The All-UGA Heat Check: Hot – Mark Richt’s seat. (Duh)
Isaiah Crowell: It wasn't all (or even mostly) his fault, folks. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
The Monday Heat Check arrives, due to the holiday, a day later than usual. Georgia fans might wish it didn’t arrive at all. Because it’s all about the Bulldogs.
Mark Richt’s nerve: It was in place. Georgia won the toss and chose to receive. Get After Their Assets, as the famous Bulldog slogan (sort of) goes. Trouble was, the players’ nerves were jumping all over the place. There was a false start before the first snap, another false start on third down and a delay of game before the punt. Heat Index: Richt tried to be cool, but his players were uncool.
Todd Grantham’s pass defense: Kellen Moore threw 34 passes. One was intercepted. (He was pressured and threw poorly.) Five were incompletions. Twenty-eight were completed. Georgia mustered no sacks. Heat Index: If this is aggressive D at its best, Willie Martinez is Buddy Ryan.
Mike Bobo’s offense: It managed 373 yards, which doesn’t sound so bad. But 167 of those yards came on three plays. (All resulting in touchdowns.) Georgia ran 60 plays and netted 13 first downs. It converted two of 13 third downs. Only one possession spanned more than seven plays, and it ended when Richt chose to go for it on fourth-and-one and Richard Samuel was halted in the backfield. Heat Index: A damp squib.
Isaiah Crowell: He rushed for 60 yards, which is only 24 fewer than Herschel Walker managed in his collegiate debut. But Herschel scored two touchdowns and trampled Bill Bates. Not really a fair comparison, I know — but so much hope has been invested in this latest New Herschel. Heat Index: By normal standards, Crowell’s first game was warm enough.
Aaron Murray: If you want to call it the worst game this gifted quarterback has played as a Bulldog, I wouldn’t argue. He wasn’t terrible; he just wasn’t very good. Heat Index: What’s the opposite of balmy? Tepid?
Alec Ogletree: He figured to be Georgia’s best defender this season. He broke his foot in the first half. He’s out at least a month. Heat Index: That cold chill? It’s traversing the spinal column of the aforementioned Mr. Grantham.
Georgia fans: They came to praise their team. Many left early. Some booed as they departed. Heat Index: A few of these folks seemed hot under their dog collars, if you’ll pardon the expression.
Mark Richt’s seat: He’s not going to be fired on Sunday if Georgia loses to South Carolina on Saturday. But losing to South Carolina could well convince Bulldog Nation that there will never again be great days under this coach, and once that happens there’s almost no going back. Heat Index: No warmer than a blast furnace.
By Mark Bradley
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720 comments Add your comment
CRO MAGNON
September 7th, 2011
5:30 am
It has been the recruiting and these 4-5 star running backs crapping out on the program that has killed the dogs…Oline recruiting has been questionable also…Bradley is loving this cause he loves to see people who make 30 times his salary on the hot seat and squirm…And it gives him something to write about where he can get some of our lame fans to agree with him…When you see Georgia playing with a Freshman runningback and a guy who is a lb and is really not a back as their starters in a game this huge, you know something has gone terribly wrong with recruiting….
CRO MAGNON
September 7th, 2011
5:34 am
GT:
YOU, SIR, ARE TOTALLY IRRELEVANT…9 OUT OF 10 YEARS WE HAVE KICKED THAT A$$ AND YET YOU ARE STILL ON HERE MAKING SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE GEORGIA PROGRAM…AND NO, JEFF MONKIN IS NOT FUNNY…NO TRIPLE OPTION FOR GEORGIA…IF YOU HAVEN’T REALIZED IT, THE OFFENSE WILL EVENTUALLY HURT YOUR RECRUITING….
TheAntiMe
September 7th, 2011
5:49 am
This one was ugly, – but I will reserve judgment for now because Boise State could possibly wind up playing for the NC when all is done.
That being said – Heat Index: Based on their one and only performance this season, these aren’t the hot Dawgs that we were hoping for, these are extremely chilly Dawgs.
tjmadd
September 7th, 2011
6:06 am
BRING HOME KIRBY SMART
Stinger2
September 7th, 2011
6:08 am
I read the Chip Towers blog before coming to this one.
Not suprisingly, I could hardly tell the difference in the same old negative comments about the UGA coaching.
UGA fans: Wake up and support your coaches. There is a game Saturday in Athens against SC. With some encouraging support instead of all the trashing of the coaches, UGA can win this one and be 1-0 in the SEC East Sunday a:m.
Stinger2
September 7th, 2011
6:12 am
UGA coaches are good. UGA fans say too many mean things about their coaches. UGA fans: Be nice to your coaches and they can win more games.
Stinger2
September 7th, 2011
6:14 am
Mark Bradley: I have made two post with no bad. What happened?
Buckeye
September 7th, 2011
6:35 am
Morning dogs.
Been out to go potty yet?
One day closer to going 0-2.
Not to worry, though, you’re already out of the Top 25.
GA>USC
September 7th, 2011
6:54 am
the gamecocks have a terrrible defense—they had trouble with a bad east carolina team. The Dawgs will prevail on Saturday—mark it down!
Mulk
September 7th, 2011
7:01 am
Carolina is not Boise St. Neither is any of the other SEC teams other than Bama or LSU. So, all this wait and see rhetoric regarding the Carolina game is not a very good barometer. Even if UGAG wins, who will they have beaten? They will be alright this week because they will be back to playing a comfortable SEC powerhouse.
bubba4dawgs
September 7th, 2011
8:15 am
Hey Nerds, go line up some more “gray-y teams” to play and see if you can get ready for a “real team” to visit and stomp your candy a***s. They will take the buzz out of your butts but I suppose that won’t keep you at home on your own blogs. I suppose you just want to read about a good school and good team. GO DAWGS!!
Ted
September 7th, 2011
8:30 am
Van Gorder will be the next coach and he will get rid of DooDoo and Gruntham, our pitiful OC and DC….mark it down
Brian Van Gorder comes back to UGA and doesnt’t win either……
Whatever happened to Kirby Smart?
Chip Towers, AJC blogger
September 7th, 2011
9:07 am
Mark, I will ban you from posting if you keep saying negative things about my crush, Coach Mark Richt.
Playin' for Tats
September 7th, 2011
9:45 am
Good morning to you too Buckeye. How are things at Miami North?
The F*c*eyes will do nothing this year , so I guess that’s why you are here trying to trash another team. Nice win against Akron. Now on to Toledo. Nice schedule. I guess your just warming up for that “tough” (bwahhaahhhaaa) Big 10 schedule. What a bunch of pu**ies you have running your athletic dept. Akron – Toledo – Miami – Colorado to start. Everyone has tuneup games, but you guys take it to another level, considering that your conference schedule is a joke too.
Why don’t you just add all the service acadamies, since you are trying to mimic Notre Dame’s cake walk to a BCS game strategy already? I can’t wait to play you soft Ohio pansies in a few years. OSU is irrelevant, just like all the pro teams located in Ohio.
AL
September 7th, 2011
9:52 am
Mark Richt has to go. Not only does he always lose big games, but he cant even keep the best players in Georgia in state. People please stop defending him and let him go.
Playin' for Tats
September 7th, 2011
9:53 am
Ohio State Total Record VS SEC 7-11-2
Ohio State VS SEC in Bowl Games 1-9
Ohio State vs Alabama Record: 0-3-0
01-02-1978 New Orleans, LA 6-35 Sugar Bowl
08-27-1986 East Rutherford, NJ 10-16 Kickoff Classic
01-02-1995 Orlando, FL 17-24 Florida Citrus Bowl
Ohio State vs Auburn (AL) Record: 0-1-1
11-24-1917 Montgomery, AL 0-0
01-01-1990 Tampa, FL 14-31 Hall of Fame Bowl
Ohio State vs Florida Record: 0-1-0
01-08-2007 Glendale, AZ 14-41 BCS Championship Game
Ohio State vs Georgia Record: 0-1-0
01-01-1993 Orlando, FL 14-21 Florida Citrus Bowl
Ohio State vs Kentucky Record: 3-0-0
11-15-1895 Lexington, KY 8-6
10-18-1919 Columbus, OH 49-0
10-05-1935 Columbus, OH 19-6
Ohio State vs Louisiana St. (LSU) Record: 1-1-1
09-26-1987 Baton Rouge, LA 13-13
09-24-1988 Columbus, OH 36-33
01-07-2008 New Orleans, LA 24-38 BCS Championship Game
Ohio State vs South Carolina Record: 0-2-0
01-01-2001 Tampa, FL 7-24 Outback Bowl
01-01-2002 Tampa, FL 28-31 Outback Bowl
Ohio State vs Tennessee Record: 0-1-0
01-01-1996 Orlando, FL 14-20 Florida Citrus Bowl
Ohio State vs Vanderbilt (TN) Record: 3-1-0
11-14-1908 Nashville, TN 17-6
11-13-1909 Columbus, OH 5-0
10-10-1931 Columbus, OH 21-26
10-14-1933 Columbus, OH 20-0
But you finnaly beat powerhouse Arkansas last year. You are not competitive south of your state border.
AceDawg
September 7th, 2011
10:21 am
The Dawgs don’t have the quality in coaching to be an Alabama or LSU or Florida at this point. At their very best, they can compete for a game or two, but they are a step behind. I think Grantham is doing better than Richt or Bobo, but overall, the hard work that I’m sure this team put into its offseason was lost by a team that was outplayed and outcoached. For Richt to stick with Bobo, he must be willing to be fired. He sure should be. Anyone willing to keep Bobo deserves ZERO dollars a year, not $3 million or more.
KEEP RICHT&BOBO PLEASE
September 7th, 2011
10:53 am
HILLBILLIES YOU HICKS KNOW UGA IS GOING DOWN
FLA DAWG
September 7th, 2011
11:53 am
The Dawgs will lose to South Carolina and Richt will be fired at the end of this season and another season has been wasted under this coaching staff.
Credit Richt and his assistants for strong recruiting classes. Fault Richt & Co for being unable to prepare this fine talent for any serious game.
BSU beat The Dawgs in virtually every phase of the game.
The South Carolina Game is like approaching a motor vehicle accident. I know it will be a bad mess but I can’t help looking. The only saving factor to this forthcoming loss is the subsequent “loss” of Richt, Bobo and Grantham.
brian
September 7th, 2011
3:58 pm
john gruden