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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January
January 2007
Another one down to the wire!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After the way the Dawgs clawed their way back into the game in the first half against LSU after being a dozen points down, I bet there wasn’t anyone in the raucous Stegeman Coliseum Sunday (including those wearing LSU colors) who didn’t have a feeling that Georgia was going to pull this one out when Sundiata Games brought the ball down as the seconds ticked off. And when Gaines passed off to the suddenly hot Levi Stukes for a 3-pointer, that was it, 57-54. A fraction of a second was put back on the clock, but the game was already decided.
This time around, with the Tigers clamping down on the Dawgs’ inside game, Georgia had to go back to shooting 3’s, and they managed to sink eight of them in the second half. None bigger than that last one, though.
It was great to see another wild and crazy crowd at the Steg. If any parts of the Bulldog Nation weren’t believers in this team before today, they certainly should be now!
POSTSCRIPT: I also liked how Felton sent the players up into the stands after the game to shake hands with the fans. He really seems to be reaching out to the fans now. He said on the post-game show that he credited the fans with both of the last two wins, saying that if we’d only had 7,000 or 8,000 there instead of a full house, he doesn’t think we would have taken either game.
A big OT win at the Steg!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tonight’s game against Kentucky in Athens read almost like a reverse of the scenario Saturday at Alabama. This time, it was the other team that wilted in the second half and the Dawgs who mounted a tremendous comeback from 17 points down.
And the key in the second half was that Georgia didn’t live or die by the 3-pointer (though that late one by Terrance Woodbury was big). Instead, Georgia went inside, with Sundiata Gaines getting the ball to Takais Brown under the basket.
Of course, as my son (who was at the game) pointed out, a big difference between tonight and Saturday was that WE had the home-court advantage. It was a full house, and while Kentucky brought a lot of fans, the Georgia fans (the students in particular) made themselves a factor in the second half.
Any win over Kentucky is a big win, but Georgia showed a lot of character tonight.
Now, c’mon Dawgs and Dawg fans, let’s build on this!
Murderer’s and Gambler’s Row
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A week ago, we were saying that the next couple of games could prove to be a turning point for Dennis Felton’s roundball Dawgs. Well, they passed the test with flying colors, fending off a Vandy comeback and staging their own comeback against the Razorbacks with Steve Newman’s brilliant buzzer-beater the other night.
Now the Dawgs enter another rough stretch of ranked opponents, similar to what they faced in December. Last time, they didn’t fare so well, only winning one of the games. Looking at the upcoming schedule, No. 9 Alabama on Saturday (1:30 p.m. on CBS), followed by Kentucky (No. 25), LSU (No. 16) and Tennessee (No. 22), reasonably, about the best a UGA fan could expect would be a split of those games (though with the way upsets have been happening lately, anything is possible). And if one of those wins is Kentucky at the Steg, that would be huge for fan support.
A split of these four games would leave us 5-3 in conference play and a team to be respected. Plus, this is the toughest batch of games on the schedule; once get past them, we get games that, on paper at least, are definitely winnable.
Which would be a really nice change after the past couple of seasons of Harrick-induced hell.
ELSEWHERE, I realize Mark Richt and his staff are probably a bit gunshy about offering scholarships to kickers after gettting bitten in the tail by the Andy Bailey situation, but if Kevin Butler’s son Drew, who averaged 42.1 yards a punt this year, goes to Duke for a full scholarship instead of taking Georgia’s offer of being a preferred walk-on with a chance of a scholarship later, I think we can mark this down as a blown opportunity on UGA’s part. I know a lot of folks think Drew will opt for the Dawgs because he’s grown up in a Bulldog household and even as a walk-on at Georgia he’d be playing for a much bigger program in a better league. But do we want to take the chance that he might opt for a full scholarship from one of the South’s most academically prestigious schools? The kicking game is awfully important (remember the middle of this past season?). I think it’s certainly worth the gamble of a scholarship. What do you think?
Time to bubble up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What does Dennnis Felton’s team have to do the rest of the season for the Bulldog Nation to feel that satisfactory progress is being made in rebuilding the men’s basketball program?
In talking with several fans this week about that, the consensus seemed to be that the Dawgs need to beat the midlevel teams in the conference and stay competitive with and surprise the occasional team like Kentucky. December brought the toughest streak of games in memory, and Georgia was favored in none of them, but the lone upset over Gonzaga looks less impressive considering their second-half collapses in subsequent games. The loss to the Bumblebees particularly rankles.
This week’s games against South Carolina and Vandy might even be considered make-or-break, one fan said. Wednesday night was a good start, now they need to continue Saturday against the Commodores.
As for the season’s end, the Dawgs need to at the very least be a strong choice for the NIT and on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. If there’s not even a chance of them making the NCAAs, then Felton and his players will have underperformed.
Agree or disagree?
The envelope please …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, the AP voters made Georgia the only team in the country to finish it their Top 25 in each of the past 10 years, while the coaches voting in the USA Today poll left the Dawgs out of the pack at 26th. I guess for them back-to-back-to-back wins over ranked opponents didn’t outweigh a half-dozen really lousy games (resulting in four losses) in the middle of the season.
Oh, well, as Coach Richt noted after the bowl game, we were close to being an 11-2 ballclub but also close to having a losing record. With that in mind, 9-4 with a strong finish isn’t bad. Now we can finally blow the whistle on the 2006 season and look back on some of the Bulldog highs and lows.
So here we go with the Blawgies. …
BEST GAME: Sure, the bowl comeback win was a great way to end the season (vintage Dawg football), and the sixth straight over the Bumblebees was sweet. But there’s no question the shocking upset win over then-fifth-ranked Auburn (who was favored by two touchdowns) was Georgia’s most complete and dominating performance.
WORST GAME: Right after it happened, I would have said our dismal showing against Kentucky was the worst, but the Wildcats turned out to be a respectable team, so this particular dishonor goes to the Vandy loss. Any year that we lose to Vandy is an off year.
OFFENSIVE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: The consensus choice among fans I’ve talked with is Brannan Southerland. Good hands, runs hard and gives his all. Our most reliable offensive player.
DEFENSIVE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: A runaway choice, with seven interceptions and that beautiful rugby-play fumble recovery against the Trade School, is Tony Taylor, consistently our best defensive player all year long. Man, we’re really going to miss him next year!
PLAYER WE COULD LEAST AFFORD TO HAVE INJURED: Obviously, placekicker Brandon Coutu.
A NOT-SO-FOND FAREWELL TO: Daniel Inman, a senior who made freshman mistakes, frequently killing drives, and showed no class whatsoever.
PRETTIEST PLAY: Matthew Stafford’s fake on the 41-yard pass to Martrez Milner in the bowl game.
UGLIEST PLAY: Daniel Inman missing a block that led to Kregg Lumpkin’s fumble (and the Gators’ winning score) in Jacksonville.
BEST PLAY CALL: Easy, the onside kick against the Hokies. Everyone in the Dome, including the Virginia Tech players, could feel the momentum shift with that play.
WORST OFFENSIVE CALL: A pass against Kentucky when the Dawgs were on their own 1-yard-line. Sure, Stafford should have thrown it away, but we shouldn’t have been throwing there in the first place.
BEST DEFENSIVE CALL: Going after the QB on Auburn’s first play from scrimmage.
WORST DEFENSIVE CALL: Almost any play in the second half of the Tennessee game.
BEST COMEBACK: A three-way tie between the bowl game, Martrez Milner’s late-season play and defensive coordinator Willie Martinez in the last three games.
WORST COLLAPSE: Our punting game. First we get three punts blocked in two games, obviously affecting Gordon Ely-Kelso’s confidence. Then it got even worse when he also had to handle placekicking. Here’s hoping he’s back on track next year as one of the nation’s best.
BEST DEFENSIVE EFFORT: Paul Oliver against Calvin Johnson. Lights out!
WORST DEFENSIVE EFFORT: A three-way tie between that awful prevent zone we played against the Vols, our inability to stop Vandy and Kentucky from driving down the field to score late with the game on the line, and our kick coverage in general.
BEST OFFENSIVE EFFORT: A tie between Stafford on the game-winning drive against the Jackets and Joe Cox on the game-winning drive against Colorado.
WORST OFFENSIVE EFFORT: Second half of the Kentucky game.
BEST SURPRISE: A tie between Stafford’s running on the quarterback draw against Auburn, and Joe Cox coming back next season when everyone expected him to transfer. He’s a classy, talented player, and we’re going to need him. I have a feeling the Colorado game wasn’t the last time he’ll lead us to a win.
NO SURPRISE: Joe T. giving way to Stafford. Joe was a loyal Bulldog, willing to do whatever was asked of him. He just wasn’t a talented quarterback.
MOST FUN VISITORS TO SANFORD STADIUM: Jake Scott on the field for the coin toss, and Ralphie the buffalo.
BEST HALFTIME SHOW: The sports-show themes.
WORST HALFTIME SHOW: The tribute to Bon Jovi.
STUPIDEST FAN MOMENT: A tie between the folks in Sanford Stadium booing MoMass, and the headline flap caused by our esteemed governor.
BEST NEW DEVELOPMENT: The “I’m Georgia” towels and accompanying videos featuring past Dawg greats.
That’s one fan’s opinion. Feel free to share yours.
