Dawg Blog

Would 10-2 be a disappointing season?

Posted on Nov 10, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

5 Comments

Let’s look into the future here and pretend that Georgia wins its next two games against Auburn and Tech there by finishing with a 10-2 season. In your opinion, when you factor in all the injuries this season and the fact that the two losses would have come to teams that are #1 and #4 in the most recent BCS ranking, is it fair to consider a 10-2 season disappointing? And don’t forget the 2008 schedule that all the pundits called “almost not fair”.

Or perhaps are you a fan that is fed up with the way the Georgia staff and team continues to make the same type of mistakes since the Mark Richt era began in 2001? I’m talking about things like throwing the ball way too much, special team and clock management blunders and a porous defense that hasn’t been quite as stout since Van Gorder left.

2008 has been an interesting year to say the least. I hope the team can rally and win out, but looking at the entire body of work this season, I’m afraid 9-3 seems more realistic. I hope I’m wrong because 2009 has lots of potential, but once again expectations could be clouding the truth. Win the next two games by playing four complete quarters in each game and then I think big things are realistic for next season. Fart around and I think you can expect another decent season that’s unfortunately leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

And what do you think?????

Tagged: university of georgia, georgia, college football, southeastern conference, mark richt, georgia football, matthew stafford, rennie curran, athens, ga

Richt Keeps Winning: Dawgs Improve to 8-2

Posted on Nov 9, 2008 by Austin Keeble  | 

1 Comment

The Bulldogs improved to 8-2 with a tough win against the Kentucky Wildcats. Mark Richt notched his 80th victory in only 8 seasons, reserving his spot on the list with only a few active coaches; Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll and (sigh) Urban Meyer. Coach Richt has never allowed his team to slip into Tennessee or Auburn-like mediocrity, but he’s also the only coach mentioned above that hasn’t been to a national title game as a head coach. Like many other Georgia fans, I was hoping the Dawgs were finally on their way to a decisive victory after we raced out to an early 14-0 lead. Unfortunately, un-special teams and a couple of turnovers forced us to make plays down the stretch. I fell that we have the big-play talent and overall athleticism to compete with teams like Florida and Bama, but simply, and ironically, haven’t been able to “finish the drill”, in reference to penalties and turnovers. As a fan, I have the benefit of hindsight, and therefore refuse to question every play called by Coach Martinez and Mike Bobo, but I do think it’s fair to ask this question: Are we a truly elite team? In my opinion, Mark Richt’s record since he arrived in Athens eight years ago along with our post-season success puts us in the upper-echelon of College Football. In order to win a BCS Championship, you not only have to have great athletes, but also a favorable schedule and a good bit of luck. Going into pre-season camp, we had the athletes. We haven’t had luck or a favorable schedule – how much of that is on the coaches? Terrence Moore, AJC sports writer, offered his opinion in stating, “Then again, Georgia is just a pretty good team”. Agree or disagree?

Tagged: uga, kentucky, mark richt, elite

TD's

Posted on Nov 4, 2008 by JD  | 

3 Comments

Coach Richt has done an amazing job at Georgia, highlighted by the Bulldogs first SEC championship in 20 years, another conference crown and five top ten and double digit win totals in the last six years. Under his watch, Georgia is 7-0 vs. Tech, 5-3 vs. Tennessee, 4-3 vs. Auburn, 6-1 vs. Kentucky, 7-1 vs. Vanderbilt, 6-2 vs. South Carolina, 3-2 vs. LSU and 3-1 vs. Alabama. But Georgia is 2-6 vs. Florida. Unfortunately those losses have had the same theme. Blown red zone chances followed by missed field goals and Florida defensive TD’s (or big plays to set up easy scores. In Georgia’s six losses vs. Florida since 2001, the Bulldogs have scored seven touchdowns (with a slew of missed kicks by very talented and successful kickers). In Georgia’s two wins vs. Florida, the Bulldogs have scored 10 touchdowns. Tailbacks, tackles and tight ends beat the Gators – this goes for any team. Then you beat them by throwing when you want to. Throwing against the Gators when you have to spells defeat. Like Florida under Steve Spurrier’s watch, the Gators are going to be better on the perimeter on both of the ball and on special teams. Especially with the slumps of FSU and Miami – the Gators are getting the best of the best from the Sunshine State. Throughout history, when Georgia has beaten Florida, the Dogs have had big rushing days from tailbacks.

Tagged: tailbacks, gators

Rollin' North on 75...

Posted on Nov 2, 2008 by Patrick Jones  | 

6 Comments

Now we’re down to the grinding ride home. Nothing fun about a 8 hour bus ride back home after that heartbreak, but hey we’ve done it several times before. The good news is that we just crossed the Georgia line at 9:50 am, so we got a pretty early start. We are all spent, and are ready to get home to see our families. It’s been a fun experience, but I just wish that we could have been a little more ready for the Gators. They were the better team yesterday, and we can’t take any thing away from them or make excuses. We enjoyed our journey, and appreciate all the people who fed us, helped us get parked, and hung out with us along the way. Thanks again to Vance Leavy and the guys at Bulldawg Illustrated for giving us the opportunity to post the highlights and photos from along the way. As far as the Dawgs go, I think we still have a chance to have a decent season. It’s not going to be the magical dream season that we all hoped for, but that is what we have to work with. We had too many injuries to overcome, and a schedule that didn’t make it easy to do either. As one of the guys said last night, we just need to make sure we beat Tech. It’s been great, hope it’s been entertaining for you guys and Dalton here we come!

Tagged: rv trip, ga fla game

I'd rather be a losing Bulldog than a winning Gator

Posted on Nov 1, 2008 by Patrick Jones  | 

5 Comments

Wow. Where do I start? I’m at a loss for words. I can understand the time that Lewis Grizzard left the page blank in the AJC when Tech beat us. As bad as I hate to say it boys, we got our butts kicked. Congratulations to the Gators, Florida was ready to play, and I guess Georgia was reading the paper from last weekend and thinking about how good we are. Piss poor performance, case closed. As far as the rest of the story, I will go back to the beginnings of our journey to tell you about a “class act group of fans”, which are LSU fans. They fed us, hung out with us, and were nothing but classy from start to finish. On the other hand, this bunch of Gator fans here are absolutely the scum of the earth. You would think in the RV lot, where most people drive rigs that are more expensive than most of the Florida fans’ homes, you would be ok to leave your stuff under you awning during the game. Not so here! While we were gone, these scumbags that stayed in the lot and watched the game because they couldn’t afford a ticket, stole our chairs, emptied our coolers, took our beer, and threw bottles all over our tailgate spot. I know, we are grown up and mature or we would go over there and kick their asses, but it’s just not worth it. I just can,t believe it. I’ve been to many tailgates, parked the RV in front of many other fans in other places all over the SEC, and have NEVER had someone to steal my stuff. OK, they are Gators, and I guess that is now to be expected. If you ever cross paths with them, be warned. Sorry, but that’s the way it is folks. The trip has been fun, and we can’t complain about anything except for this afternoon, the fans came out and did their part, but it just wasn’t to be today. Don’t get me wrong, we bleed red and back, and we love our Dawgs. The sun will rise again, and we will live to fight another day. We’ve met many great people along our way, enjoyed lots of great food, had tons of good laughs, and witnessed some pretty amusing things. A 9 year old who ripped the strings off the electric guitar, a beat down in the parking lot between two LSU fans after the game, and people showing up and sitting in a line six days before the kickoff just to get a parking place just to name a few. We are picking up what’s left of our tailgate, and getting this thing ready to fly north early tomorrow morning. We’ll give you an update tomorrow as we make our journey north, and gather our thoughts. Hang in there Dawgnation, there will be better days. It’s still great to be a Georgia Bulldog!

Tagged: rv trip, gafla game