South Carolina game mars an otherwise promising first half for Bulldogs
ATHENS – Everything was rosy with Georgia football until this past weekend when it ran into a buzz saw in South Carolina operating under the name of Gamecocks. Then the nation’s No. 5-ranked team, the Bulldogs fell behind 35-0 before scoring save-face touchdown in the game’s final minutes.
Now Georgia finds itself having to pick up the pieces. All the optimism the Bulldogs had gained in by annihilating their opponents by an average of 26.3 points in the first five games was wiped away in one nationally-televised butt-kicking.
Since that game, Georgia coach Mark Richt has anybody who would listen – including his own players — not to read too much into one lopsided loss. As ever, he believes the Bulldogs are still a top-tier team that can win the rest of its games and contend for the SEC championship
“Whether you lose by a point or you lose by 28 points, it’s only one loss,” Richt said this week. “It’s not five losses. It feels like three or four losses, but it’s only one. The way the world works in the Southeastern Conference is the team with the best record at the end wins the East. There’s a lot more football to be played. Let’s see how it shakes out.”
He chalks up South Carolina’s domination to “a perfect storm” of atmosphere and performance that was reminiscent of what the Bulldogs were able to do against Auburn in their first black-out game at Sanford Stadium in 2007.
“It was kind of a perfect storm for us that day, too, with the emotions of the fans, the excitement of the fans and the emotion of the players when we kind of sprung that thing on them,” Richt said. “They were just at an emotional peak. We had something big happen early and it snowballed for us that day.”
Georgia scored 25-unanswered points to win 45-20 in 2007. But, he said, the Bulldogs weren’t 25 points better than Auburn. Neither, he said, are the Gamecocks four touchdowns better than Georgia.
“This game was a little bit like that for South Carolina,” Richt said. “Momentum got grabbed and they just kept rolling. We had opportunities that might could have made a difference. The first pass of the game, if [Bacarri] Rambo squeezes the ball a little tighter and comes down with it, that’s a big momentum play for us. Maybe we turn around and score, I don’t know. But we just never got momentum going in our direction.”
Richt’s point is less about South Carolina and more about the rest of the season. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 SEC) arrive at the halfway point still feeling like they’re a team that can fulfill all its goals from the outset of the season. As Georgia is off with a bye this week, here’s our assessment of what they’ve done so far:
OFFENSE
The South Carolina performance brought them down a notch, but it’s hard to deny what the Bulldogs have been able to do in the rest of their games. Georgia remains second in the SEC in scoring (41.3 ppg) and third in total offense (484 ypg)
It features an experienced quarterback in Aaron Murray, top-grade tailbacks in Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall and Ken Malcome fleet of proven wide receivers. The Gamecocks exposed Georgia’s weakness on the offensive line. But even with their failings in that game, the Bulldogs nine sacks allowed is fourth in the league.
“I think we’ll be fine,” said Murray, who “I thinknwe’re still very confident with who we have, with the play-calling and everything that’s going on. We just didn’t execute when the time came against South Carolina. There plays were there to be made; we just didn’t hit them. . . . I don’t think we’re shaken up at all.”
Assessment: Very good.
DEFENSE
This is the biggest mystery regarding the 2012 Bulldogs. They returned nine starters from a unit that finished fifth in the nation in total defense. Yet halfway through this season they’re ranked 51st in total defense, 68th against the rush and 79th in quarterback sacks. Worse, Georgia is giving up a lot of “explosive plays.” It has allowed 14 of 30 or more yards.
The easy answer is that Georgia had two starters out with suspensions the first four games and two others out for the first two contests. But Richt refuses to point to that.
“We don’t have any excuses,” he said. “We haven’t played as well. We’ve given up too many big plays. Some of it has been gap control; some of it has been communication on the back end. We’ve just got to get better.”
Third-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham hasn’t been sharp in the area of game-planning. Ninety-four of the Georgia’s 135 points allowed – or 70 percent — have come in the first half, which suggests the Bulldogs haven’t been ready for what teams have thrown at them. However, with a 6.83 points second-half scoring average, Georgia is clearly making good halftime adjustments.
Assessment: Very average
SPECIAL TEAMS
Georgia is 91st in the nation in field goals at only .67 per game, but at the rate the Bulldogs have been scoring touchdowns (34), that isn’t necessarily been a bad thing. And when freshman Marshall Morgan has been asked to make a big kick, he has come through. Two of his four field goals (he has attempted only five) came from over 50 yards. However, Georgia has failed on three point-after attempts – two were plain missed – and have had three others bounce through off the upright.
Of course, special teams encompasses much more than placement kicks. The Bulldogs allowed a 70-yard punt return TD to South Carolina and are last in the SEC in net punting and punt return yardage allowed. But they’ve also blocked two punts and an extra point, snuffed out a fake punt and returned a kickoff for a score.
“The coaches are keeping us motivated,” said freshman Josh Harvey-Clemons, who was named the Bulldogs’ special teams captain for the Kentucky game. “We’re really emphasizing special teams a lot. We know how important it is to the game.”
Assessment: Decidedly average.
COACHING
Obviously Georgia wasn’t ready to play in the South Carolina game this past Saturday. The Bulldogs didn’t appear to have a specific plan for dealing with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney beyond letting tackle Kenarious Gates handle him and the defense was gashed with big plays early and could not contain quarterback Conner Shaw on the zone-read, option keeper.
That said, that was the second “game of the century” kind of atmosphere the Bulldogs faced this season. Missouri was eyeing its SEC opener versus Georgia as one of the most important in school history. And after last-season’s post-game run-in with Vanderbilt, this year’s game featured a highly-charged environment. The Bulldogs obviously handled those challenges with aplomb.
“Overall I think we’ve coached pretty well,” Richt said. “A lot of really good things have been happening. When you lose a game the way we did [to South Carolina] you start to evaluate everything and we have. . . . But I still think we have good coaches and good players. I think we’re still a very good team and the future is bright.”
Assessment: Decent
PROGNOSIS
The Bulldogs finish against Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. They’ll likely be favored against them all except for the No. 4 Gators on Oct. 27 in Jacksonville.
As such, Georgia is still very much in the SEC picture. If South Carolina loses two SEC games – the Gamecocks are on the road at LSU and Florida the next two weeks – the Bulldogs could regain control of the Eastern Division with a win over the Gators in Jacksonville. Should South Carolina beat LSU and lose to Florida, Georgia could forge a three-way tie at the same juncture.
“We’ve got an opportunity to get back on a winning track,” Richt said. “The best thing we can do is correct our mistakes. We had to assess some things we need to get better at. That’s what you do. . . . Hopefully we can go out and have a good performance against Kentucky and get our momentum going again.”
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653 comments Add your comment
Snoop Dawg
October 13th, 2012
11:18 pm
…But Markt Wrecked is a good man….
Caesar was also an honorable man…
steven a smith
October 13th, 2012
11:18 pm
Time to Bench Aaron “Scrub” Murray!!!!!
Snoop Dawg
October 13th, 2012
11:19 pm
UGA Football is a national joke.
Big Wally
October 13th, 2012
11:20 pm
At the next home game, the fans should start chanting KIR-BY, KIR-BY, KIR-BY, KIR-BY. Maybe McGarrity will get the message….finally.
DawgNole
October 13th, 2012
11:20 pm
The Truth
October 13th, 2012
11:15 pm
Oh thank God! Our hopes of backing into the SEC championship to get handily outcoached by Alabama is still alive!!!!! Looks very promising with this pending LSU victory over that SC team that made us look like Reinhardt College.
___________________
Quit countin’ them damn chickens, dummy. It ain’t over yet.
Big Wally
October 13th, 2012
11:21 pm
UGA football….where NFL caliber talent meets high school level coaching.
Snoop Dawg
October 13th, 2012
11:21 pm
FIRE MARK RICHT, PLEASE GOD…
Snoop Dawg
October 13th, 2012
11:23 pm
Mark Richt is the AntiChrist.
atlfalconsfan0125
October 13th, 2012
11:33 pm
UGA is still alive. They still have a chance to go get spanked by Alabama!
steven a smith
October 13th, 2012
11:35 pm
Bench Aaron Murray as soon as possible!!!
sanctions aren't working
October 13th, 2012
11:42 pm
I said earlier this season that Jeremy Hill is the best freshman running back in the SEC…GIRLSHALL would have to wait their turn in Baton Rouge. LSU statrting 2 true freshmen on the right side of the o-line, including a Georgia kid, and beats the squad that routed the mighty BULLDOGS…that was big-boy football ladies…hope CMR was taking notes…Vidal Alexander> Theus…
TGT
October 13th, 2012
11:42 pm
Ha Ha Ha South Carolina’s invincible D gave up 400 + yards to a crappy LSU offense and lost the game. Hilarious. UGA probably won’t get a shot at the NC or a decent bowl, but I love when Spurrier gets his butt whipped. He’s such a crybaby! Florida is going to kick the chickens next week as well! It looks like Florida is going to face Alabama in the SEC title game…again.
true dawg881
October 13th, 2012
11:53 pm
All ya haters we back in it if we win who knows what might happen.Florida didnt look that good go dawgs forget these haters
sanctions aren't working
October 14th, 2012
12:00 am
Gotta love the way UGA backs into luck…a tradition of choking and benefiting from others losses…go SC next Saturday…Georgia is weak as pizz…
Lowcountry Dawg
October 14th, 2012
12:02 am
It’s not just one game- it’s every game Georgia has played the last 4-5 years against top teams-except Ga Tech. Notice Mark Richt talked about how the SC loss was like Georgia’s victory over Auburn
IN 2007. 2007!!!!!!!! That’s how far he had to go back!!!!!!
He acts like it’s no big deal that we got beat 35-7-sorry-IT IS A BIG DEAL.
I love love his comment after the game-” Well, the bad news is that we lost, but the good news is that we took it all together”. Really??? That’s the good news?????
DawgNole
October 14th, 2012
12:08 am
Lowcountry Dawg
October 14th, 2012
12:02 am
It’s not just one game- it’s every game Georgia has played the last 4-5 years against top teams-except Ga Tech.
_______________________
Ga Tech? When did Tech become a top team?
7576DAWG
October 14th, 2012
1:08 am
We will score 50 points on Kentucky but we better show a lot more aggressive offensive formations to get some type of idea as to what we will need to do to beat Florida. If our passing game does not open up our running game with Florida then we will have a repeat of the South Carolina game. Florida will shut our running backs down if we do not spread Florida out and we better practice on Kentucky.
L.S.U. has a better defense than South Carolina so Grantham better make some major changes on defense if we don’t want to bet embarrassed by Florida. Do I need to remind anyone that Florida beat L.S.U.
Bad Dawg
October 14th, 2012
1:13 am
USC was as invincible as I thought they were. Of course, it took a legit team to expose them.
Shocking that kool-aid is already being sipped again. Anybody really believe that CMR will rise to the occasion in Jax of all places?? Based on what exactly? LSU winning? Or maybe a 20 year history of clutching up against UF? Or maybe it’s our stellar track record against top 10 teams.
UGA can win-sure-maybe they should win. The only certainty is that they won’t win.
dbc
October 14th, 2012
1:17 am
Thanks to SC and LSU for putting on a really good show. I enjoyed watching that game immensely. Two great SEC teams slugging it out. Not giving up and accepting “the whipping we all took together.” It only takes a minute to watch Bama, LSU, SC and FLA. to see how weak our coach and his staff truly are. I’m sure they were all watching and jumping around because Carolina lost. They have zero chance of beating Florida. ZERO. After next weeks drubbing of Kentucky, they’ll all announce how UGA football is back — then the annual Florida debacle (and I truly mean debacle) will rear it’s ugly head. Then CMR will talk about not giving up and fight and being a team and we’ll be in Nashville for a bowl game. We’ve seen this script too many times to not know the outcome. Anyone, other than those born on MARS doubt me?
eyeswideopen
October 14th, 2012
5:05 am
all seem like really good excuses but hey try……lets move on………..
eyeswideopen
October 14th, 2012
5:21 am
Do ANY of these genius’s ever stop to think and look at GA’s schedule !!!!!!!!! they play creampuffs all year,and then whine like a first grader when fla and SC tear their little tales up….then of all the idiotic things…CMR says they didn’t just beat one member….the whipped the whole dang family….hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
short memories
October 14th, 2012
5:56 am
So South Carolina has been shown to not be that great. it shows how bad Georgia is to look like cheerleaders against SC. Richt should be embarassed to take the money he does to look so incompetent. They should fire him and the special teams coach.
Daisy in Ocala
October 14th, 2012
7:30 am
Florida 45, Georgia 17
Gonna be a loooonnnnggg day in Jacksonville for the hapless dwags as they watch their hopes and dreams come crashing down around them.
But a great day for Kool-Aid vendors!
tell me aain
October 14th, 2012
7:32 am
Enter your comments here
tell me again
October 14th, 2012
7:37 am
Chizik won a NC – would any of us want that program now? I think not. Oh lookie – SC lost to LSU – I guess the season is not over after all – and they have to play Florida next week…the season ain’t over yet, boys. Like I said – it’s one game – whether you win pretty or lose ugly the math is the same – one game. 1=1….even Tech fans know that. Vandy gave the mighty gators all they could handle….. very impressive. I like our odds – GO DAWSG!
Layinlow
October 14th, 2012
8:24 am
Hell yes I would take a down year If a coach could win us a national championship. Afterall Richt went 6-7 with no national championship genuis.
fb
October 14th, 2012
8:38 am
For every one of the CMR haters, I generally pose the same question year after year. Who is available right now that will bring us 10 wins a season (as CMR has done)? I am not opposed to switching coaches but God knows he better be at least as good as CMR or the haters will be all over him. Most your mid-major coaches are Jim Donnan in new gear. Most the “Fire CMR” folks wanted Todd Grantham to move up last year. How are you feeling about that now, Einsteins??
kingdaddy
October 14th, 2012
8:50 am
Lil stevie is such a trip. Spurrier’s “spin-move” was a good one. “Well , at least we beat UGA! ” Doesn’t sound like a great accomplishment now, does it???
Richt is learning from Lil stevie though. CMR was overheard telling anyone that would listen, “Well, at least we’re not Texas!”…LOL…Texas is one of the most talent rich states there is, but Mack Brown has lost 9 in a row to ranked teams…Yeah Lil stevie, you’ve always got UGA…
Just Saying
October 14th, 2012
9:06 am
@Kingdaddy
Where is our buddy “nothing could be finer”??? Actually, nothing could be finer other than SC losing to the Gators. If that happens and UGa plays a great game without spotting FL 21 points in the first 10 minutes (as we did in Columbia), then we would not “back in” to the SEC CG…..we would earn it!!! SC is finding out that they don’t do well on the road. Look out, here comes the Swamp!!!!
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
9:19 am
The “ole ball sack lost”.
My week is already starting off on a good note…..
Now if the gators will just do their part……not that I want us to get into the SECCG, and get our ass handed to us again, but I just want that cock$*%!#^ to lose…….as often as possible.
Thanks LSU…..
Wonder how that peckerhead “nothin could be finer” is feeling about now??
Just Saying
October 14th, 2012
9:20 am
@layinlow
I would give up a NC to have 10-3, 11-2, 12-2 etc teams just about every year. Auburn sucked several years ago during the Tuberville fiasco, brought in several great players under questionable circumstances, won a NC, totally sucked in 2011 (rebuilding year) and are light years worse in 2012 (I guess another rebuilding year)!!!! I sincerely believe there are things we can do to improve like hiring a specialty teams coach, recruit better on the OL, etc., but firing CMR is totally stupid. We are obsessed with being just like “Bama” and winning a NC. I wish our selfish fans who are obsessed with the “championship” garbage would appreciate having a team that is routinely in the top 10% of programs in the nation…..rather than having a program like Auburn who wins a NC, but will be playing 0.500 ball in the last 6 years (minus the NC season). P.S. Did anyone see what Tuberville’s team did to the “unbeatable” WVU team yesterday? That is EXACTLY what we would see happen if we fired CMR. Go Dawgs!!!L
Sammy
October 14th, 2012
9:25 am
All those gloomy posts loook pretty dumb after seeing SC lose, now if UF beats SC, and UGA beats UF, UGA’s goals are all in tact.
Gloom and doomers, wrong again.
Sammy, right again.
Sammy
October 14th, 2012
9:27 am
Gloom & doomers said UGA wouldn’t be UF last year too. How did that work out? Seems to me gloom & doomers were wrong last year too.
None will admit it though, just go back and look at all the posts that said SC owuld beat LSU.
Wrong.
BirdDawg
October 14th, 2012
9:29 am
So WVA got completely destroyed by an unranked team yesterday. I seriously doubt their fans are screaming for a coaching change. Just sayin…
BadBadDawg
October 14th, 2012
9:34 am
Good post BirdDawg. Too many gloom and doomers here. SC lost. Get over it GA haters. Season only halfway done.
Just Saying
October 14th, 2012
9:35 am
@red and black,
I sincerely believe some Dawg fans are ruminating too much over the SC game. Yes, certain aspects of our game need improvement, but I don’t think the SC game is a reflection ofmwho we are. This has been an interesting season where we have probably played the 2 biggest games in the history of both Columbias with atmospheres totally hostile. Even the Missouri coach and press said so……..as did everyone associated with the SC program. We weathered the storm against Missouri (a good team that has not had their QB at full speed since UGa). Against SC, a really good team, we couldn’t do anything right in the first 10 minutes. The 21-0 score in the SC game was part due to their great play and part due to us just screwing-up!!! LSU is a good team, but not great. SC lost last night to a team that is not even marginally as good as the LSU team of last year….not even close. They were just playing at home and kicked SC butt!!! By the way, LSU more than doubled SC stats and almost doubled “time of possession”. If we win the East….
We will not back into the SEC CG….we will have earned it. P.S. LSU may even lose to Ole Miss….the team we drew from the West. Ole Miss looking pretty good so we had better be ready!!!
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
9:38 am
hey guys……..watch out for “ole miss”. they could be dangerous……
if the gators handle sc, Christmas will have come early for me.
anything to deny “ole ball sack” a shot of anything ……..
Tommy T did look good yesterday…..
Just Saying
October 14th, 2012
9:39 am
By the way, I find it interesting how the “cocky”cock fans think we backed into the SEC CG last season. Even their coach said UGa was better and they were lucky to win the fiasco last year.
Just Saying
October 14th, 2012
9:49 am
Did anyone see how the SC players were acting as they came out of the tunnel before the game
last night? They were horrible and taunting the LSU fans. Also, I saw 2 of their players at separate times act like they were stripping away their jerseys to show the Superman “S” on their chests. Did anyone else see any of that stuff? Wow, I’d be humiliated if the Dawgs did that kind of crap. I sincerely believe Spurrier encourages that type of hot-dogging…..and I bet our friend”nothing could be finer” would be soooooo proud!!! GO Dawgs!!!
Layinlow
October 14th, 2012
9:52 am
Just saying, so your happy beating up 10 cupcakes a year and getting manhandled by the good SEC teams? Your happy losing to south carolina 3 years in a row? Your happy going 2-14 against ranked opponents in our last 16 games? Your happy were not an elite SEC program even though the state of Georgia is one one of the most talent rich states in high school football? The only conclusion an intelligent human being could draw from fans who are happy with Richt is that they are satisfied with underachieving. Thats simply a loser mentality and I’m not a GD loser like you.
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
9:53 am
@Just Sayin
There is validity in what you say. I agree that “IF” we beat FL we will have “EARNED” a shot/spot in the SECCG. “BUT” beating FL will be a tall order. Yes it can happen. But will it? There are just so many unanswered questions about this team right now. Too many in my opinion.
Also we are on the same page it seems in our concern about Ole Miss. I like you feel they can be extremely danagerous if we are not prepared. They beat Auburn (but then again “who hasn’t”).
To your point about us screwing up. We have not played a complete game this year. At best we have played one half of each. Mistakes have killed us. Dumb penalties have killed us.
All of this is “NOT” the mark of a good team, much less a “GREAT” team.
We are also together on “nothin could be finer”…..what a twit………
John H.
October 14th, 2012
9:55 am
Division Championships aren’t worth a bucket of warm spit.
Layinlow
October 14th, 2012
9:59 am
Are you mark richt apologist brain dead? We are 2-14 against ranked opponents but every time we get whipped in one of these big games you guys act like it is a one off situation. It’s a pattern of failure that has been going on for 5 years! Its this GD simple, our coach takes better talent into most of these big games and we lose to the coach who has lesser talent! Get it? Will it not sink in or what? Geez
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
10:03 am
@layinlow
I doubt any of us are happy with that situation. But it is what it is. Remember we didn’t make the schedule. we just have to play it.
And don’t worry it will get tougher. The question is, can we handle a tougher schedule. At this point in time I say no, based on what we have done with the ones we’ve had as of late.
Also the Bama’s and LSU’s have had some cupcakes as well.
sanctions aren't working
October 14th, 2012
10:04 am
Just like last year, LSU helped save your season. They took Oregon off your hands (only to have you get punked by Boise). This year they handle SC, handing them their first SEC loss. And LSU did it with a Georgia middle linebacker (and probably first team all-SEC), and a true freshman starting right tackle in Vidal Alexander. Kids from Suwanee, Buford starring in Baton Rouge, not Athens. Guess none of them was impressed with the “thug love” approach used by CRG.
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
10:06 am
@ John H.
Very true……
slow your roll
October 14th, 2012
10:09 am
Maybe this “east is back on top” in the SEC might be premature. West winners yesterday vs. east: Mississippi State, Arkansas, LSU, Alabama. 4-0 west.
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
10:12 am
@ snctions
And we appreciate it. We need all the help we can get.
Unfortunately LSU still has to play Bama. So the chances of them getting to Atl. just got slimmer.
And Bama has to play Miss St…..which is looking pretty good right now…..And believe me Miss St. absolutely hates Bama. Those folks would settle for going 1-11 if that one win was angainst Bama.
redandblack
October 14th, 2012
10:20 am
@ slow
ARKANSAS??? ………surely you jest?????
slow your roll
October 14th, 2012
10:26 am
Arkansas did win yesterday…and they did beat an SEC east school…and if they were ranked, history says they would beat Georgia.