Georgia Bulldogs: 10 Most Painful Losses Since 2008
By John Buhler
Nov 1, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt against the Florida Gators during the first half at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Keep in mind that my first game at Sanford Stadium came with the 2008 Georgia Bulldogs were the #1 ranked team in the country. Since that early September kickoff my freshman year, the Dawgs were a progressively worse football team the following two seasons. After finishing 10-3 in 2008, Mark Richt’s Dawgs went 8-5 in 2009 and were at .500 (6-6) heading into a meaningless bowl game against the UCF Knights, then in Conference USA.
No knock on George O’Leary’s UCF program. The Knights have been a competitive team bowl team for like the last decade. Remember QB Blake Bortles leading UCF to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Baylor two seasons ago. But Georgia had fallen from grace in 2010.
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Aaron Murray was the starting QB for Georgia in his RS Freshman season and UGA couldn’t contend with the likes of Florida, South Carolina, and especially the National Champs of 2010 Auburn. Even at .500, I thought there was no way that Georgia would lose to a Conference USA team after several weeks of bowl game preparation.
Instead the Georgia Bulldogs didn’t even score a touchdown against the Knights, losing an ugly game 10-6. For the first and only time in Mark Richt’s tenure in Athens did he coach his team to a sub-.500 record of 6-7. In my first three years as a Dawg, the football program was in a nosedive and so many from Dawg Nation were demanding Richt’s firing. One New Year’s Day 2011, I was of that constituency.
To me, this toothless loss to UCF was rock bottom for the Georgia program under Mark Richt. I had been told by so many friends at school how great it was being part of Dawg Nation. After that letdown bowl game in Memphis, I about lost faith in college football all together. I didn’t recover until the winning streak of 2011.
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