I’m starting to think the best way of assessing Georgia’s 2014 season is to wait and see how the next couple of years go, kinda the way you should evaluate a recruiting class. If this program steps up and competes legitimately for SEC titles and national semi-finals slots, then it’s clear that this past season, with the coaching changes and all that flowed from them, was a foundation for better times and should be viewed positively as a result.
But if the program plateaus or even regresses somewhat in that time, it’s hard to take anything out of a top-ten finish other than an acknowledgement that it could have been so much more.
Get The Picture 
I understand the temptation to build silly narratives like this (it’s why espn exists!), but this season was a missed opportunity, and there are no two ways about it. The offense was elite, and the defense was very good. We did not know it going into the season, but this was a top 5 team, and one that would have likely been a slight favorite against yesterday’s victor. It matters not what happens next year.
I’m not blaming anyone, as Bill Connelly said it just sucks that our bad moments clustered together into a few games. If next year’s team is as good, hopefully they spread out a bit better.
Would have been nice to see the season that would have materialized if Gurley’s TD hadn’t been called back against USC, or if Arkansas or Tennessee had managed to beat the worst SEC east champ in conference history, or any number of other moments in the USC and Tech games had gone the other way. Ah, well, c’est la vie.
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I actually think ranking us #9 is about right. I don’t see us being favored against (m)any teams ranked in front of us, and certainly not either of the teams in last night’s game.
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This is how I feel too. Our defense improved over the course of the season but it was never better than good. Our QB play was unexceptional. We did have an outstanding and I repeat outstanding running game. When we got a lead we were unbeatable. But when we fell behind by more than one score, we had a hell of a time catching up.
2014 UGA was a very good team, maybe even a great team, but not an elite team.
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“When we got a lead we were unbeatable.” Except against Tech. Ugh. Still makes me ill to think about.
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We had serious trouble when the run wasn’t working (final 3 quarters vs UF, 2nd half vs Tech) and Oregon or AnOSU vs our rush defense would not have filled me with confidence. Our chances vs Bama would depend on if we had rushing success or not and if Kiffin forgot he has a giant RB that can average 7 ypc like he did in the Sugar Bowl.
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Gurley doesn’t get greedy, and this team might well have gotten a shot in the Playoff. That’s what hurts (NCAA haterade aside)
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A question for you Strange: Why does that sh!t (AJ Green and Gurley taking $$ for stuff and getting suspended 4 games) always happen to Georgia? No snark, I really want to know. It doesn’t happen to any other teams. Is the coaching staff doing something wrong, inadvertantly encouraging such behavior? Is it that UGA turns the offenders in while everybody else covers it up? What is it?
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Mayor, there is really no serious answer to this. Yep it is strange, as strange as Gurley coming back and blowing his knee, which I am sure you will admit is pretty fucking strange.
Stuff like this does happen to other teams, they just don’t react the same way we do. I want to believe it is because we are trying to do things the right way…follow the rules. I hope that is the truth of the matter.
I asked a Mississippi State fan once if he would take a national championship if he knew Jackie Sherrell was going to get State put on very bad probation. He said yes, without hesitation.
I thought, nope, not me.
It ain’t easy, this Dawg’s Life…but I have grown accustomed to its face.
If the Kharmic Bitches will just ease up…just a little, I’ll get to drown in confetti one more time.
Don’t seem like much to ask.
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Since this is a day late, my shifty reply is simply “I dunno” but you are correct in assigning a sort of Persecution Syndrome to the UGa fan. But then again, given the incidents I find it hard not to assign a stronger microscope used by the NCAA re: Georgia.
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Really? We were favored in every game this year. Just among the CFP participants, we would have been dogs to Oregon and Bama, and easily favored against FSU. After the title game last night, Ohio State might be a slight favorite against us, but we would have gotten a point or two 24 hours ago.
We’d also be favored against Tech by at least 5 points.
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So I get that we lost a couple of close ones, and yes, this was an awfully good team that could definitely hang with anybody.
But when you lose to teams you’re “supposed” to beat, you can be favored all season long and still have a few losses and possibly even deserve your low ranking even more for underperforming. I actually think #9 is very lucky, all things considered. I’m not looking to harp on our shortcomings, but those shortcomings = 3 losses = #9 rank at the end of the season.
I don’t think it’s fair to the teams in front of us to say if “we’d only run Gurley at SC” or “if we didn’t fumble twice against Tech”, etc. Every team has those lingering frustrations. By that measure, every team in front of us has reason to believe they would have been national champs “if only”.
I just don’t think we can be ranked 9th and still be considered a favorite against teams ranked in front of us…I don’t think Vegas and the AP are that far apart.
I say let’s take the top ten and be happy we got out of 2014 alive. 🙂
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Oh, I’m not arguing in the slightest with our ranking. But ranking is only nominally related to how good you are. It is, as you say, what you ‘deserve’ given the results. I agree we got at least what we deserve, if not more.
The only reason it stings is that, if you ranked us based on who would be favored in head-to-head matchups, we would likely be in the top 5. Any season with a top 5 team that doesn’t get in the playoffs is a bit of a disappointment. It’s more of a disappointment for me than 2008 when we were preseason #1, because that team actually wasn’t top 5. This one was.
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I completely agree, Cosmic. I think we forget that at the beginning of the season, we were missing Malcom Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley, we had a new DC and a bunch of DBs that were not experienced and of questionable talent. We were also a little soft in the middle of our DL thanks to Jonathan Taylor and his criminal antics. If we would have known that we were going to lose Gurley, Keith Marshall and Sony Michel at various points in the season, i would have expected us to finish unranked and feeling very pessimistic about the future.
Thank God for Nick Chubb and our OL. May God also bless Jeremy Pruitt for putting together a surprisingly effective defense that should continue to improve with the addition of some stout interior linemen and talented DB’s. I think we did extremely well this year considering it could have been an unmitigated disaster. Furthermore, I am very happy with the direction we are trending. We are just a strong armed QB and vertical passing attack away from the SECCG and the final four.
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Hats off for your handle.
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Agreed. I think we were a better team than GT, but their win in a tossup game and comparable records make that a sensible choice. The only team I could see Georgia being better than above us in the rankings is FSU, but given their number of wins (and their win over GT), there’s not a good argument beyond gut feelings to jump them.
I think a UGA-Michigan State game this year would have been incredibly interesting. Two very comparable programs philosophically that looked to have comparable talent levels this year.
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I don’t really see the resemblance between UGA and MSU. One team recruits very well, but often underperforms on the field, the other gets the most out of lesser talent. One team is all about discipline, the other…not so much.
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MSU gets the most, eh? That’s not what the won-loss record prior to this season indicates.
2013: 7-6
2012: 8-5
2011: 7-6
2010: 9-4
And that’s with them playing a consistently weak OOC schedule. (MSU’s best conference record over that time was 4-4.)
It’s easy to make grand pronouncements about programs we don’t follow as closely as our own. As the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt.
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I reckon .Dash refers to the bzzaro-bizzaro MSU of Michigan.
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Or how about the annual tightening of Richt’s rectum down here in Jax?
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Did I wake up in an alternative universe this morning, or has Georgia won three of the last four games against Florida?
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The way we got thumped down there this year makes it hard to remember, but yes. We’re 3-1 in the last 4.
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Quadrennial tightening?
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Bluto, he’s got a narrative. Data like won-loss record, going for it on fourth down, clutch 3rd down conversions, soul-crushing and clock-killing drives should not be used when you’ve got a narrative.
Not only 3 out of the last 4, but 4-4 in the last 8 years. Aaron Murray killed the tightness forever in Jax. He was a Florida kid. It is his greatest legacy. And he darn near went 4-0 against them.
Leaving the stadium in 2013, I yelled at every UF fan, “Aaron Murray never lost to you in regulation!” It drove them nuts and sure was fun.
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Yes, we have. Don’t get me wrong. I like the wins any way we can get them. But, it is never easy for Richt in Jax for some reason. And, it seems every time of late that we lose to them, they totally dismantle us (save for 2010). The last time I witnessed UGA really dish it out on UF was 1982!
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man that was sweet
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1997 was an absolute woodshed beating. We were a 20 point underdog and won by 20.
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’85 was pretty good, too…
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That game came down to three plays (long runs by Henderson and Worley) and an epic goal line stand.
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I thought about that too…
Unlike 2013, we really had no victories that should/could have gone the other way. I guess Tennessee, but even that didn’t feel entirely in doubt.
Conversely…our 3 losses were a game where we clearly should have lost (UF), where we were outplayed but could have won (GT) and a complete toss-up game (SC).
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The victories over the Barners and Towel Guy were particularly satisfying.
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“He’ll be back!”
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And this was sweet.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1Pdg6_CAAAkIiD.jpg:large
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hahahahaha. That’s awesome.
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that was really good
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Yep, and as disappointing as parts of the past 2 seasons have been, the Dawgs won the revenge games in both (beat SCar soundly in 2012, and Mizzou, Clemson, Vandy, and Auburn soundly this season.)
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There really were a lot of great moments this season. We beat a lot of solid teams.
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Looks like dual threat qbs win championships
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Or lose them.
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FSU and Jameis disagree.
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2013 begs to differ
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Actually, I thought it was Cardele’s arm that made the difference. With Barrett, I don’t think they get by Bama. His arm loosened them up for Elliot. They couldn’t stack the box because of his 12 gauge.
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Your previous article said it best, the good teams managed to spread their poor play throughout the season. Somehow, uga found a way to have it all show up in 2-3 games. Overall, I believe this was a very positive season and that the program is certainly trending up.
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On August 25, 2014, if you had told me UGA would go 10-3 and finish in the top ten, I would have been happy. If you go back and look at posts, articles and news reports, there was reason for concern about the upcoming season. To me, what matters is what’s coming, not what happened. Like some have said, we need to be in the CFP hunt in the coming years. No excuses.
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Couldn’t agree more. However, I would not have guessed they got to 10-3 the way they did (nor did I expect USC and UF to be as bad as they were).
Anywhoooo…another very enthusiastic “can’t wait to see what the Dawgs do next season” in my head right now.
Interestingly though, I feel more confident about this team and the coaching staff’s ability next year than this year, but I don’t believe my expectations will get as high as they’ve been in the past. Proof is in the pudding….errr on the field. I’m “planning” to hold my enthusiasm in check until after the first weekend in October.
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“I feel more confident about this team and the coaching staff’s ability next year than this year”
I want to go there with you, but Bobo and Friend are big losses – surely you wouldn’t trade this year’s staff for next year’s if you had a choice, would you?
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Cosmic? That you? Aren’t you the one usually calling for staff changes? And you’re the one questioning this good man’s sincerity?
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That was a joke – as much as I post on here, I couldn’t believe everybody thought I was serious – especially with the all caps and the misspellings. There’s no being subtle with you people… 🙂
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I smelled snark immediately.
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Cos, it’s even more fun placing funny faces on posts that are serious and no funny faces when you are sarcastic. It leaves folks with an ambivalence that’s funny to see in any comments. It gets even funnier when the comments are condescending, as if they are embarrassed at your obtuseness. 🙂
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I wouldn’t, but that’s not because they are downgrades, it’s because we just don’t know. All we know is that some damned good coaches left for colorado.
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Taking it as a whole. Pruitt and his staff now have a year under their belt and have had no turnover. I wasn’t sure how the D staff would turn out in 2014, so I didn’t have a ton of confidence. I do feel good about the O staff, would feel even better if we still had Bobo, but I think Schotty will turnout to be a great O Coordinator and bring some new wrinkles to our offense that maybe we haven’t had before.
As a whole coaching staff, I WOULD trade the 2015 staff for the 2014 staff.
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I agree with the estimable Senator that this is one–even more than usual–when the sequel will determine how good or bad the original was. Our program tends to heading in a straight line in one direction or the other. It trended down for a few years, then has seemed to trend upward–yet these last two years are riddles because of so much weirdness. I tend to think the defense, which cost us in way against SC and another against UF, will only improve. The offense may be powerful even with another non-championship-type QB. A great season next year will vindicate the coaching of this year–or one more rough year will convict it. It used to be inevitable after a crummy season (which this wasn’t, not at #9) for someone to point to 1979 which was the precursor to a national championship. Every other fan group does that too, that kind of lightning doesn’t strike so often. But I think our issues this year, though they bit us in the worst possible ways, are things that can be managed and can be turned around quickly. And the GOOD things in our program are likely to hold steady.
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I understand the frustration given how 2 of the losses transpired, but I still think if you look at the big picture this team may have slightly overachieved given a) DC change, b) loss of personal / lack of depth-experience in secondary, c) breaking in a new QB, and d) losing Gurley for the majority of the season.
Considering all this, the fact that the team was in a position to potentially best its eventual 10 win / top 10 finish speaks a lot for the coaching that was taking place.
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Agreed. I think we overachieved, and next year I think we will exceed this year for sure. Give me another drink of that Koolaid!
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This.
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This, too.
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I am most impressed with what LED to the top 10 finish, some huge wins over ranked teams, I don’t remember a season in a while where we beat so many great teams, I think we went 5-1 or 4-1 vs ranked teams, only loss to a ranked team was to GT, which was also a top 10 ranked team. You win 80% against ranked teams, that’s something that will stand out about this 2014 team. I’ll also remember the season Hutson Mason put up, finished 7th in QBR, 10th in pass efic, and 6th in accuracy. I always thought if the QB didn’t throw a lot of interceptions, was accurate on short routes, and we’d be a top 10 team, it was great to see that theory confirmed. Also, the rush offense finishing #1 in the conference, hadn’t been done in a long time. And finishing 4th nationally in turnover margin impressed and showed the coaches could make changes where needed. Came down to 2 lost fumbles on the 1 yardline vs GT, and a bad intentional grounding play vs SC, otherwise, we’d been looking at a season to never forget. Very close, and lots of good stuff. Overall, exceeded my expectations coming into the season. Thought with a new Qb and a new DC, it would be an 8 win season, boy was I wrong.
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2 missed field goals and a phantom holding call on a score were in the mix vs USCe…that loss was more than one play. Did I mention the favorable 4th down spot too?
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True dat. I think we both agree we were 5 yards away again from 11-1 and a shot at it all. SC game we got to the 4 yard line and couldn’t score that TD. GT we get to the 1 yardline, 2x, and fumble the ball away. 5 yards short–again. 2 or 3 plays that could have easily gone our way, 5 yards short, that close. I am encouraged that at least we were battling for the title, and except for the UF game, we really battled everybody and left nothing on the field this year.
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The coming out of Nick Chubb was what made the season worth it. We now know we have a guy who can replace Gurley.
Since we have Chubb, and a great pass defense, and McK for sp teams, I’d be focusing on 3 things:
1) Get a poised Qb who can be accurate and protect the ball and win big games like Mason, Ramsey doesn’t look the part to me yet.
2) plug the run on the DLINE vs UF/GT
3) get some ILB’s who can pass cover vs SC
do those 3 and we got a chance in 2015 to be something special.
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Georgia always has excuses. If we lost our starting and backup quarterbacks we’d send someone out there who would stink up the place so bad it would be a joke. Heck, Ramsey looked unprepared as hell in his little playing time. Ohio State looked really good last night and the fact that their 3rd string QB was so effective is amazing. I can’t stand Urban Meyer but man, that dude can get a team ready to win.
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“I can’t stand Urban Meyer but man, that dude can get a team ready to win.”
That says it all, doesn’t it. Some coaches find a way to lose and some find a way to win. Some squeeze every ounce of talent from their players. They pounce when they see an opportunity. And some coaches squander advantages and blow opportunities.
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Except when he doesn’t, at which point his team goes 8-5 and he promptly quits.
No doubt Meyer is a heck of a coach for giving a program a boost, though.
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How many of my fellow Dawg fans went and checked the polls this morning to see if Georgia was in the top ten? I know I did. Meanwhile the hated Corch just won his 3rd. Saban has what? 15 of em seems like. But we are excited we managed to finish in the top ten yet again…Pruitt is MAKING them build an indoor facility. Maybe a coup is in order!!! I would love to hear AD McGiveupityy screaming thank you Head Coach Pruitt can I have another.
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Little Nicky has (4) 1 at LSU,3 at AL
Urban Cryer has (3), 2 at UF, 1 at OSU.
That is a lot between two coaches for sure. Frankly an historic moment in CF.
As for the rest of the head coaches in the SEC currently
Les Miles and SOS have 1 each.
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SOS’s MNC predates even the BCS back to when it was a beauty contest.
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I also find this interesting.
The SEC teams in the top 10 are…
Alabama
Georgia.
That’s all folks.
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+1
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While I’m disappointed in our 10-3 record, it’s about where I had us pegged in preseason. I thought we would go 9-3, with 10-2 being a best case scenario. Yeah, we could have finished 11-1, but I think 10-3 is about right considering all of the ups and downs this team went through. I personally feel like this season included some of Richt’s greatest (Arky, Mizzou, Auburn, Clemson) and worst (SC, UF, Tech) moments, all rolled up into one.
I truly hope CMR will soon realize that his teams perform better when they have a chip on their shoulder and the coaches put the game in their hands. Players play better when playing with confidence. Players gain confidence when coaches trust them to make plays. Planning and playing conservatively almost never turns out well. Coach ’em up and turn ’em loose!
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Close to my reaction. It’s like this: if you’d told me at beginning of season we’d finish with 10 wins and ranked 9th, I’d probably have said “okay.” But now that it’s the actual end of the season, and I’ve actually seen the losses, which include UF and (shudder) Yech and at least 2 (SC and Yech) we shoulda won, it’s at best a “kiss your sister” kind of season to me. Sure, we overcame potential bumps in the road. So did OSU, and it rode that right into the NC. Would, coulda, shoulda feels like a recurring theme since ’05.
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Calling a pass with Gurley in the backfield, on SC’s 4 yardline is not conservative. It didn’t work, but you didn’t compliment him for his courage here on that play either. Must be the end of the GT game you’re referring to, wow, a whole season, and you remember 1 bad series, not mentioning the courageous goalline call vs SC? Truth is, without the 2 fumbles on the 1 we aren’t even in that situation, the loss at GT was not on Richt, the pooch kick, and then the Qb scramble defense were not executed well. And their kicker STILL had to nail a 50+ field goal just to send it to overtime–I like our odds there, really do. The OT INT sealed it, Hutson just locked in on Mitchell and that was it, again, poor execution. GT made an improbable KO return, Qb run, and then field goal kick. We played the percentages, that’s what you do there. GT just executed 3 plays well there in a row with very low percentages of working. but no, our 2 RB’s fumbling on the 1 and the QB INT lost that game, 3 TO’s when the coaches had done so well all year in TO margin, so it wasn’t due to poor coaching, as we finished #4 in TO margin.
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Calling a pass on 1st and Goal from the 4 with Gurley in the backfield isn’t courageous, it’s the wrong call. No chance that Gurley gets stopped 4 times in a row from the one.
Some of what you say about the GT game is true, but that doesn’t change your overall conclusion is at odds with logical thought (even Coach Richt’s admitted the pooch kick call was wrong).
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Gurley also likely doesn’t fumble twice inside the 1 against tech if he hadn’t gotten hurt. TG3II was also a big time Gator killer.
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I disagree, thought the pass play was a bold call. And a good one, they just made a great play and didn’t bite on the play action and came clean unblocked and blew the play up. No way we lose to GT if we don’t fumble 2x on the goal line. No one will convince me those were Coach Richt’s fault. Score even field goals on both of those and we’re up 9 points with 18 seconds to go, I don’t see how any team comes back from that.
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Does tech get to take back there fumble on the one that literally resulted in 7 points for us on the same play. That was a 14 point swing that basically nullified our two goal line fumbles.
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Name a UGA season in the past 7 years that hasn’t seemed to be a “worst-case” season. If it isn’t freak injuries, a horrible defense, dismissals from thuggish behavior, well that about covers it.
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Am I going out on a limb to suggest playing in Atlanta in ’11 and’12 wasn’t the worst case scenario for either season?
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Such a tenuous argument. 😉
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Touché!
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All else aside, I would rather finish in the top 10 than not. Could be worse…
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According to the Negatrons in our fan base, a top 10 finish is “mediocre.”
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I confess that the Chicago Cubs came to mind as I read this post.
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I grew up a Cubs fan, not by choice but by blood. My grandpa was an Illinois native and pulled for the Cubbies. He died when I was 4 so I don’t have a lot of memories of him except for two: sitting with him on his riding mower while he did the lawn and watching Cubs baseball.
I wish I could change teams. I really do. They are committed to losing as a business model and seem to think that winning would cost them money. I hate that. But every season, if I decide to pull for another team, grandpa’s ghost whispers in my ear and reminds me that loyalty is one of the things he taught me. Dammit.
So, as a Georgia fan and a Cubs fan I can tell you that there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to which team is more heartbreaking. My grandpa was born in 1920. He never saw the Cubs win the World Series. It hasn’t happened in the thirty-plus years since he died and it isn’t likely to happen in the next thirty-plus years.
In that space of time the Bulldogs have won two national titles plus an unrecognized 11-0 season plus fourteen SEC championships. Meanwhile, Cubs fans have known three generations of frustration and failure.
(I do realize you were half joking but this one hit a nerve for me. I used to love baseball but every year it gets more and more painful for me. I miss it.)
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BrightOwl, a lot of us on this site are Falcons fans, so we know failure and frustration as well.
So, apparently the Hawks are really good this year. Great; I’ve had so much sports suffering the last 2 years and now the local team that’s good is in a sport I don’t give a shit about.
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Cubs are about to get a lot better, but I get your point.
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All those mistakes in the Tech and USC games and, yet, the offense was STILL in great position and only a couple plays from winning both. That said, I wouldn’t call our offense this season elite(running game, yes) nor would I call our defense very good. Qb and WRs were OK. Defense gave up tons of yards and points in all our losses and in a couple wins, too.
We were top 10 good but not top 4 elite. Could have beaten anyone but could obviously lose, too. To say we were good enough that we should have beaten everyone is a stretch. Need to improve at a couple positions and need a few breaks which we just never seem to get. Damn near every SEC and SEC national champ over the last decade or so has gotten some major breaks. Whether it be injuries, plays within a certain game or help from other teams, etc.
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And 6’8 bb player gets hit by a car in a crosswalk. Or we snakebit or what?
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Peel it all back, and I doubt anyone here would have been unhappy in the preseason to know the Dawgs would wind up being the second-highest nationally ranked SEC team when it was all over.
Interestingly enough, this could be the second straight off-season where potentially bitter feelings about the Dawgs’ performance are already healing.
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10 wins isn’t at all “worst case scenario”, but yeah, that’s a healthy way to look at the season.
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Worst case was going 6-7 losing the Bowl game, and then to Auburn, Clemson, GT, SC, Missouri, either UF or TN. Somehow, we went 6-2 instead, not bad, could have been a LOT worse if we hadn’t gone 4-1 vs ranked teams.
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I think the writer’s premise was worst case in terms of the Gurley fiasco and the bad stuff in the South Carolina and Tech games, plus UF–and he’s saying ten wins and Top Ten with all that went wrong isn’t bad. I think he’s right if you also take into consideration the number of wins against ranked teams, which nobody brings up. For years people have cited our terrible record against ranked teams but the last couple of seasons have improved on that. Just need more consistency.
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Waiting a few seasons to evaluate our program is supportable but this presupposes that we won’t dismiss twenty percent of each year’s recruits in the process.
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