A sobering night: Georgia is outclassed and overwhelmed
This forlorn shot is somewhat indicative of the night itself, wouldn't you say? (AP photo by Brett Flashnick)
Columbia, S.C. – Billed as a prove-it game, Georgia can only hope this was instead a case of false advertising. If the nation’s No. 5 team proved anything Saturday night, it’s that it shouldn’t be ranked that high, or perhaps at all.
South Carolina was primed to make a point. It took Georgia, which had averaged 48 points in its first five games, 58 minutes just to score a point here. To say the Bulldogs looked a step slow from the get-go is to suggest that “Ishtar” slightly underperformed at the box office. In the first 10 minutes, Georgia managed to get outclassed across the board — on offense, on defense, even on special teams. Not coincidentally, South Carolina had mustered three touchdowns before the visitors managed their second first down.
In a way, this recalled the infamous first half against Alabama in September 2008, the night the Bulldogs wore their black jerseys and trailed 31-0 at the half. But Alabama hit Georgia with a series of body blows. South Carolina was firing haymakers to the jaw: A 42-yard completion that should have been a Bacarri Rambo interception on the game’s second snap; an interception off a tipped Aaron Murray pass on Georgia’s third snap; two Connor Shaw touchdown passes to unencumbered receivers, and finally an outrageous punt return by Ace Sanders.
All the improvements Georgia has made over the past 13 months — or seemed to have made — were called into question in this wretched first quarter. South Carolina was bigger, faster, stronger, tougher and yes, better-coached. The Gamecocks knew what they wanted to do and did it with gusto. Georgia had no good ideas. South Carolina showed it could run the ball, pass the ball, stop the run and rush the passer. (And, lest we forget, return punts.) The Bulldogs could do none of the above.
Example: On Georgia’s only real threat of the first three quarters, Mark Richt chose to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the 2. Murray somehow completed a pass for one yard to Rantavious Wooten. “The ball probably should have gone to the [other] side,” said Mike Bobo, the offensive coordinator.
The talent Georgia had displayed against Missouri and Vanderbilt and Tennessee looked rather less impressive this night. Surely some of that had to do with playing on the road, but venue is no excuse for losing 35-7. South Carolina was ready, and that’s a function of coaching. Georgia wasn’t, and that’s a malfunction of same.
Even more distressing was that the big-name Bulldogs — Murray and Jarvis Jones and Rambo and the freshman backs — were rendered pedestrian by comparison. South Carolina’s offensive and defensive fronts exerted their will. The great Marcus Lattimore got all the tough yards. Shaw, who’s from Flowery Branch, made all the tough plays. The Bulldogs acted content to stand back and admire such excellence, and by appearing so passive in such a setting they left themselves open to all the old doubts.
Even in their division-winning season of 2011, the Bulldogs lost to the four best teams they played. This year they’d won five games without meeting anyone of real consequence, and this effort, if that’s the word for it, was so desultory as to make you wonder when, or if, Georgia will ever again beat anybody any good.
Surely they will. They’re too gifted not to break through against somebody. But a game like this made everyone who has attempted to paint these Bulldogs as smarter, tougher, better — and that’s my hand you see raised — feel a fool. When you’re beaten like this, there can be no disclaimers, no qualifiers: This was simply a horrid showing.
Said Richt: “I told the guys, ‘The bad news is that we took a whipping. The good news is that we all took it together … They whipped us pretty good.”
This was worse than the 42-10 loss to LSU in the SEC title game. Georgia wasn’t quite ready for such a game, and the Tigers were too good. But these Bulldogs were older and presumably wiser, and none of that wisdom was brought to bear here. And if Georgia, after all its staff changes and glitzy recruiting, remains incapable of competing on the big stage, whose fault is that?
Todd Grantham’s defense was superb much of last season but seems misdirected now. Bobo’s offense had run up boxcar numbers against lesser lights, but against South Carolina it had but 149 yards through three quarters. And Richt, who’s in charge of this whole operation, used to be able to take teams anywhere and beat anybody. Where did that mojo go?
No, the season isn’t over, and yes, it’s still possible for this team to win the SEC East and play for the conference title. But the season changed Saturday night. Georgia was exposed on national TV as undeserving of its hype, and it can take a program a long time to recover from such an indignity. The Bulldogs’ ceiling got lowered here. When they arrived, we wondered how good they really were. We have a clearer idea now.
By Mark Bradley
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1,090 comments Add your comment
Jeff
October 7th, 2012
5:45 am
Shameful. All that talent year in and year out and same results just a different year. CMR is a great guy but he is not a big time football coach. Look at the record speaks for itself even before that beat down last night. I expect the AD to put his same old spin (excuses) but this team (our team, our time, no regrets) will never, ever win a national championship with CMR.
No. 5 Bulldogs ‘Spurriered’ by No. 6 South Carolina, 35-7 – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Daily News Pages
October 7th, 2012
5:51 am
[...] Bradley: A sobering night for overwhelmed Bulldogs [...]
TOTDS
October 7th, 2012
6:13 am
As a Dawg fan(40+) & alum, I am embarrassed. Richt should apologize on ESPN to us for this debacle. It is obvious that football is not the most important thing in life as he stated this week in AJC. He is lazy, not focused & runs a football team like a CEO & not a coach. His teams reflect his attitude on the field. Murray was scared & performed as usual under pressure. He is a 7&3 or 8&2 coach & always will be. He will never win a NC as it requires too much work & dedication. Spurrier is there & Muschamp will be. Gators r going to hit us in the mouth. UGA players are weak, out of shape & not focused on every play. Richt has always come up with gimmicks instead of playing & training for football the same old way which always works. Every coach that has won a NC has done it this way except for Auburn, they paid some pros & got very lucky.
Jason in Gainesville
October 7th, 2012
6:17 am
Hahah, I love how a loss and too many beers brings out the typos and irrational calling for Richt’s head. Look, we take the lumps with the victories and when you lose, you lose with class. Keep your head up, Bulldog Nation. Once a Dawg, always a Dawg.
Sautee Dawg
October 7th, 2012
6:19 am
Mark, you pretty much covered all the base! Out coached, and that my fellow friends is a lack of preperation. And that starts at the top. Mark Richt was right in the accepting the loss for the whole team but, the players play the gameplan thats put before them, and that plan went out the window on Carolinas first possession.
If Carolina puts 2 blockers on Jarvis Jones wouldn’t it be just as wise to put 2 blockers on Clowney.
Clowney Had more sacks and tackles against UGA than he’s had all season long combined.
Whoever is breaking down gamefilm needs to have some help. Maybe not replaced but get em some help.
Out coached, simple as that!!
sick and tired
October 7th, 2012
6:23 am
Fire Mark Richt, as simple as that. losing a close one I could understand, but this!!!! Go into the ministry Mark. We have no push on the line of scrimage on either side, no LINE WHAT SO EVER!!!
jake
October 7th, 2012
6:28 am
Get Gruden before Arkansas or somebody else does. Gruden WANTS to come to UGA. He is beggin for it.
Charles
October 7th, 2012
6:29 am
Out coached, out played as the chant went last night OVERRATED. Georgia just does not have it, with talented players they should be able to play with anyone. They showed last night they lack the ability to play in the beg games that count.
I still say it is evident Georgia has a lack of focus and far to many players each year getting suspended. The successful programs have far less problems and getting players ready to play.
Lake Country Dog
October 7th, 2012
6:31 am
Is it possible that when the suspended players came back it screwed up the chemistry on defense? If we stop making excuses for this coaching staff because we won games against average teams, we may get somewhere. Anyone that watched the first five games could see this defense sucked, especally in the secondary. Correct me if i’m wrong but I thought a coach with a pro background was supose to be better than a college coach at putting together a game plan to stop the opposition and making adjustments on the fly. Graham has played South Carolina for three years now and has gotten beaten the same way everytime. Finally, why is Wooten starting? Did Murray think he was Bennett? He is the worth receiver we have.
Crab Island Dawg
October 7th, 2012
6:38 am
If GA had SC players and SC had GA players SC still wins! ……..I rest my case.
villedog
October 7th, 2012
6:43 am
UGA has talented players and a awful coaching staff. Over the last 5 years any coaching staff in the SEC could have won as many games and most of them a lot more. Maybe any staff in division 1 football. I don’t know how much longer UGA will continue to get top recruits only to be wasted, before they wise up and go elsewhere.
Jasper Shanks
October 7th, 2012
6:46 am
Mark Bradley: They’re too gifted not to break through against somebody.
And that means the problem is coaching. The idiots in the Butt-Smear building are paying Richt $10,000 a day, and he cannot win a big game against a ranked team. Compared to the top coaches in the SEC, Richt is at best a second-rate coach, and his assistants are even worse.
The outlook for the dawgs is bleak. Grim. Depressingly familiar. Sickening. Or fill in your own words.
Fan Carolyn
October 7th, 2012
6:51 am
Totally humiliating!!! It’s not about losing but the fact that we were obviously NOT prepared to play this game. We were NOT ready to play. Why????
Chan Gailey's Revenge
October 7th, 2012
6:52 am
OVERRATED — ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE
No. 5 Bulldogs ‘Spurriered’ by No. 6 South Carolina, 35-7
October 7th, 2012
6:56 am
[...] Bradley: A sobering night for impressed Bulldogs [...]
DDDF'S
October 7th, 2012
6:58 am
Guess what leghumpers. UF is back and waiting in line to play this bunch of creampuffs.
Carolina Bays
October 7th, 2012
6:59 am
Hope all y’all UGA fans who drove to Columbia enjoyed the hospitality of the Palmetto State.
George Castanza
October 7th, 2012
7:00 am
Maybe georgia can back into the SEC Championship like they did last year ?
Paddy
October 7th, 2012
7:01 am
You know it is the biggest regular season game of the year, every year and you look like it is a Wed in Aug practice day. Our players did not look like they thought they could win from the very first minute of the game.
Hot err
October 7th, 2012
7:01 am
Can we finally admit Murray sucks? He’s never beaten a ranked team. Yet he is propped up as the golden boy and we’ll have to deal with his ineptitude for another year. He and CMR will be back next year to provide us with some more heartache.
Buddy Landel
October 7th, 2012
7:02 am
UGA was exposed. Padded stats against sub-par teams. Reminds me of the girl in 9th grade that everyone thought was well-endowed….until someone saw the tissue coming out of her bra. This game was predictable. A CMR team always gets fat against teams with sub-par talent, but when his teams face others with similar or greater talent they LOSE.
Beast from the East
October 7th, 2012
7:02 am
FSU shows it’s true colors and loses to another mediocre ACC team.
Dawgs embarrassed on a national stage by SOS, yet again.
Gators get their first win over a top 10 team under Muschamp.
All is right in the universe.
Go Gators!
Hot err
October 7th, 2012
7:03 am
Btw the gators are gonna beat the holy you know what out of us.
Thomas Brown
October 7th, 2012
7:04 am
Seems to me there are AJ-C posters who say my posts should not be allowed to be posted, who have failed to show up after the game to say I am right about Mark Richt all 12 years :
# 1….. 26-24 Win 2001 # 4 vols*
# 2….. 10-24 Loss 2001 # 3 Florida*
# 3….. 13-34 Loss LSU 2003 # 2*
# 4….. 10-17 Loss LSU 2003 # 2*
# 5….. 06-24 Loss Auburn 2004 # 2*
# 6….. 34-14 Win LSU 2005 # 6*
# 7….. 35-38 Loss West Virginia mountaineers 2005 # 5*
# 8….. 14-21 Loss Florida 2006 # 1*
# 9….. 37-15 Win Auburn 2006 # 9*
# 10… 30-41 Loss Alabama 2008 # 6*
# 11… 10-49 Loss Florida 2008 # 1*
# 12… 17-41 Loss Florida 2009 # 3*
# 13… 31-49 Loss Auburn 2010 # 1*
# 14… 21-35 Loss Boise State 2011 # 8*
# 15… 42-45 Loss South Carolina 2011 # 9*
# 16… 10-42 Loss LSU 2011 # 2*
# 17… 7-35 Loss South Carolina 2012 # 6*
DDDF'S
October 7th, 2012
7:09 am
George, mathematically they could still get to the dome in Dec so that Bama can stomp them.
Bobo is Not the Problem
October 7th, 2012
7:09 am
Richt is a boy against men in the SECOND. Outcoached, outworked, outclassed.
FIRE MARK RICHT.
FIREBOBO2012DOTCOM
October 7th, 2012
7:09 am
Remind me again when Bobo’s offense won a big game? That’s right, never!
Bobo is Not the Problem
October 7th, 2012
7:10 am
* SEC, not SECOND. Thanks crapberry autocorrect. About as smart as Richt.
3rd in the East
October 7th, 2012
7:11 am
Carolina just scored again!!!!! What a joke of a team……….
1312bbb
October 7th, 2012
7:12 am
UGA got beat by a better prepared and coached team. Offensive play calling is awful. How many different running plays does Bobo use…..2 or 3?
DDDF'S
October 7th, 2012
7:14 am
Lou Holtz was just on ESPN arguing that sc is a nc team. The argument against is that they have a weak schedule. LMFAO!!!!! Mad national respect for the leghumpers. Uga plays buffalo for an easy win, dc plays uga for its easy win.
Newnandawg
October 7th, 2012
7:16 am
FIRE MARK RICHT
We are the most profitable SEC program in the one of the best recruiting states in America, and this is what we get. When are we going to stop accepting mediocrity?
MARK TWAIN
October 7th, 2012
7:19 am
WELL MR. BRADLEY YOU GOT A HOLE IN ONE ON THIS ARTICLE. AS I WENT DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER SATURDAY, I WONDERED WHY ALL THE GATORS WERE FLEEING THE RIVER BANKS. THEN I SAW MCR COMING OUT OF THE WOODS TRYING TO RECRUIT THEM TO COME WITH HIM TO ATHENS TOWN. WELL THE FAT LADY HAS SUNG. NO MORE ALUM MONEY FROM ME TIL THE RIVER BANKS ARE CLEARED OF POACHERS.
lol
October 7th, 2012
7:23 am
lol, lol, lol, lol, it’s funny how the initials SOS continue to deflate the puppy nation.
SOS; Stephen Orr Spurrier
SOS; Same Old Stuff
LOL!!!
DDDF'S
October 7th, 2012
7:28 am
How did ugag manage to score 7? Did bobo let spurrier call a series. Remember when you hired grantham? He was 3rd or 4th choice. Now you see why he had to wait for his phone to ring.
Go Vols
October 7th, 2012
7:30 am
Shocked, mainly about the offense. Still, if I were a betting man, I only see one more loss on your schedule and that’s UF. I know Dawg fans don’t like to hear it, but they’re the better team at this point. Heck, I’d take 9-2!!
darth spurrier
October 7th, 2012
7:33 am
I’m tired of beating the Dawgs. Damn tired.
3rd in the East
October 7th, 2012
7:33 am
Outback bowl is not a bad New Years Day Bowl.
Buckeye
October 7th, 2012
7:34 am
Ha!
Influential Alumnus
October 7th, 2012
7:34 am
Yes, we do need to move Richt. And I have my eye on an ex-Dawg, who, although unproven, is really a nice guy and who, incidentally, has agreed to a kickback on his first three years salary, which is hard to get from a proven winning coach or I would go that route. But you just can’t get that from Boise State’s Petersen or West Virginia’s Holgorsen, either of whom could lead UGA to a NC. Besides their names end in sen which rhymes with sin and many supporters would just not go for that. So it is best to just hire a coach in the UGA tradition and be done with it.
Buckeye
October 7th, 2012
7:36 am
Save Alabama and the Gamecocks, the SEC! SEC! is O VA RAAATED!
eddy
October 7th, 2012
7:36 am
Ga’s defense…well, there was no defense. Ga’s offensive line was very offensive but not in a good way. The offensive line looked as though they just came up from their respective JV teams..just pitiful. The whole team was NOT prepared…just assumed that their national ranking would get them some points.
UF’s defense very impressive. UGA has some time to improve and adjust if they will otherwise the Gators will do what South Carolina just did.
FSU was and is just a poseur. Nat’l Championship..please. Not even the best team in Fla.
Dawg Haus
October 7th, 2012
7:36 am
@LakeDawg: A quote I would like to see – Richt: “I can’t coach a lick and I am announcing my resignation.”
————————————–
Don’t hold your breath. Richt will never resign, and if McGarity were to sack him, it would cost UGA $20 million to buy him out.
We’re stuck with this loser.
Buckeye
October 7th, 2012
7:37 am
I think Murray vs. ranked teams just tied OSU’s record vs the O VA RAAAATED SEC! SEC!
Ha!
Sherman to the Sea
October 7th, 2012
7:39 am
Woke up on the couch and the replay was on this morning. Our offensive line could not do anything with their defense. They were in our backfield before the ball was handed off. It’s time for a fresh start. Get Peterson from Boise, he does more with less than anyone in the country. Get Gruden, at least a coach who studies the game, and brings fire and passion to his work place. How many times do you have to be outcoached before you make a change? I’m just tired of the same old same old.
Buckeye
October 7th, 2012
7:40 am
Urban sends his regards…..
TIME OUT!
TIME OUT!
TIME OUT!
Gator Billie
October 7th, 2012
7:40 am
Florida 42, Georgia 10
A serious beatdown coming in Jax.
Big Bad Bama
October 7th, 2012
7:41 am
I would hate to see him leave but i think K Smart could bring some respectability back to the Dawg Nation. Leave or stay The Tide Will Still RoLL!
Gman 84
October 7th, 2012
7:42 am
Bet coach Xanax slept well. He has other priorities.
dean
October 7th, 2012
7:43 am
Well, that wasn’t any fun. After last week, weren’t all dawg fans squirming a bit? I was. At least the game wasn’t handed to SC. I’d rather take lumps than give gifts.