-beep-beep earth to Bobo, earth to Bobo… Carlton Thomas is not a between the tackles runner.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 24th, 2010
11:39 am
Poohkraine
Your right about C Thomas, I want to scream everytime he sends him up the middle
Bobo do you watch film AT ALL
He does a great job on toss sweeps but I guess like corner kicking, the fans will have to tell you how to coach.
RollTideJoe
October 24th, 2010
11:43 am
I hope you do get by FL next week. We would love to see you in the SEC chanpionship game. Tide will roll through LSU, Auburn……..then probably SC the 2nd time around.
NotADog
October 24th, 2010
11:55 am
Georgia is back? Their three wins came againsts teams with a cumulative record of 8-14 and even if they beat Florida those figures only go to 12-18. Beat Auburn and you will have proven something.
Too little and too late is still the UGA theme in 2010
October 24th, 2010
12:16 pm
UGA was ill prepared to start the season and with the off the field crap and fLEA markets with articles of clothing and such, they simply were distracted. The O line was not yet jelling …. again. Murray was throttled back by the ultra goofy Bobo in first four games. Yes, the 3-4 d was/is a work in progress and it will be next year before they find the wide bodies on the line like Bama’s Cody was.
There are some very bright spots but UGA on D in the middle is horrific vs. any stout SEC teams. This is a problem that might get exposed badly in the next three games out of four. The corner backs are not yet up to speed with coverages on routes. Still too far off the ball.
NEW AD McGarity will be viewing UGA’s style of play and the resulting effectiveness and level of talent vs Florida and AUburn and even GT ( they are so bad ) to put his final comments on this ugly, ugly and very UNECESSARY season. It really should have been a 9-3 year with an Outback apprearance. Not now ………………toilet bowl it is for UGA.
Richt can salve over the wounds of 1-4 start with wins over Florida and Auburn and GT. To lose two of these will frankly, place him in harm’s way of being canned. It is the way that it is. He knows this to be fair. He is well paid. Amen.
The alumni demand better from a team in a fertile HS recruiting state and with our facilities and our $$$$ Fan base. Money talks and smoke walks.
Go Dogs.
UGA class of 71 & 73
Houston, they have a problem
October 24th, 2010
12:25 pm
Another footbal rule of thumb: Go with what works until it stops working. The run with Ealey was working so there really was no need to throw or do anything else. The secondary still worries me. They are prone to letting receivers get behind them and to giving up the deep ball. If we do that against Auburn, Newton will eat us alive..