Struggles continue in marquee games; team whipped but not flat, Richt says
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A dismal loss to South Carolina extended and exacerbated the Georgia football team’s multi-year trend of struggling — a lot — against top opponents.
Saturday night’s 35-7 loss — Georgia’s first game of the season against a ranked opponent and its first defeat of the season — dropped the Bulldogs’ record against Top 25 teams to 2-8 since the start of the 2010 season, including 0-4 against Top 10 teams.
And going back a bit further, the loss dropped the Bulldogs to 6-14 against Top 25 teams since the start of the 2008 season, including 1-9 against Top 10 opponents.
The impact of the loss on Georgia’s national reputation was quickly registered. Ranked No. 5 before the game, the Bulldogs tumbled Sunday to No. 14 in the Associated Press media poll and No. 12 in the USA Today coaches’ poll. South Carolina rose from No. 6 to No. 3 in both.
Asked late Saturday night how he responds to the perception that Georgia doesn’t rise to the occasion in high-profile games, UGA offensive lineman Chris Burnette said: “I can’t really dispute it because we haven’t.”
The Bulldogs’ only wins over ranked opponents in the past 2 1/2 seasons came last season against Auburn and Georgia Tech, Nos. 24 and 25, respectively, in the AP poll at the time of those games.
You have to go back to a 2009 victory over Tech, No. 7 at the time, to find Georgia’s most recent victory against a Top 10 opponent. Aside from that, the Bulldogs have lost to every such team they’ve faced in the past 4 ½ seasons: Alabama and Florida in 2008; Oklahoma State, LSU and Florida in 2009; Auburn in 2010; Boise State and LSU (SEC title game) in 2011; and South Carolina in 2012.
“We definitely want to make sure that in the future we can rise up to that occasion,” Burnette said. “We know what we’re capable of, but we’ve just got to go back and look at film and figure out what happened, what we did wrong.”
Saturday’s loss left Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC) a game behind South Carolina (6-0, 4-0) and Florida (5-0, 4-0) in the SEC East. Georgia doesn’t play this week, while South Carolina is at LSU and Florida at Vanderbilt.
Georgia won the East last season despite losing to South Carolina. To repeat that feat, the Bulldogs likely would need to win out — including Oct. 27 vs. Florida, currently No. 4 in the AP poll — and would need South Carolina to lose twice (say, at LSU and at Florida).
“I’m definitely not losing confidence in this team at all or in our coaching staff or anything like that,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said Sunday. “That’s the worst thing you can do. Teams panic and they tend to fall apart. But Georgia is not going to fall apart.
“A year ago, we’re 0-2 and everybody wants to decide the sky has fallen and it’s over for Georgia. But what did we do? We stayed firm; we believed in each other; we kept banging away; we started to win; and before you know it, we won the Eastern Division. … It’s unfortunate [Saturday’s game] came out the way it did with so much at stake, but there’s still a lot at stake. The sun did come up, and we’re going to get back to work.”
Richt rejected the suggestion the Bulldogs were flat against the Gamecocks.
“I wouldn’t say it was a flat performance,” he said. “I would just say that South Carolina physically whipped us.”
He continued: “If we’d had more success early in the ballgame, it wouldn’t have seemed like a flat performance. Even the initial drive, if [Bacarri] Rambo hangs on to the pick and we turned it into points, all of a sudden things look a little bit different. So there’s a lot of things that could have happened along the way if we could have [pass-]protected better or run- blocked better and been more accurate or tackled better — all of those things. I’m still going to say South Carolina did a heck of a job, and we didn’t get it done.”
Georgia averaged 48.2 points in winning its first five games, but the Gamecocks jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first 10 minutes and held the Dogs scoreless until the final two minutes.
As South Carolina built the early lead, Georgia had breakdowns on offense (a tipped interception), defense (a missed interception, open receivers) and special teams (a 70-yard punt return for a Carolina touchdown). So it went, the Gamecocks’ domination starting on the line of scrimmage and permeating all phases of the game.
“It’s definitely humbling,” Bulldogs linebacker Jarvis Jones said.
“They were shell-shocked,” South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore told reporters. “We hit them in the mouth, and they weren’t ready for it.”
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF GEORGIA-SOUTH CAROLINA GAME
- Game story: South Carolina 35, Georgia 7
- Bradley: A sobering night for overwhelmed Bulldogs
- Spurrier: ‘They can’t say they own us anymore’
- Georgia’s defense no match for South Carolina’s offense
- Notebook: Gamecocks’ Shaw shows off against state school
- Photo gallery from No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 6 South Carolina
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654 comments Add your comment
blackandwhitestripes
October 8th, 2012
6:17 am
ugag has a very easy schedule with the exception of South Carolina and maybe Florida. Two losses will be a good season so why are you wanting to fire MR? He is a good coach.
Douglas
October 8th, 2012
6:23 am
Ok, I’m tired jerkface of the Ray Goff comments. He may not have been the best UGA coach ever but as a QB, he won a lot of games for UGA. So shut your mouth.
FalconFan
October 8th, 2012
6:26 am
Didn’t see it mentioned in prior posts and my apologies if you fans are already in the know, but Aaron Murray’s mind was with his father during Saturday’s game. His father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer this past week. He was supposed to undergo surgery (not sure what day), and Murray has had problems sleeping this past week. Everyone should give the kid a break and send some prayers for his dad.
saddawg
October 8th, 2012
6:29 am
Didn’t see the loss to USC this past weekend, but I didn’t have to to come to the following conclusions…
CMR will not lead us to the next level (e.g. contend for a MNC). Hate it. Sad, but true. He has been at UGA longer than any other SEC coach and his time has come… and gone. I say this not because we lost on Sat., but because of HOW we lost on Sat. For a team with this much individual talent, coming in at 5-0, averaging 48 pts per game, to be so totally dominated and eventually humiliated before a national audience is in my opinion simply unacceptable.
I love CMR. I think he is as fine a man as there is in college football. I love that he cares about these kids as more than just athletes. I love that he practices what he preaches and I love that he has represented our school and our program with the highest of both personal and professional integrity. But the bottom line is that he is paid (handsomely I might add) for results on the field of play, and those results (most recently the 35-7 beatdown at the hands of a conference rival) have simply not been there. Others have done more, with less, in a shorter amount of time (see Meyer, Saban, Miles, Chizik), and that’s just within our own conference.
Think about it. What is it that separates us (UGA) from the elite programs in the country – most notably Alabama, LSU and maybe to a lesser degree Oklahoma, or _________ (fill in the blank). For the past 4-5 years, UGA has struggled at some point, against an inferior opponent, OR they have shown sporadic signs of “being there”, competed with an equal or better opponent (LSU last year) only to “fall apart” and eventually be outdone. I can’t count the number of times I have watched our team sputter – missed receivers, missed assignments, missed tackles, etc. – and thought to myself, “CMR is going to blame this on execution.” Mid-season execution is a coaching issue, not a player issue. And what’s worse, it comes in stretches. Not just one or two plays, but one or two series, or in the case of this past weekend, 4 quarters.
I will never buy the notion that South Carolina has more individual talent than UGA. I think if you went position-by-position you would find that with maybe a few exceptions, UGA has better players across the board. But, they beat us. Why? How? Simple – preparation and execution. And those two things fall squarely on the shoulders of Mark Richt. Time to wake up and smell the coffee. We had a chance this past weekend to return UGA to national prominence, and not only did we fail, we failed miserably. Regardless of how the rest of this season plays out (and I predict one more regular season loss and a closer-than-it-should-be bowl game), we will never get back in the discussion of MNC’s under CMR. If we can’t do it this year, with this team, with this schedule, it ain’t gonna happen. We can either continue to accept mediocrity (which many folks would be envious of), or turn the page and move onward.
Homer
October 8th, 2012
6:31 am
I blame that liberal media. We really won but you know the media.
WTHDogg
October 8th, 2012
6:31 am
Dog Fan for life? Yes. Will purchase tickets for future games with CMR as coach? No. Year after year the season is so predictable. Show up for little schools and erectile dysfunction for the prom queen.
Buckeye
October 8th, 2012
6:34 am
Win With is using the wrong tense. Fall? Try FELL to #14.
Delusional dog dreams are, as usual, are smushed.
Douglas
October 8th, 2012
6:47 am
Here is the problem for Dog fans…we have enough talent in spite of our coaching…to win the rest of our games except at Florida. Then, because Mark Richt has won 10 games, we have to keep him even if we do not beat a top ranked team. It reminds me of Jim Donnan: he beat the teams he should have beat but couldn’t beat UT or UF. So we will have to wait 2-3 years until finally our fanbase pushes our AD into firing Richt. The good news: Richt will not win the SC East again unless USC gets beat — which fuels even more fire to fire him and his staff. I used to think Grantham was one of the top DC’s in the SEC, but I believe Kirby Smart is first followed by USC’s DC. He is only in his first year and killed UGA.
Bad Dawg
October 8th, 2012
6:51 am
“They were shell-shocked,” South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore told reporters. “We hit them in the mouth, and they weren’t ready for it.”
Georgia is simply not man enough to beat South Carolina (or Alabama or Florida). Even with the easiest schedule in the SEC, even with the NFL bound Juniors- Jarvis Jones, Ogletree, Aaron Murray it’s thelack of intestinal fortitude. It’s been missing since about the time Van Corder left.
Moultrie Dawg
October 8th, 2012
6:58 am
This is why the pollsters and bowlsters HATE Georgia. You keep thinking they will put out out a national championship challenging team with all those recruiting classes but they never do. EVERY time they play a top 10 team on national TV they get dominated/decimated. The last time they didn’t was against Hawaii in the Sugar. What year was that? Dang
GT
October 8th, 2012
7:00 am
South Carolina is just a better football team. If you played them 10 times I dealt you would beat them once. Try that on and then ask yourself if the talent is getting coached. Are the players improving that are arriving at UGA. You are definitely winning the beauty contest on recruiting but then they get to Athens and get fat. It is the press that feeds them, instead of being honest, and makes them soft. Maybe Spurrier has these dust ups with the press to make sure they don’t like him and start babying his team before they have done anything.
Yellow Fuzz
October 8th, 2012
7:03 am
You idiots should have listened to me (AGAIN), georgia is right where they belong (ranked 14th to 24th). It’s a gymnastic, equestrian and agriculture college with low academic standards.
Bozo N. Richt
October 8th, 2012
7:04 am
The Richt charade was called out on national TV by Musberger and Herbstreit.
Richt is was he is, a second rate coach that can beat second rate teams. Problem is, in big national spotlight games, the truth is revealed, and we are repeatedly embarrassed. Hopefully, one day, the University will care enough to do something about it.
EX GEORGIA FAN
October 8th, 2012
7:05 am
I don’t mind losing as long as we prepare and play well. I DO MIND being physically punished and embarrassed on national TV
Need some more koolaid
October 8th, 2012
7:06 am
bad
uga1980
October 8th, 2012
7:10 am
Alot of reactionary posts this weekend. I guess the same people think that Bob Stoops (OU), Frank Beamer (VT), Jumbo Fisher (FSU), Lane Kiffin (USC), Mack Brown (Texas) should get fired too. They perpetually lose to mediocre teams each year.
UGA was probably over ranked this year at #5. We have a patch work O line that over achieved the first five games. Top SEC defenses were bound to expose them. If it will give comfort, South Carolina still has to run the gauntlet the next 3 weeks in LSU, UF, & Tenn. They most likely will lose 1, if not 2 games. Remember, USC could have easily have lost to Vandy a couple of weeks ago.
The disconcerting issue this year has been the defense. With 9 starters returning, we made USC’s offense look good, which should have never been the case.
Tyrone
October 8th, 2012
7:11 am
The fact is that Georgia could not beat South Carolina once in 5 trys. Or Alabama. This lifelong fan hates to admit it but its true. Their 3-4 star recruits play up for 4 years, our 4-5 star recruits seem to play down and opt out for the NFL in 3 years.
Good luck in the NFL draft Murray. hahaha
david
October 8th, 2012
7:12 am
5 more years richt just signed a contract ext. so we will be a 9 10 win team for the next few years.
Steve
October 8th, 2012
7:13 am
I kind of miss playing them early becuse you can always count on them having 1-2 key players suspended.
Really
October 8th, 2012
7:14 am
Wow! really people! calm down, relax, take a breath. If losing upsets you this much, then maybe you are too emotionally attached. Step back. Take a break from UGA football and find another pasttime. Just not hunting-as you shouldn’t be allowed to use firearms. This is just football. Am I disappointed? Yes, but you people need to get a little perspective. They lost, so what. Life goes on and you will be just fine whether we win out or never win again. Don’t care whether our coach (whoever it is) is a Christian or not but it is nice to know he cares about the future of these young men and not trying to please some misguided fans who have no life.
david
October 8th, 2012
7:14 am
bozo is not going any where either.
DogFan for sure
October 8th, 2012
7:15 am
Where will you “jump off the ship” fans be if UGA goes 11 – 1? I know where you’ll be….popping a cold one patting each other on the back talking about what a damn good dawg looks like….I am a dog fan for life and I’ll continue to buy tickets because it’s in my blood, it’s who we are….like it or not. If you’re going to be a fair weather fan then get the hell out of the fan base. Whine, moan and complain all you want to but get behind the team or get out. All is not lost – support the team….we ain’t done yet.
Yellow Fuzz Dawg
October 8th, 2012
7:18 am
why can’t we just schedule more Buffalo and Florida Atlantics? Why not keep Vandy and Kentucky, drop Sounth Carolina and Florida and add Savannah State and Middle Tennessee? That way we can drink and bark more while tailgating and feel better about ourselves.
Columbus Dawg
October 8th, 2012
7:19 am
I have to agree with saddawg, The Dawgs were terrible in every facet of the game. Grantham ain’t the answer. I am not bashing Aaron here, but what has been said in the past about his lack of height is true. He can not throw over the tall linemen in the league, and before anyone starts in on the Drew Brees junk, Brees knows how to get around his height problems, he sees when opportunities open up for him to make plays in the part of the field where he is challenged. The OL problem has been a mainstay on Richt’s teams. Only a few seasons out of his twelve have we seen a solid OL. Other decent, competitive teams simply do not have this problem year in and year out. Richt knew full well that the entire special teams were a mess coming into this season, but chose to ignore the problem, hoping it would go away. It didn’t. If this had been a hard fought football game, and Georgia came up short, then the rational folks on this blog would not be up in arms. But it wasn’t.
Richt is one of the finest men around. I was very excited about his hire, however at this point there must be a complete retooling of the coaching staff. Rodney Garner is way past his prime as a college assistant. South Carolina has a serviceable OL, but not by any means great. Now it is a lot better than UGA’s OL, but I am just saying that the DL looked like they were being manhandled again. I am not going into Bobo bashing mode, because this loss was not Bobo’s fault. This loss falls exactly where it should, on the ENTIRE coaching staff. There should be an all out effort on the part of the Bulldog Nation to demand change in not only the head coaching position, but the entire staff. UGA, like Alabama has made some really bad choices for head coach in the past, and like the poster above said, Ray Goff is a DGD, he was just not the choice Dooley should have made for his replacement. Because he was a DGD, the powers that be, along with a lot of the Bulldog Nation hated to have to let him go. Now as far as Donnan goes, winning a few ball games at Marshall should have never been enough of a resume for head coach at UGA. Any of you high and mighty folks on the blog who have the opinion that everyone should just listen to Mark Richt’s excuses and support this program as it is are the very reason that Georgia can’t compete with it’s rivals in winning championships. The University of Georgia is not about one man, or one coaching staff. The Bulldog Nation deserves better. Complacency is one of the worst things that can happen in a college football program, just as it is in the business world. Coach Richt has been treated pretty good in his time in Athens, and is set for life financially because of it. It is now of my opinion that he should schedule a meeting with Greg McGarity and tender his resignation as head football coach at UGA.
Columbia
October 8th, 2012
7:20 am
Can someone please unstrap Georgia so they can get off the reahpe stand?
collegeballfan
October 8th, 2012
7:20 am
“…the Bulldogs’ record against Top 25 teams to 2-8 since the start of the 2010 season, including 0-4 against Top 10 teams.”
This sentence removes the myth that UGA is a top football 10 program.
Yet, apparently it remains a Top 10 recruiting program. Go figure!
Return to Glory
October 8th, 2012
7:23 am
Out coached, out played, out hustled, out everthing, sick of the blowouts against good teams. It has been going on since 2008, we need some changes and Grantham still has not stopped or even slowed a decent offensive team, last year he feasted on subpar offenses and got smoked in the SEC Champ game and bowl game, this year they just plain suck.
tide is in
October 8th, 2012
7:28 am
UGA fans I have said over and over you guys have some of the best in state talent, high school,(yes Tide fans better than Alabama) , tons of money and fan support, great facilitates, however you will only go as far as your head coach. FANS DEMAND EXCELLANCE. You are 1 of 4 teams in the SEC that should never underachieved and have no excuses.UGA,UA,LSU,and FLA. These should be first tier teams. Tenn. AU, and SC do not have all of the factors. these teams HAVE to go out of state to recruit. Just beat albarn.
EX GEORGIA FAN
October 8th, 2012
7:29 am
Dawgfaforlife:
“Where will you “jump off the ship” fans be if UGA goes 11 – 1″?
Get a life dude. Who cares is UGA goes 11-1 and gets embarrased again in the SEC championship AND bowl game? We just want the Dawgs to be competitive with SC, Bama, LSU amd Florida. NOT just Tech, Missouri, Vandy, Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Buffalo. Go spew your koolaid on Bill Lewis’s blog you moron
Lambert Dawg
October 8th, 2012
7:34 am
“If”
By Rudyard Kipling.
Google it..Read it…
I am a dawg win or lose and I support these players, staff and team. Spurrier won the game but when you don’t win and lose with class it seems to make the wins seem a little less meaningful. Of course that is one mans opinnion.
We still have much to play and cheer for this year.
GFJacket
October 8th, 2012
7:34 am
UGA has an interesting dichotomy – - perennial top-10 recruiting classes that deliver non-top-10 results. UGA has the talent. Richt is an excellent recruiter, even considering the Ealey’s, Crowell’s, etc. he has given a chance. Tech hasn’t had a top-40 recruiting class since Rivals began keeping such records. Tech sometimes underachieves like UGA, but it often delivers results commensurate with its talent. If UGA did that, it would have a fistful of BCS NCs by now. UGA’s nightmare would be for USCe to deliver Spurrier another NC this year.
excellent game plan
October 8th, 2012
7:37 am
What a great job SC’s dbs did jamming our receivers at the line of scrimage,
1. forcing our OL to give longer protection
2. forcing our receivers to run alternate routes
3. Forcing Murray to throw to receivers running alternate routes
4. forcing Bobo to acomplish this from upstairs
gdawginkalamazoo
October 8th, 2012
7:39 am
UGA is #1 in a couple of categories. Best place to be a QB who starts a season (because you will never get yanked for lack of performance).
And best place to coach (no worry about job security, at least for another five years).
GFJacket
October 8th, 2012
7:39 am
Columbus Dog, Ray Goff never had a chance. Dooley picked him with the condition that Dooley’s staff would remain. It was a patchwork arrangement. Goff never had the freedom to build his own staff. Dooley believed he was so brilliant that whatever coach followed him would succeed. Outside of the Herschel years, what was Dooley’s overall record at UGA? Goff’s overall record was better, but the alumni were expecting the peak of Dooley’s years results, not the average.
gdawginkalamazoo
October 8th, 2012
7:41 am
I will say congrats to SC. They did what they needed to do and they did it well. IMO looks like the East belongs to them and Florida. Back to the typical third place for us.
sickdog
October 8th, 2012
7:45 am
I get so sick of the “over rated” term. Uga was rated so high by the media. All this hype was put on us by others. This is why Saban gets pissed when the media puts alot of hype about his team. He doesnt want all the attention so they get big heads! I blame the media for the Hype and ratings crap…l wil say that we do have a pretty good offensive team. The stats dont lie people. We just got outcoached and we sucked Saturday night!!! If S.Carolina has a bad night and looses to LSU or Fla then everyone will say they were overated also…its the playing with inconsistency that kills us. I do beleive Richt must go but i also beleive we are better than we played Sat.
Capt Steve Superior
October 8th, 2012
7:49 am
cmr and his staff are good christians, please keep all of them
Big Mike
October 8th, 2012
7:59 am
Georgia players spends to much energy celebrating, the defense needs to wrap up when they tackle. Coach you need to take charge, enough with the off field mess, when players are on the sidelines they need to be focused on instructions given by coaches and being a student of the game. I know the talent is there be the tuff guy.
Dawg4Life
October 8th, 2012
8:01 am
I have just dranked my last cup of Mark Richt Kool Aid.
Ed Pilcher
October 8th, 2012
8:02 am
I call BS. They’ve already fallen apart, and there’s no reason to believe they can do better. The SEC East is pretty much out of reach, because this team isn’t even going to beat Florida. 2-15 against ranked opponents since 2008………………
uga_dawg
October 8th, 2012
8:04 am
Hello….no one is blaming Murray….he and Bobo are the whole problem….If one bad thing happens you might as while take Murray out and Bobo just can not adjust to any type of gaming planning. And why was Malcome not used when we had the ball on the 2 yard line…Hard runner always gets positive yards …..I may become a Tech fan…that way I will not be surprised when things like this happen
Billy Joe Bobby
October 8th, 2012
8:04 am
USCe is also overrated. We’ll have to wait and see about Florida.
John Smith
October 8th, 2012
8:05 am
I’m DONE with Georgia! I will not be waisting my time and watching another game this season. Same old BS…. Richt will never get UGA into a serious title contender because he’s too soft! PERIOD!!! End of story. Love him as a person but as a coach, you don’t have the killer instinct like a Saban, Spurrier etc…. ZERO fire insiide you and your players are a direct reflection of you.
alex
October 8th, 2012
8:08 am
see above : a “dawg’ fan referring to R. Kipling…I have seen it all and I may now leave…
selvaman
October 8th, 2012
8:08 am
Let me get this straight. You have the SEC’s leading offense and a struggling defense, you are playing in hostile territory and you need to get on the board first. You win the toss and elect to kick off. Huh?
Russdawg
October 8th, 2012
8:10 am
Proves what I keep saying. CMR is a GOOD coach, but will never be an Elite Coach.
That was a good old fashioned whupping. That game was MEN (SC) against UGA Boys.
Why is it under Richt we NEVER have a dominate mature offensive line ?
Murray looked a lot like Joey Harrington.
HoneyBooBooDawg
October 8th, 2012
8:11 am
at least we still have 1980!!!
Buckbaloweme
October 8th, 2012
8:13 am
Gee, it must really suck to have a coaching staff that only wins 9-11 games a year. Yall are pathetic.
E-from Riverdale
October 8th, 2012
8:15 am
Again, I havesaid it before and I will say it again. The Bulldogs build their reputation on lesser talent. Gorgia in a sense are like bullys an tat is especially applicable on defense. Look at how Grantham bullied ga. into paying him mre mone by threatening to leave after buildig up good numbwers on defense aainst losers. But ga’s defense has not stoped anyone in awhile and against good teams Ga. does not play any defense.
I hope at the end of this season Ga. does what Ga. Tech is going to do and that is clean house. Get ready Kirby Smart.
jerry
October 8th, 2012
8:16 am
“The Bulldogs’ only wins over ranked opponents in the past 2 1/2 seasons came last season against Auburn and Georgia Tech, Nos. 24 and 25, respectively, in the AP poll at the time of those games.”
Neither finished in the Top 25 so that gives UGA an 0-fer.