Motivation will have to come from within as Bulldogs host Ole Miss for homecoming
Georgia is going to need linebacker Alec Ogletree (9) to have a great day providing containment on Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace today. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
ATHENS — For the Missouri game, it was an opposing player’s accusation that Georgia plays “old man football.” For Vanderbilt, it was replaying the postgame antics of the Commodores’ coach from the year before. For Florida last week, it was Shawn Williams’ accusations that Georgia’s defense was soft and playing without passion.
In the Bulldogs’ three most impressive outings of the season, some sort of external motivation inspired the Bulldogs to a higher level of play. But what about this week, when Georgia plays host to an average Ole Miss team on homecoming? What about next week when the Bulldogs travel to Auburn to play a team that hasn’t won an SEC game?
No. 6-ranked Georgia will have only one place to go for motivation for those games — winning the SEC Eastern Division title and returning to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The Bulldogs believe that should be enough.
“Man, we know what we’ve got at stake,” senior noseguard John Jenkins said. “We know what’s at the end of the tunnel. I know Ole Miss is a good ballclub; I considered them during my recruiting process. We know how big this game is. Each game we come across now is that much bigger.”
The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) are coming off a 17-9 win over then-No. 2-ranked Florida. They needed a heroic play by Jarvis Jones in the final minutes to secure the victory but it was otherwise a dominating effort.
Georgia held the Gators to just 266 yards total offense and forced six turnovers. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs got their running game back on track. Freshman tailback Todd Gurley had 118 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
“I definitely think we’re capable of playing with that kind of intensity and that kind of emotion every week,” quarterback Aaron Murray said. “Right now it’s exciting. We’re back in the lead in the East. We have a chance to play in Atlanta. That Florida game means nothing if we don’t win these next two so I know our guys are going to be geeked up, excited and ready to go.”
Georgia will need to be ready because it will be facing an upstart Ole Miss team that believes in first-year coach Hugh Freeze. The Rebels (5-3, 2-2 SEC) are coming off a 30-27 win over Arkansas in Little Rock this past weekend. It was the team’s second SEC win in a row after losing 16 straight going back to last season under Houston Nutt.
“I think we’ve got our hands full,” said Freeze, who came to Ole Miss from Arkansas State but is probably best known for being Michael Oher’s high school coach at Briarcrest Christian Academy. “I think (the Bulldogs are) playing their best football, and they’re probably as confident as they’ve ever been. To go their place with our limited number of scholarship kids and the lack of depth we have at places, it’s a tall task. But we’ve been that way in most games we’ve played. Our kids are going to compete, I know that, and I think we need a few breaks here and there. We’ve got to play probably a near-perfect game to go in and pull it off.”
The Rebels have lost 11 straight to ranked opponents. However, they gave No. 1 Alabama its best game to date before losing 33-14.
Expect an extremely motivated Ole Miss team. It features seven starters from the state of Georgia, including linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, a redshirt freshman from Grayson who felt spurned by the Bulldogs. Nkemdiche’s younger brother Robert, a defensive lineman, is rated the No. 1 overall prospect in America and will also be at the game.
“The excitement is unreal,” said Denzel, who leads the Rebels in tackles, forced fumbles and interceptions. “This is like a homecoming for me and I just can’t explain how excited I am to play between the hedges. I’m going to have so many friends and family there. This game is extremely personal.”
So the Bulldogs can be sure their opponent will be motivated. What can they do to ensure that they are as well?
“I don’t know what they’re going to do this week,” coach Mark Richt said of his team. “I hope they play like they did (against Florida). I hope we continue to get after it with that kind of emotion and heartbeat.”
Senior linebacker Christian Robinson assures that Georgia will.
“We use the analogy of a train,” Robinson said. “It takes a lot of momentum to get it going but, once it’s going full speed, it’s hard to slow it down. If you try to get in its way it’s going to run right through you. So we’re hoping we continue to pick up speed and hopefully we’re going at a rate now where no one can slow us down.”
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122 comments Add your comment
RiffRaff
November 3rd, 2012
11:12 am
Run the ball,stay away from the Murray implosion.
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
11:14 am
I have no idea why you wrote all of that to me NC Dawg, unless it was your usual knee-jerk reaction to any slight to Richt, real or imagined. I only asked a question.
But, I’ll say this, if our coaches are expecting players to provide motivation in games, they may want to make a change or two, because that motivation sure comes and goes. We’ve looked highly motivated in what, 2 or 3 games out of 8?
FLA DAWG
November 3rd, 2012
11:30 am
The Dawgs have to get motivated from within because Richt and Bobo sure as hell can’t motivate them worth crap.
villedog
November 3rd, 2012
11:42 am
CMR gets paid how many million not to motivate his team ? One win in Fl. does not take him off the hook, How many wins in the last 5 years against top 25 teams and against to 10 teams ? All this and having one of the best recruiting class over the last 10 years. I think any head coach in the SEC over the last 5 years could have one as many games and probably more than CMR. Good man, but not a motivator. He needs to chew on the players when they do not play hard and when they make stupid mistakes, How about playing another QA when Murray is having a bad day ? If one is not prepared, then has CMR done his job ?
FLA DAWG
November 3rd, 2012
11:47 am
Remember when Richt chewed out Grantham for yelling at one of his D players a couple of years ago? That’s all you need to know about Richt.
Athens has turned into The Big Easy with Richt as Mayor.
SatillaDawg
November 3rd, 2012
11:57 am
Sic ‘Em, Dawgs!
Glory, Glory to Old Georgia!
Cobb Dawg
November 3rd, 2012
12:05 pm
Here’s a thought: What if the head coach does a little motivating this week? You know, just for a change of pace? Look, I love the guy as much as anybody else, but I always get disheartened when I hear him say he doesn’t know what the team is going to do to motivate itself this week.
Tom Dawg 1
November 3rd, 2012
12:07 pm
If all the ugly comments by some of you so called UGA fans were turned
into fighting motivation, I guarantee the team would be undefeated.
Be a true fan of the Dawgs, be positive once in a while’
Some of you can never be pleased. Even if they were undefeated.
FLA DAWG
November 3rd, 2012
12:20 pm
Referring to The Dawgs Richt stated, “I don’t know what they’re going to do this week.”.
Head Coach of UGA!?
The man is incredibly inspiring.
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
12:22 pm
What’s up Puppies…
To the nice lady who doesn’t think anyone won last weeks game, I question her football knowledge and wonder if she may have needed a couple of Midol during the game last week…
1eyedJack
November 3rd, 2012
12:25 pm
What they really said.
Coach Richt : “I don’t know what they’re going to do this week. I hope they play like they did (against Florida). I hope we continue to get after it with that kind of emotion and heartbeat.”
Coach Dooley: “I don’t know how we’ll manage to compete with them. I hope they had a bad trip (from Oxford). Their long-snapper has a chance to be an All-American. They lead the conference in punting. We’re going to have to be on our toes because Coach Freeze will have ‘em chomping at the bit.
FLA DAWG
November 3rd, 2012
12:29 pm
Yep,
It was that inspiring, motivational attitude that helped us beat UCF in postseason a couple of years ago………………oops, no – that was a loss wasn’t it !?
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
12:29 pm
One positive on the blog is that all the obnoxious nerds are watching their game and aren’t “helping” us with all their snarky comments. I’m sure it won’t last long as Maryland’s 5th string qb/lb will hang about 40 on them by the end of the first half…
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
12:37 pm
kd, did you read AltamahaDawg’s remark yesterday, replying to my comment about the fact that last Saturday, “BYU didn’t break the Techies hearts, the Gators did”?
AD said (paraphrasing), “now you’ve told the techies something they didn’t know. They were unaware Tech had a game on GA-FL Saturday.”
It was hilarious.
And to a degree, true . . .
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
12:44 pm
FLA DAWG, our HC inspires me . . . . to want to take a nap!
Seriously, maybe he learned a lesson about inspiration and motivation as tools in getting jobs accomplished.
We will know very soon – because this will be our toughest test in our last 4 games of the regular season. Because of the way Miss is playing right now, as well as the emotion we spent in Jax.
I hope Richt gets it done – I’d like to see him get a shot at another SEC Title – and if it don’t happen this December, it may not happen, as the schedule will only get more and more difficult the next couple seasons.
Go Dawgs!
NCDawg
November 3rd, 2012
12:47 pm
No knee jerk reaction Joey… I was merely pointing out that it isn’t necessarily “bad coaching”. I was of the opinion that CMR and staff had to go if they lost to UF. Why? Because if, with all that was riding on that game, the team didn’t show up again ( and yes it has troubled me ) that “the problem” was something the staff could not correct. I am still in wait and see mode. I want to see if the light has come on for the players, especially on defense. I want to see if they can play a good game without having to be out of their minds jacked up. The 2007 team did this. Can this one?
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
12:59 pm
Joey
Subconsciously, the nerds think about UGA football more than they do GT football. It’s sort of like a womans penis-envy. More times than not, they don’t even realize it as a part of their psyche. Techies hate us more than they love themselves. This is related to being a spoiled brat that never got enough love at home, ergo not enough spankings to show a feeling of care or non-apathy. That is why the “spankings” that UGA administers is looked upon by nerds as subconscious love…
Nervous dawg
November 3rd, 2012
12:59 pm
He’s smart enough to get himself into a job that pays three million per year. I wish I could make that claim!
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
1:00 pm
I agree, NCDawg. I’m hoping for the best. Nothing I’d rather see than a “UF” effort all the way through the bowl game.
I believe with that effort, we will hurt some feelings between here and there.
gm
November 3rd, 2012
1:02 pm
3 more easy cup cakes dogs, and real foot ball awaits you again in the Georgia doome, once again Florida saves Mark Richt job these low standards fans at UGA dont even talk about NT anymore.
Mark R. has reduce them to East champs, Gators have given their coach one more year to lose to UGA and play for NT or he is out, that is what sports writers and fans suppose to do.
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:06 pm
UGA shows the nerds some love by spanking them regularly…
Mizzoo getting ready to score…
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
1:08 pm
Dang, that’s cold, kd.
You sound like a psych major.
Or do you just study nerd behavior?
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:15 pm
Don’t take any of our next 4 games lightly. Ga. Southern is 7-1 and tough. They will not roll-over and play dead…
Ol Miss may be catching us at the right time for them, after being pumped for UF, will there be a letdown?
A win against us would make Auburn’s season…
Momma said if I couldn’t say anything nice, not to say anything at all, so I won’t talk about Tech…
DawgNole
November 3rd, 2012
1:16 pm
Our biggest enemies figure to be complacency and overconfidence. Take a look at fla-Mizzou right now. gators are a 17.5-point favorite–and losing at home to the hapless Tigers.
Nothing’s a given. Dawgs will have to stay focused, which is much harder to do when you’re a heavy favorite.
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:18 pm
Joey
Psych 101 & a Master’s in whipping nerds…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:20 pm
LOL…
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
1:21 pm
gm, you aren’t being very fair, if that is your intention. UGA hardly sniffed at an East title until Richt got to Athens. It was his own success which has bred the dissatisfaction with a big portion of the UGA fans (me included) now. Mark Richt got us very, very close to getting in the Big Game twice. Now we want it worse than we did during the Goff years, when we didn’t think it was possible.
Now you on believing what you want, gm, but if you don’t think our game vs UF was “real football,” you don’t know squat. UF shut down LSU. We shut down UF.
Stay tuned . . .
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:24 pm
Joey
is it any wonder why the booger-eating frat-rats like to gang-up on me, lol. Just a bunch of Red-headed step-children. My apoligies to Red-headed step-children…
NCDawg
November 3rd, 2012
1:25 pm
Kingdaddy, some heavy duty psychology going on there. It’s a wonder that anyone goes to that school if that is what happens to your mind after attending. Jeez, it’s enough to make you afraid to even drive down North Avenue! Poor old garbage can scavengers… traumatized into a nearly psychopathic love/hate relationship. Almost makes you feel sorry for them…………………………………..
nah!
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:36 pm
gm
Thanks for all the positive reinforcement. Guess you can’t be counted on as a supporter, so that puts you in the troll column. Wow, nothing but a NC will do for you, huh? So do you just float around from team to team, to whomever wins the NC? Or do you criticize every team that doesn’t meet your lofty expectations ? My guess is you are just a whiney clown from a team we have beaten already or are getting ready to beat. Which is it??
DawgNole
November 3rd, 2012
1:38 pm
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
12:59 pm
Joey
Subconsciously, the nerds think about UGA football more than they do GT football. It’s sort of like a womans penis-envy. More times than not, they don’t even realize it as a part of their psyche. Techies hate us more than they love themselves. This is related to being a spoiled brat that never got enough love at home, ergo not enough spankings to show a feeling of care or non-apathy. That is why the “spankings” that UGA administers is looked upon by nerds as subconscious love…
________________________
Oh, you ol’ philosopher you.
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:45 pm
NCdawg
I actually do feel bad for them. I don’t pull for them to lose. They are a state team so as long as we aren’t playing them, I support them. It is their fans(not all of them) that I detest. For a tech school, they aren’t very bright. They may be book-smart, but they lack “common-sense”. They are always in the Dawg blogs bashing. It’s sad. Kinda like a one-legged man signing up for an a$$-kicking contest. Just not very wise…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:55 pm
DawgNole
Just the effects of a minor hang-over. Alcohol has been used as a truth-serum for centuries. It lowers your inhibitions and makes you a little taller and funnier to yourself than you actually are to others, lol. See…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
1:58 pm
Had a great time at the Dew Drop last night…BOGEY, you posting today???
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:01 pm
Leval
Name one former Dawg player working as a janitor. Several may run a Sanitation Service, possibly one you work for. Go ahead and list them big-shot…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:09 pm
Florida’s depth is wearing Mizzoo down. Welcome to the SEC…
Joey
November 3rd, 2012
2:18 pm
Ok, boys. Back later.
Go Dawgs!!
bulldawg rental player
November 3rd, 2012
2:25 pm
college football news says ole miss will beat georgia today,,,i agree with them…suck it dawg d/a’s…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:29 pm
Leval must have been late for his office cleaning job as a Particulate Removal Technician, lol…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:32 pm
Leval —– Knob-Polisher Technician…
DawgNole
November 3rd, 2012
2:35 pm
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:29 pm
Leval must have been late for his office cleaning job as a Particulate Removal Technician, lol…
________________
Yeah–him and his love interest “bulldawg rental player.”
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:37 pm
Nerds getting bored beating up on a team with a LB as a QB. Starting to filter back on the Dawg blog…Joy, Joy…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
2:39 pm
DawgNole
Probably the same cat…
Russa
November 3rd, 2012
2:50 pm
why does Mizz keep running that moron out as QB play after play after play
Z Dawg
November 3rd, 2012
2:55 pm
I predict Ole Miss/Georgia game will come down to who wants to win more.
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
3:13 pm
Once again, watching this UF/Mizzou game, I’m reminded…”it’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish! ” Mizzou has a chance to win…
kingdaddy
November 3rd, 2012
3:19 pm
I see Leval “popped-in” & “popped-off”, before “popping-out”…Harry Houdini…
CigarDawg
November 3rd, 2012
3:44 pm
Time to hunker down!
CigarDawg
November 3rd, 2012
3:45 pm
It’s our turn now!
dawgs01
November 3rd, 2012
3:54 pm
got a bad feeling right now. Freeze has those guys playing way above talent level. did u hear that speech befor the game i was ready to play hearing that. a lot of passion in his voice and i can tell u this Ole Miss is not intimidated by us one bit. hold on it could be a long four quarters.