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
red&black
November 27th, 2011
8:03 am
Hey PJ…….Who’s ya daddy………….MR and UGA that’s who……………
Paul Johnson
November 27th, 2011
8:04 am
Maybe I would do a better job of coaching if my fans didnt distract me with all of their whiny, bitchy antics. Get a life, you wanna-be ivy league losers.
HardTruth Soldier
November 27th, 2011
8:06 am
Techies, As you sit ticked this morning, with your $6 Starbuck’s, just know this your neighbor across the street will be smiling( only the wifey will know his hapiness very well) and you’ll suffer again. In fact we at Georgia want to send a letter to the Athletic department to replace ya’ll with Georgia Southern after the performance they showed against Alabama. Now I have one question, not to you NERDS, but to the LSU CROWD. Are ya’ll ready for a but kicking like you haven’t seen? And when we beat ya’ll should we play Alabama for the BCS national title, or should Boise State or South Carolina get a rematch for a chance to show you it wasn’t the real DAWGS at the beginning? Nerds, we know one thing for sure, WE OWN YA’LL LIKE A PIMP TO HIS GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
red&black
November 27th, 2011
8:08 am
Dawgs come to town with no running backs and still we wear that A$$ out…….Just imagine what it would have been like, had we brought the running game with us……holy crap!!!
Grimmshaw
November 27th, 2011
8:21 am
I am a lifetime GT fan and we were clearly not the better team yesterday and as painful as it was I watched the entire game. I salute UGA for a well executed game; no ands, ifs or buts about it. As a Tech fan who continued to watch last year’s futility, I’m actually pleased with how well Tech did this year. If memory serves, coming off the 6-7 season Tech was picked to finish fourth in the Coastal and I’ve been saying that this year is definitely a growth year for Tech. I still feel that this year was a success and just another step in the uprighting direction. While I do look forward to this year’s bowl game, it has been difficult not to look ahead to next year. I really think 2012 will be a break out year for Tech. The QB position will again be up for grabs between Washington, Days and Lee, the underclassmen will have had another year of experience and there are a number of incoming freshmen that look like they can impact immediately (my brother-in-law coaches football and after watching his video was amazed by Kallon).
Again, well played game UGA. Looking forward to next year.
WALMART STORE MGR.
November 27th, 2011
8:23 am
“Attention shoppers cleanup on North Ave”
BUCK
November 27th, 2011
8:30 am
Dawg fan sat in front of me. Just one question? Did the hot water go out in your trailer? Hey lady, please take a bath, you stink!
61-39-5
November 27th, 2011
8:31 am
oops forgot to change my screen name
62-39-5
November 27th, 2011
8:32 am
ahh there we go
georgiadawg70
November 27th, 2011
8:34 am
Has anyone noticed that Johnson’s name is never mentioned when a head coaching job comes open? So much for his high school offense that most everyone now knows how to stop.
Hobnail Boot
November 27th, 2011
8:35 am
I’m comin after the red and black/
Pensacola Dewg
November 27th, 2011
8:37 am
CPJ GA over tec, SC over Clemson, Vandy over Wake….SEC perception meets reality!
happy mangy mutt
November 27th, 2011
8:39 am
@Grimmshaw
Well said. Living in S Ga I cannot help but to be a fan of Ga Southern, and as such, I’ve seen a ton of triple option through the years. CPJ is a great coach, just look at what he did at Navy. Too many people forget that. As a Dawg fan I want GT to win to boost the strength of schedule. Also a fan of the option (as long as my team is not going up against it), I enjoy watching the CPJ offense roll up and down the field when it is clicking.
Time.
November 27th, 2011
8:42 am
tony
November 27th, 2011
1:57 am
Johnson wasn’t out coached by Mr.Richt. Anybody in their right minds knows that Mr.Richt has way more talent than Johnson. If Johnson had Richt’s players Tech would be 12-0 and on their way to New Oleans to destroy LSU.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Tony, you might be the dumbest Tech fan of them all. IF, IF, IF….IF Tech fans had a grasp on reality the job market for shrinks in the Atlanta metro area would be down. I mean really, there’s a reason Tech never has, and never will, have the players UGA does. And that is top players want to play at top programs. Sorry, it’s not just perception that GT is a crap program. That’s why you have a glorified HS coach, running a gimmick HS offense that relies on gunning for the knees of the opponent to have any success.
Trailer Lady
November 27th, 2011
8:46 am
Tech fan sat behind me at the game, kept “accidentally” brushing up against my backside and making suggestive comments. Like I’d ever be seen with a nerd much less go on a date with one. Sorry nerd, you’ll just have to find a date elsewhere. I hear there’s places you can call with a cc to get one, probably your only chance.
PTC DAWG
November 27th, 2011
8:48 am
As usual, the GT fans are all bluster.
NATIVE SON
November 27th, 2011
8:52 am
I knew the way Georgia was playing, that Tech had to have tremendous execution to pull this one off. Aaron Murray is probably the best QB in their conference, and a top tenner overall. I saw way too many plays where our defense looked liked they had no clue at all.Congrats to Ga. they have more to play for than us this year. Now It’s time to pull for them as they take on LSU, which BTW; I think they can win. The way I see it, a Georgia team is a Ga. team, and each year we have the opportunity to go all the way Xs 2. Georgia is setting up nicely for run at the BCS next year, especially if they beat LSU. Go Dawgs!! Ramble on Tech!!
Peace from The Most Native
tech man for life
November 27th, 2011
8:54 am
tired of paul johnson’s, smugness,total lack of personality,inability to see that this high school offense is just not gonna work against better quality teams, and most of all tired of his ugly ass mug,damn he is just butt ugly!
Toccoa
November 27th, 2011
9:00 am
ESPN Talking Heads,
Your argument doesn’t hold water. If your going to compare scores and records of teams then you can say that GA beat Auburn by more points then Alabama did and so GA is a better team. You can’t compare scores from one week to another. In ‘07 GA was playing the best ball, along with USC, at the end of the season and neither one made it to the NC. But LSU, who lost their last game of the regular season to a mediocre team, some how made it to the NC. Don’t tell me theirs not bias in the polls and ESPN. Bama got their chance this year and shouldn’t be there. I don’t care how many field goals they should have made. The fact is they didn’t! We will not have a real NC until there is a PLAYOFF which apparently will be NEVER.
Baldb
November 27th, 2011
9:01 am
Enjoy it dog fans, because no matter the comments you make slamming the Jackets until the day you die, dog fans will always SUCK!! Bank on it.
TheMange
November 27th, 2011
9:03 am
Happy Birthday, Benjamin.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 27th, 2011
9:07 am
Wow, that was ANOTHER DOMINATION of gtu. I think I’ll keep this one on my DVR for the next year until we make it #63 NEXT year. LMAO
UGA OWNS gtu.
Always have, always will.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 27th, 2011
9:10 am
We are simply BETTER than gtu… Period.
UGA OWNS gtu.
Always have, always will.
dap01
November 27th, 2011
9:11 am
How does Crowell’s hair fit in his helment. Perhaps he needs to be more substance than style.
Bobbie Dodd
November 27th, 2011
9:12 am
“We’re tired of being the little brothers in the state,” Tech linebacker Julian Burnett said.
GET USE TO IT BE-ATCH
UGA OWNS gtu
November 27th, 2011
9:13 am
I ESPECIALLY loved how the gtu fans yesterday on the way out of the stadium THANKED US for not putting 50 on them!!! BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
UGA OWNS gtu.
Always have, always will.
claytondawg
November 27th, 2011
9:14 am
@UGA vs LSU…even though I enjoy your enthusiasm, I’m afraid LSU is a much stronger team. I’m not saying we CAN’T win. Two ifs come to mind: IF we are focused and our offense plays like we did against Auburn; IF our defense plays against the run like we did against Tech. We have a lot of young guys, and I honestly don’t think they realize how good they can be. It could be ONE HELLUVA game. GO ‘DOGS!!!!!!
UGA OWNS gtu
November 27th, 2011
9:16 am
Just fyi gtu folk… being BETTER than gtu on the field is easy, being BETTER than gtu fans off the field, EVEN EASIER!!! BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA
UGA OWNS gtu.
Always have, always will.
HardTruth Soldier
November 27th, 2011
9:16 am
Baldb. We may suck, (As you say) but we suck ya’ll up year in and year out. Sucking feels good when it’s your ladies we suck on. Your third rate pathetic program stinks. Never forget that, and 10 of 11 will help DAWG NATION help remind you till we die. Oh and yes we do enjoy it, tremendously.
Homepage | MrSEC.com
November 27th, 2011
9:23 am
[...] Mark Bradley: “Georgia beat Tech as handily as Tech under Paul Johnson is ever beaten, and the difference wasn’t so much manpower as brainpower. [...]
BUCK
November 27th, 2011
9:23 am
Does anyone know where Brandon Harton was yesterday. Were they holding him back for LSU in case Crowell can’t go?
» SEC: Bama and Georgia both roll; Vandy earns a bowl bid John Clay's Sidelines
November 27th, 2011
9:24 am
[...] Bradley of the AJC writes that Georgia didn’t just outplay Georgia Tech in its 31-17 win, it outcoached the Yellow Jackets. Remember, Georgia started the season 0-2 with Mark Richt firmly on the proverbial coach’s [...]
BUCKDAWG
November 27th, 2011
9:29 am
I am a different BUCK than the Buck at the top of the comments. That BUCK is an ignorant, harmless insect. I asked about Brandon Harton.
Fan of the Game
November 27th, 2011
9:31 am
Buck – I am like you. I thought Brandon should have gotten in, especially ahead of Thomas. I just want to say that Mike Bobo has taken alot of heat and I hate to say it, but he will never please many just because he is a home town boy. But he has done a great job on offense. The play to White in the corner was a great play. Great Design! Great job Coach Bobo and good luck this weekend.
Lugnut
November 27th, 2011
9:32 am
Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, when I was hanging around Athens, it was a given that you could not be a champion unless you beat Florida, Auburn and Ga. Tech. This happened with some frequency back then. In fact, these were always the last three games of the year. Somehow Kentucky has gotten into the last game rotation. Anyway, I do believe that this is the first year since 1982 that the Dawgs have accomplished this feat. It was a long time coming. I am glad I was around to see it happen one more time.
And now, lets be sure and let LSU believe all the hype. It will make the win so much sweeter.
Spike
November 27th, 2011
9:36 am
I’m going to make that photo with Richt my new screen saver. “…New Sheriff in town..” my arse. Tech, you guys will always have 2008.
Ramblin Recluse Road
November 27th, 2011
9:37 am
Tech’s first PJ team beat them, and why? Was b/c of the old gold stripes on white background unis. Tech needs old gold, PJ does not sense this, and therefore he needs to go somewhere else. Yesterday he did not sense when to pull Washington, he does not sense when to avoid a strong rush by a superior dl and line up in a shotgun, he does not sense to use a tight end, he does not sense to pass short passes downfield instead of always to the sidelines, and he does not sense to have his team not wear female powder puff football pink, particularly at a college that used to be all male. He doesn’t have common sense, and we need for the Georgia Tech Atlhletic Association to tell him to pick up his playbook and leave. We need an offensive coordinator who is in press box who can see the field from above, not a head coach who is also the offensive coordinator. Maybe Bobby Dodd could call the plays from the folded card table, but CPJ cannot at all. He has to go. Tech needs to wake up to what he ISN’T offering as head coach, and what he IS serving Georgia on a silver britches platter, like Gailey was.
Woofy One
November 27th, 2011
9:37 am
Folks, The GA Tech alums that are realistic will tell you 7/3 or 8/2 is a great season for them and if they can play in a decent bowl game and win the ACC 1 out of 5 then it is success.. They have the resources to kick the program up a notch or two above that but are not interested. The game as an in State rivalry can be fun when both teams show up to play no matter what their seasons have been at this point in the year. The last decade GA Tech hasn’t shown up but about 3 times so the game is losing the intensity that has made it fun in years gone by. You can no longer blame it on academics when you look at graduation rates and the courses the players at both schools are taking. My cousin was a professor and player adviser at GA Tech so I know damn well what the reality is on North Avenue.
happy mangy mutt
November 27th, 2011
9:38 am
@Dawg fans
Really? Those of you who believe it is necessary to beat your chest and talk smack after a win like yesterday over a team like Tech, after complaining about the actions of certain UGA players after making a decent play on the field. Celebrate as you will, I was sweating it until the game’s end. Perhaps next season if they do the same to Ga Southern I should follow some of your leads.
It is a game the Dawgs should have won, did win, and should continue to win. Nothing more, nothing less.
techismybee-otch
November 27th, 2011
9:40 am
Hey Bark Madley,
I will say to you the same I said to the other biased against UGA writer, Jeff-I -know-nothing about college football” Schultz -I can’t believe you are writing this article…surely a ghost writer did this article…for you sir, are the proverbial CPJ butt-kisser….go back and read your articles over the last 4 years…he is a genius remember? You did your best to run CMR out of town, and never missed a chance to say, he has 100 wins, but before this season, he is a 500 coach over the last two…..using your logic and rational, we can only wait for the same article on your man-love for the Genius CPJ….the one who is a 500 coach since his 2nd season…and how he won with Chan’s recruits….you know, those same digs you tried on CMR when he was kicking butt his first 5 years….we anxiously await to hear how the Genius is so smart and was right to call UGA fans retards….I know plenty of Tech fans who shop at Wal-Mart because that is all they can afford….what are they going to say about him when he loses again in the Sun bowl….the Sun? really? What a genius….LMBO
DePort
November 27th, 2011
9:41 am
So is anyone talking about the student section yelling ” To Hell with Georgia” during the Larry Munson tribute? … I mean YOU tech fans talk about how un-classy UGA fans are? … We would never make fun of a death like that …. I was at the game on Saturday and the whole UGA section stood up and clapped for the Tech astronauts but then get disrespected but yelling that during a mans tribute???? …. YOU Tech fans have nothing else to say about UGA after the way you spoiled brats acted this weekend!!!!!
Hotdawg
November 27th, 2011
9:44 am
It’s a credit to you that you have acknowledged your erroneous past. Mark Richt continues to be the steady force that he has been at Georgia for more than a decade. He is a credit to UGA and to the state of Georgia. If Tech gets to go to a bowl, I hope they win despite Coach “Freeze the Field Goal Kicker” Johnson.
savjacket
November 27th, 2011
9:44 am
Bradley, you’re as big an idiot as the rest of the DawgNation. Georgia was the better team and outplayed us today. Congrats on the win, but LSU is going to dismantle every facet of the Dawgs playbook. Dreams are fun, though.
Anyhoo, I guarantee you UGA will be back to mediocrity next year even with the SEC East being as lame as they are. THAT is the reason UGA is where it is now. 0 competition in the division except for USC…..wait, that one didn’t go so well. Anyway, I will take Johnson over 10 Richts in the long run. Tech will be fine and UGA will still fill the stadium with fat jobless rednecks with bulldogs painted on their head. Good luck next week.
Fan of the Game
November 27th, 2011
9:45 am
Tech fans – The Bobby Dodd days are not coming back. 7 and 8 win seasons are more realistic. If Bobby Ross thought he could contend for the ACC or National Champ. he would have stayed. Everybody blasting Johnson but I don’t believe any other coach would have won more games. The bottom line is that they have got to recruit better at the QB position and on defense. Secondary is the worse Tech has ever had.
Med
November 27th, 2011
9:48 am
UGAG -
Your team won. Mine lost. But I still make 183k a year, and most of you don’t. Happy Holidays.
Med
UGA OWNS gtu
November 27th, 2011
9:51 am
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA gtu fans are so precious! They THINK that they are something that they are not… better than us. LMAO We are better than you AT EVERYTHING!!!
UGA OWNS gtu.
Always have, always will.
Fan of the Game
November 27th, 2011
9:52 am
But Med today we are happy and you aren’t. You can’t buy happiness always!
Med
November 27th, 2011
9:53 am
Hey UGA OWNS gtu -
Yes you won. You OWN us. I still make alot more money than you. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Fan of the Game
November 27th, 2011
9:54 am
Hey Med, let me borrow some since you want everybody to know how much you make. Throw alittle around to us poor Dawg fans.
Med
November 27th, 2011
9:54 am
Fan of the Game -
Actually i’m pretty happy today. I’d hate to think my happiness solely revolved around what my alma mater does. Fortunately I do have much more in my life going on….you, obviously don’t. But thanks for playing.