Live from Tech-UGA: Dogs are doomed (because I pick them)
Just for the record: I also picked Georgia back in 2008. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
I’ve seen Georgia Tech play five times in person; I’ve seen Georgia six times. Of the teams’ five losses, I’ve covered them all. (Which I guess makes me bad luck. But you knew that already.) I’m not claiming this season’s worth of close observation makes me an expert — you all know better, don’t you? — but it does render me duty-bound to offer this:
I wouldn’t be shocked if Tech wins today. But I would be surprised.
The two best units in this game — Tech’s offense and Georgia’s defense — will deploy against one another. I don’t think Georgia’s D will shut down Paul Johnson’s O, but I don’t see Tech gaining 500 yards again. Say Tech gets 20 points. Will that be enough to win?
Don’t think so. Georgia’s offense isn’t the smoothest-running assemblage, but I don’t see Tech’s defense holding the Bulldogs under 20 points. (Even though Kentucky just did.) If the Bulldogs can find a tailback — a big “if,” I’ll concede — they should be able to keep the ball and keep Johnson’s offense off the field long enough to matter.
Then again, I’m often wrong. But let me note that I picked Georgia to go 10-2 and Tech to finish 8-4 … and both things would happen if the Bulldogs win. I’m saying they will. But maybe you disagree.
And that, as luck would have it, is why we have these live chats. Feel free to disagree. Or agree. Or abstain. I’ll be here until one team or the other actually wins, and I welcome your company. But let me also say this: I’m not inclined to let extraneous issues derail this exercise. So let’s try to keep this installment of Old-Fashioned Hate somewhat clean, OK?
As ever, I thank you in advance.
By Mark Bradley
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2,134 comments Add your comment
defacto
November 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Fact Finder, any idea what may be the cause of Walsh’s decline?
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Big drive by Georgia.
Pretty good half of football.
45ACP
November 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
And the Dawgs get the ball to start the 3rd quarter.
.
November 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Hey guys, newsflash….Paul Johnson is a GENIUS
He Hate Gator
November 26th, 2011
1:27 pm
Good thing Urban quit Fla so his record wouldn’t be tarnished having to coach his own mediocre recruits from the last 2 years, eh?
SEC Fact Finder
November 26th, 2011
1:27 pm
TampaGator
November 26th, 2011
1:22 pm
SEC Fact Finder….
Laid up in bed and having some fun today. Can’t be in the Swamp tonight…..not very happy.
You sick? Cannot be good sitting there with your Gators so close up the road. You haven’t missed many games over the years have you? Must be pretty bad for you to be in bed instead of the beach or in Gainesville.?
dawg555
November 26th, 2011
1:27 pm
Any word on what’s wrong with Tyson?
Ol'JacketFan
November 26th, 2011
1:27 pm
Fun 1st half, frustrating at times, but fun
Its Just Horseplay
November 26th, 2011
1:27 pm
You think CPJ is on some sort of hormone meds?
Demosthenes
November 26th, 2011
1:28 pm
UGA is in GT’s head like UF has been in UGA’s for years. It seems like stupid mistakes and bad breaks always go against the Jackets in this game…not that this is a problem for me, but it certainly seems to be that way.
1 4 GT
November 26th, 2011
1:28 pm
Why did Johnson call that worthless time out? Icing the kicker NEVER works. Knew he wouldn’t miss it twice. Dumb, just dumb. Why does any coach do that?
TampaGator
November 26th, 2011
1:28 pm
As an outsider……Paul Johnson is an outstanding coach and is just what Tect needs to be competitive in football. If not for PJ, Tech is Duke.
dawg gone
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
even pro coaches do it idiots—even idiot richt—get a life
jack bull
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
boy, ESPN shows us(being both UGA and GT) no respect….did you hear Reece Davis,, blah blah blah Georgia Tech and Georgia,, BUT, LET’S GO INTO THE MICHIGAN/OHIO STATE GAME…..
DEP
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
Lord, all I want for Christmas is TB that can get 1yd and weighs more than me (me=190 lbs)!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dawgs Man
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
; -)
SEC Fact Finder
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
defacto
November 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Fact Finder, any idea what may be the cause of Walsh’s decline?
No, all kickers even the great ones go through it, it takes on big kick to get his confidence back.
He will be fine, just hope he does before the season is over and it affects his chances in the NFL.
He has been a great kicker for too long to be in this funk.
JB
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
Dawgs having trouble running, but can pass at will. Need to light them in the second half. They are moving on us. Hope Grantham can adjust at half.
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
Sometimes icing the kicker works. But it never works after he misses the one that won’t count.
RS Dawg
November 26th, 2011
1:29 pm
These announcers need to get over our guy stepping ob, move on.ESPN must have called in the 3rd string.
Paul in NH
November 26th, 2011
1:30 pm
Pretty entertaining first half. Hopefully the second half will be good as well. UGA gets the ball – GT needs to stop them and get some momentum.
If do right, no can defense
November 26th, 2011
1:31 pm
OK, time to show what you’re made of Tevin. This is it. You are trailing at halftime. Can you lead our team to a comeback?
The only time you’ve accomplished this before as starter was last year against Duke, when we trailed 14-7 at halftime. All of the other times, when going into a halftime deficit, we’ve lost. We’re not built for comebacks. The only way I see us pulling this one off is if our defense stiffens up… and our offense kicks into high gear…
Not gonna rule it out, but highly unlikely.
rastus brown
November 26th, 2011
1:31 pm
Why do Crowell keeps his helmet on top of his head when he off field? He dont have it pulled down like most players does.
DawgNation2010
November 26th, 2011
1:31 pm
Does anyone think CPJ will try an on side kick to start the second half?
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
Tyson has an ankle injury and will not play again today, dawg555.
He Hate Gator
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
Golden just got extended at Miami through ‘20…
Demosthenes
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
You can’t blame CPJ for attempting to ice the kicker. There is also no way to know if the whistles and movement from the refs impacted Walsh’s first kick. You don’t put that FG at the feat of CPJ, that was all the fault of Al Groh. This game will get ugly if he can’t figure someway to stop the Dawgs…they moved the ball 60 yards in 60 seconds. Terrible defense.
Reggie
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
Georgia Tech is in awe of Georgia hahaha
TampaGator
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
SEC Fact Finder…..
Will be better sooon. How did you take the Bama loss to LSU? Ready for the rematch. Bama wins that one, I think. Although LSU did look unstoppable yesterday.
dry dirt road
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
article cover photo says it all…why CPJ changed from old gold-striped unis to any other unis was mistake
wreckmaniac
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
If you can’t pressure the passer just put all 11 players back into pass coverage. One or the other.
The pass up the middle is there all day long. If Groh dosen’t start to apply pressure to Murray he will pass Tech dizzy. Everyone knew this was the key problem before this game began.
JB
November 26th, 2011
1:32 pm
We need to score on this first possession and get aggressive on D. We appear to not be playing lights out on D 100% of the time. I know everyone of those guys are worried about their knees. NCAA ought to outlaw that crap and Johnson will be back in mountains cooking fish.
Paul in NH
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
Only good thing about the announcers is that if it weren’t for the University of New Mexico, Bob Davie would be calling the game with Jones.
Super Committee
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
It is clear CPJ wants this game… he is railing on his players… UGA offense looks pretty good.. defense not playing with much fire. Good clean, hard hitting half of football with no major mistakes by either team. Still anybody’s game.
Andy
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
Icing can work in college. Has been proven to have no effect in NFL.
whats a three point shot worth ?
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
the GT D is a second half D…coach G will adjust…lets hope CPJ can as well
Tim
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
Can UGA keep it up for the whole game, Mark without a running attack?And how drastic will things change if Tech ever gets the lead? UGA better watch the quick pass to the sidleines that Tech has used (including in 2008 against us for a TD) that has often turned into a big gain.
TampaGator
November 26th, 2011
1:33 pm
Demo…
I do not ice Walsh knowing that he has been missing so much on first attempts. I think he is at least 50% accurate these days.
Reggie
November 26th, 2011
1:34 pm
Georgia Tech’s defense sucks. Gotta be prepared for a onside kick to start the 2nd half.
wde
November 26th, 2011
1:34 pm
Not a bad first half…Go Dawgs!
JB
November 26th, 2011
1:34 pm
I love my Dawgs but LSU must be licking their chops. We can’t get 1 yard on these 2 star under weight guys
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
1:34 pm
Redcoat Band paying tribute to Larry Munson.
ugakev
November 26th, 2011
1:35 pm
Georgia has to be healthy for lsu or we wont have a chance. Luckily we are playing tech today. The first half was played ok. Georgia tech will keep it close with all the clock they run.
tell me again
November 26th, 2011
1:35 pm
You have to figure that our offense and O line are going to wear on Tech in the second half….those boys are big and conditioned to play this year. We get the ball first. I like the way our D has kept Tech’s big plays to a minimum….that’s a hard offense to completely shut down. Still, as much as I would like a win today, the game that counts is next week. Tech can eat clock and grind but we can score in a minute. If we get a 14 point lead or better it’s over.
TampaGator
November 26th, 2011
1:35 pm
At least Florida had one best player in the SEC this year……Caleb Sturgis….PK. Probably the best in the country…..easily kicked a 55 yarder (would have been good at 65) last week.
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
1:36 pm
Tim asks a good question: Can you go a whole game without really running it?
I don’t know. But a team with a lead needs to run to take time off.
Reggie
November 26th, 2011
1:36 pm
Coach Grantham will adjust at half time and we’ll see much better defense in the 2nd half.
On offense, gotta put the pedal to the metal and score at least two more times. Tech cannot come back from being down 24-10 or 31-10. They just won’t. They’re offense kills clock on them.
Super Committee
November 26th, 2011
1:36 pm
Look for onside kick to start the half….
katherine
November 26th, 2011
1:36 pm
ok back had to make lunch
defacto
November 26th, 2011
1:36 pm
Mark, here’s the obligatory pre-game/half-time food query.