Unless it beats the Gators, UGA will be a 10-2 underachiever
"Wait just a doggone minute! Isn't that the signal for the infield fly?" (AJC photo by Bob Andres)
At the absolute worst, Georgia figures to finish its regular season 10-2. Just last year, a 10-2 regular season yielded an SEC East title and bought Mark Richt a contract extension and was taken as a sign that Georgia football was on the ascent. To go 10-2 again, assuming this 10-2 includes a loss to Florida and the absence of another division title, would be taken as an abject reversal.
Here’s where the Bulldogs’ bunny schedule serves as both boon and burden. Georgia still must play Kentucky, Ole Miss, Auburn and Georgia Tech; the aggregate record of those teams is 7-16. The Bulldogs also will face Georgia Southern, which plays at a lesser level. If Georgia beats those five but loses to Florida, it will be described, oddly but accurately, as a 10-2 underachiever.
When the Bulldogs were going 8-5 in 2009 and 6-7 the next season, the question became: Would they ever win big again? They’ve since gone 15-5, which would seem to offer an answer, but in light of the drubbing administered by South Carolina we note there can be a difference between Winning Big and Winning Big Games. Georgia has come to occupy the space between.
Its last victory over a Top 10 team came when it defeated No. 7 Georgia Tech on Nov. 28, 2009. The Bulldogs last beat an SEC team ranked in the Top 10 on Oct. 27, 2007 (No. 9 Florida in the Gator Stomp game). Their last victory over anybody in the top five came against No. 5 Auburn on Nov. 11, 2006. Since Oct. 30, 2008, Georgia is 4-13 against ranked opposition, and three of those times the Bulldogs were the higher-ranked team.
Coming off their 2011 turnaround, these Bulldogs figured to have much working for them: A fourth-year junior at quarterback, nine defensive starters who are either seniors or juniors and, above all, the softest of schedules. But when you play so few games against opponents of comparable worth and you lose them all, that schedule turns against you. It makes you seem a team that is, as Lou Holtz once said, living a lie.
It would one be one thing if the Bulldogs were capable of no more, if the only thing enabling them to be ranked at all was the canny maximization of modest resources. But you cannot recruit at such an exalted level and then claim personnel bankruptcy. There aren’t 10 more talented teams in the land. So why, when it comes time to step up in class, does Georgia invariably flunk?
We cannot help but look to the coach. It’s his program. He hired these high-salaried assistants, recruited these star-spangled players. And isn’t as if Richt has never won a Big Game: From 2002 through Jan. 1, 2008, Georgia was 22-10 against ranked opponents. It is 6-14 since. It has become the classic bully: It terrorizes the small fry but turns tail when the big boys show up.
After winning the East last year, the Bulldogs faced No. 1 LSU and lost 42-10. After rising to No. 5 in the land this season, they played South Carolina in Columbia and lost 35-7. That’s a 60-point spread in prove-it games, and the latter loss was truly alarming. Georgia wasn’t ready to handle a team like LSU last season, but 1o months later it was even less prepared for what the Gamecocks unleashed. Isn’t experience supposed to be a teaching tool?
Maybe it can still be one. This year isn’t over. If Georgia can beat Florida, there’s a chance the Bulldogs can again win the East. South Carolina would have to lose twice, but its next two games are against LSU and Florida on the road. Even so, the sight of the Gators again on the rise is surely disquieting: Of the four times Georgia has won the SEC East, three came in Year 1 after a Florida coaching change, and the fourth was in Ron Zook’s final season. This is Year 2 for Will Muschamp, and Florida just climbed to No. 4 in the Associated Press poll.
Having lost three in a row to South Carolina, Georgia has already fallen behind the Gamecocks in both standings and hierarchy. If Florida jumps back ahead of the Bulldogs, the Richt renaissance will have been the briefest of moments. His program will be in danger of falling into the hole from which he once rescued it: That time in the ’90s when Florida and Tennessee owned the division and Georgia, under Ray Goff and Jim Donnan, was relegated to third place.
This looked to be the season Richt and his Bulldogs consolidated their hold on the division, and they might yet. But anything less than an East title would rekindle all those questions about Richt. There’s no way Georgia would move to fire a coach who wins 10 games two years running; there’s also no way the second 10-2 would feel half as good as the first.
At some point Georgia has to answer the question, “Yeah, but who did you beat?” And that answer cannot continue to be, “Well, there was that Tech game back in ‘09 …”
By Mark Bradley
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987 comments Add your comment
Dawg-Gawn
October 8th, 2012
5:50 pm
UGA plays in the SEC where on any given Saturday either team is capable of winning that game, At the end of the season I doubt there will be to many undefeated SEC teams remaining. You UGA fans that are complaining need to get your expectations in line with reality because perfection is an unrealistic goal!
UGA started the season with five suspended players on our defense it’s been hashed and talked about since spring… I am not sure how much that hurt the defense but one thing I am sure of it didn’t help anything! A lot of defensive players are playing hurt Jarvis Jones is not 100% well from a groin pull, Abry Jones still has a hurt ankle and John Jenkins has a pulled tendon in his arm… not trying to make excuses but the fact these guys are playing their hearts out for UGA while fans sit in an EZ chair.
Rule of thumb for any team, when things start to go bad…. never point the finger, just be sure you do your job to the best of your ability. This should include fans… if you are going to be a fan when they win how about being that same fan when they lose! Do you really think the defense can play every single game limiting the opposition to just one first down in a half just because it was done once against LSU – clearly unrealistic expectations!
On the punt to Ace Sanders that was returned for a TD, I could clearly see a block in the back on #88 Arthur Lynch on SC’s 40 yard line that the referee’s missed. A lot of things happened in this game that didn’t go UGA’s way… it is what it is the score will always be 35-7 we can not change that but what we can change is how we react after the game and that is what is so embarrassing to me!
Fan-Up Dawg fans and Man up… quit pointing the finger unless you’re looking in the mirror because you yourself had unrealistic expectations and out of line with reality!
Win or Lose I….
“BELIEVE” in the “G”
“Our Team” “Our Time” “No Regrets”
“Stick with Richt”
JB
October 8th, 2012
5:53 pm
Carolina may have to do something this year they haven’t done in 100 years of playing football………………Buy a trophy case.
Tdawgmoney
October 8th, 2012
5:53 pm
MB has a way of being terribly fickle…..jumping on and off bandwagons at an alarming rate.. However, I cannot (as much as I would like) disagree with a single point made here. Underperformance has become our “1 word Mantra”. Ironically, it was (then UF) Spurrier himself who once quipped that the dawgs always recruit the top players, but don’t get top results. My single biggest question is…….how can we be so overmatched and so underprepared in ALL phases of this our biggest game of the year????
JB
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
I think this year the pollsters have learned their lesson. Fool me once.
Bob
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
Maybe Richt doesn’t need to be fired. After reading many of the posts on here, I’m thinking that these “loyal UGA fans” actually have a love affair with mediocrity. I think he should have been fired four years ago. Just my opinion.
Beast from the East
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
GB,
To be fair, Spurrier’ teams had some serious injuries in several of those years and little quality depth to step up. He has that ow, so I suspect you won’t continue to see results like that.
JB
October 8th, 2012
5:55 pm
I hate we were exposed to the country as #5. Maybe 35.
Johnny Robinson
October 8th, 2012
5:56 pm
In my opinion if any team goes 10-2 that is a good year. The team shouldn’t be held accountable because there are 2 teams they played that were extremely exceptionally. That is the downfall of athletics. Unreasonable expectations.
Go ahead, Fire Richt and give him his huge buyout package. He will laugh all the way to the bank and have another job before the ink on the termination papers dry.
JB
October 8th, 2012
5:57 pm
How bout it Beast. We are playing out as usual and Florida seems to be playing a lot better ball. Muschamp may work out yet.
Bob
October 8th, 2012
5:57 pm
The Braves need a change of losing culture just like the Dawgs need a change. Don’t fire Richt, just make him your recruiting guru…he can still recruit.
JB
October 8th, 2012
5:58 pm
Damn Johnny, you kin to Michael Adams?
Bob
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
@Johnny…how many of the last two UGA coaches that were fired got good coaching jobs? Or even a coaching job? Richt is done and the other schools know it.
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
And by the way Johnny, Richt’s new contract last year protects the University for McGarity has little confidence of a major turn around.
The Truth
October 8th, 2012
6:01 pm
Fire Mike Bobo. Plain and simple. Any coach at this point would be an upgrade. If that doesn’t happen, then fire Mark Richt because he’s the one holding on to Mike Boobo,
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:02 pm
Bingo Bob…..If you can’t win big in Athens with all the talent and resources available…..Where are you going win big.
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:03 pm
Boy I know the Picadilly on Piedmont sorry to see Al Groh go, just say’n.
Beast from the East
October 8th, 2012
6:05 pm
JB,
We’re all very pleased with Muschamp. He’s building a hard-nosed group that plays as a team. I’m sure we’ll drop a game or two this season, but this team is head shoulders better than the last two editions we’ve seen. He made 2 GREAT hires in the OC (Pease) and the S&C (Dillman) that have been instrumental in the turnaround. Fun to watch the Gators again!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:05 pm
Its a good thing we schedule 10 games a year that are almost sure wins
If we didnt
I wouldnt be able to wear my 10 Win National Title T-shirt every year
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:07 pm
Muschamp gets it
He fired an OC that wasnt getting it done
at UGA we give pay raises and contract extensions for poor coaching
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:08 pm
OK GUYS, so who is out there better? Really Who? Anyone who has watch this program grow from REAL MEDIOCRE teams of Donnan and Goff, appreciates everything Richt has done/doing.
You guys act like there is better out there. THEN WHO? and how long till they leave for another job because you will just call for his head too!
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:10 pm
so flat tire, IF Muschamp win 75% of his games in 12 years will you want to fire him too? Just wondering
Beast from the East
October 8th, 2012
6:10 pm
Flat,
I wish I could say that he fired Fat Charlie, but the truth is that Kansas hired him as their HC. I guess they figured they could save some money since he could wear the same clothes that Jaba Mangino wore!
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:11 pm
Beast, we gotta guy with 12 years in who will win 80% of regular season games last year and this year, and about 72% in the SEC. That being said, we are Clemson in the Ken Hatfield era. Winning 8-9 games or so to wussies. Beat to a pulp by real teams and go bowling every year. Tough to fire a guy from folks on the outside looking in. People who follow this program know the problems.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:14 pm
So
Real Dawgs Fan
If you pay a CEO a top 10 salary and he cant beat his competitors do you still keep him employed
Keep drinking the kool-aid
SSI Gator Eats Idiot Sandwiches
October 8th, 2012
6:14 pm
And if Georgia beats Florida Richt will end up 11-1
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:14 pm
just wondering
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:15 pm
At most football schools, the HC looks at Assit. Coach’s for results. We look at ours to make sure the school bus route is acceptable to them for their kids. Big difference…….Richt key point from Saturday night………” Well, we all lost together”……..Really coach? That’s it?
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:16 pm
So to get this straight, we should rotate in coaching staffs every 3-4 years (like every other program)
hoping that we stumble across the next Saban, or we can go w/ a proven winner and support him in hopes of developing one. Lets’ not forget how many jobs Saban has had. Great coaches are in high demand, just because we get one doesn’t mean we KEEP them. They will probably run to another job the 1st time we lose and everyone calls for his Head
He Hate Gator
October 8th, 2012
6:16 pm
Hey RDF….many here suggested the current Fla head coach for the Ga job but people like you want to keep Richt. Kirby Smart will move on to Auburn or Arkansas while we keep beating up the creampuffs that Richt is building his resume’ on. There is no shortage of coaches out there….
Beast from the East
October 8th, 2012
6:16 pm
JB,
Yeah, it’s a dilemma. Adams, McGarity and the big money boosters will have to decide when enough is enough. I think Richt has proven that he won’t be able to bring any crystal footballs home, but he does win enough to stay employed.
Red Panties
October 8th, 2012
6:17 pm
Rambo, the most overrated DB in America——all those int’s last year came on tipped balls where he was out of position, but they deflected to him. Against SC they beat him twice for TD’s and he missed alot of tackles, unless they were already out of bounds.
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:17 pm
Get Realistic Flat Tire, WHO do we hire then?
Tommy
October 8th, 2012
6:17 pm
LOL….yeah, good luck with that. Beat Florida; that’s pretty funny, Mark. You’re killing me.
Cedrick
October 8th, 2012
6:18 pm
Let me say this right off the bat and not mix any words. The team I saw play for 4 qtrs against South Carolina was bad and there is “NO WAY IN HELL THEY GONNA BEAT FLORIDA”!!!!!!!
CMR, Bobo, & Grantham all were outcoached AGAIN for the 3rd YEAR IN A ROW by Spurrier and his staff. I don’t blame Spurrier for taking pop shots at UGA cause he has dominated the Dawgs for the last 3 years!!
CMR wants us to believe in what he is doing and it wil all work out. Well tell me just how many BCS title games has UGA played in since he has been coaching the what last 11 years that would be ZERO.
My point is its always wait till next year for CMR’s teams and every year they have been a no-show in big games. Murray has never beaten a ranked opponent in a big game like this past weekend. How many more years are we not going to reach the pinnacle like Alabama or FLorida???
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:20 pm
How many games did we win every year before RICHT?
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:20 pm
Real Dawg Fan…………………. Do you ever chart things in life? Chart this football program the last 4 years. 12 years. Almost 36 million dollars. We just got beat to a pulp by a coach who is coaching a program who we used to own, in a state with 75% less talent than this state, with half the money. Nothing has changed in South Carolina BUT SPURRIER. It starts at the top.
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:20 pm
Oh i bet half of you weren’t even fans when we really sucked
slydog
October 8th, 2012
6:21 pm
HIRE CHARLIE STRONG HIRE CHARLIE STRONG HIRE CHARLIE STRONG
Kirby Smart will just be learning on the job for the first time. You can’t fire Richt for a rookie HC if your rationale is Richt is doing less with more talent. You must get a guy with some experience as a HC and specific knowledge of the SEC. The other thing about Kirby Smart is this: Is that really his defensive scheme or is it Saban’s? You see, the problem isn’t BoBo as opposed to the fact that Richt is his only big time coaching job mentor, UGA is his only job, and it’s not his playbook. Sounds like Kirby Smart to me at Alabama. Just sayin!!!!!!!
Big Wally
October 8th, 2012
6:21 pm
We have a coaching staff that has lost their fire. They are all making huge salaries and are not putting in the hours that it takes to be a solid, consistent winner. The coaches have gotten fat and lazy. There is no way anyone can say that this team was even half way prepared last Saturday night. Shaw is a running quarterback, yet we acted shocked every time he ran the ball. Our left Off. Tackle could not block sunlight, yet the coaching staff gave him little if no help at all on the SC Def. End. No game plan, no film study, these coaches are just going through the motions.
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:22 pm
Say JB who should we hire then? Let’s just rotate coaches every 3 years to appease people like you
Predictor
October 8th, 2012
6:22 pm
Florida???
I can’t see this team beating Ole Miss.
He Hate Gator
October 8th, 2012
6:22 pm
RDF, you’re the one living in fantasy land if you think there isn’t someone who could come in here and do a better job with the talent. Richt would go 10-2 or 9-3 with the current Alabama roster. Richt is a good offensive coordinator, good recruiter, but a mediocre head coach….1-9 record against similarly talented teams is coaching. One would expect at least a near .500 record if coaching was at least equal…
GATA
October 8th, 2012
6:22 pm
Going against conventional thought here, but what the hell. Gators beat a good but highly overrated LSU team (mediocre qb and without honey badger and others). Richt will somehow rally the troops and the Dawgs will win in Jax. So rather than 10-2 and backing into the SECC, they will go 11-1, but Carolina runs the table and loses to Bama in Atl.
Real Dawgs Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:23 pm
And thats assuming that we can keep this NEXT GREAT COACH, Saban has had like 5 jobs in 15 years, is that what we are after?
Huh?
October 8th, 2012
6:23 pm
It’s amazing what UGA’s undressing on national tv has done to UGA fans…it’s turned them into rational, tolerable people.
Everybody outside of the state of UGA saw what happened last year. UGA went 10-4. Now, most fans saw it for what it was…that is, that UGA lost to the only 4 decent teams it played. However, most UGA fans could only talk about “winning 10 straight games…” UGA fans were in a frenzy talking about how good they were.
So this year rolls around, and fans are once again at fever pitch because UGA was 5-0. They would not listen to you if you tried to talk to them about the fact that none of the teams they had beaten were any good. Then UGA gets embarrassed by SC, and UGA fans now see what we have all seen for years…it’s a miracle.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:23 pm
Real Dawgs Fan
Get Realistic who are we going to hire….. really?
LOL
I wish FL and AL had your attitude of WHO ARE We going to hire
Those programs demand championships and will continue to hire and fire until they get a champion
This is why I heard all morning and afternoon from sports pundits at how they dont understand how the UGA fanbase continues to put up with mediocrity
Its fans like you who have made this program a continued national embarrassment
JB
October 8th, 2012
6:24 pm
Beast, Richt’s new contract last year was not a vote of confidence. Little was said about it in the press, but it has like a 2 year tops buyout, which is chump change. The Athletic dept has 60 mil in the Bank. It took him 6 months to sign it. It was a shot over the bow IMO
Football guy
October 8th, 2012
6:24 pm
Funny how Uga season ALWAYS comes down to that.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 8th, 2012
6:25 pm
Real Dawgs Fan
Get Realistic who are we going to hire….. really?
LOL
I wish FL and AL had your attitude of WHO ARE We going to hire
Those programs demand championships and will continue to hire and fire until they get a champion
Vance
October 8th, 2012
6:26 pm
I have lost confidence in this coaching staff to produce champions. We’ll get our 10 wins…I think UF will beat us…again..sigh. Richt will keep his job, and the agony of “almost, but not quite there” will continue until the Dawg nation finally says enough. I love CMR and hope for the best, but I no longer expect it from him or his staff. He has tried really hard to do everything he can to bring us a championship, but he’s outcoached in the big games. If we can live with this level, he stays, otherwise, the Dawg nation’s patience will finally express itself. It’s very painful to observe.