Big Late Game Opportunity Missed by UGA
Sept. 14, 2014Wow, I'm glad that the Saturday night college football game between the then 6th ranked Bulldogs and 24th South Carolina was during a work shift. When they first began playing after the weather delays, I watched some of the first half here and there from a television downstairs in the cafe of our restaurant where I work. From early on, it seemed like it was going to be a game of catch-up. Their's never any comfort when you're watching the bulldogs trail the team of their most reviled coaching opponent, particularly when Georgia is on the road. After seeing some of the first half, I thought that the game was bound to be a viewing frustration either win or loose. For one that late first half penalty against our defensive back on 3rd and long as he held the receiver off the line made it became evident that the game was going to be a challenge to regain a 10 point deficit once the 2nd half began.
But before getting too far into a discussion of the game, it's necessary of course to mention the oh so crucial misfortune of field goals. Going in to last night, place kicker Marshall Morgan had kicked 18 in a row, and he started the early part of Saturday's game by making his first two attempts. Considering that, the decision to allow Morgan to attempt a nearly fifty yard kick despite the wetness late in the first half didn't seem too irrational. Unfortunately he narrowly missed it wide right, not a good thing but excusable nonetheless.
Shortly there after, half time commenced. Then the Dawgs and Cocks come back out on to the field to start the third quarter. From what I didn't watch but read about the next day, it sounds like Georgia's offense for much of the game was slightly outmatched with South Carolina controlling possession and fatiguing the dawg's defense for much of the evening.
Amidst the disheartening excitement that transpired during the late phase of the game, I can't imagine what may have been going on across much of the Bulldog nation. People at homes watching, waiting, hoping that the favor of the game might go their team's way. The rowdy million or so UGA alumni and students out there spectating at bars to watch the last few minutes of drama unfold down in Columbia must have been rivoting. Being in the midst of that uncertain debacle in the game's final minutes, in hindsight is something that I'm happy not to have been a part of.
At the time, I personally was in the dining room of the midtown Atlanta restaurant serving tables to the medium sized crowd of customers who chose to stop in for dinner. Thus during my shift, unable to peer into the downstairs area where the tv is located to catch any of the last half, I wasn't apprised of all that went down until the next morning. All that I had come to know was just that of the final outcome at around 9:00 pm when a group of arriving customers walked in and offerred a non descriptive comment that the game was over and that GA had lost.
The next morning though upon sitting on the couch, doing a little review of the previous night's college football action did knowledge of the uproariously disappointing finality come to my attention. How it all eventually unfolded is a real devastation to the Georigia team and its many fans. For starters, loosing the last four of five match ups against South Carolina is terrible. To begin the second game of nearly every season against a hyped, summer long groomed opponent under the nemesy of Steve Spurier's coaching only to walk away with one in the loss column is unacceptable.
To recap a bit of the final minutes, the late game play calling after South Carolina's conversion by a mere centimeter with three minutes to go could have been determined by a coin flip for either team. But amazingly Georgia got the ball back following an emotional inspiring interception and run back to the 16 yard line which seemed nearly incomprehenisble just a few minutes before. It was a late game golden opportunity literally staring Georgia in the eyes.
The last sequence of downs with less than two minutes to go set the dawgs up to likely seal a much yearned for victory. The options facing the coaches in this scenario seemed to be one of several with the most likely involving a hand off to one of their three running backs. Preferrably when keeping it on the ground would be just leaving it up to Todd Gurley, the powerhouse back. But instead as many have commented, the decisions of an often scrutinized quarterback coaching staff under former UGA player Mike Bobo dispairingly factored into the outcome.
But maybe the thought of Gurley as the most likely target of South Carolina's defense or the fear that either of Georgia's other two freshman running backs might be doomed for a potential turnover in such a battle tested pivotal play have provoked some nervousness among the play callers. Instead, trying to triumph on the unexpected, Mark Richt and coordinator Bobo opted to call for a bootleg pass play on 1st down with only 4 (expletive!@?) yards to go. A pass play doesn't sound like too poor of a play if in fact it is executed well. The play action pass first was faked left to Gurley and then quarterback Huston Mason switched to the right side of the field intending to hit Quayvon Hicks for a quick reception at the line of scrimmage.
But a rather unfortunate intentional grounding call on the play hurt Georgia's goal line field position after Mason's pass was considered by the official to be too low in the soggy turf of his intended receiver to be caught. The penalty set the ball back on the 15. Then two failed run attempts to make it fourth and 12 brought shame that the game couldn't have just happily ended in what would have made for celebratory travel back to Athens that night.
But it appeared still to be far from over with Georgia only down 38-35. The liklihood remained for Georgia to tie the game with a field goal kick that rested on the shoulders of once saving grace kicker Morgan who had so far shown mediocre performance that night having going two for three so far. With what was a simple little chip shot of twenty eight yards, strong reason for assurance abounded though that the game's outcome would be determined in overtime. But what followed, which I still have not seen a highlight for but imagine to have gone something like this.. 'the field goal unit takes the field, the ball's snapped, Morgan goes back for the kick, he misses wide.., the kick is no good!'. Unbelievable.
The Dawgs right there having been faced with the scenario of the season to rebound from a game trailing point differential by either getting a six point end zone play or atleast sending it to overtime was squandered. So now the team is left facing an all too regular of scenario with a loss to divisional foe South Carolina, proof of it's overranked week one BCS standings and a season ahead that is going to require a showing of ramshackle tactical football in order to restore some faith in the teams fanbase.
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