“We haven’t beaten ‘em since I’ve been here, so that’s the main goal.”

In a fitting metaphor for the current state of Tennessee football, A.J. Johnson relates how one of his career highlights was observing his teammates’ excitement in a game they lost.

35 Comments

Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange

35 responses to ““We haven’t beaten ‘em since I’ve been here, so that’s the main goal.”

  1. @gatriguy

    We need to bury them. They need to be on the other end of this for a while.

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  2. Rick

    If Richt ever has a stretch like Fulmer did at the end, I can’t say I wouldn’t start thinking about moving on, but Tennessee is the poster boy for the dangers of pulling the trigger on a solid head coach.

    Since 2007 they have had exactly one winning season, and that was a 7-6 effort with Lane Kiffin calling the shots. Would could have imagined?

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  3. The Vol Nation forgets if not for two turnovers deep in our territory two years ago and last year’s injuries, we would have steamrolled them. No moral victories for Vols this year – let’s go out, win, and leave no doubt which program is better.

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    • Beer Money

      And don’t forget the foot stomping penalty. Only enforced against UGA in the history of football, but whatever.

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      • Macallanlover

        Yes, that was horrid. First time I had ever seen that called too but I swear I remember Penn liked that so much we got another one in the Disaster in the Pasture game didn’t we? If we had that twice in one season it may be time to get the Tin Foil hats out.

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  4. Here again, it’s about us. Tennessee is going to bring it. If we have any doubt about that in Athens, shame on us.

    So, will we be ready for it? Are we mature enough, as a coaching staff and team, to do what’s necessary this week to be able to handle what they bring?

    Sure hope so. If we are, we’ll win, because we’ll be a little better than we were last week. And that should be good enough for Tennessee’s best shot.
    ~~~

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    • Ivey, you have that right. If we come out with the same intensity (team & crowd) that we did with Clem’s Son, we will win and may run them right back to Chattanooga. If we don’t have that same focus, we’ll be in for a 60-minute street fight.

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  5. joe

    How do we not recruit Gainesville high school? It’s a mystery.

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    • I don’t understand how we don’t offer A.J. Johnson and that we wouldn’t commit to no other QB offers to Watson last year. I would like to have both of those guys.

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      • Macallanlover

        I get the A J Johnson wish but this is the second time today on Watson, that was a no brainer guys. He wasn’t a fit and Clemson was and only an hour further. He would have been a fool for not making that decision over UGA and we would have been crazy to change an offense to accommodate him. So much is different with Morris’ style offense from blocking schemes to WRs, it could be done but when you look at us developing pocket passers successfully for so many years, why would we change to work him in? He is excellent, but we attract equally excellent candidates that are as much a sure bet as him.

        I don’t recall what the story was on Johnson at the time, maybe he thought TN would turn things around. Like Jabari, ,he screwed up in that choice. I would love to have had him at UGA but there may be a part of the story we don’t know. I know they will come in focused but tough shit, he isn’t going to get his Hail Mary dream. UGA is in no position to look over this game. He should have turned pro last year any way, he didn’t have much to come back for in 2014 with an all new OL and DL, average QB, and below average RB.

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        • joe

          We didn’t offer Johnson. That’s the story.

          If you don’t think that Watson can play in any offense, then you are not seeing what I have seen. There are some talents that transcend any system. Watson is absolutely a pure drop back passer, he just happens to be able to run really well.

          Ironic that the worst evaluation in Uga history, taking chase Vasser commit before jarvis Jones was made on a player from Gainesville by the ut defensive coordinator.

          We get kids from chestatee, east hall, West hall, North hall, but not Gainesville. Last one I remember was the kid who played bball and wr, Frank something?

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          • Macallanlover

            Not offering him is an issue. Since I don’t follow recruiting that closely I don’t know, but maybe he was a late bloomer that wasn’t dominant in HS, or we had others we felt solved our need at ILB. Certainly looking back, that was a terrible missed evaluation. It happens a decent amount of time as some athletes grow/mature differently, but if he was a well-known stud and played 40 miles away it is hard to see how we didn’t pursue him and someone should be held accountable for the whiff.

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        • Watson is Shockley with better wheels. Good arm and what will be good pocket presence. I would have taken him over Park without even thinking about it.

          He would have been really good under Bobo’s tutelage.

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    • How do we not recruit Gainesville high school? It’s a mystery.

      Not really. We talked about this a little recently. There are lot of good Georgia players we just missed over the last 9 years or so, since BVG left. Johnson is one of them. There’ve been many others.

      On top of that, there’s a lot of the best players we did recognize that we either got to late, or just lost them to other schools. That combination has been a real problem for us.

      Thankfully, Pruitt is fixing all that. We just have to be patient until he gets several classes under his belt. That’ll be 2016.
      ~~~

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      • Dog in Fla

        Won’t he be head coach at Florida by then?

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        • LOL. I don’t think so.

          It’s just my gut feeling, but I don’t think Pruitt wants to be a HC. He loves coaching football, and that’s what he’s made for, what he’s cut out for. Some guys are just cut that way, and not cut to be a HC, with all the non-football duties they have to perform these days.

          I said the exact same thing about VanGorder. But he did it anyway, and it backfired on him. So I was wrong about him doing it, but right he wasn’t cut that way. And I could be wrong about Pruitt.

          What I’m hoping for, and maybe its unrealistic, is that we’ll soon make Pruitt the highest paid DC in the land. Or at least close to it. And, like so many coaches before him, he’ll love living in Athens. And he will have no desire to go anywhere.
          ~~~

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  6. McTyre

    Richt’s worst losses in Sanford usually involve UT.

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    • Scorpio Jones, III

      Nobody’s got time to listen. Too busy patting themselves on the back.

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    • BrightOwl

      Not since Fulmer left.

      It’s not that I think they can’t win – if Worley has time to throw he’s capable of hurting us the same as any mediocre or better QB – but UT is just garbage along the line of scrimmage and that makes it tough to get really worried, especially playing at home.

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    • Richt is 4-2 at home against UT. Georgia hasn’t lost the last three meetings.

      Not sure what you mean by “worst”, either. Most of the disasters that come to my mind involve other teams.

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      • McTyre

        2004 loss kept us out of 2004 SECCG. 35-51 loss in sent 2006 season into a tailspin.

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        • Macallanlover

          Agree with the Senator, UGA failures against TN under Richt are exaggerated, maybe because we hate to lose to them so much, or always feel we are better. That 2004 game was a weird one though as we gave it to them in the 2nd half with ST and ball security mistakes. Somehow the figure 24 points sticks in my mind as what we handed them. Any number over 49 gets the emotion amped up though so it seems worse. In the last decade 35 points is the new 50.

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          • Macallanlover

            Sorry, meant the 2006 game was what I was referring to. The 2004 game I remember us just being flat all day long, but 2006 wasn’t that way at all, mistakes were the issue there.

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