I half-jokingly told a friend at yesterday’s tailgate that, given Mark Richt’s track record, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Georgia run the regular season table, win the SECCG and be shut out of the national title picture again because the three undefeated teams in front of it kept winning, too.
Then, last night happened. And, suddenly, what sounded like a bunch of wistful claptrap after the South Carolina debacle…
“A year ago we’re 0-2, and everybody wants to decide that the sky is falling and it’s over for Georgia,” Richt said. “But what’d we do? We stayed firm, we believed in each other, we kept banging away, we began to win, and before you know it we won the Eastern Division. It’s one day, it’s one game, it’s unfortunate it came out the way it did with so much at stake. But there’s still a lot at stake as the season rolls on.”
… now looks prophetic.
It’s taken him twelve years, but Richt’s finally got what he wants – a season’s end when the only scoreboard the Dawgs have to watch is their own.
Get The Picture 
Tuck Fech!
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Can I get a ‘amen’ brother’?
Can I get a ‘hell yea’?
CMR and the Dawgs have a destiny!!!!!
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Eloquently said, Senator. These are exciting days in which to be a Dawg.
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I had described the same scenario to a friend, that UGA would finish just out of reach of the BCS game, with Richt’s luck. Just hope the boys keep the focus on week to week and take care of Tech before thinking too much about Bama. Would truly suck to lose to a very mediocre Tech team for no good reason.
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Get rid of Willie, get a decent defense, shazam, we are competing for the mnc, all despite the fact that we have the worst most predictable offensive coordinator in the history of the omg wtf lol world evah!!! Freaking anti-Bobo, anti-Richt energy vampire idiots.
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Sorry to go all ajc commenter there but that had been building for years.
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And Willie is still up to his old trusty tricks, bleeding 49 points in West (By God!) Virginia.
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I have tempered enthusiasm. Georgia’s in the hunt but Murray has played turrible against our best opponents (Florida/South Carolina a total of 259 passing 1 TD and 4 INTs). Alabama will be a tougher team than anyone we could face in the NC game. We need everyone from Pat Dye to Hines Ward to Shawn Williams to call them puzzies before the game to get them fired up because we will need an inspired defensive effort in the SECCG.
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Oh please, Aaron Murray will be the best QB on the field, and it isn’t even close. And he was in the SC and Florida games as well. Every single game isn’t detrmined by who has the best QB, or best coach. It is a team game and it comes down to matchups, execution, and energy. UGA got beat by SC because of a major mismatch in the trenches, and a huge wave of emotion that SC was riding. Murray and the RBs had zero chance to execute because SC blew up the OL and was in the backfield as each play developed. Brady, both Mannings, Favre, and Stafford all combined could not have performed well that night. Against Florida Murray made one horrible decision, one bad throw, and had a tipped pass INT in the first half. What else would you change besides those two bad plays? Look, he isn’t perfect but all this BS about Murray just doesn’t stand up the smell test. We are blessed at QB, we need to give him time to do his job.
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QB matters a hell of a lot, Mac. If we can keep Alabama out of Murray’s face and run the ball even a little AM will be ok. But if he has to do it by himself because the other options are shut down we’re in trouble again.
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I agree with much of what you said. At SC, our line was godawful. However, it doesn’t help matters that Murray couldn’t make even the simple, uncontested throws (such as quick passes to the sidelines).
The entire team played awfully in Columbia. And that includes Murray.
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I couldn’t agree more. AM is a good one; and if not being appreciated in one’s own time is a pre-requisite to greatness then he’s a great one. History will be kind to him. I wish our fans treated him better than they do. The kids works his heart out, bleeds red and black, and he’ll own practically every record out there by the time he’s done.
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To this point he has had a glass jaw, though. Note how Huard commented that UGA is “great front-runners” vs. Auburn? This is the personality of the offense, and AM’s lack of toughness has a lot to do with that.
Here’s hoping he fixes it.
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You’re kidding about Murray being tough, right? What am I missing here?
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Murray’s not tough? How many times has he dropped back with three guys all over him this season? How many times has he been hit? How many plays has he missed all season? 2? How is he ranked nationally as a passer? How many touchdown passes has he thrown? How’s his game management been?
Some Georgia fans kill me with the “if you ain’t first (undefeated) you are last (not tough)” mentality.
Which quarterback do you wish we had? Barkley? McCarron? Shaw? Tebow? he was tough.
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+1000 AM leaves it all on the field and people who question his toughness and talent are nuts. Unbelievable how some fans are our teams worst detractors. We talk about dawggrading it starts in our own fan base.
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Gotta say I judge Murray to be plenty tough, too. It is his occasional freak-outs and resulting looseness with the ball that has chapped me in the past, but much of that has been cleaned up this season.
Now, with Bama we can all be sure to see an exotic and bizarre mish-mash of blitz packages that will again test AM’s mettle.
But overall, this year Murray has turned me.
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You all get that the book on Murray is that if you pressure him he wilts, right? You do get that he is perceived to be prone to falling apart in the face of pressure?
Have you all watched our games the last few years?
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By the way, let’s define “toughness.” In this context toughness=handling adversity (pressure, mistakes, etc.) and still making plays.
Murray made a couple of great passes in the clutch against UF, but again…his history is that if you knock him around/pressure him his mechanics go south and he tends to panic.
Is it a coincidence that he is 23/55 with 1 TD, 4 INTs, & 1 fumble in the two games against the toughest defenses this year? He is fantastic against mediocre to weak teams. Against good teams, he is as yet, shall we say, “unproven.” Rack up his stats against the ranked teams. Go ahead, prove me wrong.
I like everything about Aaron Murray except for this. It’s a big issue, though, and I really think much our possible success against Alabama depends on whether he can play at the level they will demand.
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OK I’m going to say it: There is no way in hell we beat Alabama, Murray’s going to be good for at least 3 turnovers because it’s a HUGE game against a ranked team. And lord knows we can’t beat ranked teams. And we’re soft. I was 100% absolutely sure of this heading into the Florida game and looked how that turned out. So repeat after me: last night didn’t matter because there’s no way we beat Bama, assuming we don’t face plant against Tech first.
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and if by some act of God Bama face planted against Auburn, replace Bama in my previous rant with whoever would win the west. Make no doubt it would take an act of God for Auburn to beat Bama. Then again I’m pretty sure I saw at least 1 maybe 2 acts of God last night.
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LOL I was saying the exact same thing before the Florida game! I am the eternal optimist, but I thought we were gonna lose that one for sure. So I am now going to repeat after you, There is no way we will beat Bama! There is just no way! I mean we dont have a prayer! No chance!
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Agreed. Georgia will have to throw their best punch and Murray will have to take care of the ball. An effort by the offense like what we saw against Florida may not cut it, even if the defense plays stellar again. Alabama *will not* turn it over half a dozen times like Boom’s team did.
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Shit, where were you guys upthread where I was getting my fandom questioned for pointing out Murray’s tendency to wilt in big games? 🙂
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Two things:
1. Hey, Chris Fowler, wish in one hand and spit in the other. See which one fills up first.
2. Grown man football. Clap. Clap. ClapClapClap.
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and Stanford played some Grown Man Football
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It truly was gut bucket, down in the trenches stuff with a helping of good Dawg fortune sprinkled about.
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Stanford is one team not from the SEC that is built like an SEC team. They do play Grown Man Football at that place.
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Senator, the BCS does its job EVERY single year, flawlessly: it gets the #1 and #2 teams in the country as chosen/mandated by their system, and a lot of people think we have a national champion. In truth, there will be less buy in by the public that the two best teams will be playing. Worst possible for them, lot of one loss teams who have similar credentials to the two annoited ones, several that spent substantial time in position to reach that big bowl game. Because of the “any given Saturday” truism, a team usually has to lose twice before fans really accept they may not be a worthy contender, or belong. The howling would be louder if they had 3 undefeateds and only one felt screwed. That team would get all the sympathy and minimize the arguments of the others. If ND loses next Saturday and there are 6-7 credible one loss teams, there will be more fans in different geographies with a legit gripe.
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Florida State is this year’s example of the ridiculousness of your claim.
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How so? If FSU wins the ACC with one loss they have a legit beef. they had their bad night, shouldn’t have lost Saturday just like UGA, KSU, Bama, Oregon, etc. On a subjective basis you can say losing to NC State is worse than other losses by ranked teams but it was on the road, at night. “Having a bad night” doesn’t discriminate when it occurs, you bring your C game and catch another team’s A game and some weird things happen. I am not making the case FSU is the best of the 1 loss teams, but they have a claim that winning one of the major conferences should be a ticket into a limitied playoff. In these days of horrible, embarrassing OOC scheduling, we have to little to base relative strengths of various conferences. They are entitled to their “night off” just like the others.
I view FSU as being very comparable to ND, great defense with below average offense. I would put both at the bottom of the Top 10. May seem ridiculous to you but that is why opinions should be validated on the field. Across this country there are just as many that feel UGA having a shot is just as ridiculous…all based on opinions and bias with a lot of ignorance thrown in. May not be fair, but it is what we have ben dealt.
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I don’t know that I would call the ACC a “major” conference.
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I hear you on that, would rank ACC as just 4th/5th best, but the whole idea of judging a conference as if being the best, or worst, applies to all is pretty silly to me. It’s about inclusivity and representation to me, everyboddy “thinks” they are valid as a conference and usually there are 1-2 good teams in eaxh conference…just a question of how many tough tests they must face.
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Your rather extended attempt to explain why 1-loss FSU would be left out (note they’d have beaten UF) largely illustrates my point.
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That’s what I like about the playoff advocates. It’s the “never say die” attitude. Several undefeated teams prove the need for a playoff. If there aren’t several undefeated teams, well that just proves the need for a playoff. If it rains this Saturday, that will only prove the need for a playoff.
Confirmation bias for the win!
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Perhaps, but the “never say die” door swings both ways. Passionate subject with most heels dug firmly in.
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If ND loses and UF beats FSU, bedlam.
UF would have the best resume of the 1-loss teams (wins over A&M, LSU, SC, and FSU) and would rightly be clamoring for a spot……against the SEC winner?
Only 2 weeks left and there are still too many scenarios to bother trying to map it out.
Lets just beat Tech.
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You are right Patrick, particularly if Alabama were to win the SECCG. Bama and Florida haven’t played this season. We just have to take care of business ourselves.
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Someone please assure me that the team will be focused on Tech and won’t get caught looking ahead. Looking at some of these Tweets (http://www.macon.com/2012/11/17/2254358/georgia-gets-its-help-k-state.html) isn’t helping.
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All of those Tweets were sent out within 5 minutes of the Stanford score being final. I personally liked Sanders’ status: “Beat Ga Tech 1st”
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DGD is he!
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This truly is exciting. I thought there would be more traffic on here. What does it say about a fan base that is only incensed by what they perceive as failure to reach their expectations? Silence is golden indeed, Go Dawgs!
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After 2007 I heard the question a million times: “what if we hadn’t lost to Tennessee?” Well, now we have the opportunity to make things right. We control our own destiny. We are only 3 wins away from a national championship. Hunker down, you hairy Dawgs, and GATA!
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My guess is a lot of Georgia fans stayed up late last night in disbelief and celebration. Traffic on here will pick up once people check sportscenter to make sure last night really happened. This coming Saturday may be the loudest noon game ever at Sanford Stadium. Can’t wait!
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count me as one of those that stayed up late. I’m still in disbelief. Then I read a fox news article this morning about how the replay refs went too far and robbed Oregon and blah blah blah… yeah, poor poor Oregon. They were screwed on the late TD by Stanford- never mind the three other plays the Cardinals had if the first down play wasn’t called a TD, never mind the previous 58 minutes that Oregon had a chance to put the game away. Never mind the fourth and 2 inside the redzone they couldn’t convert on their first drive… Unbelievable. Maybe we should start a charity for Oregon?! poor ducks!!!
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How about the phantom pass interference penalty at the end of regulation that gave O a first down with a minute left? I thought for sure that Oregon would go on to win after that.
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yeah forgot about that… THAT was the terrible call in the game. Poor Ducks… its not fair they couldn’t win the game in overtime! 😦
I’m really starting to feel sorry for those guys. They play out on the west coast where no one pays attention to them and they can’t even decide what Jersey to go with. They must have to pay some jack off a lot of money to organize the uniforms! I mean how do they organize them all? I’m surprised the players known which jersey to bring to which game!
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Don’t let the daydreams and bullshit distract you from the real mission people….this is the most important Tech game in a long, long time…Bama and K State should have shown you what looking ahead will get you….a big fucking 0….we’ve got a huge amount of work to do….stay focused….Tech has the best long snappah we have played in the last century and an offense that can’t be stopped.
It’s tough being up here in the frigid wastes of Connecticut….I wear my Dawg hat…they think its Green Bay or some shit…but I guaran damn tee you one thing…I can stay focused on Tech….can you?
Pick yer hats, boys it is time to hate.
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+1000 let’s just beat Tech then worry about the next week. If we do that, everything else takes care of itself.
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Blah, blah, blah. Georgia’s record against Tech under Richt in seasons when it’s headed to the SECCG is 4-0, with an average margin of victory of 20.5 points.
That’s not to guarantee a win this Saturday, but I seriously doubt focus is going to be an issue.
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Thank you. And not to sound too condescending, but I’m not a player, Im a fan – I can look ahead all I want.
In fact, right now Im visualizing taking my talents to Miami and calling the dawgs on a topless beach in South Beach.
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Nevertheless, Senator, out of tribute and appreciation to the Stanford Tree, one of my lawn decorations for the Holidays will feature a big Duck with a tree jammed up it’s ass.
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Agreed. One game at a time. If we keep winning, we’ll be the champs, we can hopefully ruin ND’s season, and I’ll collect on my winnings from that casino bet I placed in August. Woof!
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What odds did you get Russ? Seems like I remember we were about 12-15 to one in the summer..
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3-1 for SECCG, and 12-1 for the BCSCG. I bet $10 on each. Yeah, that’s how I roll! 😉
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It’s not the amount, it’s the win! That’s 15 $10 bets for the future, but the resultant for you to get your money is huge for UGA.
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Dawgs take the BCS and those Nutmeggers will be getting aboard the bandwagon soon enough and not dissing the “G”. Stick it to those NFL goons, SJ3.
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If, and big, big, big if, we take care of Tech and win the SEC, can you imagine the meme of us and ND for a rematch of the MNC? ESPN would be all over it.
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We will be focused. This team is ready to compete. Next Saturday will be awesome.
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