For Mark Richt and Georgia, the moment is finally at hand
Twelve years a Bulldog, Mark Richt's breakthrough chance comes Saturday. (AP photo by David Goldman)
Mark Richt apprenticed at Florida State when the Seminoles played for five national championships in eight seasons, and he came to Athens expecting more of the same. “That was the plan coming in,” he said Friday, “but it hasn’t happened yet.”
It could well happen Saturday. If Richt’s team wins the SEC championship game, the plan will have come to fruition. Twelve years Georgia’s coach, Richt has never been so close to playing for the BCS title. Twelve years Georgia’s coach, the path finally is clear.
A coach can never know when, or if, his moment will arrive. Richt had great early success – three division titles and two SEC championships in his first five years – and then he had rather less. We began to wonder if a fine career could ever bring the ultimate validation. Well, it’s there to be seized under the off-white roof of the Georgia Dome, there to be seized in the kind of game Richt has waited all his life to coach.
Beat Alabama, and Georgia will play Notre Dame for the national championship. “I don’t want to minimize the importance of the SEC (title),” said Richt, speaking at a media briefing, “but that (the BCS) does add a lot more juice.”
A program that went years without defeating an opponent of true consequence now gets its shot at the opponent of greatest consequence. Alabama is the gold standard of college football, and Bama is favored by a touchdown. But the feeling of those close to the Tide is that this is Nick Saban’s least imposing team of the past four – two of which have won national championships – and that Georgia is at least a match in talent.
There’s also this: A mighty wind has stationed itself at Georgia’s back. On Oct. 6, the Bulldogs lost at South Carolina 35-7, and no national-champion-to-be has ever lost by 28 points. But every week since has brought nothing but glad tidings to Georgia hearts. Consider:
- Oct. 13: The Bulldogs don’t play, but are buoyed by South Carolina’s loss at LSU.
- Oct. 20: The Bulldogs barely beat Kentucky, but the bigger news is that South Carolina has lost again, this time at Florida. Georgia has the opening it needs to win the Eastern Division.
- Oct. 27: The Bulldogs beat the hated Gators to move to the top of the SEC East.
- Nov. 3: The Bulldogs beat Ole Miss and then see Alabama, which some were suggesting was good enough to handle an NFL team, barely escape at LSU.
- Nov. 10: The Bulldogs beat Auburn to clinch the East in game that begins an hour after Texas A&M upsets Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
- Nov. 17: The Bulldogs beat Georgia Southern, and much later they watch as Kansas State, ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings, and Oregon, ranked No. 2, both lose. Georgia ascends to No. 3 the next day, rendering the SEC championship against No. 2 Alabama a BCS play-in.
- Nov. 24: The Bulldogs pound Georgia Tech like a kettledrum.
Over seven giddy weeks, Georgia grew from a puzzling aggregation into a powerful one. Said Richt: “We have a lot of momentum.”
A month ago, the Bulldogs didn’t figure to stand a chance against mighty Bama. Today they’re seen by most neutral observers as a live underdog with a real chance, and even those picking the Tide are doing it largely because of the Tide’s experience in games of such magnitude. But this is a younger Bama team, and true eminence could be a year away.
For Georgia, both gifted and seasoned, a grand opportunity is at hand – an opportunity denied this program since the Bulldogs faced Penn State on Jan. 1, 1983. It was Herschel Walker’s last night as an amateur, and for 30 years Bulldog Nation has waited, not entirely patiently, for another chance at another national title.
For those long-suffering fans, for a coach who once seemed to have run out of ideas, for a team that was routed in its first real test of 2012 … for everyone involved with Georgia football, the moment has arrived. One massive game against one formidable opponent, one Dawg day of deliverance. Georgia 27, Alabama 20.
By Mark Bradley
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381 comments Add your comment
no dawg
November 30th, 2012
9:46 pm
Discount DoubleDawg Atter the beat down You can always say wait to next year.
indianaDawgfan
November 30th, 2012
9:47 pm
Bama Fans, you know this is your future. If you win tomorrow, a rich booster from one of the SEC schools will find where your guys paid for some of those kids. You want to deny it, but deep down you know it’s true. And Saban is not Bear Bryant. He didn’t hear “mama callin” when he was hired. He’s restless and he’s only happy when he’s unhappy. So whether you win tomorrow or not, you’ve pissed too many people off. And Notre Dame will beat you because you are Alabama and they are Notre Dame. You lose to Notre Dame in games like that. Ask your daddies and granddaddies. Ask Oklahoma. And believe me, I hate Notre Dame.
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
9:49 pm
@Roy
It’s pretty obvious that you’ve never seen AJ McCarron play football. You’ll get your chance tomorrow.
Discount DoubleDawg
November 30th, 2012
9:49 pm
big game, did you and no dawg both drop out of tech together? hurts to be a techie doesn’t it? Envy and insecurity obviously rule your world. With every post of yours I smile because of what it says about you.
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
9:50 pm
indianaDawgfan: Just like Georgia Dawg Fans.
Excuses. Not only excuses… Preemptive excuses.
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
9:51 pm
We don’t play that cheezy little Tech team any more since we ran them out of the conference.
Discount DoubleDawg
November 30th, 2012
9:51 pm
no dawg- I could say that, but you can’t. the envy and insecurity is about to boil over isn’t it?
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
9:54 pm
I feel pretty good. Dawgs know, deep down inside… They have a natural ability to sense the presence of the Alpha.
Bama owns the Dome. They may be wearing white, but they’ll have the home team advantage tomorrow.
t2go
November 30th, 2012
9:55 pm
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1244434.html
Here comes the BOOM!!
Sierra Dawg
November 30th, 2012
9:57 pm
I seem to recall that the last time Nick Saban brought a highly-ranked, heavily-favored team to the SEC Championship game to play Richt’s Dawgs, he got slobberknocked – and good. I also believe Richt has won 2 of his last 3 against Bama’s legend-in-waiting. That one loss to Saban in 2008 was a tale of two halves. Yes, Bama ran out to a 31-0 halftime lead, but UGA roared back 30-10 in the second half. It was not the ass-kicking Bama folks like to describe. The last 5 minutes of the game, Saban was the most worried-looking coach I’ve ever seen.
The thought of playing a Saban team may scare many coaches silly, but it doesn’t seem to intimidate CMR. I’d also remind folks that the recent seasons where UGA has under-performed, Mark’s wife was battling cancer. Who the hell wouldn’t lose their edge? Someone human, anyway. I feel like Mark has his focus back this year, and I expect a great game tomorrow. If Bama is the least bit overconfident and living their own press, the Dawgs are likely to slap them silly before they have a clue what’s happening.
t2go
November 30th, 2012
9:58 pm
Dawgs D is SOFT!!!!
Go Dawgs!!!
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
9:58 pm
Mark Richt has already lost this game by failing to prepare to win it. It’s just a matter of time now.
Sleep tight li’l Dawggies!
no dawg
November 30th, 2012
9:59 pm
Discount DoubleDawg You thinking GA can actually beat ALABAMAsays a lot about your mental status.
Roy
November 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
@ Big Game, I don’t see how you can say Bama owns the Dome since they haven’t been since 2009.
ARdawg
November 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
Under the Bleachers
No worries there guy, it’s all good. It’s going to be a good game with two of the best teams in the country. Nothing will come easy or cheap. The best team will win.
I believe we will stop your running game and McCarron will be pressured to perform. The bigger question is can your D slow our running game and put the pressure on Murray’s passing attack. I do like our chances. If Bama has a passing game we’d better see it tomorrow or your guys will lose. I don’t think you’ll beat us on the ground
indianaDawgfan
November 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
Oh no Big Game, it’s not preemptive. If you’re going to play all of the Auras, check Notre Dame’s. if you want to put stock in what happened five minutes ago, five years ago or whenever, don’t be selective. Play it ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Two things will happen. You will be on probation. This is a given. Saban will run. And Alabama will lose to Notre Dame. I’m already wondering how many of your games will be forfeited. Have someone read to you about Alabama and Notre Dame if you were born last week, okay.
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
Hide & Watch!
ARdawg
November 30th, 2012
10:02 pm
no dawg,
42-10
Roy
November 30th, 2012
10:02 pm
Bama fans on this board= Tech fans…same thing every year. Tech fans hide behind Bama’s name. They used to hide behind Auburn until we beat the crap outta them the past two years, then it was Florida but we beat them the past two years, and now it’s Alabama. But once we beat them tomorrow, they’ll turn into Notre Dame “fans”. LMAO
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
10:03 pm
Notre Dame?
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
10:04 pm
Roy,
Nobody outside of Atlanta knows or cares who the Techies even are.
Discount DoubleDawg
November 30th, 2012
10:06 pm
no dawg- my mental status does not include envy and insecurity as does yours… are you excited about tech’s big game? who is your favorite tech player? why are you on a georgia football blog? I feel sorry for you little guy
ARdawg
November 30th, 2012
10:09 pm
Big Game
November 30th, 2012
10:04 pm
Roy,
Nobody outside of Atlanta knows or cares who the Techies even are.
———————————————————
Plenty of Pakistanis and Central Asians do though
indianaDawgfan
November 30th, 2012
10:15 pm
Notre Dame is Alabama’s kryptonite. Do I think they are better? I don’t think it matters. Their history trumps yours. And they will beat you again if my long suffering Dawgs don’t do the deed tomorrow night. And I’m not saying we won’t beat you. But this is not the best team we’ve had under Richt, not by a long shot. Wouldn’t you rather lose to us? Seriously, I mean you can do something about that because you might play us again. You can’t play Notre Dame unless you have bowl eligibility, and in the near future you won’t.
tony
November 30th, 2012
10:17 pm
Are our backup qbs not learning the playbook, undercoached or just not that good? Sc is winning BIG with a 2 star backup qb(Dylan Thompson) and Connor Shaw is a 3 star qb who took down the dawgs in Columbia. What’s going on in Athens?
Under The Bleachers
November 30th, 2012
10:38 pm
Ardawg,
I am not too worried about running the ball on UGA, too many hosses for us upfront even with your big guys, but I expect Saban will use the TE’s a great deal to take your linebackers out of the seam and then pound once he gets them leaning outside for the flat routes. I think we force Murray to win the game with his arm( which he can do without pressure) and let the backs have to catch the ball to get yards. The cut back runs are what worries me the most and all of Bobo’s little trick plays he always runs a few times a game.
Good Luck and catch you after the game.
Under The Bleachers
November 30th, 2012
10:46 pm
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2012/11/scarbinsky_2.html
Nice read! Love the last two sentences, and the comment about Todd Grantham.
Under The Bleachers
November 30th, 2012
10:52 pm
From Gary Danielson this week via the NYT:
Just look at their schedule. They played Ole Miss at home, before Ole Miss really got going; Auburn, which is a disaster; they crushed Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. When other teams were playing big games Georgia was playing nobody.
That’s one side.
On the other side of ball, Alabama was considered hands-down the best team in the country, almost unbeatable. But when an opponent had a competent quarterback, Zach Mettenberger of L.S.U. or Johnny Manziel at Texas A &M, they had trouble. You wonder if Alabama has some holes in their game. They’re not as elite as they appear.
So you go into the game and the two teams have a lot of question marks. Can Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray do what Mettenberger and Manziel did? He has lost his top two receivers. Will it matter? And can Georgia’s Jarvis Jones upend AJ McCarron, the Alabama quarterback, so much that it determines the game?
Here’s the real skinny: Against every good offensive line they’ve faced, Georgia’s defense has been quite generous in the running game. They’ve given up 230+ and 300+ yards to teams that like to run the football and if you know anything about Alabama, they like to pound the rock.
The game of football is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. In the college game, that’s even more so. If you depend on the quarterback to win games for you, you’ll win most but anytime you face a squad that blocks and runs better, you’re in trouble.
Eldawg
November 30th, 2012
10:54 pm
I was at that game on Jan 1 1983. Man I’m old ha.
Roy
November 30th, 2012
10:57 pm
The fat boys will decide who wins the game. It’ll all come down to the trenches.
Jekylldog
November 30th, 2012
11:02 pm
Go Dawgs!
Eldawg
November 30th, 2012
11:04 pm
Hey underwear,
If Bama runs the ball more than 80% of the time like Tech and Ga Southern, then u got no chance.
phil
November 30th, 2012
11:07 pm
Fire CMR tonight!!
Paul in NH
November 30th, 2012
11:10 pm
Dang. – I wish I was making book on this game and running different odds for the UGA fans and the ALA fans. The UGA fans will be betting heavily at UGA -5 and the Bama fans at Bama -10. Easy money.
UGA covers but doesn’t win. UGA has more talent on D, a better QB and WRs. RBs are a wash and Bama has a better OL. Comes down to coaching (Saban over Richt) and discipline (ALA over UGA).
Bg
November 30th, 2012
11:11 pm
GO DAWGS!
South Carolina DAWGS
November 30th, 2012
11:15 pm
Thanks Mark – Your have always been faithful and sincere to MY DAWGS!!! We will win the game!!!
Fact Check Time
November 30th, 2012
11:22 pm
Time for some truth and it is going to hurt you Georgia fans.
This game will be won on the line of scrimmage and UGa has an average offensive line and a defensive line that easily gets blocked on the run. The Linebackers are known for overplaying and going off script allowing big run and 4 to 15 yard gains. In fact the level of intelligence by UGA will be what gets UGa beat. One of the starting linebackers should have never been allowed to graduate as my niece taught him in high school his sophomore year and he read on a third grade level, not making that up. Rambo has a long history of making bonehead mistakes that extends drives. The UGa defense plays on too much emotion and have shown they will quit when they get behind and physically beat up. Two weeks of practice in pads for option cut blocks has made UGa very weak legged and tired. These players have a history of being selfish as their offseason habits have proven.
This will be a physical game and Alabama is a more physical team who will line up and knock you back for sixty minutes until you quit, UGa will quit.
Now your turn to call me a Techie, or whatever name you have in your plastic cooler full of PBR. The final argument is you cannot argue with any of my points except to make some off the wall bold prediction that makes your heart feel better. Not a Techie, just a fan who pays attention to others outside the state of dawg nation.
Take your Maalox in the morning you are going to need it and have a woman in your family hide your guns.
David C
November 30th, 2012
11:29 pm
Here is the Reason that Bama wins tomorrow. Didn’t realize UGA ranks 11th in the Conference. They are even behind Kentucky in Rush Defense.
RUSHING DEFENSE
Year: 2012 Thru: 11/24/12
Rank Name Gm Carries Net Avg Tds YdsGm Win Loss Ties Natl
Rank
1 Alabama 12 392 924 2.36 7 77.00 11 1 0 2
2 Florida 12 377 1159 3.07 11 96.58 11 1 0 6
3 LSU 12 390 1222 3.13 13 101.83 10 2 0 10
4 South Carolina 12 459 1428 3.11 9 119.00 10 2 0 16
5 Arkansas 12 440 1489 3.38 21 124.08 4 8 0 21
6 Ole Miss 12 447 1600 3.58 17 133.33 6 6 0 28
7 Texas A&M 12 453 1691 3.73 18 140.92 10 2 0 39
8 Missouri 12 451 1791 3.97 26 149.25 5 7 0 49
9 Vanderbilt 12 457 1807 3.95 16 150.58 8 4 0 50
10 Kentucky 12 481 1935 4.02 25 161.25 2 10 0 63
11 Georgia 12 513 1961 3.82 13 163.42 11 1 0 67
12 Mississippi St. 12 464 1992 4.29 13 166.00 8 4 0 71
13 Tennessee 12 477 2266 4.75 25 188.83 5 7 0 89
14 Auburn 12 484 2371 4.90 23 197.58 3 9 0 96
Fair n Balanced
November 30th, 2012
11:39 pm
A clear path but we have to beat the 2 most decorated programs in college football history. It won’t be easy.
Tide Rising
November 30th, 2012
11:57 pm
Alabama’s motto. We run the ball and we stop the run. Obviously UGA can’t stop the run as the no. 11 rushing defense in the conference. That spells trouble for the dawgs against a massive Alabama O-line with 3 first round draft picks on it this year alone.
This is David vs Goliath. And this time Goliath wins.
ARdawg
December 1st, 2012
12:06 am
Fact Check Time
Your truth is nothing but rumor. Your attempt to disparage a Georgia player’s reading ability to make or press your non-point is noted. Your niece is either, making up fodder, a liar or you are. 3rd grading reading level will not get one admitted into the University of Georgia no matter how good they play football. Maybe at Tech, not Athens. Your seething hatred is evident. Rambo has a much longer history of stellar play than the bonehead mistakes you wish to accredit to him. He is a baller. No good or great player wins them all. If you had played you’d probably know that.
The UGA defense was admittedly physically “beat up” once this year at Carolina. It happens, so what? Since then they have played lights out defense. The woodshed experience of your Bugs is more proof of that. Preparing for and playing against the TO isn’t going to make a dimes worth of difference and might even prove a benefit. Time will tell, won’t it?
Not a Techie and just a fan? A fan of whom? Your hatred of UGA is evident. If you’re not a Nerd you should seriously consider changing teams. You’d make a good one.
At the end of the day, it’s just a football game. Win, lose or draw at the end of the game, there’s not a thing we can do to change it. Grow up Fact Check. Get out of your Mother’s basement and quit hating.
IlliniDawg
December 1st, 2012
12:11 am
@Roy: there just might be something to your theory. Seems awfully coincidental, that’s for sure. Bottom line, why do the haters hate so much? Must be envy of some kind.
@Gator15: Thanks for the support. Like you, I never cheer for Florida, but every time Tebow was in the BCS NC Game I wanted him to win.
Rabbit
December 1st, 2012
12:12 am
Boils down to UGA O – line vs. Bama D-line. AND takeaway vs giveaway
Go Dogs.
FLA DAWG
December 1st, 2012
12:22 am
This is indeed a defining moment. If history has taught us anything it is that (lately) Dawg Nation cannot rely on Richt.
If that is the case then we lose by 3 TD’s.
FLA DAWG
CLASS OF ‘79
I hope to hell I’m wrong. I was in N.O. in 1980 for the greatest defensive NCC Game probably ever played and I’d love to see that again!
Joe Falcon
December 1st, 2012
12:30 am
I have a crazy feeling that the Dawgs are gonna win…and not just barely, but by two touchdowns…and I think Saban knows it’s coming.
That’s why he’s already complaining about how unfair it is that the loser of the SECCG is gonna go to an inferior bowl…he wasn’t saying that because he cares about where WE wind up, I assure you.
You heard it here, first. Write it down.
IlliniDawg
December 1st, 2012
12:30 am
@TideRising: agreed, your O-Line is awesome. But tomorrow there will be four to five first rounders and two to three second rounders playing on the opposite side of scrimmage from those guys: Jones, Ogletree, Jenkins, Geathers, Williams, Commings, Rambo, and Smith.
Fact Check Time
December 1st, 2012
12:39 am
Arkie doggie,
Ogletree in Newnan, it is a known fact he is dumber than a sack of hammers in the back of your pickup truck in backwoods of Arkansas. Anyone in and around Newnan will tell you that. He was admitted on special application and his test scores are known to have been taken by someone else. It is a running joke in Newnan. Plus a known pothead!
Rambo is another who will be listed at the bottom of the NFL testing levels for thinking and comprehension. He led the league in personal fouls two years ago and three years ago. He is a Bonehead player and a selfish player.
Tennessee beat them up, Kentucky beat them up, heck even Buffalo beat them up for a half.
The stats do not lie, even tech ran the ball up and down the field on them, southern had their way for a half, ole miss had them up to two minutes to go in the 1st half…
Fat slow DL will get you beat.
IlliniDawg
December 1st, 2012
12:47 am
FatCheck: dude, why the need to disparage a bunch of college athletes? Jealous? Or just a hater. Maybe you need a timeout. But your comments sound silly. If intelligence, humility, and abstinence from weed were hard criteria for playing in the NFL, I think we’d have about half a league. Bottom line is, most of the guys on our D will be playing on Sunday next year or the year after.
Jerry Seinfeld
December 1st, 2012
1:05 am
So here’s to you, Christian Robinson, Paul Johnson’s team sucks more than you would know!
Jerry Seinfeld
December 1st, 2012
1:22 am
“Alabama’s motto. We run the ball and we stop the run. Obviously UGA can’t stop the run as the no. 11 rushing defense in the conference. That spells trouble for the dawgs against a massive Alabama O-line with 3 first round draft picks on it this year alone.”
Bama’s o-line is very good, but the rush defense stats fail to tell the whole story. The run defense has improved drastically in the second half of the season, but the numbers are still bad because of their performance in the first half of the season. Kentucky and Tennessee both ran the ball very well on our defense, but look at what Florida’s running backs and quarterback did running against us. Almost nothing. About 70 yards rushing. They held Jeff Scott of Ole Miss to almost nothing. The defense overachieved the first half of the season for some reason, but you have to acknowledge the improvement they have made against pro-style rush offenses.