3 points about Georgia’s 28-point loss at South Carolina

Connor Shaw ran. He also passed. His team won. (AP photo by Brett Flashnick)

Connor Shaw ran. He also passed. Not coincidentally, his team won. (AP photo by Brett Flashnick)

1. Aaron Murray didn’t exactly grab his star-making moment by the throat. Delivering a tipped interception on Georgia’s third snap was the worst possible start for the quarterback who still hasn’t presided over a victory against a team of substance. (Florida 2011 doesn’t count.) Murray had maybe his worst night as a Bulldog, completing 11 of 31 passes for 109 yards. In his defense, his line couldn’t block South Carolina’s defensive front. As offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said: “When a guy’s getting hit, he has a tendency not to trust his protection.”

2. The “Gurshall” groundswell got, er, grounded. Freshmen tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall combined for 76 yards on 15 carries — this after each had 100-yard games against Tennessee. Again, the Gamecocks’ defensive line overpowered Georgia up front, often pushing blockers backwards into the guys for whom they were supposed to be blocking. “We couldn’t handle their ends,” Bobo said, and then this: “I thought we would be able to run the ball a little bit better.”

3. The Georgia defense didn’t trip the light fantastic, either. South Carolina gained 392 yards while throwing only 10 passes. (Six were completed, for a staggering 162 yards.) That’s what happens, said Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, when the running game works and you can throw off play-action at your leisure. The Gamecocks rushed for 230 yards — 109 by Marcus Lattimore, who had his third consecutive big game against Georgia, and 78 more by Shaw. “For us to get where we want to go, we’ve got to improve,” said Grantham, telling no lies.

By Mark Bradley

549 comments Add your comment

dawgs01

October 7th, 2012
3:17 pm

I promise y’all uga fans grantham will not do anything better than willie did. he has worse numbers. Uga has had the easiest schedules the past three yrs while grantham has been here so don’t look at all the stats bc willie coaches against a tougher schedule. So compare their numbers against top 25 teams and do you get grantham has worst numbers with more nfl talent. Grantham to me has no clue how to stop spread offenses remember what spurrier said after he beat us granthams first yr I guess they don’t run that spread in the nfl and he still has not figured it out.

Dubious

October 7th, 2012
3:18 pm

Back to the Braves for a moment….A couple of major points were missed in the AJC’s coverage of the WC game…Point .#1 –it sure looked like Simmons bunted on his own in the bottom of the 4th with Freeman on 3rd and 1 out and the Braves down 1..FG says he called a safety squeeze because runs have been hard to come by….but Freeman did not act like a play was on….he wasnot creeping and he did not break…plus Simmons’ bunt was a poor effort; he did not square….I think FG was covering for Simmons(probably) or Freeman….Point #2 Braves were down 4-2 in the Top of 7 when Uggla made a 2 base error on a ground ball.After a sac (off of Medlen) moved the runner to 3b, FG brought in Durbin. Simmons then made a boot and a bad throw home to make the score 5-2. Instead of Durbin, why not bring In Kimbrell there? You need a strikepout and who is better at that than Kimbrell? I am sure FG’s response would have been: we didn’t have time to get him ready, etc. blah blah…but when that first runner got to 2B with no outs, they should have gotten Kimbrell up and used the clock…Could have brought Durbin in to get the hitter sacrificing….If runs were at a premium on Simmons’ bunt they should have been on that 5th Cards’ run which led to a 6th run as the hitter who reached on Simmons’error came around all the way to score from 2B on Carpenters’ nubber…

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
3:19 pm

Flo-Ri-Duh,
Did you actually watch the game? UGA’s only score was at the end playing against SC’s scout team. Take those red and lack sunglasses off before typing.

dawgs01

October 7th, 2012
3:21 pm

Go compare willie and granthams numbers against top 25 teams and you will see. Remeber since grantham has been here uga has had the easiest three yr schedule in our history willie coached against a tougher schedule. I hated willie so I am not saying he should have stayed I am saying we replaced willie with a fat loud mouth willie

01HAWK

October 7th, 2012
3:23 pm

How do you know you have a problem ?

When rival schools want your coach to stay. Everyone wants NICK SABAN to leave BAMA for the NFL.

I would love for CMR to stay at UGA forever and a day. To nice of a coach. As someone on here stated………………………………………..He will make a good Atheletic Director.

UGA has to much talent to be a 10 win team. You should be challenging for a BCS Title every year.

SEE………………………..Players fear NICK SABAN.

They do not fear CMR.

NC Dawg

October 7th, 2012
3:25 pm

Destiny…no control.

Spurrier dominates us at Florida…now doing so at SC.

Need special teams coach…

Need new OC…yeah, Bobo…another run up the middle vs SC…wow.

Love Richt but we don’t seem to have what’s needed to win the big games anymore.

2005…last SEC Championship…7 YEARS AGO. No National Championship since 1980…32 years!

We demand Champions…not 10 win seasons.

Go Dawgs!

01HAWK

October 7th, 2012
3:26 pm

JULIO JONES IS BALLIN TODAY

dawgs01

October 7th, 2012
3:26 pm

I thought with all the talent returning and the suurprise of the freshmen backs and it being the third yr for murray and the third yr for the defense in the system with nine guys back that this could be a special season but not know even if we win out and get to atlanta I don’t want to bc we will get killed on national tv again. I have no faith in this staff or these players to perform on the big stage and I figure florida is gonna beat our heads in they were very physical yesterday.

Lord Saban

October 7th, 2012
3:29 pm

Flo-Ri-Duh,

If, if, if, and if monkeys could fly. Dude your team simply got dominated and destroyed. Plain and simple. And when you meet up with a resurgent Florida squad you can expect the gators to go back to their old habit of kicking the crap out of the dawgs. You guys were wayyyy overrated from the start after beating up on a bunch of nobodys.

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:30 pm

Flo – Ri – Duh
August 16th, 2012
9:58 am
Muschamp – two more years and thrown on the Zooker trash heap…….. next! Good recruiter BUT crappy head coach. 4 to 5 losses this year and on the HOT seat.

:roll:

What else do you have to add????

dawgs01

October 7th, 2012
3:31 pm

I am so tired of seeing us in the fourth quarter getting in a big circle and mark giving them the speech bc that usually means it was a nationally televised game and we have no shot in the fourth bc we came out the first three quarters flat as hell. Why are we always so flat and we always get embarrassed whenever we are on gameday. Espn probably thinks georgia is the most overrated team in the history of college football. Every time on college gameday the game is over in the first quarter and they are saying georgia was not ready for the big stage and I loved them calling out the coaches last night saying the players looked like they were not listening to the coaches and I believe we are about to have a bad finish to this yr

Carolina Girl

October 7th, 2012
3:35 pm

Hey Ed looks like that’s all you “Dawgs” know how to do ( you sure can’t play football !! ) hahahahahah:)))

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
3:36 pm

@Tampa Gator,
Fans like him are what give UGA the label of “most delusional fan base”. He wouldn’t know what it takes to be a winning coach if you drew him a picture.

dawgs01

October 7th, 2012
3:37 pm

I thinks our players have the feeling they can’t win the big game so its like we have lost befor it started mark does not seem to care. Last night he said its just one loss. He should have apologized for embarrassing the school on national tv and making everyone think it was gonna be a good game. Its the way we loss this game no heart no clue no pride once we got knocked down we have no fight no respect for the coaches from the players no one on the team seems to care. I wish no one would go to the next game

Lord Saban

October 7th, 2012
3:39 pm

Fans like him are what give UGA the label of “most delusional fan base”.

And here I thought it was only Bama fans who thought that about the dawg fans.

Lew

October 7th, 2012
3:40 pm

Fire the whole coching staff!!!

Lord Saban

October 7th, 2012
3:42 pm

Fans like him are what give UGA the label of “most delusional fan base”

Yep.

Bart

October 7th, 2012
3:42 pm

Kirby!Kirby!Kirby!Kirby!Kirby!

MrDan

October 7th, 2012
3:47 pm

Finish the drill? Finish the drill? Are you kiddin’ me? Finish the drill?

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:47 pm

How many Dawg fans thought Florida would be ranked #4 and Georgia #14 right now?????

80sDawg

October 7th, 2012
3:49 pm

Why is it after a statement game, we have this same argument about Richt? How many years in a row has he let us down in big games? I’m sure I’ll be making this same statement 365 days from now.

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
3:49 pm

October 7th, 2012
3:47 pm

How many Dawg fans thought Florida would be ranked #4 and Georgia #14 right now?????

Honestly, I don’t think anyone did…including me.

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:50 pm

I really do think it is time for Georgia to make a change as their head coach. And I think Kirby Smart would be better able to manage and coach up the top recruits he would gather at Georgia. But I hope neither happens….for obvious reasons.

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:51 pm

Yep…..Beast…….I remember you telling Dawg fans….and me…..this past summer that the Gators were a year or two away from being a top team again. I remember challenging you on that one several times at the time.

Lord Saban

October 7th, 2012
3:52 pm

Keep Mark Rich! Keep Mark Richt! Keep Mark Richt!

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:53 pm

It is weird seeing Hill on the Falcon sidelines instead of the Fresno State sideline. But he is doing a good job here.

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
3:54 pm

opps…..posting to the wrong site….flipping back and forth with the Falcons. Sorry.

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
3:55 pm

Tampa Gator,
Still lots of football to be played, but this Gator team is light years better than the last two versions. Our defense should be able to give us a chance against anyone we play. Still need major improvement in the passing game, but I think that will come as the season progresses.

Fan

October 7th, 2012
3:55 pm

I wish Mark Richt would do the right thing and step down. He had no business getting an extension last year. The guy is never going to win a NC. How much evidence do you need? The dude had Matt Stafford and A.J. Green on the same team and couldn’t even win the SEC East. How does the talent at UGA get dominated by South Carolina? Are you kidding me? South Carolina? I’ve been critical of Murray for a while now but I’m starting to think his poor play is due to poor coaching. He may turn out to be quality pro once he gets real coaching at the next level.

Bobby

October 7th, 2012
3:59 pm

Fire Al Groh! Oops, sorry wrong board.

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
3:59 pm

“I wish Mark Richt would do the right thing and step down. ”

Why would anyone walk away from $3.5 million a year with no accountability whatsoever? Get real!

Sick and tired

October 7th, 2012
4:00 pm

“We have the players & coaching staff to have a great year.” It’s attitudes like this that keep this crap happening every year. We will never win big games with these coaches!! Open your eyes people! Look at our record against ranked teams since 2008. It speaks for itself. 2-14 and you are ok with that?

old dog

October 7th, 2012
4:01 pm

Yes we got our butts beat really good. Let’s see how things play out before we do anything rash. Recruting well we did get Marshell and Gurley. Blasting the coaching staff is not going to help recruting. So we go 11-1 UGA didn’t make the schedule the SEC office did. I have been watching UGA football for 55 years and I don’t like to loose. Put this one behind us and if we drop one to FLA then it might time to evaluate the program. As to fan support the Athletic Office knows they will sell the tickets. In todays college football world there is only one BAMA today. No one else will go undefeated. Just be glad you don’t support LSU now that is a program with tallent and problems.

Beast from the East

October 7th, 2012
4:03 pm

Ok, I’m done piling on. Rally behind your players, Dawgs, but you all need to demand more from your coaching staff if this re-occurring nightmare is ever going to end.

Hanky Panky

October 7th, 2012
4:07 pm

DRAFT JON GRUDEN TO BE UGA’S NEXT HEAD COACH.

HIRE HINES WARD AS AN ASSISTANT. ADD OTHER ASSISTANTS WHO ARE PROVEN CHAMPIONS AT THE PRO AND COLLEGIATE LEVEL.

HIRE JON GRUDEN FOR UGA HEAD COACH.

Gamecock Grrrrrl

October 7th, 2012
4:12 pm

1) UGA has the worst fair-weather fans in the entire SEC
2) Will USC be East Champs this year? I don’t know….they still haven’t played anyone yet….
3) Comical how no UGA fans want to give credit where credit is due….Carolina just “got lucky” again I guess

Blame on Dawgs, blame on….

Gamecock Grrrrrl

October 7th, 2012
4:17 pm

1) UGA has the worst fair-weather fans in the SEC
2) Will Carolina win SEC East? I don’t know…we still haven’t played anyone yet…..
3) Dawg fans are delusional – yeah, Carolina just got lucky “again” – they are a mediocre team at best – can’t give credit where credit is due.

Blame on Dawgs, blame on….meanwhile, the rest of the SEC is surpassing you, top 5 recruiting classes be damned.

Rick James

October 7th, 2012
4:19 pm

If people who make hiring decisions thought Kirby was so Smart he would be a head coach by now..I dont hear his name being mentioned for the Arkansas job.I hearing Charlie Strong.He didnt get the Florida job nor the Tennesee job.Why do so many people think he would be Georgia’s savior? He rides Saban’s coat tails for a living.Why would he leave that job? And we all know who really coaches Alabama’s defense..

Slow down, folks

October 7th, 2012
4:20 pm

Athens resident, 20+++ year ticket holder. The year still can be a really good year, BUT…after last night watching GA and watching FLA, Jax will be, in my opinion, a bad experience for Dog fans.
We have athletes galore, probably 20 players or more on the roster, including underclassmen, that will be on NFL rosters someday soon. We havent beaten a ranked team since, what, ‘07? It’s one thing to lose to a ranked team, it’s another to continually look unprepared and totally outmanned against USC, LSU, Boise State, Bama, etc…
Our athletes, facilities, and, not least of all, ticket prices and money generated deserve more! Had we lost 35-21 or 35-28 and been competitive throughout, I’d be willing to say ‘what a game’. As it is, I can only say ‘what a mess’.

Slow down, folks

October 7th, 2012
4:27 pm

Our facilities, our athletes, and our revenues would seem to dictate that we should be able to compete against the USC, LSU, Boise States, and Florida’s of the world. Those facilities, athletes, etc..are all second to none in the SEC, which means college football. No wins against ranked teams since ‘07 would seem to indicate that, much as I hate to admit it, something needs to be done to reenergize the program. McGarity spent a long time as #2 man at Fla. He’s used to seeing championships won. He’ll handle this well.

Eternal Optimist

October 7th, 2012
4:28 pm

Wait till next year! Dawgs will run the table and win national title! Fire Bobo!

USC GAMEC0CK

October 7th, 2012
4:33 pm

Hello, it was a great game

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
4:35 pm

Rick James….

That was not a veryinformed post. A lot of people came after Smart recently….and Bama threw a ton of money at him to keep him on the staff. And Kirby coaches the defense during the game….not Saban. But….obviously…..Saban sets the tone and schemes of the Bama defense. But Smart has learned a lot from Saban on how to run a quality college program…..as did Muschamp from Saban and Brown at Texas…..and Smart will be someone teams continue to go after as a head coach….but Bama will most likely continue to throw money at him to keep him….because he is a very good coach….and he would make a very good head coach.

Tampa Gator

October 7th, 2012
4:38 pm

You people yelling for John Gruden to become the Georgia coach……do realize that Jon Gruden is a huge Florida Gator fan and told Jeremy Foley that he does not want to coach at the college level….mainly because of the riggors of recruiting. But I am sure 10 mil a year for 10 years could change his mind……

Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville

October 7th, 2012
4:41 pm

I really would like to hear from:

Columbus

Altamaha Dawg

Truth?

Lobosolo

Hopefully they made it back from the Jedi Kool-aid temple to give us so more insightful reasons as to how great our coaching staff is

dmr

October 7th, 2012
4:47 pm

For all of you ridiculous dumb asses looking for another head coach….GIVE ME A NAME. Give me a name that you think can fill the shoes of Richt. I am not defending what happened in S.C. Although if you don’t recognize that South Carolina has one of the most talented defensive fronts in the Country, you know nothing about football. So, give me a name. Don’t just say fire someone. Tell me who you replace him with. I bet none of you can come up with a viable candidate. Someone who would be interested in Georgia and someone who Georgia would be interested in as well. Go ahead….give it to me.

Blah, Blah, Blah

October 7th, 2012
4:47 pm

A lot of puff and palaver on this message board. A tempest in a teacup. The only salient fact is that UGA sucks and that CMR should have been dismissed yesterday. He would probably make a fairly good high school coach. Retiring UGA President Mikey Adams is a clueless, ineffectual leader, so the deadwood starts right at the top of the tree. McGarrity was the wrong hire for A.D. as he doesn’t have a nut sack. What about the defensive coordinator? Offensive coordinator? It’s elementary management principles people and we are sorely lacking in this regard. Can you even imagine Nick Sabin putting the kind of clueless product on the field that UGA did last night? At this moment we are a national laughing stock, but the Georgia fan base doesn’t have the will to rise up and demand change.

Vampire Bill

October 7th, 2012
4:50 pm

Really disappointed that dawgs are still ranked. Would love to see them dumped from 5 to Nothing.

Hey let the truth out. Dawgs are pitiful.

slydog

October 7th, 2012
4:50 pm

There is only one coach for Georgia: Charlie Strong. Kirby Smart does not have the experience but he would be a very close second. In order of interview preference:

1. Charlie Strong
2. Tommy Tuberville (probably will be in Arkansas by Christmas)
3. Kirby Smart
4. Art Bryles
5. Mike Leach
6. Gus Malzahn

Unfortunately, the ‘realistic’ Georgia fans will have to wait another season and a half before McGarity will even consider making a move. The night of the Red Panty’s, I knew this football program would continue to suffer under the careless, listless, Richt for another 5 seasons. Damon Evans, empowered by a new contract, would have canned this dude and Charlie Strong would be the coach right now. McGarity better hurry, cause Tech is developing the same short list (Malzahn would be perfect for them). But alas, there is sunshine coming. The University of Georgia will be getting a new President come January. YYYEEESSSS!!!!

The Truth

October 7th, 2012
4:51 pm

FIRE RICHT AND HIS ENTIRE STAFF!