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
steve
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
i agree with all the comments about richt and staff above. ilike richt as a man but he is not a good head coach in this league. we cannot beat a good team and murray is the most over rated qb there is. we cant recruit enough good offensive lineman and some of the guys we have on defense are a disgrace. i could go on and on but it won’t do any good. our guys are lost on defense.
tell the truth
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
Georgia has the easiest schedule by far in the SEC this year- they will only play one more decent team-Florida; and will lose to them again.
hunkerdown
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
Dawgs forgot to get on the bus. D stands for what is that word Kirk used…oh yea…disappointing.
playmeortrademe
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
@Snoozer
No curse. Just awful leadership in this state since 1966. At least we can thank Herschel, Lindsay Scott, Tom Glavine, and David Justice for having something to be proud of since then.
SS
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
Here we go again. Ive never seen a team collapse like our team does. It is usually once or twice a year in the biggest games. I dont understand it. There will probably be several first round NFLdraft picks off this team eventually. No way we look this bad. Heartbreaking. At what point does Richt get held responsible?
Coffee Bluff DAWG
October 6th, 2012
11:06 pm
SSIgator, He’s right – they are not AL – UGA lack of heart just made it appear that way.
Tide Rising
October 6th, 2012
11:07 pm
They were pretenders all along. I am very disappointed though. I was hoping to kick the stew out of the dawgs in the sec title game. At least we will play a good carolina or florida team.
Herschel Talker
October 6th, 2012
11:07 pm
BRING ON THE MARK RICHT KOOL-AID DRINKERS!!!
HERE COME THE EXCUSES FOR SAINT RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
Macclenny_man
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
Out coached again!!!Does this staff not watch film of games. We r predictable. Our team is a reflection of our coach. It has rubbed off on Grantham also. I told y’all we need to get rid of GATA!!! We getafter nobody!!! We let every team dictate what we do. All the best recruits except where it matters most on the lines!!! Still only 2 o linemen signed in this class!!! Richt has 2 go. Every year since he has been here 1 game a year we get blowed out!!! Un acceptable!!!
Sonny B. Lane
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
At least no one has suggested hiring Petrino or Charles Manson. The way things have worked out, if Vince had not retired in 1988, he could still be coaching at a young 80 & we would have more wins than we have since that time. I honestly believe that.
PMC
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
It’s proven now Richt is not capable of outcoaching anyone in the top 15 or so.
It’s just time to move on. He can’t win with even or better talent. Is what it is. Sorry coach. You haven’t won a game that meant something in 5 years
OkieDawg
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
Good article MB…The truth hurts. Out coached, out played, out hustled and beat by a team with lesser talent. Yes, lesser talent. I agree Clowney was the best athlete on the field but that was the end of the roster vs roster comparison won by SC.
And was it just me or did anyone else notice CMR spent most of the night hand combing his hair and cleaning his nostrils…DISGUSTING!
Maxwell the free-range chihuahua
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
time for dawgtalk…might be interesting…
kingdaddy
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
Fix it now McGarity…
Droopy Dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:09 pm
COACHING COACHING COACHING…coaching led A Murray to be our starter, he can’t play big games and folds every time, he looked terrified in the 1st quarter when SC scored 3 TDs back to back..CMR please retire now, and take Bobo too…it’s long overdue..
Get me Rex Kramer
October 6th, 2012
11:09 pm
I am ashamed to call myself a Dawg fan. I am done with this s_it until Mark Richt is gone.
NORRIS CHUCK
October 6th, 2012
11:09 pm
Musberger and Herbstreet called out the UGA coaching staff (mainly Richt) on national TV.
And im glad they did what they did, but i just know that next season, Mark Richt will trot his sorry butt out there again claiming to be ready to lead the team to a SEC championship!
Thats the mentality in Georgia. “SETTLE FOR A GOOD OLE BOY” and he will lead the team to glory.
This weekend so far has been the worst in GA sports history, and we are not finished yet. The Falcons will step up and put up their worst performance of the season…MARK MY WORD PEOPLE!
PMC
October 6th, 2012
11:09 pm
They are never going to be better than average under Richt
Old Dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:10 pm
I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen a D1 team get beat so thoroughly. Apparently, Brent and Herbie feel the same way. Richt should fire his coaches and resign at the end of the season.
Hairy Dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:10 pm
Kevin Butler won’t pull any punches now that his kid is off the team. Then again, Drew would have shined in this one…
SM9
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Im done supporting Richt, he has to go.
Big Crimson 75
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Bradley — it was 31 to 0 at the Half!!
Those weren’t just body blows.
cmac
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
When is the lat time UGAly beat a ranked team? Grantham has pulled the wool over our eyes. Murray will NEVER be a big time QB. Richt can’t beat the good teams. Going 10-2 last year is the worst thing that has happened to UGAly since Ray Goof was hired! If only UGAly could play unranked teams … they would never lose (unless they played Colorado or UCF)
Baccari Rambo
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Anyone seen my brownies?
Say WHAT!
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Cal. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING behind Richt keeping his job. Michael Adams has a hidden agenda. I promise he has smiled more than once at this outcome tonight.
No other college has put up with the results like Richt has had the last 5 years. Frank Solich was fired with a very good record (no so good last few years). He did finish 9-3 I think the year he got fired.
Tide Rising
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Ssi gator,
Congrats. Gators r looking really good and the qb looks like an entirely different guy and is getting better and better. Unlike tonights game i expect uf vs usc to be a great game.
Rick James
October 6th, 2012
11:12 pm
Pityful!! Tennesee obviously took a lot of them.The good the thing is that the team that won may still not make to Atlanta this year..Take that chickens!!
Pope UGA XXIII
October 6th, 2012
11:13 pm
I am so sick and damn tired of looking like this whenever UGA plays a top
echelon team. There is a solution for this foolishness & maybe the fans
will figure it out one day. Someone please tell me who will be impressed
with victories over kentucky, Auburn, and Tech. If you don’t think Georgia
Southern will come to Athens ready to play, you still believe in the Easter
Bunny. We were about as well prepared as Obama was for the debate !!
Macclenny_man
October 6th, 2012
11:13 pm
Cannot bash Murray because he is not used right. He has speed and we never run him!!! Shaw beat us he always ran for a 1st down. Murray is not a pocket qb. Good coaching would know he is 2 short 2 many passes tipped!!!Fire Richt!!!
Tide Rising
October 6th, 2012
11:13 pm
Gators r lookinv tough. Put uga down for another blowout loss.
no dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:13 pm
wow
Skidaway Dog
October 6th, 2012
11:14 pm
I thought this was going to happen. Another complete embarrassment on national TV. Everybody has it right.
Bama Boy
October 6th, 2012
11:14 pm
Mark Bradley needs to leave predictions to the expers he had S.Cal vs.UGA for the championship he knows football about as much as Kingdaddy!
lol
October 6th, 2012
11:14 pm
hey we all have next year and we rank in the top 10 again, and the year after that and the year after that. Mark richt will kill this program before he drown in a pool.
LifetimeTider
October 6th, 2012
11:14 pm
Some things never change, Georgia’s loaded, this is the year, gonna win the East……….blah,blah,blah, same story, same results. Mark Richt couldn’t coach if his life depended on it. Actually, now that I think of it, he reminds me a lot of Gene Chizik. See ya’ll in the funny papers.
MBA
October 6th, 2012
11:15 pm
Amen MB. Sad part is the Dawgs will probably win out the final 6 games of the the season, but it wont matter. This was the seasons defining game, and we were destroyed. This game is the definition of the Richt program. This is what you can expect and will get in a big game……a loss.
Under The Bleachers
October 6th, 2012
11:15 pm
Some predictions from UGA fans:
Sun Belt > ACC
October 4th, 2012
9:39 am
UGA will put up 50+ on the chickens.
gdawginkalamzoo
October 4th, 2012
9:50 am
Chicken for dinner Saturday night. This is one I won’t sweat over because we win it by 2 TD’s or more. GO Dawgs!
chase
October 4th, 2012
9:55 am
@ AtlantaGamecock
“South Carolina is the superior team”
REALLY????!?!?!?!?!
Let’s see, …….vs VANDY, SCAR had to have the refs blow a pass interference call and have Rodgers turn the ball over inside the 5 yard line TWICE – just to scrap away with a what…3 point win
THEN SCAR beats UAB and EAST CAROLINA before having to come back in the second half vs KENTUCKY?
Oh, but you say, look SCAR beat MIZZOU by 21 – YEP – so did UGA – the difference – UGA did it without 5 starters, on the road at night in the most difficult circumstances (Mizzou’s first game inn the SEC etc etc)
UGA also dismantled their patsies but also beat TENNESSEE (a team with a pulse)
Oh, UGA also has the TOP RUNNING GAME in the SEC……….
Not saying SCAR can’t win….sometimes the lesser team does win – BUT if GEORGIA plays to their capabilities, SCAR cannot beat them
JB
October 4th, 2012
10:52 am
Ok, Dawgs have stumbled to 5-0, but geez, I watched SC play Vandy and Kentucky……And SO ! they are not Bama……..They better be worried this week. We ain’t Kentucky.
Thomas Brown
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
14 points is all South Carolina is going to score ?
I’ll take that bet.
Thomas Brown
October 4th, 2012
11:01 am
Florida is not beating anyone. You just want to say Florida is great because they beat the vols, handily, I point out. The vols are no good.
JRW7
October 4th, 2012
11:18 am
Yep, them chickens are going to get plucked!
Brainiac(Dawg For Life) / (CMR fan for life)
October 4th, 2012
11:23 am
Most “PITA” folks are actually “Closet Meateaters” and have animal contributed parts made into wearing apparell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally I love animals and birds. Grilled is my favorite way of cooking them there tasty criters!!!!!!!
Cdpridg
October 4th, 2012
12:00 pm
The Dawgs are just better..as usual…even on the road…
To Tell the Truth
October 4th, 2012
3:00 pm
Easy win for SC!!
Enough Said!!!
brick
October 5th, 2012
4:07 pm
Cocks will get a chance to see the best back in the SEC run this weekend, Lattimore isn’t back to were he was before the injury. Of course they don’t believe that, but anyone who isn’t biased that watches them run knows who the best back is.
And finally Bryan may have meant “4 or more touchdowns”
Byron
October 5th, 2012
4:27 pm
WRONGO! on the COCKS. Bet you selected UGA las two years as too. Once again, Steve Superior gets the job done. COCKS by 4 or more.
playmeortrademe
October 6th, 2012
11:15 pm
@Sonny B. Lane As revered as Dooley is, the guy is highly overrated as a coach. He won a national title with a weak schedule of his own and still needed a miracle play to make it happen. He lost the next two Sugar Bowls he coached in. He had notoriously weak schedules in an era of 7 conference games. UGA played two tough games most seasons: Clemson and Auburn. He routinely lost big games himself, especially in his six post-Herschel seasons.
Paper champs
October 6th, 2012
11:16 pm
Recruits – Why would you want to go to a school that gets embarrassed at every big game? Look at your options. Take a look at SCAR if you want to join a top 5 D…and check NFL for recent picks.
It’s easy to be paper champs every Feb when you can’t hang on the field…
SenoiaDawgs
October 6th, 2012
11:17 pm
Wow, I honestly can’t believe what happened. I truly thought Richt, Bobo and the staff had finally figured it out and that last week was our close game that we eeeked out.
Wow was I fooled.
We run the ball outside on the first play gain 10 yards and then don’t run out there again until the third quarter. Instead we find the 5 or 6 plays in our playbook that clearly do not work and run them over and over and over and over and over and over and they are still running them while getting on the bus thinking it just eventually has to work…
The coaching staff has lost the team. The D completely gave up and Gates must be saying what do I have to get some help with this animal on the outside.
I don’t give a crap if we have to go through the pains of change. Get it done McGarrity.!!!!!!
Texas Dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:17 pm
Man, I never thought I would say this but I agree with almost everyone here, including those who say it’s time for CMR and his assistants to move on. He’s a nice guy, I believe a truly committed Christian who we know doesn’t believe that football is the most important thing in his life. That’s fine. But just like I don’t want my preacher to coach my football team, I don’t want my coach to be my preacher. Everyone, EVERYONE, in football says we consistently have among the best — if not THE best — talent in the SEC. Yet when the bright lights come on, we disappear. E-V-E-R-Y single time. Sitting in my house nearly a thousand miles away from Columbia, I can honestly say I felt embarrassed to be a Georgia Bulldog. And that’s the first time I’ve said that since the day I matriculated there in 1977. Miles, Muschamp, Spurrier, Mullen, Saban, Chisik, even Dooley, have all come into the SEC since CMR and, after a bit, their teams have shown marked improvement, even including NC’s. But not us. We’ve just flatlined. I finally agree with all the naysayers — it’s not the players, it’s the coaches!!! Please save us from this continuous shame, McGarity.
no dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:17 pm
Out coached big time
Buzz90
October 6th, 2012
11:18 pm
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I love it, you bunch of low life rednecks were just brought back down to reality! This embarrassment of a game just made me the happiest I’ve been this season! Keep crying overrated rednecks, this will continue for years to come!
mike
October 6th, 2012
11:18 pm
the problem is our o-line is terrible. Period. Fix that and you fix 95% of our troubles.
Under The Bleachers
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Now is time for many many UGA to revisit and revise their comments on where you see UGA finishing the season. Not gonna play in the BCSCG as some predicted and now have to hope USC loses to LSU, and UF beats USC, and UGA beats UF. Either way, expect UGA to fall to around 13-20th in upcoming polls and the aggression towards CMR and his staff to increase by UGA fans who once again overstated the level of their program.
This was an embarrassing loss for UGA and anyone who thinks it was not needs a big dose of reality.
Jake
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Why was Spurrier limping?
72 Dawg
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
I am a UGA graduate and have followed the dawgs for many years. Mark Richt is a nice guy, but that is it! He cannot surround himself with good coaches. No ability there! 0-10 versus ranked opponents last few years. It is not going to get better. Look at Urban Meyer at Ohio State in first year and Florida. Look at Spurrier, like or not. Some can coach, some cannot. I honestly feel this is my most embarassing game yet to witness. Flirting with Richt and hoping for the future is like flirting with the Prom queen.
nvdawg
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Are you kidding me? Where was the team and the coaching staff? What a huge disappointment. Very frustrating to watch on tv. Hope the players don’t go stupid and do stupid things when they get back to athens. When are they going to learn that every player has to give individual effort each and every game. Why did it take coach richt at the beginning of the 4th quarter to call the team over for a “play for pride” finish. I love Georgia but what a pathetic effort by ALL.
steve
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
i forgot to mention herbie said murray did not sleep for 2 nights because he was thinking about clowney. if i was murray don’t thing i would have told that.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Anyone know when the coaching staff is getting a drug screen?
Seriously; Herbstreet was stunned at what a joke we looked like tonight!!!!!!