The Bulldogs didn’t just outplay Tech – they outcoached it, too
Give that Bulldog a hand, if not a great big kiss. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
This time a year ago, it was possible to wonder if the Georgia Bulldogs would ever again outsmart an opponent. On Saturday they outsmarted Georgia Tech. And there, if anyone still wondered how 0-2 became 10-2, was the answer.
It wasn’t just that these Bulldogs have good players — Georgia always has good players — or that the schedule eased after those first two games. It was that Georgia, which hadn’t played to its gifts since 2007, coalesced around a coach and his staff.
Back to 0-2. “That was when we closed the door,” said tight end Orson Charles, “and we said, ‘We’ve got to stop playing for ourselves.’ We need to play for this guy.”
By “this guy,” Charles meant Mark Richt, who has done in his 11th Georgia season something that’s difficult to do in contemporary college football. Richt has fought off the doubt accrued over three underachieving seasons and hoisted his Bulldogs back to eminence. They have two championships in the bank — the SEC East was clinched last week against Kentucky; the state title was secured Saturday against Tech — and will play for a third next weekend against LSU, the finest team in the land.
“We’ve got the best coaches in the SEC,” said center Ben Jones, and on this day his boast carried some weight. Georgia beat Tech as handily as Tech under Paul Johnson is ever beaten, and the difference wasn’t so much manpower as brainpower. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo had one of his finest days, and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham capped a stellar second season by keeping Johnson’s prized option-based spread from doing nearly enough.
And let’s be honest: There were those among us, this correspondent among them, who weren’t sure we’d see such a day. Johnson’s first bunch of Jackets went to Athens and beat a Georgia team that had entered the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, and last year Tech amassed 512 yards behind its backup quarterback against a Grantham-coached D. (To be fair, Richt got the better of Johnson in 2009, when Georgia used power football to upset the team that would win the ACC.) But it must be said: When last the Bulldogs beat Tech this bad, Chan Gailey got fired two days later.
The key was that Georgia got ahead early, and it did because Bobo cogitated like a young Steve Spurrier on a caffeine jag. Isaiah Crowell, Georgia’s best tailback, didn’t play, and Richard Samuel, his injured backup, hasn’t worked since the Florida game. Carlton Thomas, the No. 3 man, was coming off his third suspension of the season and didn’t start. And still Bobo conjured up 17 first-half points.
Of Georgia’s first six running plays, only one involved a player listed as a running back. Branden Smith, normally a cornerback, carried twice. Quarterback Aaron Murray carried twice, and the niftiest moment was a double-reverse to receiver Malcolm Mitchell. Said Bobo: “We were trying to mix them up, give them something different … Our base plan for the game was to be balanced, but as the game went on I thought the best way to win was by throwing.”
Murray complied, completing 19 of 29 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns. Nine different receivers caught those 19 passes. Said Richt: “Mike did a great job … Mike dialed up some beauties.”
As for Grantham: His defense yielded a touchdown at the end of the first half and another near the end of the second, but never did the Tech ground game appear as dangerous as in Georgia games past. Even in the first half, Johnson was forced to call inside handoffs to his A-backs — a play the Jackets seldom use — to approximate an up-the-gut push. “And once we took that away from them,” Grantham said, “we were back to controlling the game.”
Down two touchdowns in the third quarter, Johnson got antsy. His Jackets didn’t look capable of sustaining a series of long drives — they’d managed one seven-minute surge in the first half — and he called for Tevin Washington to throw, which isn’t a Tech strength. The resulting two interceptions killed all hope.
And that, in surprisingly simple fashion, was that. Georgia beat Tech and its coaches trumped Tech’s coaches and, after 10 consecutive victories, the matter of Richt’s job security has been tabled. He has his Bulldogs back where they’re supposed to be: Atop the SEC East, playing for the conference championship, shrugging off Georgia Tech.
“I didn’t celebrate as much after this one as I did last week,” Richt said, and there was no real need. In this state, order has been restored to nature. Why celebrate a given?
By Mark Bradley
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961 comments Add your comment
K.Nix
November 26th, 2011
9:38 pm
to UGA OWNS gtu:
Your repeated posting of comments that have so little substance does not shine a positive light on your fan base very well.
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:38 pm
Kris
November 26th, 2011
9:30 pm
You Dawg fans who keep bashing Tech enjoy yourselves all you want. The thing is… Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
_________________________________
yes. .they don’t depend on college football. . and yet, here you are, on the AJC sports blog on a Saturday night. Man, if you don’t care about it, why are you here?
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:39 pm
Come on MB, a little good-natured ribbing is what this series is all about… Clean, Old-fashioned Hate.
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
Fan of the Game
November 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
How many Tech football players are engineer majors? That is what I thought.
wde
November 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
Hey Mark before you have to shut this one down I’d like to say thanks for the blog during the game and this one..have a great weekend and looking forward to next week !
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
The comments deleted were not good-natured. Or clean.
Fan of the Game
November 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
Where were the Tech students? Were they having finals?
BulldogGirl
November 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
Kris – you’re an idiot
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:41 pm
Thanks, wde.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:41 pm
Well mine are ALWAYS good-natured, and clean.
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
Dawg48
November 26th, 2011
9:41 pm
Mark
Your doing a great job!
Keep em off!
Chris
November 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
I am a tech fan (sadly) kris tech is a good school and most people there are successful. Gt is a harder school to stay into than georgia. But uga is harder to get into. My sister was accepted into gt but not uga. GT is a better engineering school and that kind of stuff. But uga provides many great degrees and is still a great school. Uga people and gt people are equally accomplished. Georgia is a very good school. So everyone stop bashing eachother. Either saying tech fans are “nerds” or uga fans are drunks. Cuz its not true. Thats a stereotype. There are great people from both fan bases. This should just be a football blog
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
And, you have shown a lot of restraint on some of these people. To echo wde, thanks for the forum.
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
Tiger Time
November 26th, 2011
9:43 pm
LSU—blows out ga next week—bet the house. Ga may not score 9 points! These Tigers are heading to new orleans for another big win over alabama!!!! LSU–another BCS title—it never gets old. LSU 33 Ga 7
Dawg79
November 26th, 2011
9:43 pm
Good job Mark.
BLOOD TYPE: RED & BLACK
November 26th, 2011
9:43 pm
Hey Kris, what’s one thing UGA and Yech fans have in common?
THEY ARE BOTH OBSESSED WITH GEORGIA! CAN you dig it?……can you….PUNK?
Joey
November 26th, 2011
9:43 pm
No wonder it seems so tame tonight, Mark. We’re missing the good ones!
Haha.
You’re right Dawg79, LSU’s gonna get a game. I may be wrong, but I don’t think they will push us around like they did Arkansas.
Dawg48
November 26th, 2011
9:44 pm
Mark
Do you know what tech is paying al groh?
I heard it’s only around 150,000 a year.
If so does the low pay have any thing to do with his buy out at Virginia?
Dawg79
November 26th, 2011
9:44 pm
Tiger Time,
2005 ring a bell???
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:44 pm
. . south carolina is going to be clemson.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:44 pm
Hey gtu, which BEATING hurts worse, the one today or 51-7?
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:44 pm
I understand that Groh is still being paid by Virginia. That’s why he’s working relatively cheap.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 26th, 2011
9:45 pm
Hey Mark,
UK got a win over UT – 1st win vs UT since ‘84. Looked like fans had a good time on Commonwealth field after the game.
Fan of the Game
November 26th, 2011
9:45 pm
I really believe if you had a playoff that LSU and Ala. would come out as the final two. But you know what I see a big upset this Saturday in the Dome. It is going to be LSU’s short passing game against the Dawgs’ short passing game.
wde
November 26th, 2011
9:45 pm
Sorry Bugs but looks like beating Clemson ain’t all that either ask USC……
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:46 pm
I heard, Coffee Bluff. Been a long time coming.
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:46 pm
If I could bet my house on anything over the next week, it would be people from a certain fan base pretending to be LSU fans.
With that said, we should go into that game as 9 point dogs. .
UGA24-7
November 26th, 2011
9:46 pm
LSU IS AND SHOULD BE # 1..they’re rolled everybody but lets not forget 05 with lsu ranked 3 and UGA 13
Buckhead Bulldog
November 26th, 2011
9:46 pm
Sorry about that last one Mark….I’m out.
SIC”DOGS!!!
MDawg
November 26th, 2011
9:47 pm
Is Tech content knowing they will never have a chance of being an elite team with PJ at the helm? They can be pretty good at times but if you can’t execute a basic forward pass more than two or three times a game a good defense will shut you down.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:48 pm
MB, does Joker get another year? What about Derek Dooley at utk?
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
Joey
November 26th, 2011
9:48 pm
I bet Vandy wishes they were in the ACC . . .
Dawg79
November 26th, 2011
9:48 pm
Night all —– gonna catch the last of Carolina – Clemson. See y’all down at the Dome Saturday!
GO DAWGS!!!
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:48 pm
bad times for Dooley up in knoxville. I understand things were pretty messed up when he got there, but I don’t think he gets to play that card next year.
Fan of the Game
November 26th, 2011
9:49 pm
I am a Dawg fan and I know if Coach Johnson gets the right QB nodody will be questioning his offense. All he needs is a Tracy Ham type. Now can he get one, I don’t know.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 26th, 2011
9:50 pm
LOL
Someone turned me in to the AJC
Poor Tech; cannot even take a jab even though they have been throwing them all year
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:50 pm
Mitch Barnhart, the UK AD who ran off Tubby Smith, stood on the sideline today to show his support for Joker Phillips. He’ll be back. And I think Dooley will, too. There has been so much upheaval at UT they need to try stability.
DawgFan
November 26th, 2011
9:50 pm
Enter your comments here
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 26th, 2011
9:51 pm
Thought that UK DEF was pretty good against UGA last week. (Trevathan is a tackling machine). UK offense is pretty suspect though.
DawgFan
November 26th, 2011
9:51 pm
For all of you that question CMR winning against teams with winning records. This was from Sept. 9 at the beginning of the season from ESPN.Com for all SEC coaches records and % against teams with winning records:
Mark Richt Georgia 50-31, .617
Nick Saban Alabama 63-46, .578
Steve Spurrier USC 80-68-2, .540
Les Miles LSU 36-34, .514
Bobby Petrino Arkansas 23-22, .511
Gene Chizik Auburn 11-15, .423
Houston Nutt Ole Miss 36-61, .371
Joker Phillips Kentucky 2-4, .333
Dan Mullen Miss. St. 5-11, .313
Derek Dooley Tennessee 1-21, .045
Will Muschamp Florida 0-0, First year
James Franklin Vanderbilt 0-0, First year
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:53 pm
An amazing sentence from esteemed fellow colleague Mark Schlabach’s story on Urban Meyer and Ohio State:
“Meyer asked to be relieved from working as a studio analyst for ESPN this weekend and did not return multiple phone calls from ESPN.com over the last few days.”
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 26th, 2011
9:54 pm
Fan of the Game,
He does need to get a QB. He also needs some receivers, which is a problem. Who wants to go to GT as a top receiver and play in an option offense?
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:54 pm
. . .if UK keeps Joker Philllips they deserve what they get. . .
Feel bad for Dooley but next year is year 3. . . if they’re not .500 in the SEC next year, it will start to get ugly for him. Don’t know who they play from the West next year though. They’ve had a pretty brutal schedule, but 1-7 in the SEC. . .
Dawg Whisperer
November 26th, 2011
9:55 pm
If GT had Connor Shaw, they would present a better threat of throwing and running from the QB position.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 26th, 2011
9:55 pm
Methinks Joker and young Dooley are in over their heads. I give them 1 more year each. Especially since there isn’t much hope for improvement with next year’s squads.
UGA OWNS gtu!!!
Always have, always will.
dawgs2004
November 26th, 2011
9:55 pm
PJ ole boy guess we showed you about the SEC!!!!!!!!!
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
9:55 pm
1-7 in the SEC, with the win coming against Vanderbilt in overtime.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
November 26th, 2011
9:56 pm
I thought Tech was a school for smart people
yet
They have only beat us 15 times in 51 yrs.
I didnt know “Retarded fans who did shift work at Walmart” could beat such a smart school
flagboy?
November 26th, 2011
9:56 pm
ugh. .meyer to ohio state. No doubt OSU will turn it around and meyer is a great coach. . . but all it means is seeing OSU overrated again sooner rather than later.
The Great Derrick Steagall
November 26th, 2011
9:56 pm
Bradley is so lame….you change your tune like the wind…..CMR is the same coach he was four years ago when CPJ’s team won by 3 points against a bad, bad, Georgia defense…..