There’s a saying in college football that comes to mind after seeing Georgia squander chance after chance to win in Columbia on Saturday. It goes, “If you’re going to lose, lose early.” Just ask last year’s Alabama team what it’s like to lose late in the season (especially on a missed field goal return for a touchdown – ouch). How about the 2011 Oklahoma State team, which took a 10-0 record into Ames, Iowa and left with a double overtime upset loss and an outside view of the rematch between Alabama and LSU for the BCS National Championship?
If there was ever a good time for the Dawgs to lose this season, it was this game against South Carolina. Take a deep breath, Georgia fans, you shouldn’t panic… yet. Yes, we can debate for days what would’ve happened had the referees ruled that Dylan Thompson was short on that fourth and inches. But it’s important for the fans – and more so the team – to not focus on the past and instead look to the future.
Sitting at 1-1 (0-1 SEC), the Georgia Bulldogs still have a long season ahead of them, and the SEC Championship (and likely by association, the College Football Playoff) is still attainable. Let’s remember, though South Carolina holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Georgia in the SEC East, they are not unscathed in SEC play either. After a blowout loss to Texas A&M in Week 1, the Gamecocks were already playing catch-up in a wide open SEC East race.
Let’s also look at the last two UGA teams to lose to South Carolina:
- 2011 Georgia Bulldogs: Lost to South Carolina 45-42 in Athens and then won 10 straight on the way to an SEC Championship appearance against LSU.
- 2012 Georgia Bulldogs: Lost to South Carolina 35-7 in Columbia, but finished 11-1 and nearly made the National Championship game after an SEC Championship appearance against Alabama.
In recent seasons, the Dawgs have rebounded nicely after tough losses to South Carolina. In fact, the winner of the Georgia/South Carolina game has not made the SEC Championship since the Gamecocks beat Georgia 17-6 in Columbia en route to an SEC Championship appearance against Auburn in 2010.
After two games, the 2014 Bulldogs have a lot of question marks, but it is evident that the talent is in place to make an impressive run at the SEC Championship. Though Hutson Mason made some “rookie” mistakes, he had a pretty decent game, completing nearly 73 percent of his passes and averaging a healthy 8.7 yards per attempt with two passing touchdowns. Georgia ran the ball effectively, rushing 38 times for 217 yards (5.7 yards per carry) against a decent defensive front. And Todd Gurley is still a monster. The defense – though they struggled mightily against the pass and gave up big plays on the ground at South Carolina – made enough plays to put Georgia in a position to win the game. They won the turnover battle, forcing a fumble and picking off a pass late. And though Marshall Morgan missed two huge field goals in the game, he set the SEC record for most consecutive field goals made at 20, and he is a very capable kicker.
Will a lot of Georgia fans blame the refs for this loss? Perhaps. But there is a lot more to it – questionable play calling, a soft secondary, bad special teams play and a fired up, desperate South Carolina team. The chances were there to escape Columbia with a come-from-behind win, but the Dawgs came up about a millimeter short of a final shot at the win. If the Georgia defense can find an identity under Jeremy Pruitt, the offense can continue moving the ball, and the team as a whole can reduce costly penalties, they could make fans quickly forget the heartbreaker in Columbia. The Dawgs take on Troy in Athens before four straight SEC battles against Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Arkansas heading into a bye week. Come off the ledge, Georgia fans – it’s not time to panic yet!
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