South Carolina loss boosts Georgia’s chances in East
Georgia’s hopes of reaching the SEC Championship game despite its ugly loss at South Carolina got a boost Saturday night when the Gamecocks followed their domination of the Bulldogs with a loss at LSU.
South Carolina’s 23-21 loss, one week after its 35-7 rout of Georgia, means UGA will represent the Eastern Division in the SEC title game if:
- South Carolina loses at least one of its three remaining SEC games, the most difficult of which is this week at Florida.
Those are big ifs, of course.
“Right now, I think the best thing for Georgia is to focus on getting better, focus on (this week’s opponent) Kentucky,” UGA coach Mark Richt said Sunday. “It’s kind of a boring answer, as always, but it’s really what we’ve got to do.
“We’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up. We’ve been giving up too many big plays. We’ve got to make sure we get back to running the ball like we (were) early in the year. … We need to get more turnovers. We need to protect the ball a little better. We’ve still got things to clean up in some of our special-teams areas.
“We want to finish strong, and if we can keep improving as we go, we’ve got a chance to have some fun in the end here. But we’ve got a ways to go.”
This past weekend’s results — South Carolina’s loss, Florida’s victory at Vanderbilt and Georgia’s bye — left the Gators (6-0, 5-0 SEC) alone in first place in the SEC East. South Carolina (6-1, 4-1) and Georgia (5-1, 3-1) are even in the loss column. All other East teams have at least three league losses.
Because of its loss to South Carolina, Georgia would lose a tiebreaker with the Gamecocks; that’s why Georgia needs them to lose again. If Florida beats South Carolina on Saturday in Gainesville but loses to Georgia on Oct. 27 in Jacksonville, that would leave the Gators and Bulldogs with one SEC loss each (provided UGA beats Kentucky) and the Dogs with the tiebreaker advantage over Florida.
Etc.
Richt took advantage of Georgia’s open date to watch his son play quarterback for Mars Hill (N.C.) College. Jon Richt set school single-game records for passing attempts (52), completions (33) and passing yards (370) as Mars Hill defeated Catawba 35-28. “I guess I can be a dad who can brag a little bit, but Jon played well,” Richt said. “It was the last time I’ll probably ever get to see him play college ball in person, so it was a treat for me and the family.” … Georgia’s 7 p.m. Saturday game at Kentucky (1-6, 0-4) will be televised on FSN, it was announced Sunday. … Georgia inched up one spot to No. 13 in this week’s Associated Press media poll and remained No. 12 in the USA Today coaches’ poll.
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769 comments Add your comment
GatorsforRicht
October 15th, 2012
11:08 am
Man, it’s rough when even your own state newspaper is openly mocking your team. Don’t let it get you down dogs, keep Richt and Bobo, it ain’t that bad. 10-2 or 9-3 is better than a team like Kentucky or Missouri, you are pretty much playing to your level so relax and watch us play Bama in Atlanta.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:09 am
UGA is #1 in the SEC in long scrimmage plays of 40+ yards, not too bad.
ugab
October 15th, 2012
11:11 am
Hot Seats!!! Gene Chizik, Mack Brown, Derick Dooley, and Mark Richt.? Chizik is alot like CMR. Chizik won with someone elses program. Why did Chizik ever hire those sorry ex Uga DCs? Mack Brown need to retire. Wayyyyyyyy to much talent at Texas. Omg, full of 5 star recruits. Derick Dooley has hip surgery in the middle of the football season?? Even though Dooley needed the surgery, it is not going to help him keep his job. CMR can not beat the important teams. CR and staff are out coached by far. It is time for a change. I like CMR as a person, but we need a coach. Let CR retire as a Assistant AD and lets’ get a coach. A coach that bleeds football.
Live from Vegas
October 15th, 2012
11:12 am
UGA is #1 in delusional fans. Not too bad.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:12 am
UGA def allowing td in red zone 54%, LSU 84%, not too bad.
GTBob
October 15th, 2012
11:12 am
Every team that moved up in the polls yesterday did so because teams in front of them lost
They also moved up because they won. I’m not sure why you turned it into a discussion about polls anyways. As far as I know, this blog is about UGA fans hoping that a team that is much better than them will lose to even better teams so they can go to the SEC championship. The polls don’t have much to do with that.
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:14 am
GatorsforRicht, enjoy 7-0, because you’ll leave Jax with a loss. Muschump should be called Richt Jr — he coaches to his opponent. Mark my words — this will be his best season ever. You’ll probably keep him around for 10-15 years, even though he’ll only beat UGA 2 or 3 times.
Joey
October 15th, 2012
11:15 am
Again, Sammy, UGA has been blown-out 9 times since the beginning of ‘08.
Do you consider that “not too bad?”
ugab
October 15th, 2012
11:15 am
Where is all this $ going that UGa spent on the S & C program? Spend the money on a coach that can put a program together. I bet we run out of some position at the end of the yr.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:15 am
uga & lsu both allowed just 1 punt return more than 40 yards, not too bad.
Big Wally
October 15th, 2012
11:16 am
per Sammy…Ga. is #2 in the country in Wide Receivers who have more than 1 vowel in their first name. Take that doubters.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:16 am
LSU & Fla both averaging more penalties per game than UGA, not too bad.
GatorBait 18-4
October 15th, 2012
11:18 am
astrouga—–Sorry Florida fans, “Muschump” is Richt junior.—-
You have no clue, I hope you can blame you ignorance some drug you are on.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:18 am
UGA scoring offense, and total offense better than Bama, LSU, Florida or South Caro, not too bad.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
October 15th, 2012
11:18 am
@ Joe Jerkins:
Do you and your mouthy, negative spewing, ilk really believe that ANYBODY gives a FAT RODENT’S Behind what you are sick and tired of??? And the weakest of ALL OVER-USED mouthings about If This and If That. Probably most of y’all never graduated HS and know about as much about coaching football as my 6 year old grandson but just love to see your name in type!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe Jerkens & his ilk = Single Digit IQ
FloridaDawg
October 15th, 2012
11:19 am
I actually see no reason to believe this will happen. I watched how we didn’t play at all in Columbia and how SC could have beaten LSU…game decided in the last 2 minutes. So lots of ifs….but how did we get to this place? What indication does anyone see that supports a turn-a-round?
I hope it happens….but 35 to 7?????
When did a Vince Dooley team do that…against Virginia in the late 70’s is the only time i can remember. There could be more….tell me when?
Rick James
October 15th, 2012
11:19 am
The SEC east will be decided in Jacksonville.South Carolina beat Georgia last year and chocked against Auburn and will do it again this year.I’m sure that when they do they will again blame Georgia for not making it to Atlanta.Hope they enjoy that 35-7 win for a while it might be the hight point of the season.
ugab
October 15th, 2012
11:20 am
Who thinks CMR is going to beat Kentucky? Who thinks CMR is going to beat Auburn? Who especially thinks CMR is going to bean Florida? Florida battles in the trenches. The dawgs play patty cake in the trenches. GT is going to beat CMR. Ga can not stop the run. Everyone quit getting their hopes up and face reality. CMR will lose 3 or 4 more games!!!!!!!!!!!!
Live from Vegas
October 15th, 2012
11:21 am
The current hierarchy in the SEC is:
Bama
Florida
LSU
SC
Last time UGA played Bama: thumped
Last time UGA played LSU: thumped
Last time UGA played SC: thumped
Next time UGA plays Florida: survey says: THUMPED (based on trend and history vs. ranked programs)
22 SEC Titles
October 15th, 2012
11:22 am
Sammy, if you are going to post about Coach Bryant and his record , try using facts Skippy. His first year was 1958, and Bama was AP National Champion in 61, 64, and 65. His 66 team finished 11-0 and the AP Title went to ND at 9-0-1 and they didnot play in a bowl game. Need any other college fb history lesons????????
DawginLex
October 15th, 2012
11:22 am
flat tire moron
Koolaid crowd?
No. I am waiting until the entire season is over before I state my opinion.
I got news for you, so is Richt’s boss.
As I have said since the summer, the expectations are high for Richt in 2012. McGarity stood by him after 6-7. Next was 10-4 and now could be 10-2 or 11-1 and more.
Only a hating idiot would advocate firing Richt now but I guess you qualify. You are far too stupid to understand or comprehend anything that I am saying so I will just quit trying.
If we lose to florida, Richt will either be asked to leave or he will leave on his own.
Then you get your wish of a new coach to bash.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
October 15th, 2012
11:22 am
@ Sammy:
Give’em Hell partner but FACTS are not going to make any positive impressions on most of these nutcases.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:23 am
By career win % against winning teams ranking is:
#1 Richt
#2 Saban
#3 Miles
#4 Spurrier
Career win % ranking:
#1 Miles
#2 Richt
#3 Saban
#4 Spurrier
ugab
October 15th, 2012
11:24 am
Sammy,
That was until we played somebody with a defense. lol duh
GatorBait 18-4
October 15th, 2012
11:26 am
Sammy, are you Patrick’s evil twin? Regardless didn’t you hear your mommy call you home for lunch and your nap.
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:26 am
Gatorbait…too funny. Say something meanful rather than attempt to take a personal shot.
I am surprised that you can look at your performance so far this year and think your coach is doing a good job. Even against Vandy you were barely ahead at half. you certainly didn’t dominate them. Florida is limping along asking for a loss.
I’ll give you this — Muschump gets a little more angry than Richt. That is about it. I wish Richt would get that angry sometimes, however, I don’t think it would improve his coaching.
Seriously, Muschamp looks like Richt post-SEC title years. He just seems frazzled and confused.
Rick James
October 15th, 2012
11:27 am
@GTBob
They also moved up because they won. I’m not sure why you turned it into a discussion about polls anyways. As far as I know, this blog is about UGA fans hoping that a team that is much better than them will lose to even better teams so they can go to the SEC championship. The polls don’t have much to do with that.
———————————————————————————————————————————–
No it has to do with you saying that Georgia is hoping to “weasel” its way into the SEC championship game.My point is that at some point every team needs another team to lose for them to benefit.If South Carolina loses to Florida this week wont they have to hope that Georgia wins in Jacksonville? Wont they have to rely on somebody else to beat a team that beat them? I guess that means they are trying to “weasel” into the championship game too right? You need to worry about Duke
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:27 am
No, Bear Bryant started coaching as Head Coach in 1945, only had 1 top 10 finish in his first 11 seasons.
Richt’s had 6 top 10 finishes in his first 11 seasons as Head Coach, only 6x more than Bear Bryant.
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:28 am
All you have to do is read what Clowney said to see why their D threw our offense off so much. I am amazed so many of you critics don’t read.
That said, UGA coaches should have realized and adjusted. Live and learn though, I hope.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:28 am
Gatorbait, are you Bulldawg or Thomas Brown or both?
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:29 am
Clowney only had 1 sack against UGA, he was a non-factor.
Sammy
October 15th, 2012
11:31 am
Richt’s 2-1 against Saban at Bama, 4-4 against Spurrier at SC, 1-0 against Muschamp at UF, not too bad.
Cdpridg
October 15th, 2012
11:31 am
The East will come down to the ol cocktail party….just as it does every year
Live from Vegas
October 15th, 2012
11:32 am
Sammy’s right. I remember Herbie and Brent saying how surprised they were that Clowney was a non-factor in the UGA game.
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:33 am
OK Sammy, I agree with your stats. However to say Clowney was a non-factor because of one one sack means you weren’t watching the game. Go back and watch the replay.
Also, the entire D recognized that Murray was tapping the center on the snap. Clowney just talked about it after the game.
SC Dawg
October 15th, 2012
11:34 am
FloridaDawg – You see no reason UGA can bounce back from a loss?? How bout the 10 straight they won last year after a loss to South Carolina?! There’s no denying that Dawgs played horrible GAME against South Carolina. But the jury is WAY out on how good anyone in SEC is this year! Yes Gamecocks beat Dawgs badly, but they struggled mightily against Vandy and KENTUCKY! Mettenbergers’s horrible! Just 5 weeks ago Florida was losing to Bowling Green, and Florida struggled to score 24 points on Texas A&M team that just gave up 50 points to Louisiana TECH (not STATE, TECH). Everybody calm down. There are NO great teams or teams that cannot be beaten this year in the SEC, just a lot of pretty good ones. And when you’re “pretty good” but not “great,” then anything can happen on any given Saturday.
GatorBait 18-4
October 15th, 2012
11:35 am
Sammy——————The Gators are 18-4 against your puppies————NOT TOO BAD!!!!!!!
And oh, I didn’t know that paper stats could block, tackel and run———you win going away…In your dreams.
UGA Insider
October 15th, 2012
11:35 am
I am about to go public with something I had heard the entire week of the UGA/USCe game. Players were constantly out drinking and partying! That is the reason the Dawgs were unprepared and out of shape. This team has a lack of leadership and I am tired of seeing it. Players don’t respect the program and feel they were slighted by McGarity and Adams for the Rambo/Tree fiasco. Team unit is terrible as well. Lots of jealously. I am hearing some players are out drinking 3 or 4 nights a week. Also hearing marijuana is a major problem with others.
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:36 am
Sammy, RE: Clowney
He was as much a factor against UGA as he has been in any game. Just look at his numbers for each game:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/515821/jadeveon-clowney
He still put pressure on the QB and forced us to adjust.
SammySupporter
October 15th, 2012
11:37 am
Keep the “Rose colored glasses” on SAMMY. You have to be the biggest doofus on this site. But I say keep Richt for as long as you want. You will NEVER win any championship. You aren’t even qualified to talk about UGA’s competition.
Richt recruits well but NOT for the O line
October 15th, 2012
11:38 am
My gripe about Richt is that UGA on his watch, beyond maybe two seasons, NEVER has the sheer talent OR depth needed to play BIB BOY ball on the O line. We always appear to be manhandled in our ugly blow out losses.
UT, Alabama, SC and AU come in to Georgia and take the good O linemen. LSU the other night ran behind their right tackle, from Buford, GA. One example of too many like just like that. CMR travels to Miami or NC or Jax to get linemen. That plan is failing. Look at the current UGA 2013 frosh class of 3 ? O linemen with one not coming now,
astrouga
October 15th, 2012
11:40 am
GatorBait:
According to your school: “Georgia leads 47–40–2″.
Sadly, your recent run is over. You can start thanking Muschump for that.
SC Dawg
October 15th, 2012
11:40 am
GatorBait 18-4 : Sammy’s talking about how Richt’s done the past few years, which is what he’s being attacked for on this board. So why are you arbitrarily going back 22 games? Let’s arbitrarily go back ALL TE WAY which makes it Georgia 48-40 and 2 ties against your reptiles! BETTER!
Rick James
October 15th, 2012
11:41 am
@UGA Insider
I am about to go public with something I had heard the entire week of the UGA/USCe game. Players were constantly out drinking and partying! That is the reason the Dawgs were unprepared and out of shape. This team has a lack of leadership and I am tired of seeing it. Players don’t respect the program and feel they were slighted by McGarity and Adams for the Rambo/Tree fiasco. Team unit is terrible as well. Lots of jealously. I am hearing some players are out drinking 3 or 4 nights a week. Also hearing marijuana is a major problem with others.
—————————————————————————————————————————
If you cant substanuate that story with a link to a creditable source its gossip.
UGA Insider
October 15th, 2012
11:43 am
If DawginLex is right…… who is every-one’s choice for the new HC job at UGA?
I think mine right now is Kirby Smart. The Bama D looks awesome and he is great at recruiting GA.
Back-up plan is D Dooley and Chris Peterson. I think Kirby is the guy if he can get a top notch offensive mind in there like Muschamp did.
GatorBait 18-4
October 15th, 2012
11:44 am
astrouga
How’s this, Muschamp has already beat more ranked teams than Richt has in the past 3 years.
Sad but true. You keep Richt and I’ll that take Will.
Just check out Richt and Muschamp post game press conf. You will see a football coach and a preacher(don’t get me wrong, Richt is a fine man, he is just not a football coach.)
Spurrier nailed Georgia years ago when he said,”Georgia gets all the best players but we win all the games.” I just don’t know what happens to all those good player at UGA
SC Dawg
October 15th, 2012
11:44 am
UGA Insider: Are you 80 years old?! lol EVERY college teams’ players are out drinking EVERY week (and yes – sometimes there’s MARY JANE involved TOO!) Maybe ours just can’t handle it as well! lol
Ben
October 15th, 2012
11:45 am
I think we all need to chill, college football has been working toward parity for 15 years and they are close to having it! With few exceptions Ala,Lsu,Sc and maybe Fla defense has been the difference maker. Three of those teams and still not sure about Fla are in a different league because of defense. Frankly, don’t know if there are enough super star defensive lineman to staff more than two or three college teams. Look around the nation and see how many other college teams are noted for there defenses. Granted, Saban seems to have Ala playing in a league by themselves. Take Ala out of the mix today and we would virtually have a host of one loss teams from all over America jockeying for position? It’s easy to believe the Sec is the best and light years ahead of the other conferences, granted we do tend to beat each other up the most as a conference. Pay attention to bowl games every team rested and note there are other top teams from every conference winning against the Sec. Parity is probably not as far away as we may think!
chris
October 15th, 2012
11:47 am
First of all, Florida has been dangerously close to losing on more than one occassion. I don’t think the Gamecocks are going to lose twice and that they will knock the Gators off this Saturday. Even if they lose….Georgia still has to beat Florida head to head. We saw what when Georgia played the one legit defense they have faced so it’s hard to be confident we will run the table.
Live from Vegas
October 15th, 2012
11:48 am
Who needs o-linemen when you can sign 5 or 6 5* running backs or receivers? Richt plays finesse ball in a big-boy league. You can beat Kentucky, Buffalo, FAU and the like with athletes and gimmicks. Saban changed the mindset, Miles continued the big-boy mindset. Urban Meyer wouldn’t change his style and left ahead of the pitchforks. Muschamp brought it with him and the results are obvious. Spurrier saw all this and changed his style of football. Richt will not change. What you see is what you will get until the fanbase gets over the infatuation with 1990’s ACC ball.