Alabama Crimson Tide 41, Georgia Bulldogs 30
by T Kyle King
on Sep 28, 2008 12:45 PM EDT
in Football
At around 2:00 this morning, I was most of the way home from Athens, physically exhausted and emotionally spent, when my progress was halted by the passage of what seemed at the time to be the longest train ever to have crossed my path.
Mine was the second vehicle in line behind the lowered arm and flashing lights of the railroad crossing; before me was a white pickup truck with county government plates, and in the back of the truck was a cage containing a dog. It was dark, so I couldn’t tell for sure, but the dog looked to be either a German shepherd or a Siberian husky or an Alaskan malamute.
The dog sat there in the cage, looking straight back at me, panting, not exactly menacing but not altogether benign, and I looked at him as he looked at me and the screeching of the interminable passing train howled ominously in the night, sounding eerily like something out of an Angelo Badalamenti score. On top of all that, I was a guy named Kyle dressed entirely in black, so the moment was positively Lynchian. The first half was a lot like that.
It started out to be a great day, of course. Top-ranked Southern California had lost on Thursday night, RedCrake’s sign was visible on what I sincerely hope is the last installment of "College GameDay" ever broadcast from the Classic City, Ole Miss upended the Gators in Gainesville, and I got to tailgate with Doug Gillett, DAve Akins, and Scott and Meimi Hartman of Bloggerpalooza ‘08 fame at Tent City.
The first two quarters of the game itself, however, were nothing short of nightmarish. Naturally, this reality lends itself to a great deal of criticism. Certainly, there were officiating calls with which to quarrel and play calls with which to argue (although the approach of attacking the perimeter was mostly sound until necessity forced the ‘Dawgs to get away from their game plan); undoubtedly, you could question some of Matthew Stafford’s decisionmaking in the midst of a rapidly collapsing pocket or curse the random bounces of the ball.
The bottom line, though, is this: Alabama’s two greatest advantages coming into this game were along the lines, where the absences of Trinton Sturdivant and Jeff Owens definitely were felt. The Crimson Tide got pressure with their defensive linemen, their offensive line got enough of a push to ensure that the visitors’ first-down run was going to pick up three or four yards seemingly on every snap, and that was the ballgame.
As intermission neared, I found myself having flashbacks to the 1998 Tennessee game and the 1999 Auburn game, at the former of which "GameDay" came to town to witness what was supposed to be the anointing of the Bulldogs as a national championship contender and instead became the vaulting of Georgia’s opponent into national title consideration. (In my book, twice is a trend; the show never needs to be allowed back in Athens, period.)
I did not, however, have flashbacks to the losses to the Volunteers in 2004 or 2007. There was never a lack of intensity to the Red and Black effort last night. What went wrong between the hedges simply was a matter of fundamentals. Motivation doesn’t matter much if you can’t block your man.
The only silver lining for the men in silver britches was the heart and character shown in the second half by the players, the coaches, and---yes, I will give those of us who stayed until the bitter end a pat on the back---the fans. Down 31-0, Georgia made a game of it. Although it always seemed to me that the ‘Dawgs were merely going to make the margin respectable, the ‘Bama fans in my section were, at times, genuinely concerned that the home team was going to pull out a win . . . and, indeed, the situation was not truly hopeless until the last onside kick attempt fell just short of working.
By making stops, sustaining drives, and eliminating penalties, the Bulldogs turned what had been a blowout into what at least looked like a shootout, even if it really wasn’t. That, at least, is something upon which to build.
This, too, is something to which to cling while weathering the storm: Oregon State provided the template for the rest of the Pac-10 teams who have designs on beating U.S.C. Alabama did not provide the template for the rest of the S.E.C. teams who have designs on beating Georgia.
Who, other than L.S.U., has a defensive line comparable to the Crimson Tide’s? Which team anywhere in the Southeastern Conference fields an offensive front wall superior to Alabama’s? The Eastern Division still probably will be decided in Jacksonville, the national championship game still probably will feature at least one team with a loss, and a rematch with the Tide in the Georgia Dome is the goal.
At the end of the game, the Alabama fans on hand in Sanford Stadium launched into the "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" cheer, which contains the line: "We just beat the Hell out of you!" Those participating in this chant knew that what they were saying was untrue. More precisely, it was a half-truth . . . the first half.
Football, however, is a 60-minute game, not a 30-minute one, and therein lies the difference between my being a dejected Georgia fan and a hopeful one. For a while there, the Bulldogs were getting the Hell beaten out of them, but, in the end, all they got was beaten. The Red and Black lost what wound up being a darned fine football game, and (unlike Florida, Southern California, and Wisconsin) they lost it to a darned fine football team.
Actually, even that does not sound quite the right note. Bear Bryant said it best on New Year’s Eve 1973, after his Alabama squad lost the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame: we didn’t lose; we just ran out of time.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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Thanks
I got pretty worried after the first half that our fans would give out. From the perspective of a fan, just as bad as our team quitting after the half would have been our fans quitting. But as far as I could tell from the telecast, you guys certainly “showed up” for that amazing third quarter. Props to everyone who “paid for 60 minute tickets” and stuck it out.
by wwcmrd? on Sep 28, 2008 2:10 PM EDT 0 recs
That was a complete beatdown. The Dawgs still control their own destiny though so all is not lost. No way to do that if they can’t get a handle on the stupid penalties.
Hunker Down Hairy Dawgs!!!
by Nikkifree on Sep 28, 2008 2:26 PM EDT 0 recs
A couple of thoughts in response
Purely from a homer perspective, I had three responses to your assessment, all of which relate to the reasoning by analogy to USC.
1) If as you assert, Oregon State provided the template for beating USC, how is that Cal with Forsett couldn’t manage the same thing last year? That’s the first time in a long time that I’ve seen a team really turn USC’s aggressiveness on defense into a liability so consistently in one game, and that trait is not new this season.
2) There is no avoiding Oregon State’s dreadful start to the season; equally, they are a team which schedules genuinely difficult out of conference opponents and is 3 of 4 in bowl games in the last 2 years, as opposed to Alabama’s 2 and 2 record. In short, that was an upset, but from a team that does better season to season than most non-conference fans notice. Put it this way, it was not like getting beaten by Washington State (the possibility of which I’m not prepared to rule out.)
3) To the non-Dawg regular, last night’s game presented a Georgia team which, like USC against Oregon State, couldn’t stop the opposition in the first half, had a good third quarter, and couldn’t hit an onside kick when they needed to. Opponent’s resume or no, the arc of the games was surprisingly similar.
On the credit side of the ledger, Georgia did manage to avoid looking lost as if they hadn’t stepped onto a football field before, which USC completely failed to do, and they took their punch to the jaw from a higher ranked team.
Despite the tone of many a sports writer and pundit, it’s no sin to get beaten. It’s just a question of what comes next. Based on my limited viewing of SEC football, I see no reason to think that Georgia will be unsuccessful against the rest of their schedule. I question your use of one (genuinely piss-poor) game by USC as the basis for an analogy that could have been made entirely in the context of the SEC.
To which end, in closing, I’d say best of luck against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, but that would imply that I thought they were going to be anything other than punching bags for purging the effects of last night’s game.
by DC Trojan on Sep 28, 2008 2:26 PM EDT 0 recs
I apologize if my analogy seemed to say more than I intended
All I meant to say (and may have said badly) is that, whereas Oregon State primarily beat Southern California with a game plan that exploited certain Trojan tendencies, Alabama primarily beat Georgia by having more experience and size at the line of scrimmage.
That is not to say that the Men of Troy will not run the table and get into the national championship game; they very well may. My point was that, while other Pac-10 teams might look at the game film of the loss to the Beavers and say, “We can try that,” other S.E.C. teams will look at the game film of Georgia’s loss to Alabama and say, “Dang, I wish we had linemen like the Tide!”
Once again, that is not to say the the ’Dawgs will or will not run the table, merely that ’Bama had personnel advantages which Nick Saban and his staff successfully used to take control of the game early, enabling them to hang on late. Other S.E.C. teams without similar personnel advantages are unlikely to have the same sort of success. An S.E.C. squad executing the same game plan against Georgia but doing so with an offensive line that only is able to get its running backs one yard per carry on first down rather than three is highly unlikely to beat the Bulldogs.
Please understand that the use of U.S.C. as an example was due to the closeness in time of the two upsets and the stature the Trojan program has occupied nationally under Pete Carroll. You are right that the couse of the games was similar, but I believe the causes underlying those events are quite different, and are less easily replicated against Georgia than against Southern California, though they will not be replicated easily against either.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on
Sep 28, 2008 2:42 PM EDT
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Something I have been meaning to say.
Mr. King (I know you like to just be called Kyle, but this is more formal than that), I wanted to be the first (I hope) to say that I believe that one day you will be known as the Larry Munson of College football bloging. It seemed appropriate to say this since our radio Larry Munson has finished his term in office. I think like Uga VII you may have inherited the open position.
by DarinSmith on Sep 28, 2008 2:53 PM EDT 0 recs
My thoughts
Now as a Bama fan my reaction my seem like one of a homer. Just as this thread sounds like a Dawg fan licking his wounds but i do have a response that i feel is a good argument…
Yes its very true that UGA came back in the 2nd half and made it a game. No one could argue that. But lets not forget that it was 41-17 with a little under 7 minutes to play. What did Bama do? They did what any team that needs to build some depth would do. Alabama then subed in the 2nd team and backed WAY off. They rushed 3 and sometime brough 4 or 5. UGA was able to get a couple of late TD"s to make it respectable but the final score was not indicative to the pounding UGA tool.
Sure i was nervous in at the start of the 4th quarter but by 7 min left i was just annoyed. I just wanted the game to be over so we could start to celebrate. But i understand UGA had to make it seem respectable. If they had lost that game 41-17 im not sure they could have recovered. But now it appears like a 11 loss and Richt can build from that.
I think this is more of a respone Kyle to a comment you made in another thread but i didn’t feel like saying it twice :)
I said to my wife at the end of the game that UGA fans will try to make this game out to be closer than it really was. Thats exactly what happened at church today in Lawrenceville. Im not taking away from the fight that UGA put up ( they did a lot more than Clemson did) But Bama dominated 3 quarters of that game and lost their intensity and let…yes let UGA come back. If we had stayed focused and did what we were supposed to do then that 3rd quarter melt down doesnt happen.
But hey it was a great game with a lot of ups and downs. Just think about the intensity UGA will come out with if we face you guys again in Atl. You won’t need a black out to get up for that game. Until then, please go beat UF and Auburn for us and we will see you guys down the road..
ROLL TIDE!
Don't take life to seriously, you'll never get out alive.
by bammer on Sep 28, 2008 3:34 PM EDT 0 recs
oh yeah
Is it safe to say that the “Black Out” can effectively be buried for good?
Don't take life to seriously, you'll never get out alive.
by bammer on
Sep 28, 2008 3:39 PM EDT
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Blackout
I do not want to see the Blackout retired permanently. To the extent that it was meant to get and keep the fans in the game, it worked very, very well.
I would propose this, however: when you are the most penalized team in your conference, you do not deserve the indulgence of choosing what color jersey to wear until that mess gets cleaned up. The black jerseys were something players have been asking to have for years; going forward (in future seasons, not this), they must earn the right to wear them.
by NCT on
Sep 28, 2008 6:21 PM EDT
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Pat Forde said it perfectly
ATHENS, Ga. — Scott Cochran knew what he was cussing about after all.
As the Alabama strength coach famously predicted during practice last week, the blackout was a bleepin’ funeral for Georgia, which lost 41-30. In fact, the blackout was a blowout until two late embalming-fluid touchdowns by the overwhelmed home team. Rest in pieces, Bulldogs.
Don't take life to seriously, you'll never get out alive.
by bammer on
Sep 28, 2008 3:57 PM EDT
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All right....
1) First of all I think I owe you a hat eating (I said if UA scored 28 on us I would eat my hat), are mustard and ketchup allowed? How about some Texas Pete?
2) I agree that UA was playing loose on defense in the second half and particularly in the 4th Quarter, but the fact remains that in the second half it was 30-10. One score , one stop, or one decent call in the first half and we have a totally different ball game.
I give Bama all the credit in the world, they came into a hostile environment, executed their gameplan to perfection and layed the wood to us, however this IS the SEC and you do have a few more games left to play so I wouldn’t start making reservations for Atlanta or Miami just yet.
Just curious is UL-Lafyette on the schedule this year?
by RocketDawg on
Sep 28, 2008 4:00 PM EDT
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lol
good one
Don't take life to seriously, you'll never get out alive.
by bammer on
Sep 28, 2008 4:03 PM EDT
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How do we respond?
“The Eastern Division still probably will be decided in Jacksonville, the national championship game still probably will feature at least one team with a loss, and a rematch with the Tide in the Georgia Dome is the goal.” Amen to that.
We’ve got to stop the stupid penalties. This is fundamental. Hit their QB while he still has the ball. We’re too young (and becoming too thin) to overcome our own gaffes. We’ve got two weeks to fix this. I believe we will.
by DavetheDawg on Sep 28, 2008 3:36 PM EDT 0 recs
rocketdawg!
that was me you owe a hat eating to! go check the other blog!
by cmyster94 on Sep 28, 2008 5:37 PM EDT 0 recs
oh yeah !
its UL- Monroe ! next time you talk smack make sure your rock solid! lol
by cmyster94 on Sep 28, 2008 5:39 PM EDT 0 recs
My apologies....
I shall consume said hat post haste….
I know it was UL Monroe last year, I was asking if UL Lafyette was going to be on the schedule THIS year!
by RocketDawg on
Sep 28, 2008 8:23 PM EDT
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Not much good
A few thoughts -
I’ve been around college football long enough to realize that sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes the bug. I don’t rag our opponents and try to be a graceful winner. That said -
We were severely outcoached and outplayed last night.
This is probably gonna piss a bunch of y’all off, but we need our coach to be the coach, not a sophmore running back (no matter how good he is). Ex. Calling for a blackout, dancing on the sidelines, taunting our foes, etc. Damn, forever we’ve been the classiest act in college football: Now we’re a 2000’s version of Miami.
Let’s get back to tackling, blocking. etc and GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP (I know it’s out of style).
As Kyle said, we were whipped on both line and I admire our guys fighting to the end, but let’s have a little class. Go Dawgs! Kick UT’s ass.
It's a gas, gas, gas.
by Keith Richards on Sep 28, 2008 8:25 PM EDT 0 recs
More great knowledge.......
1. As much as I love St. Mark, Saban was by fsar the better coach last night .
2. For those who were at the game or didn’t record it, Mark’s comments at the end of the half included “We need to get after their ass” – His first cursing in TV?, shades of Erk? Wouldn’t you have like to have heard his lockerroom tirade?
3. We still have LOTS to play for. OU will go down and we have a shot at LSU. Bama has LSU and Auburn. Missouri will fall. Maybe nothing national….. but certainly SEC and who knows?
4. I love GA.
5. All that said we could lose 4-5 playing like last night’s first half.
6. Martinez – good or bad? Ditto Bobo’s (Bozo’s) play calling?
It's a gas, gas, gas.
by Keith Richards on Sep 28, 2008 8:32 PM EDT 0 recs
Kannt spel
Keith can’t spell – sorry!
It's a gas, gas, gas.
by Keith Richards on Sep 28, 2008 8:33 PM EDT 0 recs
T Kyle,
as a former lineman, I am glad to see people paying attention to line play.
We’ve talked off and on about this, and you could have wrote
The bottom line, though, is this: Alabama’s two greatest advantages coming into this game were along the lines, where the absences of Trinton Sturdivant and Jeff Owens definitely were felt.
and hit “publish.”
Georgia should rebound. My question is: can you convince the big guns to come back for “one more run at a magical season?”
by FSUncensored on Sep 28, 2008 9:36 PM EDT 0 recs
Still looking for the positives
Sitting in the stands til the bitter end on Saturday night certainly leaves a Dawg fan at a loss for words. My hat goes out to all the 60-minute ticketholders for proverbially “taking one for the team”. As Kyle stated, this was not a game that was like the Tennessee game last year where the team just looked completely lost. This was a situation like the Sugar Bowl against West Virginia where no one clad in the red & black decided to show up until it was far too late. I’m typically not one to jump all over the coaches and start screaming “it’s time for Coach XXXX to get out of town”, but with Coach Martinez this is becoming a trend. If his front four can’t bring pressure on a QB, he seems completely lost and incapable of making adjustments. I hope that he will reassess the talent on the line and scheme to bring more rushers to at least make the QB sweat a little. If this is a problem all year with the 8-10 yard dink passes with absolutely no pressure, maybe we should consider a change to DC come year end. But I give Willie the benefit of the doubt, and I expect he will turn it around. In the end, we may have lost to what I consider the best team in the country right now. If they play like that in the 1st half for the rest of the year, who will seriously challenge that team? On the bright side, with Florida’s loss, the East could still be decided in Jacksonville this year depending on what Vanderbilt does. So all is not lost Dawg fans, as we can still reach our first goal of winning the East and possibly obtaining a rematch of one of the three SEC West teams we play this year in Atlanta. This was a tough pill to swallow, but I think we’ll be better for it in the end.
by AuditDawg on Sep 29, 2008 1:49 PM EDT 0 recs
Black out __Smack Down.
Having just returned from “standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ” last Friday, I was unable to post anything until now. First, let me say that I am proud of the Ga faithful who did not desert the Dawgs in our hour(s) of tribulation last Saturday night. The toothless UT “ergemen” would have been gone at the middle of the second quarter. Having said that, I must iterate: NOBODY wins championships with youth and inexperience on the O line. I said it before the season__UGA starts no seniors and only one junior on the O line. ‘Nuff said! They did not block So Carolina well nor did they block ASU well until late in the game. Their blocking against Bama was non-existent. How would you like to see Stafford and Moreno behind the Bama O line? Face it, just because the Dawgs played well late last year and then annihilated a VASTLY OVERRATED Hawaii team that couldn’t beat Valdosta State, the seers picked us No. 1. We have not played well enough to be ranked number 3 in the eastern division of the SEC, much less the top 20 of the nation. It is in the trenches that games and championships are won. Anyone who disagrees with that believes the lie that the dry heat of Arizona is not as hot as the heat in the Southeast. That, too, is a crock!
by Jujdog on Sep 29, 2008 3:33 PM EDT 0 recs
Agreed
As many have stated… a tough pill to swallow. As much as I love the Black Uniforms and last year’s FL endzone celebration, I think Bulldog Nation may have fallen a little too in love with Richt’s motivational ploys. Yes, they served their purpose on the micro level, but in the end games are won between the whistles.
I am a Georgia homer, but more cynical than many. Honestly, at the risk of sounding over simplistic here, I really just think the game got away from GA in the first Qtr. Yes, we got beat up at the line, but the real damage was getting us away from our game plan early. And penalties of course— this must be addressed. But overall I did not think we were outclassed by Bama. Pushed around a little for sure, but if we play them again it would be real stretch to guarantee a Tide victory.
The 1st half was still reasonable until Green’s unfortunate turnover, especially considering the big-play potential if he was able to hang on.
I think Alabama is an excellent team with a top-notch coach. I can’t argue with your ranking, either, but I would probably put them around 5. Honestly, there is a good chance LSU will eat them alive (just being honest and objective). Then again this is the SEC (Slaughter Everyone Conference) and anything is possible.
Long term, for Georgia, National Championship hopes are by no means dashed, contrary to the opinion of SI.com’s Andy Staples. Hopefully it was a wake-up call, received early enough in the season that they can use that brutal schedule to climb back up the rankings.
by whity11us on Sep 29, 2008 3:39 PM EDT 0 recs
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