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
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:07 am
exactly…..baylor has NEVER beaten oklahoma…until tonight…..if lsu or whoever wins the east since its still up in the air looks past georgia it might be the biggest mistake ever
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:08 am
Wow, names are not locked on this forum?
Weak west. Read previous post.
And undefeated against? Ole Miss? Really? Check our box score tonight. Mississippi St? Okay… Auburn? We did the same thing you did. Only better looking the whole time. Now run this by me again, when did you play Alabama? When did you play Arkansas? When did you play South Caro… really you lost to South Carolina with Garcia? Ouch. Boise? Ouch. You beat Vandy… barely? Vandy? You beat a team Vandy beat by 9 today? And you’re throwing gatorade and making out on the sideline? Really?
You realize I know you guys are trying to figure out what bowl you’re going to after you lose to us. It’s very obvious.
But let’s just say we lose to Arkansas. You’ll get crushed by them too. So now it’ll be University of Tennessee, Us, Florida, Us again, Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas and you still haven’t been a factor.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:09 am
Saban’s last drive against LSU and then first (and only) possession is why he cannot be considered great.
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:09 am
amazing…lsu hasnt won the sec east yet…they still have to play arkansas….so I wouldnt worry about it yet
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:09 am
Oh anything is possible? Like maybe you’ll have a running back that can actually stay in the game and hold on to the ball? Who would that be?
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:09 am
only possession in overtime
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:10 am
Drunken Bee, you must be drinking.
Gawga relevant? To whom?
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:10 am
west i meant
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:12 am
How is it fair that Tenn finishes every year (for what the last 30 at least) against Vandy and KY and every other team has to play a relevant team. Meaning TN’s rankings are never in risk near years end. And nobody complains about that. Nobody.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:12 am
We’re not going to look past Arkansas, trust me. We’ll focus on them, shut them down, sack their QB as much as possible and run through their D. That’s the simple plan. It’s UGA we can look past and be 100% right.
And the best part is, it’s a home game for UGA. We’ll try to see if we can get you guys to leave the stadium by the 2nd quarter. It’s doable. Worked in Oxford tonight. You’re probably about the same.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:13 am
Amazing, because the SEC Championship is the only “real” championship out there. BCS “Championship” is a joke because the teams are selected basically by vote rather than a playoff. Com’ on man, you know that!
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:13 am
amazing….just like alabama finishes with allbarn and georgia finishes with tech….rivalry games…so stop your whining…seriously….you are a major downer
Bobo the Clown
November 20th, 2011
12:14 am
Too bad UGA didnt score Style points today… They would have climbed the polls since some top 10 teams fell.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:15 am
Katherine, a woman on a football blog. That is a downer. Go lose some weight and put on some makeup.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:15 am
So UK lost to Vandy 38-8 and almost beat you guys today? And we’re supposed to be scared?
Also, we’re 3-0 against the SEC East this year as well. About to be 4-0, but more importantly, we’ll be 13-0 come December 3rd.
The key is to rest the players and let the second string and third string get some playing time before we play… I guess Alabama again. Everyone else is dying.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:17 am
comparing Auburn and Ga Tech to KY and Vandy. That is just silly.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:17 am
It was only a matter of time until Amazing’s knuckles started dragging the ground again.
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:18 am
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:15 am
Katherine, a woman on a football blog. That is a downer. Go lose some weight and put on some makeup.
typical….you are way off base and lots of women like football that arent overweight…but when you feel attacked by a woman that is knowledgeable about football you have to resort to that….why dont you grow a few inches and get over your mommy issues and little man syndrome
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:19 am
Again- scared. Worried and scared. Hand wringing.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:19 am
I wonder if we could end up playing Boise? If Bama loses to Auburn, which can happen, and Arkansas will have lost twice so I guess actually VaTech?
I hadn’t even thought about VaTech! So LSU vs VaTech, I’m fine with that. A little revenge for some dirty scheduling a few years back when we played them.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:21 am
Ooooohhhhhhhh! Katherine just routed Amazing!
katherine
November 20th, 2011
12:21 am
bama isnt going to lose to allbarn..but you all might lose to arkie or ga……..
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:21 am
Do you know what transference means Drinking Bee?
What uniforms are you guys going to wear in the dome? Is it going to be that weird thing you wore to one of the two still ranked teams you played this year? You know, the ones you went 0-2 against?
And Georgia Tech? They did beat a good Clemson by 4 TDs right? Have you beaten a good team by 4 TDs?
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:22 am
Tiger, no way a great bama coach scores 24-0 over an auburn team and then loses. Nobody points to than when deifying Saban. Worst lost in Bama history in my opinion. Team quit. Had nothing to do with Sham Newton.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:25 am
I don’t know which ones Tiger Drip. All I know is we’ll be there and whoever we’re playing better have their chin strap buckled up tight, because they will be in for fight.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:26 am
Enter your comments here
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:27 am
Drunk Bee,
Do you have selective memory or what. Richt always blows big games. Wait, check that, he beat Hawaii.
ToccoaDawg
November 20th, 2011
12:29 am
Mark Bradley
A soggy salute to the Georgia Bulldogs, SEC East champs……. translation…… Georgia Beat my Kentucky team and I’m typing threw my tears.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:30 am
Okay, you mental midgets have exhausted me. Tiger Drip, you better just concentrate on beating the pigs before bowing up on UGA. Amazing, well, what can I say? After your comment to katherine- “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
Bobo the Clown
November 20th, 2011
12:30 am
Jingle Bells Bulldogs smell and the joker almost got away …hey!
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:31 am
I hope UGA wears the black uniforms. I watched that Alabama-UGA “black out”, that was hilarious. Have ya’ll worn those since?
Since Vince
November 20th, 2011
12:31 am
Who said this season was OVA?
UGAKev
November 20th, 2011
12:32 am
Tiger Droppings…Georgia Tech beat a good Clemson team!!!!??????? LMAO!!!!
UGAKev
November 20th, 2011
12:33 am
Tiger Droppings has got to be a Tech troll…There is no way an LSU fan is that stupid.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:33 am
Bradley is KY grad. I thought he was a GA grad because of how far he he had is face up their…..
On wait, his job is to sell newspapers and he is 60 sw of Athens. Check that, I know the reason he is colonoscopy specialist.
Drunk Bee
November 20th, 2011
12:34 am
BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steve
November 20th, 2011
12:36 am
Mark my words Dawg fans, this is the worst thing that could have happened for your program. I know you are happy but now your are officially stuck with Mark Richt and you’ll be kings of the East for a little while until Florida gets better and Tennessee fires Dooley. But that is the best you’ll get and then you’ll be wanting to get rid of Richt and he’ll be locked into another long term contract.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:37 am
Tiger Droppings a tech troll? HA! Come on over to tigerdroppings.com. We can talk. Trying to get you guys over there.
We could use some one to tease. We like to see people cry.
And Clemson was good when GT beat em’. Post loss, they’re lost.
dbc
November 20th, 2011
12:38 am
Tiger Drop. Get your GED first. Then come back. You sound like you’re about 7. 8? I could make plenty of other unkind comments, but I’ll take the high road (get it, “high road”.) There’s your next retort..
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:40 am
Steve, good luck getting any of these clowns to see the wisdom of your comments. Richt bought himself time and he is clearly a second or 3rd rate coach.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:41 am
Getting upset? That was quick and easy? Wait til the 3rd, we’ll do it again for you.
LSU 52
UGA 12
GED? Seriously? Georgia? Home of school cheating? Didn’t your hope scholarship run out of money due to grade curves? And I bet more of your fans haven’t attended LSU then ours and Bama’s… combined.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:41 am
LSU 27, Bama 21. A different game this time.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:42 am
Come on, jump in… we’re waiting…
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:43 am
Tiger, no Spurrier’s 39 point loss will stand a long time. GA loses by 35.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:43 am
Whoops. You’d think I went to a school in Georgia and worshiped a fat tub of inbred gooooo that sits on the sidelines on a bag of ice.
http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/b/12/SEC-Football.aspx
There, come on over. We’d love to “mingle” with the team that went 9-0… in the SEC EAST!!! HA HA!!!!
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:46 am
So Amazing, you’re saying 52 to 17? But they won’t get in the end zone so they can’t get 17. I’ll give you this, 52 to 15. How is that?
BTW what did Auburn win by last year? 60 to 10 or something against South Carolina… who beat UGA? Aw more Gawga, if only they’d won those first two games! Oh wait, last time you started #1 you sucked it up pretty quick if I remember.
UGAKev
November 20th, 2011
12:47 am
Tiger Droppings I could care less about LSU, why bother wasting my time there. Its going to be settled soon so you can have your deep doubts and try to talk smack in a blog to convince yourself otherwise. I feel bad for LSU because you are giving them a very bad name coming in here talking nonsense. Thats okay though just bring your Tigers to the Dome and we will see what happens. Enough Said.
Tiger Droppings
November 20th, 2011
12:48 am
Oh wait, sorry Amazing I thought you said Spurriers win. I see what you’re saying, yes South Carolina lost to Auburn 56-17.
I’m going to have to say then 59-12 for LSU vs UGA. All we have to do is hit that little Murray and I bet he folds. I mean the highlights I saw today he folded until one play in the 4th.
And Crowell, you might need to get your money back on that kid. I bet he doesn’t make it to 2012.
Amazing
November 20th, 2011
12:50 am
Why are people loyal to mediocre coachs.
Schembechler (MI) horrible Rose record,
Cooper, OSU could never beat MI,
Stoops (OU), horrible BCS record and always loses stupid games,
Snyder (KSU) had deplorable record like 1-19 against top 10 teams,
Richt,
Tuberville (AU) so what you beat Bama 6 times
Paterno,not relevant since 87.
and there are many more.
LagDawg
November 20th, 2011
12:51 am
It is a win, but UGA cannot afford another year with Bobo running the offense. The defense looked great and Grantham knows how to make adjustments, but the OC cannot seem to make adjustments or a decent game plan. It is time to get rid of Carlton Thomas. He is becoming a major problem and a negative influence on the enitre team. Crowell needs to suck it up. I hope this season really lets him know that he will have to do more in the offseason to prepare for SEC competition. UGA needs to bring in two or three quality RBs for next season. Harton is good but he can’t continue to take the pounding for the whole game and Malcome looks like he can contribute throughout the game. He is a big bruising runner and UGA will need that. Congrats to the DAWGS!!!!!!