Branden Smith not expected to play against Vols; Stripling’s season over
A couple of injury updates:
Georgia expects to be without cornerback-punt returner Branden Smith for Saturday’s game against Tennessee in Sanford Stadium.
Smith suffered a concussion in the first half of the Colorado game, his second in the past three weeks.
“I don’t think he’ll play” this week,” coach Mark Richt said Sunday.
Also, Richt said freshman linebacker T.J. Stripling, who left the Colorado game with a knee injury, will undergo surgery this week to repair a torn patellar tendon.
Richt said Stripling won’t play again this season but should make a full recovery. Stripling has been playing on special teams.
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342 comments Add your comment
College Football Expert
October 3rd, 2010
9:32 pm
UGA will win at least one more game this season. Well, maybe. No chance they will beat Aub, GT, UF, or UT.
SteveW
October 3rd, 2010
9:33 pm
We were already short at corner – Willie had been recruiting kinda poorly there – now Branden out, we lost Nickell Robey just before signing day – CTG is doing well with the talent we have on the defensive side of the ball. Give it 2 years and we go from worst to first….If Richt and company last that long
patrick
October 3rd, 2010
9:34 pm
HAHAHAHA….all of you saying Fla will beat UGA this year…..have you seen Fla play?
.
We are 3 fumbles (one in each of three games) away from 4-1.
.
If UGa had played Fla’s schedule we would be 5-0 (Richt is 3-1 against ALA)
SteveW
October 3rd, 2010
9:35 pm
Remember the horrible ‘79 team – the beat down by Kentucky (31-0) – next season National Champs. We can do this….
College Football Expert
October 3rd, 2010
9:36 pm
Season over man, game over! Fire preachie truck salesman and get a real coach
fire Richt
October 3rd, 2010
9:41 pm
what have you done for us? even when you had Moreno and Stafford? you are a terrible coach for an underachieving team since you got here.
Time for a change
October 3rd, 2010
9:42 pm
Unacceptable. Let’s not reward terrible play on and off the field
ryan
October 3rd, 2010
10:02 pm
Speculating does not do any good just have wait see what happens at the end of season calling for Richt head does do any good either if he is fired he is fired but be carefull what you wish for .
bugsquacher
October 3rd, 2010
10:09 pm
Ga loses to TN by 21 at least…… the coaching staff for UGA has to go, NOW! This school has too much pride, too much tradition, too much class, to continue to put up with the circus we are watching now, run by bozo the clown and his stoges…
Its time for the fans to demand an end to it……. Let the juniors, soph, freshmen that will be staying next year, play the rest of the games. Get them some experience and reps. Sit the whole starting o-line down, their experience isnt doing us any good.
Its a shame to watch a fine football program be run into the ground in 10 years….. damn shame…..
fire Richt
October 3rd, 2010
10:10 pm
it’s no speculation; it’s the fact. look at the records. UGA has been mediocre for the last 5-10 years. Atlanta sports fan as a whole have to stop accepting this mediocre attitude….Richt sounds like a nice guy but he is a loser and not even a average coach
Dazed and Confused
October 3rd, 2010
10:10 pm
The same fans who are screaming for Richt’s head were defending him by saying that the Athens cops were targeting football players or that the behavior issues were just typical college boys being boys. The fact is, Richt’s teams are flawed. His players believe they are entitled. They don’t need drivers’ licenses, and they behave as they please, even if that involves pushing women around. They celebrate when they are losing. The harshest discipline Richt hands out is suspension from a meaningless game, for starting players, but he regularly pulls scholarships from those who are less talented. It will take the university a long time to recover from the Adams/Richt era.
bugsquacher
October 3rd, 2010
10:11 pm
btw, dont bet the mortgage on another win this year….. including Idaho State……. (what a joke, that we cant even look to that as a for sure win)
ryan
October 3rd, 2010
10:15 pm
If CMR goes then we need to get a big time coach like Bob Stoops who has some ties to McGarity with his days in Florida .
bugsquacher
October 3rd, 2010
10:16 pm
The supporters of UGA football should expect nothing less than Championship football every year. It should be one of the top coaching jobs in the nation……….money, talent, facilites, supporters,
McGarity, do your job, ………… looks like no one else will at GA.
Ultimate Fan
October 3rd, 2010
10:18 pm
disgraceful, and we all know it. At least all the other teams in Georgia are winning with respectful programs
fire Richt
October 3rd, 2010
10:20 pm
totally agreed. atlanta sportsfans need to be vocal on the expectations. we including the local media are just too soft…
The Purse
October 3rd, 2010
10:24 pm
I want my $750K back.
dawgster
October 3rd, 2010
10:24 pm
Gainesville Dawg….great comments…i’m with you, i get tired of the fans jumping off but get right back on when things go well..None of us are happy and at the end of the season i believe everything will be evaluated, until then lets stay behind this team..I don’t believe any of the negative comments will make us a better team..This team is not one of our strongest to date, but you have to ask yourself that a few fumbles that go our way or AJ being here for all the games, would we still be 1-4…I don’t know and thats only speculative..but bashing these young men and the coaching staff at this point will not get us a win…What we need is to finish out the year as well as we can and get this very good recruiting class signed and hope for a great RB from South Georgia and you could see this team take off next year..You can fire Coach Richt and staff, but you will set the program back even farther and with that who is the savior out there will knock Saban and Meyer off their throne…Do we really want to go back to pre-Richt..do you guys remember where we were and how long it had been since we had won the SEC….Well i do….Again, not saying that things are rosey because they are not, but out of respect for the team and the coaches that we have lets at least stay behind them until the end of this season…then if you want be my guest and jump off the bandwagon…And Ryan…hang in there man, i read alot of your posts on the recruiting blogs..things can turn around pretty quick in college football from one season to the other….go dawgs…
DawgGoneFishing
October 3rd, 2010
10:26 pm
I survived the Ray Goff era and a few lean years with CVD. Donnan also gave us some thrills but lots of chills so I’m a Dawg fan who’s gonna hang tight with my team.
fire Richt
October 3rd, 2010
10:30 pm
such losing attitdue…what a shame to be mediocre years after years.
Barhardt
October 3rd, 2010
10:30 pm
At least no one has been arrested this weekend.
bugsquacher
October 3rd, 2010
10:32 pm
Richt has had his chance…….Time to move his butt out the door. There are many talented, hungry coaches around the country which would love the UGA job. Any of them would provide the discipline missing. Its not the players, its how the players are being coached…. another good recruiting class isnt the answer….. new coaches are…… we need coaches that expect and delivery championship teams, given the funds, facilites, support, talent……..all of which UGA has……..
Dawg4EVR
October 3rd, 2010
10:34 pm
I am getting Dish network…..I can’t take this anymore. Doggies are really making me sad these days and even the dammed bugs won on a last minute TD – that makes it hurt even worser. Dooley and his Vols may just put a beat down on us next week. I am getting sicker by the minute.
TampaGator
October 3rd, 2010
10:35 pm
I think I liked it better back in the summer when Georgia was “all that” in the SEC. If Georgia loses Saturday….to the Vols…..my goodness….it is going to get real nasty. Funny….Dooley might lead the Vols into Athens for a win so he can be the DAWGS head coach next year. From watching him….he certainly has a whole lot more fire in his bones that Richt….but how could you have 13 on the field in that situation and not realize it and call time out? Heatbreaking game for the Vols….and Dooley (Vince too).
As for the Gators…..
I hope the show up in the first half against LSU.
dawgster
October 3rd, 2010
10:38 pm
Ryan..alot of names are being thrown out there, which i think is premature, but what makes everyone think these guys would come to UGA..I mean Stoops is a great coach and has a pretty good thing going out at OK…I fear if we do something at the end of the season, that it could backfire on us and we not get who we may want and then we have to settle for someone…The one thing that i do know is that Coach Richt has been successful here…I don’t think he has forgotten how to coach, but he mad need to make some personnel decisions as he did last year..and speaking of that, with our new DC and assistants, there hasn’t been that much improvement, but to be fair we need to give them time to get the right players in for the 3-4…but will the bulldawg nation be patient and if so what kind of timeline…The bottom line here is Recruiting, we need this years class and the potential recruits that we think we will get…however, if Coach Richt is dismissed, you can be assured there will be no #2 rated QB or 5-star RB from South Gerogia along with some impressive linemen…Lets be careful what we ask for as this could set the program back farther…
ryan
October 3rd, 2010
10:50 pm
dawgster your right but if these players are not going fight for there coach this Vols game will be the crossroads for CMR will players fight or will they lay down .
Wins heading in to 2010
October 3rd, 2010
10:53 pm
Michigan 877
Texas 845
Nebraska 837
ND 837
Ohio State 819
Penn State 812
Oklahoma 797
Alabama 792
Tennessee 783
Southern Cal 761
Georgia 733
dawgster
October 3rd, 2010
10:54 pm
TampaGator, i think the gators can take LSU and Miles…Miles has to be living under a lucky star as some of the blunders he does as head coach seems to work out…probably has to do with the caliber of players he has instead of his coaching ability, but h has had success…As far as the dawgs, I don’t think Coach Richt is gone after this year in spite of what the season has in store..I think this team is a player or two away and little more QB experience to be good…don’t think it will happen this year, but i can always hope for next…I do think however that Coach Richt has earned the right for at least one more season…I mean if you look at our program before he got here we had not won a SEC for 20 years…and though things are bad right now, i honestly think it will turn around…I think the bottom line is that we have taken a step back in recruiting, and though we have gotten some studs here and there we haven’t been able to match the bama’s or gators…of course we should be able to handle the Colorado’s and Miss State’s but the last time i looked those are Div 1 schools that give out scholarships also….For now i will stick with my dawgs as i always have as well i would expect you to with the gators if things went in the tank…
biggestdogfan
October 3rd, 2010
10:56 pm
Even though we are having a down year all bulldog fans should check this bulldog song out. It got my spirits up!!
http://www.jfareal.com or youtube search jfareal go dawgs. At least there is one bright spot.
ryan
October 3rd, 2010
11:01 pm
One reason CMR should stay is this recruiting class we loose 2 or 3 commits but can still gain 1 or 2 players that could be are Lattimore .
judge
October 3rd, 2010
11:02 pm
I dont think anybody is to blame in this blog—-its just somewhere to vent———–I will to some degree always be a dog fan, but folks—somethin aint right in the Bulldogs program—and I mean—look at the Alabama organization right now——-ok, I am done—hope yall got my point—-later
rob
October 3rd, 2010
11:05 pm
richt needs to worry less about his faith and more on winning football games. dont need a preacher, need a coach
dawgster
October 3rd, 2010
11:08 pm
Ryan…I think they will fight..the team needs something good to happen…I don’t know if the talent is there like we all thought and i will agree that is the responsibility of the coaching staff, but ther have been alot of things that this team has endured….the loss of AJ, injuries on th O-line and inconsistant play, a playmaker in Brandon Smith for at least a couple of games…a new 3-4 scheme and new defensive coaches, a young QB, a running game with RB’s that continue to put it on the ground…and with that i hear people say well thats Coaching, well in all the years playing i never had a coach that taught us how to fumble, we practiced drills that taught ball security, but you know when you get leveled those things are going to happen and for us there has been too much…the coaches sat Ealey down for his continued problems and King had a good game but then pow….the fumble..i don’t know that the coaches can be blamed for that, but again they are resonsible for the team execution…I don’t think this is a very good team by any stretch, but if you really look at it, unbelievable as this may sound fumble not lost or missed kicked or one stop on a third and long and this team could be at least 4-1 or perhaps 5-0..and if they were the same issues would be there it just would be masked by our record…I mean look at LSU, there is no reason they should be undefeated but yet they hd some things go there way, but i still don’t think they are very well coached team…I’m still thinking this team will in one of these games that are left rise up and put it all together and maybe surprise someone…May be wishful thinking, but i have been around this game for a long time and have seen some strange things happen…
Suzanne Yoculan
October 3rd, 2010
11:10 pm
It’s almost gymnastics season! At least we win championships! Go Gymdawgs!
dawgster
October 3rd, 2010
11:16 pm
Rob..how about enough of the comments about Coach Richt and “his faith” and calling him a “preacher”…thats a low blow and is uncalled for and shows little class…you can comment on his coaching, thats fair game, but for the life of me, his faith, the players faith or anyone’s should have nothing to do with it..I can tell for fact that when Coach Richt is talking to a young man and his family he is not in there preaching, what an absurd comment…he talks to them about UGA, about what the young mans hopes and dreams are, what kind of education he wants…his playing expectations, etc…If the family wants to discuss his Christian beliefs then Coach Richt will talk about his faith and how it has impacted his life….I’m amazed at people like you that come on here and bash Coach Richt for what he believes…go dawgs
Flo-Ri-Duh!
October 3rd, 2010
11:17 pm
I feel for T.J. Stripling getting injured in a losing cause. T. J. I will prayfor you to have a full rcovery. It’s a shame he will miss the rest of the season. A fumble in each of the last four games cost UGA any chance to win. Then Walsh missed an easy field goal that would have won it. Maybe the bad luck has been used up and good luck is ahead. I still support the Dawgs and always will.
Bull
October 3rd, 2010
11:20 pm
“I have had to stretch my pocket book by having to DONATE extra money for season tickets and pay $160 for parking”
There’s a sucker born every minute.
DamntheButcher
October 3rd, 2010
11:20 pm
Where are all the Florda fans at tonight?
The jury
October 3rd, 2010
11:24 pm
It is nothing short of shocking how far and how quickly we have fallen in such a short time period. From preseason 2008 no. 1 to an average 10-3 finish, then an embarrassing 8-5 season last year including several blowout losses, and now a 1-4 start with humiliating losses to teams we should have no business losing to. And in Carolina and Miss St games we lost by 2 scores- not 1.
Conversely I look at the rise of Alabama under Saban and it is nothing short of unreal. In his 2nd season he went undefeated regular season and finished 12-0. Went 14-0 last year and this year is 5-0 after having thoroughly dismantled Florida. That team looks intensely disciplined and when they lined up to play Florida they just flat out laid the wood to the gators. They just smacked florida on the line of scrimmage.
And the whole difference in why Bama pounds Florida while we get pounded by Florida these days is in coaching and discipline on and off the field and especially off. We’ve had 10 players arrested this year, something like 40 since 2007. The bammers haven’t had a player arrested in 14 months now. Anyone see the correlation. Rich runs an out of control program with zero discipline, zero focus, zero effort at being champions. Saban demands excellence and runs a championship program where the players don’t embarrass the school with countless arrests. No sir. All they do is line up and whup people’s azzes on the line of scrimmage.
This jury has concluded that if we are ever going to get to the top that a change is in order. A Chris Peterson or the Utah coach or somebody that can beat Satan.
bigcalidawg
October 3rd, 2010
11:26 pm
I hate to suggest public executions for the sake of appeasing the masses……., but our running backs are not being coached very well at all.
I’m ok with Grantham and want to see his system with his type of athletes in it.
I also see our “O” starting to come together, but Aaron still can’t see the progressions (check-downs) as they open up. It will come.
I cannot understand what McClendon is doing to our running game. We are rather underwhelming. I’d prefer to see him gone befor he touches Malcome and Christian has to play with no threat of a run game. We need some fire from the tailback position. This is not Georgia football ATM.
DamntheButcher
October 3rd, 2010
11:27 pm
To all you idiots that think Richt can turn it around and say it was 20 years before he got here when GA won the last SEC title and drinking the kool aid. Phil Fulmer won some SEC titles at TN and even a NC but he lost his ability to coach. That is the same thing that has happed to Mark Richt. The game has passed him by. It is time for Mark Rich to be fired.
The jury
October 3rd, 2010
11:28 pm
damnthbutcher,
Florida fans are doing what we’re doing- licking their wounds after that physical beatdown that Satan’s army put on them. And right now what Saban has over there at bama doesn’t even look like a football team. It looks like a crimson war machine that tramples people at will. And what we need is a miracle coach- a chris peterson or someone who can resurrect a fire engine red war machine. Cause what we got now is a bunch of pea shooters.
4 N 8
October 3rd, 2010
11:28 pm
Derek Dooley is a joke!!!! GO DAWGS……28-10 JAWGA
bwell
October 3rd, 2010
11:31 pm
To all the haters stop it! Ga will rebound and have an outstanding season next year, and still have time this season to end on a positive note. Be supportive, yeah it hurts but for 10 years prior too no one complain, every great program will have some down years, your negatitivity can affect recruits! Stay true
WinderDogg
October 3rd, 2010
11:31 pm
No one can vent and question who is a “true fan”! UGA fans will cheer for the Dawgs win or lose, but we also know when it is time for a coach to go. We have been through coaches before and are still here. CMR’s time is up at UGA but we will go to the games and ride out the season. It is time for a new direction in UGA football….
The jury
October 3rd, 2010
11:32 pm
bigcalidawg,
What kind of koolaid are you drinking? Todd Grantham and his d is a joke. When Colorado has a back run for 150 on us that tells you how bad his d is. When a freshman who runs for 33 yds against a bad AU defense runs for 180 against us what exactly does that tell you? The poor tackling in all 4 losses, the defensive breakdowns in pass coverage, the lack of defensive pressure. There is a reason why this guy got fired as a d coordinator in the NFL after ranking 30th of 32 teams 2 years in a row. His defenses suck! That’s why he was our 4th or 5th choice as D coordinator. We have the same talent as Bama. Do you honestly think our D looks anything like those bunch crunchers over in Tuscaloosa? Seriously?
WinderDogg
October 3rd, 2010
11:34 pm
Negativity don’t affect recruits…they want to play. They look a UGA as a place where they will redshirt the first year. No high school superstar wants to sit out but that is CMR’s philosophy. Losing hurts recruiting because 4 and 5 star athletes dream of the NFL. 1-4 teams have very few NFL players on the roster…common sense.
Gen Forrest
October 3rd, 2010
11:35 pm
I’ve got to laugh at some of the”we’re just having a down year” comments! Uhh…….do your research. This program has been on a downward spiral for the last 5 years, but it didn’t really start showing on the field in any dramatic fashion until the last 3. But the cancer has been there longer, slowly eating the heart out of this once proud program. The problem? A complete and total lack of discipline, both on and off the field. There is a reason why for the last decade UGA is one of the most penalized teams in college football — no discipline and no fear/respect for the coaching staff (who apparently know absolutely NOTHING about discipline and holding players accountable for their actions!).
Guys, this program has HUGE problems, and they start at the top. Unless there is a major shake-up, I seriously forsee this team going 4-8 this year (losing to UT, UF, AU, and GT) and ending the bowl streak. Plus losing most, if not all, of our current batch of recruits. What 4 or 5-star player wants to sign with a 4-8 program??? CMR may be a great guy, but that only goes so far — at some point you need a hard-nosed coach who will hold players accountable, and not just the 3rd stringers. CMR is quick to boot a lower stringer, but overlooks things for starters (too much Bowden influence there!). Hell even GT figured that out! Chan is a fantastic person, but not enough of a harda** to be a Div-1 head coach IMHO. So they went and hired a good old-fashioned take-no-crap coach. UGA needs to do the same thing.
WinderDogg
October 3rd, 2010
11:36 pm
Do assistants (Grantham) have buy-out clauses? He is the one of the highest paid assistants in the nation. When CMR leaves what happens to him?
The jury
October 3rd, 2010
11:36 pm
I give up. Some of you guys are just clueless kool aid drinkers. All I’ve got to say is that I’m looking at our downard sprial 10 yrs into a coach’s tenure on a team loaded with talent. And then I’m looking at the quick rise of Alabama in the west in year 2 of Satan’s regime. You guys can’t look at what’s happening in Bama and look at us and compare the paths of the 2 programs and understand what’s wrong?