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
Jack
November 26th, 2011
7:38 pm
I just cannot figure why writers keep picking Tech when it is clear that UGA is bigger, faster, deeper, and moe talented and CMR is winning 90 pct of his games against Tech?? It makes no sense.
Gorilla Biscuit
November 26th, 2011
7:38 pm
If the Dawgs beat LSU and they still play for the MNC and win it, then the Dawgs can claim it by proxy.
I just fell down the rabbit hole.
BIGJIMDAWG
November 26th, 2011
7:39 pm
Once again, the tech fans have shown the world how classless they really are! Booing during the Munson tribute———-UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Wake up tech fans! You are in a weak ass conference, you have a coach that should be in 1 AA, your QB couldn’t throw it 15 yards on a straight line, and the worst of it is—-you are obnoxious little nerds.(And you always will be inferior)
todd grantham
November 26th, 2011
7:39 pm
Mark Bradley: I now think LSU and Alabama will play for the BCS title no matter what LSU does next week. All but a lock.
I’ll cancel my AJC subscription if that comes to pass!
Loyal Dawg
November 26th, 2011
7:40 pm
Way to go Corso and Herbstreet. You two geniuses picked GT to win, now you have egg all over your faces. LOL!!!
We Own You....
November 26th, 2011
7:40 pm
Same old same old. But it never gets tiresome. Tech has a classless coach who cheats and still can’t win big….makes excuse after excuse after excuse….berates his players endlessly on the sidelines with a constant tirade of profanities….always throws his players under the bus…never accepts any responsibility for his own shortcomings…urges his fans to punch Georgia fans in the face….calls Georgia fans (and people who try to earn an honest living at Walmart retards….and has never won a bowl game….and Tech fans still takk trash….It’s GREAT to be a BULLDOG on the last Saturday night in December….Those clouds you see are from Erk and Larry’s celebratory cigars….
todd grantham
November 26th, 2011
7:40 pm
Mark, you are obviously baiting the UGA bloggers. Come on. Expected better from you.
huh?
November 26th, 2011
7:40 pm
@neil marlowe wal-mart opens early go to bed.
Joe Hill
November 26th, 2011
7:41 pm
GA has no chance with LSU. Why? LSU has bigger and faster team.
headley lamar
November 26th, 2011
7:41 pm
But Georgia dropped to No. 5, astonishingly. LSU moved from seventh to second by beating Tennessee.
Georgia was the best team in football in 2007
We werent allowed to play for the title because we (tied) Tennessee for the Est division that year. So we were kept out.
Alabama did not even tie for thier division .
Yet they will play for the title.
Further proof that the MNC is meanigless.
memphisdawg
November 26th, 2011
7:42 pm
Ga is actually a much bigger team than LSU. Just saying.
Seriously GT Bob?
November 26th, 2011
7:42 pm
Come on man! Last I checked it was the score that matters in the end, not rushing yards! You’re as bad as that chicken shat coach of yours, CPJ! Both of you can’t admit that you guys simply got beat by a better team! Your offense had a bad day because Uga’s defense dictated the game and was better than you’ve seen all year. If CPJ wasn’t such a chicken shat he’d run an offense that other teams see, not one that teams don’t have time to prepare fully for bc they only see it once a year if that. If he ran a regular non gimmicky offense everyone would see what an average coach he really is!
Chris
November 26th, 2011
7:42 pm
we have a 20% chance. lsu looked pretty darn good vs arkansas
dawgschiro
November 26th, 2011
7:43 pm
GTech & Yellow britches, you guys are class acts. Thanks for the kind words. Larry will be missed.
GTJohn
November 26th, 2011
7:43 pm
Although I wanted GT to win this one, 8 wins is still a good season for the boys on North Ave.
I love GT football, but there are much more important things in this world right now.
reality
November 26th, 2011
7:43 pm
leave it to idoit georgia fans to be living in the past. couldnt win it in 07 cant win it ever. oh well what might have been. maybe herschel has some eligibility left. dont burn your trailors down celebrating.
asa
November 26th, 2011
7:43 pm
Just saw a quote that might explain why Tech can’t win, saw where this was only their 2nd sellout this year. I know that they played 3 high ranked teams in Va Tech,Clemson and Georgia if you can’t sell out a 40,000 plus stadium why would a good high school player want to go there and play for that high school offense
Bo in North Carolina
November 26th, 2011
7:44 pm
Last week some yellow jacket said there was a new sheriff in town. Where is he?
todd grantham
November 26th, 2011
7:45 pm
memphisdawg, dont forget, lsu doesnt count high school gpa, act or sat scores for entrance either.
DanTheDawgFan
November 26th, 2011
7:45 pm
DAWGS WIN! DAWGS WIN! DAWGS WINS! BRING ON THE FLEONS OF LSWHO!!!!!
POOPDAWG
November 26th, 2011
7:46 pm
Mark, the Dawgs went from 4 to 7 after 1 and 2 lost then LSU went from 8 to 2. Bottom line is they can put whoever they want in the championship game regardless of the prior weeks rankings.
Jack
November 26th, 2011
7:46 pm
More pressure on LSU. That said I think we will have a real hard time beating them. Work hard this week guys. Great season could just get better with a win.
Hey Mark- here is the real question!
November 26th, 2011
7:47 pm
Ok, so Bama will not win the SEC yet is likely to play in the NCG. Then, what if UGA beats LSU?
Then the SEC champions will not play in the BCSCG but two other SEC teams will???
laron
November 26th, 2011
7:47 pm
The reason Tech can’t get better players has little to do with academics and everything to do with a weird offense that won’t get many players to the next level……where 100% of them think they are destined.
Aldo Snow
November 26th, 2011
7:47 pm
Have a nice year NERDS, UGA runs this state for yet another year! Practice your triple whatever for 365 and we’ll do it again!
memphisdawg
November 26th, 2011
7:47 pm
I think we lose to LSU, but it will hopefully be a good game. We are still a year away from being great. LSU is there now. If we get Marshall and Gurley, Theus steps up, and add a JUCO olineman; watch out.
Oh and keep the coaching staff.
Buckhead Bulldog
November 26th, 2011
7:48 pm
Good job DOGS. Beat LSU!
todd grantham
November 26th, 2011
7:48 pm
we’ve gotten so jaded in this world we rather expect, than find surprising, that these young men get into legal or team violation trouble constantly. Injuries used to be the hazard. Now, being caught by the campus cops dui or smoking pot or shop lifting is the big impediment to starting on Saturday.
We Own You....
November 26th, 2011
7:49 pm
Tech has an incredibly classless coach who constantly berates his players on the sideline with profanity laced tirades…blames everyone but himself for every miscue and loss—embarasses himself and his school by doing things like urging Tech fans to punch Georgia fans in the face and calling all Dawg fans–as well as people who work hard for a living at Walmart “retards”–and couldn’t win a bowl game to save his life…..and yet Tech fans continue to talk trash in an effort to somehow elevate themselves….What a joke they are—and beating them never gets old……those clouds you saw hovering over their rinky-dink stadium was smoke coming from Erk and Larry’s celbratory cigars….
GTJohn
November 26th, 2011
7:49 pm
The reason a kid would want to go to GT is because a football scholarship is a means to something that is much more important than a win in a kid’s game. Just look at all the high school kids that go to Duke, GT, MIT, etc. They are much more mature and realize that the NFL is probably not going to be in their future so they prepare for something better. They realize that the roar of 80,000 people dims rapidly after 4 years go by and none of those memories put food on the table or a roof over their head.
Reality
November 26th, 2011
7:50 pm
I’m amazed at how excited DAWG fans are after The TECH game. Georgia really didn’t play well at all! TECH made way to many mistakes that cost them the game. LSU will clean Georgia’s clock which will bring you Georgia fans back to reality! You can’t beat a great team without a running game, which Georgia does not have. Mark Bradley says Georgia coaches “out coached” GT coaches, where did you see that? What was so brilliant about the way GA played? TECH gave them two interceptions inside their own 30 and failed to score inside the 5 yard line. Those three mistakes cost Tech the game. Had nothing to do with Georgia’s coaches.
todd grantham
November 26th, 2011
7:50 pm
GTJohn, agree with all your points except not any ACC school i know of plays regularly before 80,000. Best, Toddd
Beeeeg Boy
November 26th, 2011
7:54 pm
Bobo has done a hellova job all year!! If Murray is hot, Dawgs beat LSU.
Jo
November 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
Tech’s defense was fine but their offense was miserable and gave Georgia too many points on turnovers. This out coached bit is nonsense. Two awful interceptions is just poor play. That’s the difference and what let the game get away. Until tech gets a Great QB, they will always be a good but never a very good or geat team.
Blue B
November 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
GTJohn give me a break, of the 22 starters today for Tech only 5 will have degrees in engineering, And I am sure some UGA grads make a good living
Dawg48
November 26th, 2011
7:57 pm
I hate it for D Tyson getting chop blocked on the first play and missing the whole game.
Super Committee
November 26th, 2011
7:57 pm
GT Bob…. you keep counting yardage… we’ll count the points…you have to be the kid the never got picked… you have spent your whole life rationalizing… CMR is not given good recruits he has to recruit them numskull…..
Dawg48
November 26th, 2011
7:58 pm
Reality
You need a reality check brother!
POOPDAWG
November 26th, 2011
7:58 pm
GTJOHN, i have known many young men that go to UGA for “something that is much more important than a win.” Quit showing your GOOBER CARD!
ATLLSUAlum
November 26th, 2011
7:58 pm
Ya boy, Mark Richt is very glad that the scheduling Gods fell his way this year, and his Bull-puppies didnt have to play a “real” SEC schedule. If they had played Bama, LSU, or Arkansas. they would be lucky to have had a 6 or 7 win season. Don’t believe me???? I can’t wait to see how bad we beat them next Saturday in the SEC Championship game.
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
7:59 pm
LSU is so far ahead in the computer rankings it could lose to Georgia and still finish No. 2 in the BCS standings. Not saying that’s right; just saying that’s the reality.
And, as I tried to say last week, Alabama is in better position to play for the national championship than LSU. Alabama can’t lose on Dec. 3.
Buckhead Dawg
November 26th, 2011
8:00 pm
Paul Johnson is a Genus, not Genius.
ATLLSUAlum
November 26th, 2011
8:00 pm
Ya boy, Mark Richt is very glad that the scheduling Gods fell his way this year, and his Bull-puppies didnt have to play a “real” SEC schedule. If they had played Bama, LSU, or Arkansas. they would be lucky to have had a 6 or 7 win season. Don’t believe me???? I can’t wait to see how bad we beat them next Saturday in the SEC Championship
Super Committee
November 26th, 2011
8:00 pm
Reality… it hurts real bad doesn’t it… yes UGA is no good, Tek gave it to us…you are worse than GT Bob.
JAWJeRDAWG
November 26th, 2011
8:00 pm
I may be wrong, but I think the major difference in LSU and UGA right now is LSU’s strength in substitution.
Georgia has first-string strength and talent all across the offense and defense, but is lacking somewhat in being able to substitute equally when these players get tired and need a breather, or when there is an injury; this is basicly a young team.
If we can come out on offense and establish a running game, steadly move the chains, running the clock and score when we have the opportunity, giving our defense a chance to rest, and stay injury-free, I think we have a good chance to beat LSU.
We can play good football. The question I have is, can we sustain that quality kind of offensive, defensive, and special team’s play for four complete quarters?
If we do, I like our chances, and think we can win the SEC Championship Game!
I hope this week that we can establish a good game-plan, practice hard and focused, and stay injury-free in practice.
Do that, and we can win! .. Let’s Go Dawgs!
Buckhead Dawg
November 26th, 2011
8:02 pm
Hey reality,
Try Spell Check. It does work
Dawg 1
November 26th, 2011
8:03 pm
GT John, I truly wish that your theory was correct. Alas, it’s not. Maybe 15% of these kids pick a school fro Academics. Most of the kids at Duke, Tech, Etc simply were not recruited by other schools. If you watch the recruiting updates and the selection of schools being considered by most 4 and 5 star players – you rarely see the schools you mentioned listed.
It’s a nice thought – just an inaccurate one.
Hey Mark- here is the real question!
November 26th, 2011
8:03 pm
Ok, so I am preaching to the choir? I take it you think we should have a playoff system?
It just irks me that this “excuse” was used against UGA in 07 but now does not apply.
This is the very reason we need a playoff. Thanks to the Big 10 it will never happen.
Super Committee
November 26th, 2011
8:03 pm
Can’t believe I am actually pulling for the Gators but i am and so far they look terrible.
Mark Bradley
November 26th, 2011
8:03 pm
Oh, yes. I’m in favor of a playoff. But we’ll never have one. Bowls are too strong.