Florida Gators 49, Georgia Bulldogs 10
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 2:28 PM EST
in Football
36 comments
There are several ways of looking at this, all of which presently are vying for the upper hand in my head and heart. These are they:
It’s Just a Game: With the exception of the couple of since-banned Gator trolls whose immediate reaction to the game was to visit this weblog, sign up for user accounts, and post cheap taunts because they’re the sorts of pathetic people who would rather make others feel badly than celebrate events that make them feel well (and who very much represent the exception to the rule, as the Florida fans who have been visiting and commenting here for the past week generally have been impassioned fans yet fine people), we all have much more important things in our lives than football. We have families who care about us; in many cases, we have wives and children whom we love; some of us even have birthdays tomorrow. This is an event that needs to be placed into perspective.
Any Win Over the Gators is a Fluke: 1997 was just one of those days when everything went right. 2004 was just one of those years when we caught Florida at a low point. I thought last year was a turning point. It wasn’t. The Saurians simply own us and any Bulldog win in Jacksonville has to be filed under the heading of "even a broken clock is right twice a day." They’re just better than us and they’re never not going to be, even when we occasionally catch them on a bad day and luck into a win.
It Really Is Difficult to Get Ready for Two Big Games in a Row: It’s hard to remember this now, but, at the time, the games at Arizona State and L.S.U. were big games. Playing your first road game outside the South in more than four decades is a big deal. Hanging 52 points on the Bayou Bengals in Death Valley is a big deal. No team could be expected to be at its best in back-to-back games of such significance. This schedule truly was too tough for any team to tame.
We All Saw This Coming a Mile Away: I told you before that I’d had a bad feeling all week long, but I rationalized my way out of it. My son, who is a mojo savant, gave me all the warning signs and I refused to heed them. Earlier in the week, he and I were playing a game that required us each to check off items on a list, so he had to go get each of us a pen. He reached into his box of markers and pulled out two of them. They were orange and blue. When I asked whether he had one that was red, he checked and replied, "No, but there’s a pink." I knew then it was a done deal, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. When I looked at the numbers, I saw this datum and quickly looked away in denial: the last time Georgia beat L.S.U. in Baton Rouge one week prior to playing Florida (in 1952), the Gators beat the Bulldogs 30-0. It was always going to be a rout. We were never winning this game. We were never even going to be in this game.
This Whole Thing Is Sick, Twisted, and Weird: We’re grown men with real lives. Tying any part of our emotional well-being to what an anonymous group of 18- to 22-year-olds does over three and a half hours on a Saturday afternoon is silly, strange, unseemly, and sad. We tell ourselves it’s for the glory of our state, but that argument holds little water when our favorite players are from New Jersey and Texas. The idea that anyone invests himself in these games is, at best, bizarre, and very well may be utterly indefensible. The fact that we care at all, much less this much, may be a warning sign that we all need professional help.
There’s Always Next Year: Losses in 1992 and in 2000 felt like the end of the world because we came into those seasons knowing this was our shot, and that, if it didn’t happen then, there was no telling when it might all come together again. The beauty of the Mark Richt era is that, while we all hope every year that it will be this year, we know that there’s always next year. Like Florida State under Bobby Bowden, Nebraska under Tom Osborne, and Penn State under Joe Paterno, Georgia under Mark Richt wins consistently enough that, eventually, that special season will happen. Matthew Stafford, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Knowshon Rockwell Moreno won’t win a national title this year, but there’s no particular reason why Logan Gray, A.J. Green, and Caleb King can’t go win one next year.
We Are Not an Elite Team: There are perhaps five really good teams in college football and we aren’t one of them. We’re going to beat a mediocre Kentucky team, a bad Auburn team, a vastly overrated Georgia Tech team, and a middling Big Ten team in a meaningless Sunshine State bowl game to finish 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final A.P. poll. We’re going to have another nice successful season to set alongside all the other nice successful seasons and we’re never going to have the breakthrough that makes the Stewart Mandels of the world treat us with respect.
I Need to Find a New Hobby: I hear stamp collecting can be really soothing. I could spend my autumn Saturdays going out into the woods with a gun and hunting a variety of edible game. If I devoted the time I put into writing this weblog to writing fiction instead, I’d have a novel knocked out in no time. Surely, there has to be something less anguishing than this.
The Suck Explanation (Situation-Specific): This sucks.
The Suck Explanation (Team-Specific I): We suck.
The Suck Explanation (Team-Specific II): We suck against Florida.
The Suck Explanation (General Philosophical): Everything sucks. This sucks because it is a part of the larger all-encompassing universal suckage.
The Suck Explanation (Call to Action Edition): Fire [insert object of your blame here]!
The John Blutarsky Solution: Start drinking heavily.
The Orson Swindle Solution: Start swearing profusely.
One Possible Religious Explanation: Steve Spurrier’s father was a minister. Danny Wuerffel operates a Christian charitable organization. Tim Tebow is the son of missionaries and a professing believer. Urban Meyer was named for a pope and he was Notre Dame’s first choice for a head coach. The game was played on All Saints Day. God is on the Gators’ side.
Another Possible Religious Explanation: Mark Richt is a devout Christian, too. God doesn’t care about college football.
Yet Another Possible Religious Explanation: Mark Richt is a devoted servant of the Lord, just as Moses and David were, but he is being punished for the celebration. It fell to Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, it fell to Solomon to build the Temple, and it will fall to Mike Bobo to win the national championship.
A Final Possible Religious Explanation: The Gators won exactly nothing for the first 85 years of their football history. They went from being nobodies to being nationally prominent overnight. There was no rebuilding process, no gradual upward incline, just mediocrity, awfulness, mediocrity, awfulness, a good season, probation, mediocrity, mediocrity, mediocrity . . . boom! Incessant sustained excellence! That’s a deal with the devil if ever I saw one. Sooner or later, Satan is going to show up at the end of a Florida-South Carolina game to drag Urban Meyer’s and Steve Spurrier’s immortal souls shrieking into the underworld. With any luck, it will happen on a Raycom telecast, ‘cause I bet Dave, Dave, and Dave could really do that justice.
This Sets Up Next Year Quite Nicely: We are now officially off of everyone’s radar screen. This is 2004 all over again; expectations were high, they were not met, and everyone expected 2005 to be a rebuilding year. Instead, it produced an S.E.C. championship and, but for a particularly ill-timed injury to D.J. Shockley, it might have produced a national title, as well. This year’s injuries will build depth for next year, Stafford and Moreno now have a powerful incentive to return next season, the Gators will pay us no mind next fall after having put us so decisively in our place this year, and we’ll be able to come into the season ranked No. 15 and catch some folks napping.
O-Ver-Ra-Ted!: The preseason No. 1 ranking was completely bogus. One close loss might have been explained away with the injuries to Trinton Sturdivant, Vince Vance, Jeff Owens, and Dannell Ellerbe, but top ten teams simply do not play whole halves of football as atrocious as the first 30 minutes against Alabama and the last 30 minutes against Florida.
It Really Wasn’t as Bad as the Final Score Indicated: Although the margins were dramatically different, Georgia actually was whipped much more soundly by ‘Bama than by the Gators. The former was out of reach early and the second-half comeback was entirely cosmetic; when the ‘Dawgs looked like they were going to claw back into it and the Tide needed a touchdown drive to put the game away for good, they got it without breaking a sweat. In Jacksonville, Georgia trailed 14-3 at the half due to a variety of bad breaks, including two missed field goals, a dropped touchdown pass, a Florida first down which the replay clearly showed was short of the marker, and an interception negated by a bizarre personal foul penalty against a player who was being egregiously held. The halftime score easily could have been 13-7 in Georgia’s favor and the game only really started to get out of hand after an interception that should have been negated by a penalty against the defensive back which went inexplicably uncalled. Bad luck and blown calls set up a blowout in a game in which the Bulldogs moved the ball as effectively as the opposition.
At Least We’re Not Michigan: It could be a heck of a lot worse and this posting could be nothing but pictures of kittens.
Without necessarily renouncing, repudiating, or disputing the validity of any or all of the above, I think the mindset that most closely summarizes where I am now is this:
It’s Still Great to be a Georgia Bulldog: I was Bulldog born and Bulldog bred and, when I die, I’ll be Bulldog dead. My team is my team, win or lose, and, sometimes, it’s just not your day. Mark Richt is still 79-21 after his first 100 games and his all-time record against the five current S.E.C. coaches who have won national championships (Phillip Fulmer, Urban Meyer, Les Miles, Nick Saban, and Steve Spurrier) is 13-11 . . . and that’s not even counting his 4-3 record against Tommy Tuberville, who led Auburn to an unbeaten season, or his 6-0 record against Chan Gailey, who won a national championship in a lower division with Troy. Yes, there needs to be accountability; yes, we lost to two eventual B.C.S. bowl champions (we’ll find out on the first Saturday in December which one will win the national championship game and which one will win the Sugar Bowl); for now, we need to tip our caps to the Gators, who were the better team on Saturday, congratulate them on their impressive victory, and take a moment to relax so that our reactions are measured, prudent, and reasonable even in the face of adversity and disappointment. MaconDawg, SavDawg, DavetheDawg, and RocketDawg seem to have gotten us off to a good start.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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In regard to the first religious explanation
If God is a Gator, then I’m an atheist.
Sic 'em Dawgs
by ClassicCityDawg on Nov 2, 2008 3:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Look at the bright side...
With LSU and UGA rolling over and playing dead against UF this year, paving the way to their SEC title run, and a probable National Title run, this may get Tebow out of the SEC one year sooner. This game also likely means Stafford is going to stay for his senior year.
After LSU’s 2006 season I weigh a team’s NC chances on schedule every bit as much as talent and depth. Those just didn’t add up for UGA this year.
Good luck the rest of the way guys.
by LSU Jonno on Nov 2, 2008 3:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Twisted
“This Whole Thing Is Sick, Twisted, and Weird: We’re grown men with real lives. Tying any part of our emotional well-being to what an anonymous group of 18- to 22-year-olds does over three and a half hours on a Saturday afternoon is silly, strange, unseemly, and sad. We tell ourselves it’s for the glory of our state, but that argument holds little water when our favorite players are from New Jersey and Texas. The idea that anyone invests himself in these games is, at best, bizarre, and very well may be utterly indefensible. The fact that we care at all, much less this much, may be a warning sign that we all need professional help.”
AMEN. As a rational adult male, I wrestle with this quite often.
It’s easier to wrestle with it on the right side of a win… but I had these thoughts just a few weeks ago after losing to Ole Miss.
We’re all screwed. :)
Orange and Blue Hue: The World through GATOR-colored Glasses -- http://www.orangeandbluehue.com
by Gatorpilot on Nov 2, 2008 4:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Those refs are about to buy their own island!!!
I know, I know, no excuses…but man was the mo on the gators side yesterday!!! I’d like to see how many zeroes are on that check from the UF alumni association, it’s either written in .5 font or the check wouldn’t fit in a dumptruck. By my estimation, that’s AT LEAST a 21 point swing.- 42 if you take the gator points off the board and either get the ball back to the Dawgs, or allow the Dawgs drive to continue – (1. Horrible first down call with Teblow’s 3rd down run in the 1st. 2. Offensive Pass interference against the UF WR Asher Allen had D’d the heck up in the 3rd. 3. Defensive Pass Interfernce on Stafford’s first pick intended for A.J. Green) In college football, especially rivalry games, ESPECIALLY THIS RIVALRY GAME, momentum is King and everything else is just window dressing. Oh, yeah, almost forgot, UF was NOT the better team yesterday, we helped with boneheaded plays, and the refs more than did their part. <— I say this knowing I run the risk of sounding delusional, perhaps even a tad psychotic, but you’ll have a hard time of changing my mind. I watched the first half twice – hat tip to the inventor of the DVR, and this could have EASILY been an entirely different ballgame.
BTW: Players, coaches, and fans please please please stop with the woe is me stuff. Ever wonder why we never win this ballgame?? Because everybody thinks it’s expected for us to lose. No it’s not so please stop perpetuating the cycle. Pick yourself up, dust off your Silver britches, and get ready for next year.
All is not lost, I’ll be in front of my TV next week, rooting like hell for the Dawgs.
Go Dawgs!!
by G8RH8R on Nov 2, 2008 4:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I know this is bad...
But looking at Richt’s 79-21 mark through 100 games makes me even more depressed. Why? Well, while Richt has won 79% of his games against foes named UAB, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Western Kentucky, and countless other sacrificial lambs, Florida has compiled a winning percentage of .842 in the since 1990 against Georgia.
Now I know that Richt has played very good teams, and beaten them, in his time at Georgia. However, what better shows exactly what we are against Florida than that statistic? I’m 23. I’ve never known anything else. This is miserable.
by Bodey on Nov 2, 2008 5:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Understood, Bodey
Now you know why I hate Auburn as I do, because your experience with Florida mirrors my experience with the Plainsmen in the ‘80s (although all the Gators have subjected us to are verbal barbs; they’ve never turned the high-pressure hoses on us).
Yes, Georgia has beaten a large number of patsy opponents, as has every coach in the Southeastern Conference. Let us, however, give credit where credit is due. Here are Mark Richt’s records against the major opponents on our schedule:
Alabama: 3-1
Arkansas: 4-0
Auburn: 4-3
Clemson: 2-0
Florida: 2-6
Georgia Tech: 7-0
Louisiana State: 3-2
South Carolina: 6-2
Tennessee: 5-3
Which one of those is not like the others?
Mark Richt is 2-0 in Tuscaloosa; every other coach in Georgia history is a combined 0-7 there. He is responsible for other historic firsts too numerous to mention. He has won two S.E.C. championships in his first eight years; the only other Georgia coaches to accomplish that feat were Wally Butts and Vince Dooley, the two winningest coaches in school history.
Mark Richt is one of only nine coaches in Division I history to have won at least 70 games in his first seven seasons. (Walter Camp, Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bob Stoops, and Barry Switzer are among the others.) Mark Richt is one of only five coaches to have led an S.E.C. team to four straight ten-win seasons. (Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley, Phillip Fulmer, and Steve Spurrier are the others.)
Mark Richt is 33-2 in non-conference games. He is 42-8 in home games and 28-4 in true road games. Mark Richt was standing on the sideline for two of the Bulldogs’ four Sugar Bowl victories, for five of the Bulldogs’ 17 seasons of double-digit wins, and for five of the Bulldogs’ 19 A.P. top ten finishes.
Mark Richt was hired to do many things, including restoring discipline and dignity to the program, winning S.E.C. titles, beating Georgia Tech, and beating Florida. The latter is the only goal he has not accomplished. Yes, that has to change, but we have to recognize that he has done darned well in every other category.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 8:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
nice work
This is a stylish, complicated piece of prose. This is the voice in my head.
by budro on Nov 2, 2008 6:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Not all Gators are poor sports
I don’t talk a lot of trash before or after games. I also never blame the refs and/or outside forces on our losses. We lost to Ole Miss this year because we took them lightly and they outplayed us.
I think UGA’s schedule of playing at LSU and then in Jax against Florida back-to-back was a virtually impossible task. It would have been impossible for Texas, USC, Alabama and anyone else (including us if you substitute playing UGA instead of UF in Jax).
This is a special Gator team that was just better than UGA yesterday – just like UGA was simply better than we were last year. Again, I have enjoyed visting this site so far this season and will continue to do so as I consider it the unofficial authoirty on UGA football.
by skigator93 on Nov 2, 2008 6:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You nailed it
I couldn’t have said any of it better myself. The karma I felt all week let me know it wasn’t in the cards. Totally agree about getting up two weeks in a row though, it’s nearly impossible. Thanks for the classy post skigator.
by UgaMatt on Nov 2, 2008 6:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
Skigator wasn’t the only reasonable Florida commenter here last week—-as I say, the ones who supported their team without being obnoxious about it clearly were the majority, and I have no basis for believing that the yahoo contingent of Gator Nation represents a larger percentage of Florida’s fan base than the yahoo contingent of Bulldog Nation does of ours—-but he, along with Gatorpilot and regular commenter Year 2, certainly has led the way in confirming that there are high-caliber fans on both sides of the state line.
As I hope did not go unnoticed, my various (sometimes conflicting) postgame thoughts did include criticisms of the officials, but did not include anything along the lines of “the refs cost us the game” (they didn’t, but this game was in some respects closer on the field than the Alabama game was, even though the scoreboard didn’t indicate it), and nothing in the foregoing took the form of “Gators have no class,” “Urban Meyer ran up the score,” “I hope Tim Tebow gets his leg broken,” etc.
I don’t like Urban Meyer, but there’s no question we let it get away from us at the end more than they tried to stick in the dagger and twist it. Stafford was out there as long as Tebow was. The Florida players’ celebrating on the sideline was appropriate, was not unsportsmanlike (either philosophically or in any form that would incur a penalty), and was, in the end, complimentary.
The last time Florida beat Georgia this badly (47-7 in 1996; five minutes before the C.B.S. graphic told me so, I had announced from memory what the largest margin by which we had ever lost to Florida was), I was on my way out of the stadium after the game when a Gator fan came by yelling, “Let’s start playing Vanderbilt in Jacksonville! They give us a better game!” Florida players didn’t celebrate wins over Georgia in those days; they were par for the course and nothing suggested then that the Cocktail Party any longer was a rivalry. The exuberance of the Gators’ reactions yesterday indicated that they knew they’d accomplished something more than mere business as usual. That’s the closest thing to a positive I can take away from yesterday.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 7:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
BCS bowl
Like all Dawg fans I am extremely dissapointed in our performance on Saturday. We clearly are not one of the elite teams in the country this year but very few are. Its hard to really see this picture clearly.
Elites:
SEC – FLA, Bama(probably)
Big 12 – Texas Tech(?), Texas(?), Oklahoma(?) Will TT-Oklahoma clear this up or are there three?
Big 10 – Penn St.(?)
ACC – none
Big East – none
Pac 10 – USC
Are the Gators the best team in the country or am I just basing this on the beating we just took?
As I am just going with my train of thought let me just ask the question I intended to ask: Georgia could certainly finish as the 3rd best team in the SEC. Has the SEC Champ game loser ever been selected for a BCS bowl? If not, could the Dawgs reach the BCS if we win out?
by JoeinSavannah on Nov 2, 2008 7:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Initially
Yesterday I was of the Orson Swindle variety. If you had a child that was under the legal age of drinking, you didn’t want to be around me for they might hear some things that weren’t too pleasant. The more I think of it, the more I realize that my generation of Bulldawg fans, I’m currently 25, have come of age realizing that Georgia is just simply destined to lose to Florida (i.e. we’re their bitches). It’s the same situation in reverse from when our parents came of age, when it was the other way around for Gator fans. Every year I try to tell myself it will be different, but I still find myself thinking in the back of my head that there’s no way we should win this game. It is just Florida’s destiny to own Jacksonville. I don’t know what to think anymore other than when I get my Georgia schedule every year, I feel like I should just pencil in an “L” for the Florida game to avoid the disappointment. I sure hope we can turn it around, but when the same results have come up 16 of 19 years, it becomes all the more difficult to expect a different one. Maybe like those Gator fans that are the ages of my parents, one day too will I have my day when I can say that we own the Gators, but it certainly looks very bleak now. Either way, it’s still great to be a Georgia Bulldawg, but maybe we just have to accept that Florida has been, is, and will be better than us in the years to come.
by AuditDawg on Nov 2, 2008 8:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Take heart
Remember that that’s exactly how Gator fans felt a generation ago.
From 1990 to 2008, Florida has gone 16-3 against Georgia.
From 1971 to 1989, Georgia went 15-4 against Florida.
19 years ago, Gator fans looking back on the 19 years before that wondered exactly what you are wondering now: “Will we ever beat these guys?”
The flipside is that, before 1971, Georgia fans were wondering what they’re wondering now.
In the 19 years from 1952 to 1970, Florida went 13-5-1 against Georgia.
Now go back a little way past that. In the 20 series meetings between 1931 and 1951, Georgia went 17-3 against Florida.
What history teaches us is that this is a streaky series. More specifically, since the start of the Great Depression—-since about the time the move to Jacksonville became permanent—-these two teams have traded extended periods of ownership for 19 or 20 years at the time. It’s actually a little scary how predictable the swings of the pendulum have been.
1931-1951: Georgia wins 17 of 20 series meetings and Florida wins three
1952-1970: Florida wins 13 of 19 series meetings and Georgia wins five
1971-1989: Georgia wins 15 of 19 series meetings and Florida wins four
1990-2008: Florida wins 16 of 19 series meetings and Georgia wins three
Looks to me like we’re due for a period of Georgia dominance. That’s the thing about momentum . . . once it swings one way for long enough, the laws of physics dictate that it swing back the other way for about as long.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 8:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh no...
it’s my fault. My parents moved to Georgia when I was 13, in 1989. It’s been nothing but downhill since I arrived. You would think that my moving to Mississippi a few years back would change that, but apparently not. Looks like I’m packing up the wife and heading “home” to North Carolina.
by Pascagoula St. on Nov 2, 2008 11:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I feel your pain
I’m 27, I know how you feel. I haven’t been back to J’ville since I graduated, and I refuse to go to another GA/FLA until the game gets moved. I totally don’t expect that to change the outcomes of these games, but anything will be better than that “neutral” site every year. Also, it would open up some freedom with our schedule and make FL leave their state more than 3 times every other year.
by UgaMatt on Nov 2, 2008 8:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just F.Y.I.:
Georgia’s all-time record against Florida in Jacksonville is 40-36-1.
Georgia’s all-time record against Florida at all neutral sites is 42-34-2.
Georgia’s all-time record against Florida within the borders of the Sunshine State is 42-36-1.
We don’t seem to have done too badly against the Gators by the St. John’s River, away from either school’s campus, or south of Valdosta except when Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer had Gainesville mailing addresses.
I feel your pain, but we as a fan base have to get past this “Jacksonville is not a neutral site” business. If the Gators have an advantage in the Gateway City, the fault is not in the venue, but in ourselves.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 9:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Jacksonville is not the problem
There could be a myriad of reasons we could discuss and debate regarding the Dawgs’ struggles in the last 2 decades, but we need to get over this argument about Jacksonville not being neutral. It was obviously neutral enough for us to own the Gators during the ‘70s and ’80s. Having the game in Jacksonville is what makes this game one of those games that the whole country cares about. It’s a party of college football history and tradition that needs no changing.
by AuditDawg on Nov 2, 2008 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
"A party of college football history"?
Was that a Freudian slip, AuditDawg? (Robert Bly would have called it a “Hermes precision.”)
You’re right, but “party” was probably a typographical error that conveyed your point more truthfully than “part” would have done.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 9:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That is correct
Little typo on my “part”.
by AuditDawg on Nov 2, 2008 9:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It's not the problem, but it's not neutral either
The Florida program of the 70’s and 80’s and the Florida program today are not even in the same solar system. To say nothing of the fact that during that time period the state of Florida had a huge population boom and is now loaded with talent. They have 50k students, a great AD, and an aggressive, if obnoxious, coach. They don’t need the advantage of playing one of their biggest rivals 80 miles from campus every year. Do you think LSU, UT, Auburn, Alabama, etc. would sign up for playing UF in Jax every year? Would any team in the country do that right now? Yet for some reason, we willing do it and act like it’s a fair deal. We don’t play Tennessee in Chattanooga every year, we don’t play Auburn in B’ham every year, we don’t play LSU in NOLA every year. Why? Because that would be f’ing stupid to do!! Does Jax ever feel like a home game to us? I PROMISE it feels like a home game to FL. Look what happened when Auburn demanded to go home and home with Alabama. It wasn’t popular at the time, now who even cares? This is Evan’s biggest, most unpopular test, but for my .02, there is only one rational choice.
by UgaMatt on Nov 2, 2008 10:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It cuts both ways
Increasingly, the University of Georgia is becoming the University of Metro Atlanta, as more and more members of the student body are drawn from the counties surrounding the state’s capital city.
As this trend continues, South Georgians are made to feel more and more alienated from the institution in Athens, which they have loved and supported for generations. Preserving the tradition of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville makes it possible for the many Bulldog fans in South Georgia to be assured of having one game a year within reasonable driving distance. It’s a home game for Georgia fans in Waycross and Valdosta, too.
If we cut that tie to South Georgia, it will negatively impact recruiting. Florida and Florida State will be able to poach even more native Georgians from below the Columbus-Macon-Augusta corridor as more and more late afternoon and evening kickoffs between the hedges make it harder and harder for parents in South Georgia to make the trek to Athens to see their sons play in Sanford Stadium.
The game in Jacksonville is huge for recruiting for Georgia and necessary to maintaining the Bulldogs’ foothold throughout the Peach State. It isn’t just an important part of our past; it’s crucial to our future. Pulling the game out of Jacksonville means surrendering South Georgia to Urban Meyer as assuredly as pulling out of Saigon meant surrendering South Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh.
By the way, I know more than a few ‘Bama fans who would love to go back to playing the Iron Bowl at Legion Field instead of having to travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium every other year. Don’t think the switch to a home-and-home series isn’t any longer the subject of regrets in Tuscaloosa.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 2, 2008 11:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Playing devil's advocate
I’m from South Georgia, so I am sympathic to the University becoming more Atlanta focused. However, as for the recruiting aspect: Stafford, Moreno, Green, MoMass, Ben Jones, Trinton S., C.J. Byrd, Jeff Owens, Blair Walsh, etc. aren’t even from GA at all, much less below the Gnat Line. UGA can now recruit nationally and you can’t convince me that it’s better for recruiting to get beat for 20 years in a region than to not play in that region at all.
Recruits in that area now have seen UGA win 3 times in their lifetime, so I don’t buy that keeping a strong South Georgia presence is vital to our recruiting success. Hell, it’s almost as far from Athens to Jax as it is from Gainesville to Miami, and despite not having a South Florida presence, the Gators have recruited relatively well down there through the years.
If anything from a recruiting standpoint, I’d say our focus right now should be protecting Atlanta from Saban coming in a la Tennessee throughout the 90’s. There is no reason why we couldn’t schedule a neutral site game with FSU or Miami in Jax some years. Or maybe a Big Ten team would like to come down for an early vacation.
We need to be realistic that we’re not going to go on a 20 year run where we go 15-5 against Florida. No one is. Likewise, I don’t expect anyone but Florida to have the ability to go 15-5 against us for the next 20. We don’t need to make it any more convenient for them to do so. We don’t want to admit this, but the WLOCP has become a Homecoming game for them. They show up, get drunk, reunite, and have zero doubt they’re going to win. Look at how furious they get when they lost last year. It was like when we lost at home to Vandy. The only difference is, Vandy has been more successful against us the last 20 years than we have been against Florida.
by UgaMatt on Nov 3, 2008 8:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh yeah
Meant to add this, I’m sure Bama fans would LOVE for the Iron Bowl to go back to B’ham every year. They have a losing record since it’s gone home-and-home. You think Auburn would agree to a “neutral” site game now? Since they’ve only lost to Bama at home twice?
by UgaMatt on Nov 3, 2008 8:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for this post, Kyle
When explaning the inexplicable, there is nothing like having options. The only one I cannot agree with is, “It’s just a game.” If was just a game, none of us would be here, right here, right now. I will freely admit that I live for Georgia football. I’m not wierd, just loyal.
In retrospect, I really think it was an awful lot to expect our kids to win on Saturday. I’m not trying to make excuses for anyone, but they are banged up and way too young in too many key positions. Mature teams don’t beat themselves as often as we do. Mind-numbing penalties are really about the biggest constant this year – which is maddening. I do think the coaches handicapped us on Saturday as well. Having said that, we still had our chances. The embarrassing “meltdowns” in big games does appear to be a trend. It is up to our coaches to fix this.
And one more thing: Spurrier and Meyer won’t accopany ol’ Satan alone. I gotta believe that Nick Saban has struck some sort of deal with Beelzebub somewhere along the line. I mean, c’mon! How can ’Bama’s defense be that good with no depth at linebacker? Of course, hell might just be Baton Rouge on Saturday.
Dawgs forever.
by DavetheDawg on Nov 2, 2008 8:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
It's more than just a "game"...
You know it, I know it, and the American people know it (how’s that for a Bob Dole reference the day before the election), we live and die with our team. We have our favorite players in each period, but when it comes down to it, we root for the silver britches, red jerseys and that G on the helmet. All I can say is that I hope our kids get their heads right before Saturday, Kentucky may suck but they are still an SEC team.
As far as the game being in Jacksonville I am really torn about this. On one hand I grew up in the ’70’s and ’80’s when we could pretty much chalk UF up as a win every year no matter what the records or rankings (I recall when UF was ranked #1, we weren’t ranked at all and won 44-0). Now it seems like there is just some bad mojo in Jacksonville, we need a turn around in this rivalry or the alumni are going to demand that Damon at least go to rotating between J’ville and the Ga Dome if not pulling out of J’ville all together. I for one DO NOT want to have to play in The Swamp every other year, so I think that we should just leave well enough alone.
by RocketDawg on Nov 3, 2008 7:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Minor correction
44-0 was Herschel’s Heisman year in 1982.
The upset of the No. 1-ranked Gators was in 1985, when the ’Dawgs won 24-3.
Your point still stands, though.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 3, 2008 7:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Wake up, Uh-mer-i-Kuh!
T. Kyle, may your South Georgia privileges be forever revoked. Caleb King as a running back on a national championship team? Get real! The Gators coaching staff had no fear of him. When Knowshon came out of the game, it was apparent that the Gators knew they had only to stop A.J. Have you been living in the shadow of that cesspool known as Atlanta so long that you believe the hype about the Atlanta media heaps upon us? I know you do not believe the crap the AJC puts out about politics and suggest that you should include their opinions about high school players in that area being the be-all end-all. As far as ending the Jacksonville game, so be it! The younger generation deserves to have to put up with Atlanta traffic and crumbling infrastructure so they won’t have to go through God’s country. Those of us who live in South Georgia still will go to Jacksonville and see FSU or whomever the Jax people get in there to replace this classic. Keep two points in mind when advocating the removal of the game from Jacksonville: (1) If God had intended football to be played in domes, he would have created some at the start of this debacle. I certainly hope, if the game goes to home and home, that Atlanta is selected as the home site for UGA since I don’t ever want the Gators to enter Athens again. (2) Oh, yeah, by the way, UGA did a much better job of handling the Gators in Athens when that trial run was attempted back in the 90’s, didn’t we?
by Jujdog on Nov 3, 2008 9:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
That's not a great comparison
Yeah, we got killed in Athens in 95. That was one of Spurrier’s very best teams and everyone knew Goff was gone. The talent differential was staggering. However, if this was a home and home rivalry, I believe we would have played in Gainesville in 1982, when we beat them 44-0. I don’t think location would have changed the outcome of that game either. However, I do think that if half of these games: ’92, ’93, ’99, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’06, and ’08 were in Athens, we would have done a little better than 0-9.
by UgaMatt on Nov 3, 2008 10:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The operative word there is "think",
UgaMatt. It’s the same site, although without the leaking sewers, in which UGA has historically dominated. The overall record is still heavily in favor of the Dawgs. I just guess Belue and Walker and Appleby and those guys were just so much better than Stafford and Moreno and Green. I promise you, the Gators have had the edge in talent for the better portion of my lifetime, yet the old Dawgs found a way to win. Saturday’s debacle had nothing to do with the site, but with poor performance by the Georgia coaches and the Georgia offense. Period!
by Jujdog on Nov 3, 2008 11:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I know
I know we didn’t lose because of the site, I’ve been pretty adamant about that. But do you honestly think any team is going to beat Florida like we did in the 70’s and 80’s ever again? Galen Hall and Charlie Pell ain’t walking through that door. Hell, Ron Zook walked through the door and walk out 2-1 against us. There is a reason that the first thing Spurrier did as UF’s coach (aside from ripping up the artificial turf they played on) was CONVINCE his team and the Florida fans that Jacksonville was a home game. He said “If we went to Atlanta every year and played them in a stadium called the Bulldog Bowl, they’d sure feel like it was a home game.”
The old Dawgs found a way to win b/c: 1)UF’s coaching sucked, and 2)they had a bye while UF played Auburn the week before. Those two situations aren’t going to happen again. We can continue to piss against the wind and talk about he old days, but when Florida catches us in 11 years, then what are we going to do? It’s time to put pressure on Damon and make some changes. I’ve posted the letter I sent him this morning at http://gatriguy.blogspot.com
by UgaMatt on Nov 3, 2008 11:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
nice blog
Im a florida fan and i enjoy your blog you have a nice perspective even if its a little gloomy after this weekend (not trying to rub it in too much), but i think your see this series be a little less streaky….your absolutely right that was a closer game than the score showed and I’ve watched both teams a lot over the years (my girlfriend is a big dawg fan) and yall were the better team last year and we were this year but don’t be surprised to see a W for the dawgs next year…I’m from charleston sc just down the road from where AJ Greene went to high school and i know he is going to kill us next year especially since stafford will probably stay (or at least should)….also we’ll be losing percy harvin, B. Spikes early to the draft most likely so I see this series turning into the new battle of the SEC….so keep your head up! By the way though I’m making my girlfriend drive around all week with a gator flag on her car. GO GATORS!
by fryinwidryan on Nov 3, 2008 1:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Mike Bobo needs to be Fired or Demoted
Listen this is plane and simple folks…I’ve lived in GA for 28 yrs. so I know how all you “Go Dawgs” fans are…If you really want to sit here and blame the team (i.e. the players, in this case) your all wrong!!! Mike Bobo is the son of UGA Alumni and yeah he had an Outback bowl great game one time in his life. But controlling an offense that has so many weapons at his disposal is just not the position that he needs to have. Don’t get me wrong now; once in a blue moon you’ll get that play you’re asking everyone around you about. Like, why isn’t the ball being thrown to Massaquoi and Green? 2 of the Best college receivers in the game right now, on top of receiving those passes from a supposed NFL ready quarterback. Knowshawn Moreno is good yes…but he gets the ball in the wrong times of the game. How many times did we run the ball on 3rd down on Sat.? Green did not even have a pass thrown to him until the second half and I believe that Massaquoi only had 2 passes thrown his way in the 1st half. Why you ask b/c every damn time we went on the field we were running the ball!!! Every time!!!! Who cares if Knowshawn gets his hundred yards uh?? Oh, yeah Mike Bobo does and now where done for any chances to win the national title. That’s why its hard to for me to be a die hard GA FAN!!! Every time we have a chance to play for the National Title we lose to Florida!!! Every freaking time….
If you can’t see that Mike Bobo is getting special treatment from being alum and his parents being alum you’re as blind as they come!!!!!
Long story short!!! I do not want to hear another thing about how damn great Stafford is and how he has an NFL presence and an NFL (Brett Favre) type arm if your not going to use it. Stop running the ball so damn much and throwing down field to make up for what your not getting on the ground and on top that stop throwing into double and triple coverage; which is caused by the need to have to throw from unsuccessful running!!!! Use Knowshawn Moreno like Reggie Bush was used at USC…Why this is so hard to see and understand I do not know…
STOP GIVING SPECIAL TREATMENT TO MIKE BOBO B/C OF HIS ALUMNI BACKGROUND, FAMILY ALUMNI BACKGROUND, AND 1 TIME OUTBACK GAME HE PLAYED IN!!!!!
WAKE UP GA FANS!!! HELL, WAKE UP MARK RICHT!!! WAKE UP UGA!!! YOU JUST BLEW A SURE NATIONAL TITLE FROM PISS POOR PLAY CALLING!!!!!
by Vociphus on Nov 3, 2008 1:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Dump the wide receivers coach and the defensive backs coach!
Watching the Ga-Fla game and the Texas-Texas Tech game has convinced me that we don’t have anyone who knows how to teach the wide receivers and defensive backs to CHEAT and not get caught! So what if you get caught holding or pushing off 1 out of 5 plays, the other 4 are likely to get substantial yardage or touchdowns. It’s like basketball__there is no such thing as “walking” or “traveling” anymore, and “hand checks” were non existent 25 years ago. The game has changed__grab on to the other guy and push him away just before the ball gets there. It worked well for Fla and Texas Tech on both sides of the ball last week!
by Jujdog on Nov 3, 2008 2:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
From a Life-Long Gator
Georgia has a quality Coach…
Georgia has one of the best RBs in the country… (if he stays)
Georgia has one of the best QBs in the country … (if he stays)
Saturday was Florida’s day…
Last year was Georgia’s day…
this series will probably swing back and forth for the next several years, barring one coach or the other leaving…(going Pro)
I was upset last year, because I felt the Gators were ‘shown up’ – I am over that now…
next year the Dawgs will have the ‘timeouts’ to get pumped up about…
I think the schedule was the reason for the lopsided score… UF playing Kentucky at home is not near as difficult as LSU in Baton Rouge…
The officials missed things on the field, but crap like that is missed in every game… and there were a few questionable call against the Gators… it just doesn’t matter when you are ahead…
Live and don't Learn!
by Pharmagator on Nov 5, 2008 8:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
All fair points, Pharmagator
Thanks for taking the time to make them.
In response, I would only emphasize two points:
1. While there were some clearly blown officiating calls, they did not affect the outcome and they had only a minor impact upon the margin. Had every call been made correctly, Florida still would have won convincingly. It just wouldn’t have been a blowout of borderline-historic proportions. The better team won.
2. I do not believe there are two more stable coaching situations in the Southeastern Conference than Georgia’s and Florida’s. Mark Richt already has the third-longest tenure of any Bulldog coach in history (in terms of number of games coached) and he has made clear, in word and deed, his commitment to remaining where he is. Urban Meyer turned down what had been his dream job (Notre Dame) to come to Florida and he, like Rich Rodriguez, runs an offensive system uniquely suited to the college game, so a jump to the N.F.L. is unlikely. I would be willing to bet that, ten years from now, the only two current S.E.C. coaches still employed in their present positions will be Coach Meyer and Coach Richt. This is a rivalry that is going to endure for a long time. We’ve had that between the two schools, but not between two particular coaches for any extended stretch.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Nov 6, 2008 9:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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