South Carolina Gamecocks 45, Georgia Bulldogs 42: The Spirit Is Willing, Though the Flesh Got Beat

With every word of this.

It still stings.

While I have a hard time blaming the coaches, how many mistake-filled games can a team have before it’s no longer a fluke? Someone has to prepare these kids before they enter the arena and teach them how to hold onto a football, not make poor reads, etc.

Look at last season? Did we lost any of those games with untimely turnovers? Once, shame on me, twice, thrice, etc.

We have three choices: blame the players, blame the coaches, or credit the opposing defense. Unfortunately, I don’t see Alabama turning the ball over repeatedly in big games. While the last turnover was a good play by Clowney, the others were mental/execution errors.

We weren’t out-coached per se, but someone needs to teach these kids how to win. The players deserve better, and I refuse to hang this game (and similar games) solely on their shoulders.

I’m not calling for Richt’s head; I’m not there yet (but I’m close), but he better clean-up the mistakes…and fast. Unless of course, we’re simply Kentucky now.

I’m feeling the exact same way.

As far as Carolina is concerned, after all the breaks that went their way tonight, they never get to complain about a “Chicken Curse” again, ever.

… the one bright side to this game, aside from Crowell looking every bit as good as advertised, is that I don’t have to give up Chick-fil-A for the duration of the season.

But did anyone who actually attend the game see if CMR took over play-calling in the 3rd? Offensive playcalling was totally different. Though, I do like Podunkdawg’s input that CTG was so pissed, he started calling O plays!

see us winning the next ten games if we play the way we did at times this game. I could also see us losing 4 more if we play the way we did at times this game. The difference in those two is going to be the ability to win a close game in the 4th quarter.

Who grades Penn Wagers? Is he accountable for his performance? He blew the on-sides kick call. That was huge. But he also missed a fumble by Michael Bennett, not that I’m complaining. Point is, he’s inept.

But the most egregious thing about Penn Wagers is the randomness of his officiating. Carolina’s tackles (right tackle, in particular) held All.Night.Long. No flags.

Ultimately, we beat ourselves more than anything. But when a game such as this comes down to 3 points, and Penn Wagers is involved, our chances to win a handicapped before the game begins.

As one of the more logical people I speak with, to say you’re the barometer for the Dawg Nation, in my eyes, is an understatement.

This game was a classic, and like any classic game, it was lost in spite of excellent effort, which was hindered by bad luck and bad breaks.

If somehow this team finds a way to rebound mentally and see the sun coming up today, we’ve got a damn good shot at being something more than what I thought we’d be.

The game was the battle. The team’s psyche will be the war. If they overcome that, then look out. We might have a football team on our hands.

Thanks for writing this.

This team is about to go about some winning.

They just came out and learned what they are capable of. The coaches can instruct all day long but until these boys know in the hearts and in between their ears that they are winners, they will find a way to lose.

This is my humble opinion but things are about to change. I know this was a loss, but it was a loss in which these boys will know they were the better team on the field. This fact will put swagger in their step and generate one pissed off Dawg with a very large chip on his shoulder.

We need to get behind these boys more know than ever. As Kyle eluded, what we saw last night was some of the Ole’ JYD fight and frankly I left watching that game feeling like we just went a round with Apollo Creed (not that USC JR. is Apollo Creed, that analogy was used to portray the goat that has been on our back for more than 2 years now) and we hurt him dammit! Not only did we hurt him but we figured out that our heavy weight punch can drop the big boys, we’ve just got to go the distance. We’ve got to finish the drill. We need to get hungry for fighting the big opponent because we know we can destroy them. I am saying it now, I believe this will become the mentality of this team. Anyone, anywhere, we will punch you in the damn mouth.

I am Damn proud of these Dawgs. Damn proud of how that game was called on D and O last night. I saw fight, I saw some swagger, and I saw the majority of the Dawg Nation take notice as well. I dont want to talk about coaching changes, we can do that after the season. Right now I believe in this team. I believe in the coaches. I believe we can fight with anyone in this league. We will learn to win but this team learned last night how to fight. The Boise debacle was a lesson in it not mattering how pretty you are or how many stars the scouts have put next to your name, you still can get knocked the F out, even by a bunch of 2 & 3 star scrubs.

I just have a feeling. It is the opposite of the one that I had at the beginning of season of our #1 preseason ranking. I had a bad feeling about how that season might go. I did not feel like this team had enough JYD fight in them. I did not think they were tough enough. I believe that where we have been for the last two years has been gut wrenching for everyone but we got a Dawg that ain’t dead. He is battered, cut, tore up and rabid! He is getting angry. He is developing a chip on his shoulder, an us against the world perspective. I couldn’t think of a better way to play. A better way to kill the Jacksonville jitters. I am serious, I do think that this is what has been happening behind all the gut wrenching misery at our program. People like CTG are bringing this and I think that we need to get behind it. Please do not confuse this as optimism. This is anger! I am angry in knowing that the better team did not win last night… Angry that those damn swamp lizards have had our number for way too long… Angry that our beloved Dawg Nation has had to endure frustration, humiliation, and a creeping fear of game day. Angry that we watch the games of other SEC opponents, hoping to see weakness in order to give us a feeling of possibility for when we play them.

I am telling you, I believe this anger is about to permeate throughout the entire Dawg Nation and starting with those boys we saw last night. Enough is enough. Like when Rocky said. “I ain’t going down no more”. It was a declaration of, “you may beat me but I’ll be dead when we are done”. Call me crazy but guys I saw this last night. I saw it in CTG, I saw it in Bulldog team that despite the flukes, bad breaks, freshman fumbles, a forced pass that resulted in a pick 6, bad hold on a FG try, they did not, for one second, believe that they were dead. They fought through all of it. Never showing one sign of quit. That is how you win me. I will jump in that trench with you all damn day if you show me that you are there to fight. I’ll fight with ya! If CMR, CMB, and CTG build that type of mentality and infuse it into the talent we draw, we will be a program that brings with us the freaking reckoning.

I believe this is not only happening, I believe it has happened. I know I will get blasted for optimism but I want to remind you that it is not optimism, it is anger. I invite you to join me. Let’s get in the trench with these boys, these coaches, and for each other. I encourage you to pop in Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man with Russel Crowe. There is a scene in which he gets punched with his opponents best shot. He stumbles around the ring having a flashbacks in images of where he has been the last few years. He then smiles at his opponent as the blood flows from his mouth. It is as if to say “your hardest punch ain’t noting compared to where I have just come from, i know what I am fighting for now”. It was in that moment his opponent knew he was going to lose. These Dawgs have been to that brink of destruction and I am telling you they are on their way back and they are going to be mean.

I for one am jumping in that trench with them and I hope you all will join me. What do we have to lose at this point?

Go DAWGS!!!

I predicted that UGA would lose the first two games against two tough opponents. There is a reason other teams schedule easier games early on.

I also predicted that we would rattle off 5 in a row before losing to UF and then a final loss to Auburn. This would leave us 8-4…and it would mean that we would beat MSU a pretty tough looking team.

I agree that this is a young team with talent, not unlike many UGA squads recently. Maybe Coastal Carolina will help them learn to win since there are no SEC opponents that we can afford to overlook.

I wouldn’t be shocked if you won the rest, frankly. Of course, recent history suggests that I shouldn’t be surprised if you lost five more (but I would be). I expect nine wins, eight with an extra bad break, ten with some luck.

I saw a lot of improvement today. Here’s the +s and -s of the game.

+ Isaiah Crowell showed true signs of a #1 running back today. He averaged over 8 yards per carry, and he was able to run effectively because they were outside runs, not up the middle like last week.

+ Malcom Mitchell is becoming a consistent target for Aaron Murray, and he’s a freshman. Michael Bennett looks like a nice surprise. Which leads to this next point…

+ Aaron Murray doesn’t have to look long for a target. He didn’t hold the ball as long as las week, although he did give up a big fumble in the 4th quarter that let SCAR have a touchdown.

+ Bacarri Rambo, Sanders Commings, and the rest of the secondary is doing very well so far. I like the interceptions and pressure coming from them.

- The D-Line still can’t put much pressure on the QB, and the only sack of the game came from a Blitz play for Sanders Commings.

- Isaiah Crowell looked okay about ball handling, but he did give up a fumble.

- Blair Walsh looked a bit shaky, although he did make 2-3 field goals, and an extra point attempt was close to being futile.

- There was not a lot of balance throughout the entire game. The first half was running, and the second half was passing. Bobo needs to mix more things up. Which leads to this next point…

- Why does Bobo call for a run when it’s 3rd and 15 or longer? There is no realistic chance of making it despite Crowell’s performance, and it’s making the balance tip that much more into running.

- The injuries are costly to this team. Alex Ogletree, I don’t know which one, the defensive one #9, is out for 4-6 weeks after an injury in last week.

Never lost my cool, never got stark raving mad at the end. I am not screaming at the top of my lungs for Richt’s head. Now if you offered me a change in the OC department, I would take it. I am a fan. Bottom line. I will put on Red and Black and support the boys every weekend they take the field. I am far from happy with where we are, but the posture we struck last night is much more suited to fighting one’s way out of a hole, as opposed to rolling over and playing dead. Excellent work on the piece TKyle. You and Luadkit summed the weekend up nicely. On to the next one.

My sentiments are very similar…although that 3rd and 16 draw from our own goal line was annoying, I am willing to overlook one bad play call in favor of some amazing no mistake drives I saw Saturday.

Bobo implemented a lot of the changes that folks on this blog were calling for.
1) we ran to the outside / toss sweeps
2) utilized Mitchell and spread the ball out
3) Richard Samuel ran with confidence and Crowell got carries, even playing hurt.
4) First-and-Bomb policy suspended.

CMR showed some aggression and had the right call dialed in for the on-side kick. The 3rd and long draw from our goal line was in order to provide breathing room for the punt.

My only gripe was watching the THREE field goal attempts early. We were not “finishing the drill”.
Also, I don’t like how we all somehow to came to view Blair Walsh as some kind of Sure Thing. He’s great. He has range. But he is still just a little better than a 75% lifetime kicker, If I’m not mistaken. Maybe, just maybe, if we didn’t assume this guy is an automatic 3 Points we would be a little more aggressive in opponents territory.

Even the jagoff sitting next to me who was sarcastically calling Bobo a genius, booing our players, and criticizing literally every play in the first half, was cheering his head off in the second half. Everyone around me in Sanford yesterday walked out disappointed with the loss but excited for the rest of the season.

At the end of the day, we absolutely need to start winning some games. However, I’m not sure it was realistic for anyone to expect us to win either of these first two. We’re still not a good team, but we’re a few fixable issues from being one.

when Penn Wagers is the white-hat!
The man is bad JuJu. You’ve been warned.