Dawgs’ Tailspin Started with Alabama in 2008
By Jacob Dorminy
ChuckOliver.net contributor
The Georgia Bulldogs slipped to 1-3 for the 2010 season in what was nothing short of an embarrassing loss to Mississippi State Saturday night. The disappointment and frustration with the Georgia program has hit a fever pitch, and it made me wonder, when did all of this start? After some thought, I looked back to the Alabama loss in 2008. Georgia came in that season ranked #1 after what I believe may have been the strongest finish to a UGA season in Head Coach Mark Richt’s tenure. In 2007, we finished #2 and nearly squeaked into the BCS championship game. Instead of playing in the national championship, we absolutely demolished Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. This may have been the peak of Richt’s UGA program. Regardless, we have not been the same since that fateful loss to Alabama.
Beginning with the loss against Alabama, we have a 15-11 record to date. Remember, we were the #1 ranked team in the country a couple of weeks prior to that loss. During that span, we have also had the talents of Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and A.J. Green on the roster. Stafford was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Moreno was the #1 RB taken in the same draft. A.J. Green will almost certainly be the #1 WR taken in the draft after this season (assuming he leaves early, which is almost a certainty) and a Top 5 selection. Not to mention, outside of those three players, our roster over that span included some of the high-rated athletes in the country. For instance, from 2005-2008, our team recruiting rankings were as follows (Year – Scout.com, Rivals.com):
2005 – 4, 10
2006 – 4, 4
2007 – 17, 9
2008 – 5, 7
The Alabama game also marked the beginning of what UGA became famous for over the next couple of years: lack of discipline. That game seemed to be the beginning of an era of excessive penalties and turnovers. The team could not, on the other hand, create turnovers. Tackling became lazy, kick coverage was bad, and general execution was lacking. We simply looked unprepared on both sides of the ball, week-in, week-out.
Of those 11 losses, including the Alabama loss to the present, it is not that we merely got beat, but so many of them were absolutely embarrassing:
2008: Alabama 41-30 (home)
2008: Florida 49-10 (JAX)
2008: GA Tech 45-42 (home)
2009: Ok. State 24-10 (away)
2009: Tennessee 45-19 (away)
2009: Florida 41-17 (JAX)
2009: Kentucky 34-27 (home)
2010: Miss St. 24-12 (away)
That looks like a line-up of losses for someone like Vanderbilt.
Alabama and Florida are the kings of the conference. Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Mississippi State are on the rise. LSU is not setting the world on fire, but they are taking care of business. We are pretty much in the same category right now as Tennessee and Ole Miss: sinking like a brick. The only difference is that we haven’t had coaching controversies. We haven’t had a revolving door with player and coaching personnel (and Grantham doesn’t count as relative to the upheaval at those two schools in the past couple of years). And we haven’t had miserable recruiting classes (on the contrary, some of the best).
So, something happened with the loss to Alabama. That was a turning point in the wrong direction for the Georgia football program. The question now is this: Have we reached the point of no return under Richt?
By Jacob Dorminy
ChuckOliver.net contributor
The Georgia Bulldogs slipped to 1-3 for the 2010 season in what was nothing short of an embarrassing loss to Mississippi State Saturday night. The disappointment and frustration with the Georgia program has hit a fever pitch, and it made me wonder, when did all of this start? After some thought, I looked back to the Alabama loss in 2008. Georgia came in that season ranked #1 after what I believe may have been the strongest finish to a UGA season in Head Coach Mark Richt’s tenure. In 2007, we finished #2 and nearly squeaked into the BCS championship game. Instead of playing in the national championship, we absolutely demolished Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. This may have been the peak of Richt’s UGA program. Regardless, we have not been the same since that fateful loss to Alabama.
Beginning with the loss against Alabama, we have a 15-11 record to date. Remember, we were the #1 ranked team in the country a couple of weeks prior to that loss. During that span, we have also had the talents of Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, and A.J. Green on the roster. Stafford was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Moreno was the #1 RB taken in the same draft. A.J. Green will almost certainly be the #1 WR taken in the draft after this season (assuming he leaves early, which is almost a certainty) and a Top 5 selection. Not to mention, outside of those three players, our roster over that span included some of the high-rated athletes in the country. For instance, from 2005-2008, our team recruiting rankings were as follows (Year – Scout.com, Rivals.com):
2005 – 4, 10
2006 – 4, 4
2007 – 17, 9
2008 – 5, 7
The Alabama game also marked the beginning of what UGA became famous for over the next couple of years: lack of discipline. That game seemed to be the beginning of an era of excessive penalties and turnovers. The team could not, on the other hand, create turnovers. Tackling became lazy, kick coverage was bad, and general execution was lacking. We simply looked unprepared on both sides of the ball, week-in, week-out.
Of those 11 losses, including the Alabama loss to the present, it is not that we merely got beat, but so many of them were absolutely embarrassing:
2008: Alabama 41-30 (home)
2008: Florida 49-10 (JAX)
2008: GA Tech 45-42 (home)
2009: Ok. State 24-10 (away)
2009: Tennessee 45-19 (away)
2009: Florida 41-17 (JAX)
2009: Kentucky 34-27 (home)
2010: Miss St. 24-12 (away)
That looks like a line-up of losses for someone like Vanderbilt.
Alabama and Florida are the kings of the conference. Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Mississippi State are on the rise. LSU is not setting the world on fire, but they are taking care of business. We are pretty much in the same category right now as Tennessee and Ole Miss: sinking like a brick. The only difference is that we haven’t had coaching controversies. We haven’t had a revolving door with player and coaching personnel (and Grantham doesn’t count as relative to the upheaval at those two schools in the past couple of years). And we haven’t had miserable recruiting classes (on the contrary, some of the best).
So, something happened with the loss to Alabama. That was a turning point in the wrong direction for the Georgia football program. The question now is this: Have we reached the point of no return under Richt?
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