A soggy salute to the Georgia Bulldogs, SEC East champs
Branden Smith returns a first-half interception Saturday. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Athens — On the dark night Georgia lost to South Carolina to slide to 0-2, the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator went looking for spirits to lift. To his surprise, Mike Bobo found that spirits were unbowed.
“I’d tell them, ‘If we hang together and keep working, we’ve got a chance to be very good,’” Bobo said Saturday. “And every one of them said, ‘Coach, we’ve got a chance to be great.’”
As he spoke, Bobo sat in a chair in a locker room, the floor of which had been covered in plastic and doused with water. A nondescript game had ended with the Georgia Bulldogs champions of the SEC East for the first time since the distant year 2005.
“We grabbed water bottles and threw them around the room,” said wide receiver Marlon Brown, scorer of Georgia’s only touchdown this day, and even the 51-year-old head coach got in the soggy swing of things. Seeking to slide across the wet surface, Mark Richt made it only halfway.
“I thought it was going to be fun,” Richt said of his maneuver. “I can’t say it was fun.”
For Richt, the day’s overriding emotion seemed more relief than exultation. He arrived from Florida State in 2001, won the SEC in 2002 and took his Bulldogs to the SEC championship game three times in four years. Then, having set the bar high, Richt went five years without a return to the title game, and when this season began there was no assurance this coach would have this job come 2012. And then the 2011 Bulldogs started 0-2.
“When we lost to South Carolina [the second of the two losses], a lot of things go through your mind as a coach,” Richt said. “Sometimes you’ve got to make something up — you don’t want to lose your team. But [that night] I could stand there with a straight face; it was very easy to believe in them. And I said, ‘If we don’t spit the bit … if we keep grinding, we can do it.’ ”
On Saturday, his Bulldogs finished this latest drill. Yes, they were aided by a schedule that eased after the back-to-back whammy of Boise State and South Carolina, but it isn’t as if Georgia backed into anything. It has won nine consecutive games, beating Tennessee and Florida and Auburn en route, and it finished 7-1 in SEC play. (Let’s note that South Carolina took the East with a 5-3 record last season.)
Richt: “It’s hard to win nine in a row. We’ve done something special.”
The details of a forgettable Victory No. 9 — Georgia trailed Kentucky, which had lost by 30 points to Vanderbilt last week, after 29 minutes and led only 12-10 after three quarters — will soon be forgotten. The ramifications will linger long. Said cornerback Brandon Boykin: “I’ll definitely remember this game for clinching a championship on Senior Day. Everyone had so much riding on this game.”
Richt again: “I told the players this [East title] was the most meaningful to me. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it felt like it today.”
Here he laughed, but there was no comedic content in the job Richt and his staff did to keep this team buoyant after a start that might have sunk another bunch. “It wasn’t just 0-2,” Richt said, “but 0-2 coming off 6-7 [of last season] and with everything swirling around. We did a really good job handling all the noise.”
Said linebacker Jarvis Jones, the sudden star of a ravenous defense that held Kentucky to 13 yards and one first down after halftime: “It’s not how you drive; it’s how you arrive. We kept fighting, and look at us now.”
Said cornerback Branden Smith: “All [the 0-2 start] did was bring us together as one family.”
Said Brown: “We kept grinding.”
Even after 11 games and nine victories, it’s hard to know just how good Georgia is. The Auburn victory was the only time the Bulldogs thrashed an SEC opponent, and for long stretches Saturday they flailed against the worst Kentucky team of the new millennium. But they won. Since the night of Sept. 10, they’ve done nothing except win.
Said Richt: “I don’t know if we’re a great team, but we’re SEC East champs.”
In the grand scheme, that’s all that matters. Georgia headed back to the big game in the big city, back where it once belonged. Full credit to this team and this coach for taking it there.
By Mark Bradley
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710 comments Add your comment
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
9:59 am
Hangtime….
Your post sacks of 1950’s redneck racisim. Is that true?
SawThat1nce
November 20th, 2011
10:03 am
I feel like Mike Bobo almost cost Mark Richt his job.
Elementary my Dear Watson
November 20th, 2011
10:04 am
@ davereaux. Yes I did type that and I am somewhat serious. Why Not? I feel UGA can hang with LSU/Bama on any given Saturday. LSU/Bama offenses are good but UGA defense is becoming very, very good. The question is can UGA move ball on offense on either? Anything can happen. It could be a defensive war with either…..just the type of game I like to see. UGA will probably have the crowd advantage, and a home like atmosphere. Now, if we can win SEC, all the other scenarios I laid out before are probably a long shot, but it could happen.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:05 am
Calm down Big Earl, there is no reason to get upset this early in the morning. Espicially after we just won the SEC East. We just agree to disagree.
Randy
November 20th, 2011
10:06 am
1 LSU (60) 11-0
2 Oklahoma State 10-1: only loss to unranked team: left to play: Oklahoma (9-2):
3 Alabama 10-1: only LSU (11-0): left to play: Auburn (7-4)
4 Oregon 9-2: only losses to LSU (11-0) and USC (8-2): left to play Oregon State (3-8)
5 Oklahoma 9-2: only losses to Texas Tech (5-6) and Baylor (7-3): Left to play OK State (10-1)
6 Arkansas 10-1: Only loss to Alabama (10-1): left to play: LSU (11-0)
7 Clemson 9-2: Only losses to Georgia Tech (8-3) and NC State (6-5): Left to play: South Car. (9-2)
8 Stanford 10-1: Only Loss to Oregon (9-2): Left to play: Notre Dame (8-3)
9 Virginia Tech 10-1: Only Loss to Clemson (9-2): Left to play: Virginia (8-3)
10 Boise State 9-1: Only Loss to TCU (9-2): Left to play: Wyoming (7-3) and New Mexico (1-10)
11 Houston 11-0: No Losses : left to play: Tulsa (8-3)
12 Michigan State 9-2: Losses to Notre Dame (8-3) and Nebraska (8-3): Left to play: North. (6-5)
13 Georgia 9-2: only losses to Boise State (9-1) and South Carolina (9-2): Left to play: GT (8-3)
My personal rankings:
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Stanford
6. Virginia Tech
7. Boise State
8. Houston
9. Oregon
10. Georgia
11. Michigan State
12. Clemson
13. South Carolina
14. Oklahoma
15. Kansas State
Next Week:
• Arkansas loses to LSU making them 10-2
• Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma making them 10-2
• Stanford loses to Notre Dame making them 10-2
• Houston loses to Tulsa making them 11-1
• South Carolina beats Clemson making them 10-2
Next week’s rankings:
1. LSU (12-0)
2. Alabama: (11-1)
3. Virginia Tech (11-1)
4. Boise State (10-1)
5. Arkansas (10-2)
6. Oregon (10-2)
7. Georgia (10-2)
8. Oklahoma State (10-2)
9. Stanford (10-2)
10. South Carolina (10-2)
11. Michigan State (10-2)
12. Oklahoma (10-2)
• LSU loses to Georgia
• Virginia Tech loses to Clemson
• Michigan State loses to Penn State
Final Rankings:
1. Alabama (11-1)- National Championship
2. LSU (12-1)- National Championship
3. Georgia (11-2)- Sugar Bowl (SEC Auto)
4. Boise State (11-1)
5. Arkansas (10-2)- Capital One
6. Oregon (10-2)- Rose Bowl
7. Oklahoma State (10-2)
8. South Carolina (10-2)- Cotton
9. Stanford (10-2)
10. Virginia Tech (11-2)
Final Rankings
1. Alabama- only loss to number 4 LSU
2. Georgia- only loses to number 3 Boise State and 7 South Carolina
3. Boise State- only loss to number 12 TCU
4. LSU- Only loses to number 1 Alabama and 2 Georgia
5. Arkansas- Only loses to number 1 Alabama and number 4 LSU
6. Oregon – Only Loses to number 4 LSU and USC (Not Bowl Eligible)
7. South Carolina- Only loses to Number 5 Arkansas and 20 Auburn
5 SEC teams finish in top 7 of the nation
SawThat1nce
November 20th, 2011
10:06 am
Ga. could win the SEC.
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:10 am
None of you guys can actually think that GA is a decent team, do you? The only 2 semi-decent teams on their schedule they lost to. How can Ga draw Ole Miss and Miss State while the rest of the east has to play at least one of the trio of LSU, AL or Ark? The dawgs finally won in Jax but did you really win that game, looked to me like FL just plain lost that game. This was the worst FL team since 1979. The Dawgs struggled yesterday with the worst team in the east. The east sucks this year and your east champioship is a farce.
If you had any class, you would hand the trophy to SC, they beat everyone in the east, they just didnt get the gift of Ole Miss and MSU.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:14 am
You guys are getting very excited about a defense that has done this:
1. Were dominated by a very good Boise offense.
2. Were dominated by SC when SC had Lattimore and Garcia.
3. Beat some kind of team from the Charleston area
4. Beat a horrible Ole Miss offense with no QB and no Head Coach
5. Beat a decent Tennessee offense….but one without Hunter at WR (as the Gators did)
6. Beat a horrible MSU offense……with no speed in a spread offense.
7. Beat a horrible Vandy offense before they made the switch at QB to become much better.
8. Beat a horribe New Mexico State offense.
9. Beat a bad and very limited Florida offense in transition and with a one-legged QB
10. Beat a very bad Auburn offense without a QB to speak of.
11. Beat a horrible Kentucky offense
So….before you go crowing Grantham the second coming as a coach…….wait to you beat Ga. Tech (has an excellent offense) and LSU (as a very good offense and a great defense). When you do that….then crown him with those Richt blessed crown of thorns! Until then….be happy with your schedule this year and the schedule and injuries both Florida and SC had instead this year. I have a feeling things will be very different next year……
Again…..you earned the East title this year by beating the teams you had to beat. But….please….don’t get
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:14 am
DGator – We did’nt make up the schedule, we just play it. As for you, if you had any class, you would congradulate us for winning the East, fair and square.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:14 am
DGator – We did’nt make up the schedule, we just play it. As for you, if you had any class, you would congradulate us for winning the East, fair and square.
Dgator
November 20th, 2011
10:14 am
Sour grapes buddy. The Gators are in a slump and will be until you get a new coach. UGA ran South Carolina all over the field but gave up four turnovers that led to points… so we can say they didn’t win we jsut gave it to them… same dumb logic…take your beating like a man ans stop whinning…. Furman 22-7
Greg Harris
November 20th, 2011
10:14 am
Randy – your scenario is not feasible. The SEC can only have 2 teams in the BCS I believe. If UGA pulls the upset then all heck breaks lose on who will join them in the BCS bowls.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:15 am
Sorry about the double post.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:16 am
……too full of your self with delusions of greatness. You aren’t there yet. Beat Tech and LSU back to back and you will be.
Tampon Gator
November 20th, 2011
10:16 am
Tampon man, why are you on every UGA blog every day? Don’t you have anything else to do? You are worse than a tek troll. Why do you have so much hate for the DAWGS? You are sick. You need some friends or something…
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:16 am
Watson and Randy have obviously taken advantage of the new Sunday alcohol sales law this morning, stay off the roads.
nute rochknee
November 20th, 2011
10:17 am
Let’s get real— UGA played arguably the easiset schedule in school history -Coastal Carolina? New Mexico? below average Florida and Auburn teams? sure wins vs Kentucky, Vandy Ole Miss and Miss State scheduled in every year? -the only decent teams they played they lost ! Dawg fans running around like they won a national championship LOL -the Dawgs foortball budget is more than the ENTIRE athletic budget of Coastal and New Mexico COMBINED! Now play Alabama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, Ohio State, heck Notre Dame and beat or even stay close to any of them and maybe you can think the team is decen
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:19 am
DGator……
Winning the SEC East makes Georgia more than a “decent” team……but not a great one….not yet. But they will have the opportunity in the next two weeks to become a very, very good team. They have the talent…..but do they have the coaching and the experience. I don’t think so.
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:19 am
You are the champs and nobody can take that away. I just wanted to make sure there was a little reality in the conversation, apparently there is Not.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:20 am
DGator….
If you watched the Gators play yesterday…..and I am watching the replay right now….you might want to go out for a drink.
zbulldawg
November 20th, 2011
10:21 am
THE DAWGS HAVE FAITH IN EACH OTHER !!! THE PERFECT STORY !!!! Little boy goes to a preacher, tells him he would like to be saved ! the preacher tells the young boy to meet him down by the creek after service Sunday ! They meet, the preacher leads the boy into the water, takes his little head and donks it under ! He pulls him up and asked DO YOU BELIEVE ? The boy says no sir ! So he donks him back under holds him there a little longer, pulls him back up and asked again DO YOU BELIEVE !!! The little boy replies again no sir ! So the preacher donks him down again, holding him longer and longer. Bubbles are appearing every where, the boy struggles as if he was drowning, the preacher holds him down aliitle longer !!! THEN pulls the boy up and asked DO YOU BELIEVE !!! The boy replies YES SIR !!!! Feeling releifed the preacher asked : What do you believe son I BELIEVE YOU ARE TRYING TO DROWN ME !!!! Have FAITH it goes along way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Earl
November 20th, 2011
10:22 am
This is histerical…more Gator fans on this post than Dawg fans. Must really suck to be a Gator these days!
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:23 am
Tampon Gator….
You come on here with that tag….make those comments without reading my blogs…..and dare call me names??????
…..and right now….I don’t have much else to do……but you really don’t care or need to know why.
Georgia Fan
November 20th, 2011
10:25 am
Why pray tell is Tampa Gator on UGA blogs day and night insulting Dawg fans? Must build his self esteem and make him feel good
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:26 am
Tampa Gator, watched online yesterday, not pretty. Muschamp and Weiss got a pass this year, not next year, 8-4 or out the door.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:26 am
Big Earl…..
Sort of like you guys for the last 7 years or so (since 2005). For us, it has only “sucked” this year…….and I doubt very seriously it will be for 7 years. I don’t remember the Gators going to Shreveport or Memphis for bowl games two years in a row. Just saying……
Bama Mike
November 20th, 2011
10:26 am
Congrats Dawgs. Randy hope your right but wrong on us not gettting to Atlanta. LSU looks really focused right now. Alabama is really banged up with 6 starters sitting yesterday. Dawgs vs LSU realistically the difference is LSU’s defense which has offensive weapons stuck in defensive body which Georgia lacks, but that is why the game is played. Who would have predicted last night. Yesterday was a day in which you forgot about style points and just wanted to walk away with a win regardless of the opponent. Hope I am wrong on this but my gut tells me Petrino returns to the Dome and the Dawgs take out revenge on behalf of Bulldog Nation and Falcon Fans with a major beat down
Tampon Gator
November 20th, 2011
10:28 am
I read your posts. You are obsessed with UGA. I think you need professional help.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:30 am
Facts, just the facts.
Florida: Fla Atlantic – Joke game
UAB – Joke game
Tenn – Tenn would win 2 out of 3 against Florida
Kentucky – Solid Win
Ala – Got the crap beat out of you
LSU – Got more crap beat out of you
Auburn – Just got beat
Georgia – Got beat way more than score indicated
Vanderbilt – Ref’s gave you that game
SC – Got beat without Lattamore or Garcia
Furman – Was exposed until the 4th. quarter
Nothing good in site for Florida.
Georgia wins SEC East with the schedule given. Get over it.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:30 am
DGator….
Glad you are not in Foley’s job. Muschamp and Weis will be around for a long, long time…..and will coach the Gators to a bunch of titles I believe. They are obviously struggling with the transition of spead players this year….particularily on the OL…..but they will get it fixed very, very soon (they are putting together an outstanding recruiting class of the type of players they want and need). I am proud to have Muschamp and Weis as coaches for the Gators. Maybe you should be too….if you want to live in Gator Nation. Foley made a mistake with Zook, but not with Muschamp.
Big Earl
November 20th, 2011
10:31 am
Hey Tampon…must suck being you posting on Georgia blogs all the time. What a sad life you must have.
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:32 am
We can all agree that the ACC is a joke again this year, they should lose their automatic BCS.
Read It and Weep
November 20th, 2011
10:33 am
BCS Top 5
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Stanford
SEC Top 5
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. Georgia
5. {Tie} Auburn/South Carolina
Bama Mike
November 20th, 2011
10:33 am
To those crowing about schedules. It is just pure luck of the draw. We played 8 consecutive games last year where the opponent had an open date ahead of us and it was a killer. That schedule was made 6 years prior. You just dont know from year to year how it will pan out.
DGator
November 20th, 2011
10:35 am
Tampa, i hope you are right, just saw several situations this year where I questioned his maturity. BTW, Zook never had an offense or a season this bad.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:35 am
LHarding….
I don’t recall posting that Florida played an easy schedule or deserved to win the East this year.
What is your point?
P.S……Florida outscored Furman 55-10 after the first quarter……and after Florida adjusted to Furman surprisingly running the Ga. Tech offense…..something they had not done all year. And the country knows how hard it is to stop that type of offense….especially if you have never practiced against it.
davereaux
November 20th, 2011
10:37 am
LhardingDawg: you guys telling Florida fans to show some class and just congratulate you guys on the East Win? Now that one is funny. Because if memory serves correct, you Dawg fans were the loudest, finger pointing, whiny, sour grape losers last year when Auburn won and couldn’t WAIT, I mean WAIT, to tell them how that BCS Title would come back and they receive the death penalty. There was ZERO respect you showed towards Auburn and our conference. And NOW you expect OTHER teams to show YOU respect? Rich.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:38 am
Sorry Tampa, I missed up on the Florida game.
BAMA WAMA
November 20th, 2011
10:38 am
I don’t know who is luckier; Mark Ritch or Tim Tebow? Georgia has played 2 good teams this year and lost to both!!!! No Alabama. Arkansas, LSU on the schedule along with Florida being down and South Carolina losing Latimore saved Ritch’s job. I guess you can only play the teams on your schedule, but WOW!!!! Did Georgia beat any team that has more than 6 wins this year?
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:38 am
I meant the Furman game.
Bama Mike
November 20th, 2011
10:38 am
Richt kissing or deep throating his wife for the entire nation to witness was a little over the top.
Big Earl
November 20th, 2011
10:38 am
TamponGator…you’ve convinced me, Florida is better than Furman. SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAINTOPS!!!!
davereaux
November 20th, 2011
10:39 am
LHardingDawg: You’re whining because no one is showing YOU respect? You Dawg fans sure didn’t do that for Auburn or the SEC last year for the BCS Title game. You whined, pointed fingers, sour grapes, made excuses that Auburn would have their TITLE revoked and receive the death penalty. NOW you want OTHER teams to show YOU respect? Rich.
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:40 am
Muschamp is learning head coaching lessons this year too. I saw the same things early…..but not recently. I think he realized he is not an assistant anymore and needs to handle things differently on the sidelines as a head coach. He seems to be doing that now. He was very calm and collected yesterday when Furman used Tech’s offense to jump out to an early lead…..and he worked with the defense to get the players to adjust to what Furman was doing….and they responded….evidence of good coaching.
Zook’s offense in his last year was horrible. Don’t you remember the Miss. State game that year?
But….Zook failed not because he is a bad coach…..but because he is not long-term, head coach material. He was an excellent recruiter. Muschamp is long-term head coach material, and he is an even better recruiter…
FLA DAWG
November 20th, 2011
10:41 am
It was great to see The Dawgs win the East. They did fair and square.
But the reality is the luck of the schedule that helped put us here and not an overall team improvement.
Certanly the D has begun to come together and play tough, smashmouth ball.
But our O was dismal against a very bad KY team. I saw absolutely no improvement in the O Line or playcalling from the Boise State and SC games to yesterday’s KY game.
Bobo is the worst OC I can think of in the SEC. Richt has kept Bobo on instead of moving him to QB / Recruiting Coach. That is Richt’s fault and it has affected this team.
Will GT come to play ball next week like they did against Clemson? If they do The Dawgs are in for a real tough game. GT loves to play us even when we have much more talent. GT never gives up.
If The Dawgs play GT and (probably LSU) the way they played KY we’ll be right back where we started. No progress.
dawgster
November 20th, 2011
10:42 am
Bottomline….for all you haters and excuse makers…the dawgs are getting a chance, call it a punchers chance in the SEC Title game, your team is not, we can make all kind of excuses why one team made it and others did not: scheduling, injuries, bad luck, coaching, recruiting, just to name a few…again bottomline: the DAWGS ARE SEC EAST CHAMPIONS….Are we a great team…I think most true and knowledgable dawg and football fans know we are not, but I’m proud of this team and the coaches, starting 0-2, who would of thought we would be where we are…Many of you haters would love to be where we are, regardless of the reason you had gotten there… As far as Tech, its going to be tough, especially if we are limited in our run game if Crowell isn’t able to go…I suspect Thomas may not be playing either, just a hunch, but we will see….It will be up to our D to win the game for us…And by the way regardless of our schedule, our D forced teams good, or bad to be one diminsional this year…Anyone, and I mean anyone that can’t see this team improved from game one to now has little if any football knowledge,,,Thats why we play the game on the field, not on these blogs where everyone is a coach…..go dawgs, we will enjoy the title SEC East Champions this year, something that would have been hard to predict after last year…..
TampaGator
November 20th, 2011
10:43 am
Big Earl…..
And you guys are better than New Mexico State……shout it louder fromt he mountain top….I guarantee you that Furman would crush New Mexico State. They are a decent lower division team. But the Gators did not play very well yesterday…..and still won 55-32.
LHarding Dawg
November 20th, 2011
10:44 am
davereaux – I don’t believe anyone has even written anything about Auburn that I have read. As far as respect, Auburn has’nt had any respect since it paid Florida State $300,000.00 not to play back in the 80’s.
Big Earl
November 20th, 2011
10:45 am
@FLA DAWG…Ditto on the Bobo comments. I would love to see the Tech team that played Clemson vs the UGA team that played Auburn. THAT would be a good game.
davereaux
November 20th, 2011
10:46 am
For all you Dawg fans that take shots at “other” fans for being on these “Georgia” blogs. Not so fast. AJC is a “hometown” newspaper where SEC graduates all other the southeast reside. It’s called J-o-b in Atlanta. You may like to think we’re all just pining away over your sorry team, when the truth is, we’re just enjoying the local news. And Mark and Jeff DO write about other SEC teams occassionally. Don’t get so delusionally flattered over yourselves.