Paul and Kyle have already taken this prospect down a few notches…
Georgia has talked about playing a regular-season game at the Georgia Dome in 2010, but Richt downplayed the chances of a deal being struck.
“It’s really more of a pipedream than anything anybody should get excited about,” Richt said after he spoke to the crowd at the St. Mary on The Hill gymnasium.
… but there’s something else about this that makes me curious. The AB-H reports that the subject was addressed by Richt after a question from an audience member about what Georgia could do in response to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban scheduling games in Atlanta.
Is Richt really so concerned about Saban that he’d drop a home game as a defensive measure to blunt the impact of ‘Bama playing in the Dome? The article doesn’t make that clear, but if that’s the reasoning behind trying to schedule such a game, well, that’s just wrong.
Get The Picture 
I have to agree. I’ve seen this all over the place since the Augusta Bulldog club meeting and I can’t see the positive side of it. Well I can’t see where the positives outweigh the negatives.
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Maybe we should play USC (the real one) in Birmingham just to piss Saban off.
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Let me get this straight, playing a neutral site game where you have to fly there and play a team who is a leisurely bus ride away is logical.
But playing a team who will likely have to fly into Atlanta when you can just bus your team there for a game in state makes no sense.
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Gosh, when you put it like that, maybe Georgia should play all its games at the Dome. 😉
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In all fairness, there is a large portion of the fanbase that thinks one neutral site game a year 75 miles from our biggest conference rival’s campus is pretty f’ing stupid and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either.
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In all fairness, if Richt really thinks it’s necessary to move a game from Athens to the Dome in reaction to Nick Saban, shouldn’t we question his judgment about wanting to move the other neutral site game to the Dome?
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If you had been to games in Jax and at the Dome you would see the lunacy of your argument.
Jax is a meal to savor. The dome is like a drive thru burger.
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+1 kckd
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CMRs road record is 30-4 (.882). His neutral site record is 4-7 (.364). h/t Year 2
So he can win in any other stadium that isn’t Sanford, but suddenly playing in Jax he can’t coach a team up? Just win the damn game…
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Just win the damn game…..yes, I’m sure the coaching staff and athletic department never considered that option. If it were that simple, 1) I’m sure they would have done it by now, 2) I’m going to be even more pissed that for the last 20 years we didn’t just “win the damn game” when we could.
I think UGA’s problem with UF is slightly more complicated than just not wanting to win bad enough.
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My point is that the travel isn’t the issue. If that were the case, shouldn’t Richt’s road record (into far more hostile environs) be a lot worse than .882?
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Exactly. We play extraordinarily well in hostile road environments when we have to travel long distances and where the other team doesn’t have to travel at all, but we piss ourselves in a stadium split 50/50 where both teams have to travel. I haven’t seen GA lose to FL because we have to travel, it’s because we haven’t played very well.
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I am concerned that Bama played two games in the Dome last year and we played none.
the only game in the Dome I am concerned about is the one at the end of the year, before the bowls.
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I don’t think the Dome is a big issue. All big-time recruits are/will be aware of Saban and Bama’s return as a contender, and that Tusky isn’t far away. They will get their share of talent just like UF, LSU, and FSU whether they play in Atlanta, or not.
To me we should get this series scheduled without regard to the “Dome factor”. I would really like a home and home with Texas, OU, OSU, USC, or Penn State sprinkled in every 3-4 years. It is hard for me to believe that UGA and OU have never played. Something just isn’t right about that.
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I think you’re right on the idea of a home/home with a strong out-of-conference opponent. If anybody remembers, Texas and Ohio State split a series in 2005 & 2006. For both years, the winner of this game made it to the BCSCG. Although I’m not a big fan of the BCS scoring system, it is what they are doing now and this type of game is what puts you over the top. (also see Oklahoma playing TCU and Cincinnati)
Not only do these strong games help BCS scores, but they also make for great football and have to help recruiting…Imagine for a second, which would help recruiting more: a 40 point whipping of Georgia Southern, or a very close victory over a tough top 10 opponent? Yes, you may actually lose against the top 10 opponent, but that gamble is what motivates teams.
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With regard to Jax…. We are 2-3 in the last 5 against gainesville in jacksonville. Nevermind they have won 2 of the last 3 MNCs. The trend has been arrested and a turn is coming.
With regard to ATL… It only makes sense financially if we sign a 2 year deal with a team and play both games there as opposed to a home and home.
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What we can do to blunt Nick Saban’s efforts at recruiting the state of Georgia is not be down by 31 points at halftime of a home game to a Saban-coached team.
. . . or not get blown out by UF like its the early 90’s.
. . . or not blow a big half time lead in a home game against our in-state rival.
All of this with the greatest collection of offensive talent since Herschel Walker was stalking goal lines for us.
That’s what UGA can do to prevent Saban (or any other coach) from taking Georgia’s best players.
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Can LtR get an Amen to that?
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Playing the Florida game home and home would free up our schedule where we would be able to play anybody who will answer our call.
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What makes all this worse is that UCLA or whoever would want a game in return at their own place
So…..we have a away game and get in return a….neutral game?
Uh….why would we do this again?
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Hey folks, I’m not arguing yea or nay on Jax in this one. I’m simply showing that the Senator will argue what ever side fits what he wants, even if compared to another argument he makes, it makes absolutely no sense.
He does this all the time with the Jax and BCS playoff topics.
If we can just win the “damn game” in Jax, shouldn’t he be able to win a few miles from Athens when another team has to fly in. What’s so bad about playing an OOC opponent in Atlanta?
If you want to argue that we’re putting too many good OOC opponents on the schedule, that’d be a good argument.
But arguing against Atlanta because it takes a home game away and for Jax is silly.
Atlanta may not be a great tailgating venue, but hey, you’ve already got Jax right? What’s the big deal?
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Cool beans – I’ve got my very own Captain Ahab!
Since you failed to grasp the nuance of my post, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version for you: the issue here isn’t playing another game in Atlanta, it’s whether it’s worth sacrificing a home game on the altar of stopping Nick Saban from whatever it is he’s perceived to be doing.
If that’s the rationale here – and please notice that I said “if”, because it isn’t clear from the linked article if that’s the case – it’s (1) dumb, because it’s not going to prevent Saban from playing a game in Atlanta; (2) an invitation to have the program mocked; and (3) chickenshit on Richt’s part, because he’s using the schedule in an attempt to stop something that he thinks makes him look bad.
Damn, that sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, in discussions about taking the WLOCP out of Jacksonville.
For the record, I don’t have a problem playing a tough OOC schedule, in Atlanta or anywhere else. I think it’s one of the better things Damon has done in his stint as AD. But don’t you think bonehead moves like this (again, if it’s truly the case) undercut what he’s trying to do?
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Sabin’s got a gun.
Sabin plays in the Dome.
Richt wondering why Sabin’s in the Dome? Sabin’s got a gun.
Sabin’s having himself some fun.
What’s Richt gonna do?
What’s Richt gonna do?
Sabin’s got a gun.
Sabin’s having himself some fun.
Sabin’s got a gun.
What’s Richt gonna do?
Richt blaming it on the schedule.
Sabin making him look a fool.
Sabin’s got a gun.
Now Richt’s on the run.
Sabin’s still got the gun.
Now Richt’s on the run.
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You’re headline should’ve been “Richt trying to stop Saban with GA dome game, makes no sense”
Saying “second neutral site game” immediately puts Jax in the conversation. And again, if we’re gonna say that playing UF in Jax isn’t a reason we lose because of Richt’s “ROAD RECORD”, then WTH is the big deal about losing a home game?
If Damon doesn’t mind losing the money(and I doubt any is lost if it’s a big time opponent), why should the fanbase give a darn?
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So, what are you saying here – that you read the header and didn’t bother to look at the post? 😉
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