Misery Index Week 11: Georgia sees title hopes take hit while getting exposed by Auburn

They used to call it the dreaded “Mark Richt game” at Georgia. No matter how good Georgia looked early in the season or how close it seemed like he was to fulfilling his championship destiny, there would always be that one game every year where Lucy would pull the football away from Charlie Brown. You could practically set your watch by that gag, only nobody in Georgia laughed. 

And eventually, Richt had too many “Mark Richt games” and got fired.

But then a funny thing happened. Georgia had another “Mark Richt game” on Saturday, a complete debacle of a 40-17 loss to Auburn that puts the Bulldogs’ playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. Only Richt is no longer the Georgia coach; that would be Kirby Smart. And as Richt roars to 9-0 at Miami (Fla.) and within a breath of the playoff, maybe it’s time to retire the term and come up with a new one for Georgia’s annual fiasco. 

Either way, the feeling is the same. The Bulldogs had been as dominant as anyone in the country, beating teams thoroughly and methodically with their running game and defense. Not only did Georgia look like an emerging heir to Alabama, but some pundits had already gifted Smart the SEC East title for years to come. 

And sure, Georgia is well-positioned to be good in the near and long-term future.

But if you want to win championships, you can’t be really good for 11 weeks and get completely embarrassed in the 12th. In fact, you have to go back to Miami in 1983 to find a team that suffered a three-touchdown or more loss (in the opener against Florida, 28-3) and then came back to win a national title.

COACHES POLL:Miami rises to No. 2 as top 10 gets shakeup after losses

WINNERS AND LOSERS:The highs and lows from Week 11 in college football

PLAYED IN/PLAYED OUT:Miami (Fla.) moves up, Notre Dame falls away

There’s probably a reason for that. Championship teams just don’t tend to collapse in that manner. 

So that’s the situation Georgia faces, as it goes from No. 1 in the College Football Playoff poll last week to a team we suddenly have a lot of questions about. Because this wasn’t merely going to Auburn and losing a tough game to a really good team. This was a thorough rear-end kicking that exposed Georgia’s offensive line (32 rushes for 46 yards) and wore out its defensive front. 

Add in the self-inflicted wounds and special teams mistakes and it was … well, it was so Georgia. And if you have followed the SEC for any length of time, that needs no further explanation. 

Georgia fans have quickly gone all-in with Smart this fall thanks to the 9-0 start and a crazy hot streak in recruiting, but the familiarity of what happened Saturday has to rattle them a little bit. Richt is long gone from Athens, but the legacy of his most disappointing moments lives on, at least until Smart can reverse it. 

(Disclaimer: This isn't a ranking of worst teams, worst losses or coaches whose jobs are in the most jeopardy. This is simply a measurement of a fan base's knee-jerk reaction to what they last saw. The way in which a team won or lost, expectations vis-à-vis program trajectory and traditional inferiority complex of fan base all factor into this ranking.)

FIVE MOST MISERABLE

Georgia: The good news is the Bulldogs can make the playoff. The bad news is they can’t get there by losing the SEC championship game. Having two unbeaten teams in Atlanta was an appetizing scenario for the SEC, as a competitive game there could have led to both getting in this year. But that’s off the table now, and Georgia will need to beat either Alabama or Auburn. The optimist’s view of Georgia is that a bad game was coming, so better to get it out of their system now. With the pressure of being No. 1 off, the Bulldogs can refocus over the next two weeks and go back to being an underdog, which could help them in the SEC title game. The pessimists’ view is that Auburn exposed Georgia as a bad team-beating bully with only one dimension on offense and that Smart is still Saban Lite, emphasis on Lite, with all the surliness of his mentor but none of the results. 

Washington: There’s not much worse feeling as a fan than to have the entire country calling your program a fraud and having very little ammunition to dispute it. But that’s kind of where we are with Washington, as there’s far more evidence during this two-year run to suggest the Huskies have been wildly overrated. Aside from that smashing win last September against Stanford that put them on the map nationally, what have they really done other than beat a bunch of mediocre Pac-12 teams? Washington didn’t come particularly close to beating Southern California or Alabama in the playoff last year (the Huskies were quite fortunate they got Colorado rather than the Trojans in the Pac-12 title game), and this season has been a flat-out disappointment. Washington is 8-2 but doesn’t have a single win over a quality opponent. It does, however, have a bad loss to Arizona State and Friday night’s 30-22 loss at Stanford in which it couldn’t stop the run and got poor quarterback play from Jake Browning. Chris Petersen’s 20-4 record the last two years looks flashy, but it’s just empty calories.

Notre Dame: There’s a good chance the Fighting Irish will finish 10-2 this season, a full turnaround from the 4-8 stink bomb Brian Kelly engineered last season. And there’s a good chance it will be unsatisfying nonetheless for Notre Dame fans because of what happened Saturday night in a 41-8 loss. It will be hard to erase the image of Miami’s famed turnover chain being hung around the neck of its defensive players four times from Notre Dame fans’ memories because this is the loss that will define the season. It’s the loss that took the Irish out of the playoff picture. It’s the loss that exposed them as a one-dimensional running team without another gear. It’s the loss that again brings up the question of whether Notre Dame can recruit enough speed to win national titles. Notre Dame looked plodding and slow, and it fell apart mentally on a big prime time stage. That’s a bad combination, and it puts Kelly in a tough position because even at 10-2 with a probably New Year’s Six bowl bid, there won’t be a lot of jumping up and down. 

Mississippi State: Dan Mullen is 0-9 against Alabama, and it’s quite possible he’ll end his Mississippi State tenure 0-9 against Alabama. If Mullen finally takes the leap and gets aboard what sets up to be a wild coaching carousel, Mississippi State fans will spend a long time regretting the missed opportunity Saturday in a 31-24 loss to the Tide. The Bulldogs had everything set up to win this game, rushing for 172 yards and keeping the ball for 39 minutes. But Mississippi State couldn’t punch it in for a two-score lead early in the fourth, settling for a field goal to make it 24-17. Then Mullen got a bit timid on the final two drives, and it bit him as Mississippi State’s defense couldn’t hold off Jalen Hurts and company, who scored with 25 seconds left to win. Even a little bit better management of the fourth quarter and State would have had a chance in overtime. It might be another decade before Mississippi State will have a better opportunity to take down the king.

Nebraska: There was really no reason to pay attention to Nebraska playing a football game on Saturday, but the Cornhuskers gave it to us anyway. The fall of Nebraska football and the ineffectiveness of Mike Riley are old stories by now, and there’s really nothing new to glean from rehashing them. But losing 54-21 to Minnesota really does seem like the kind of new low that deserves the attention of the Misery Index. It’s obvious that change is coming at Nebraska, and at least nobody will dispute that it’s necessary after a performance like this. And it’s not like Minnesota is some world-beater at 5-5, but Nebraska still couldn’t see fit to force more than one punt all game long. Minnesota, in fact, scored on nine of its 10 possessions. The numbers being rumored for Nebraska’s eventual offer to Central Florida coach Scott Frost are mind-blowing, north of $6 million per year. Is it true? Maybe, maybe not. It’s that time of year where misinformation reigns supreme. But if you’re Frost seeing what kind of mess you’d inherit by going home to your alma mater, is that even enough?

IMAGES FROM WEEK 11 IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

MISERABLE, BUT NOT QUITE MISERABLE ENOUGH

Pittsburgh: In 2017, if you would rather eschew the stadium experience to watch football on a 55-inch HD screen in the comfort of home while eating better food and drinking reasonably priced alcohol, there’s nothing wrong with that. In other words, empty seat memes are kind of old at this point. Still, when Pitt’s on national television these days, it’s hard to avert your eyes from those thousands upon thousands of empty yellow seats. Losing at home to North Carolina (previously the worst team in the ACC) 34-31 on Thursday night only proved that those who stayed home made a smart decision. 

Arkansas: Hey, there was hope! At least a little bit of it in the first half against LSU. But that quickly turned into a familiar 33-10 loss, putting Arkansas on the brink of postseason elimination at 4-6. The loss came on an interesting weekend, as athletics director Jeff Long was called in for a reportedly lengthy meeting Friday with Arkansas trustees. Though no action was taken on Long or coach Bret Bielema, that doesn’t mean all is well right now in Fayetteville. Meanwhile, after Arkansas returned home from Baton Rouge, redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Kelley was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Administrative chaos, blowout loss and off-field issue? At the Misery Index, we call that the triple crown. 

Virginia Tech: Is that grumbling about Justin Fuente’s play calling we hear in the background? Why yes, yes it is. Needing to drive for a touchdown to beat Georgia Tech, the Hokies faced third-and-1 at Georgia Tech’s 32 with 82 seconds left. Despite having a quarterback struggling with his accuracy, they called a sideline fade and then an end zone pass to Cam Phillips, neither of which were completed. Thus, instead of just getting a first down and seeing if they could march it in, the Hokies lost 28-22 on a day in which they managed only 258 yards of offense. Moreover, this is the second consecutive year they’ve fallen short against Georgia Tech, which isn’t a great look. At 7-3, the Hokies are still right where they’re supposed to be this season, but Fuente now has a losing streak for the first time in his Virginia Tech career.

Kansas State: It’s pretty clear by now that nobody tells Bill Snyder when it’s time to retire. But at the risk of college football sacrilege here, Kansas State looks like a program that needs the transition to happen or risk slipping into the abyss. Snyder is 78 and had significant health issues earlier this year. It was admirable that he wanted to get healthy and coach again this season, but Kansas State is a disappointing 5-5 and still has to play in Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Whose interests is it serving for Snyder to continue beyond this year? Though some will argue Kansas State has lost four one-score games and could have seven or eight wins by now with a few breaks, the level of play hasn’t been particularly high overall, as they also won close games against Kansas and Texas Tech. Snyder’s eventual departure was not going to be smooth, as he very badly wants the school to name son Sean his successor. But when it’s time, it’s time. 

Florida State: The administration at Florida State doesn’t seem to understand that nobody, including the Seminoles’ own fans, has any desire to see this team play another game this year. And yet the school’s administration decided to burden them anyway by rescheduling the Louisiana-Monroe game from September that was canceled due to a hurricane for Dec. 2. In other words, while the teams that still matter are playing for conference championships that day, the Seminoles will be in Doak Campbell Stadium, ostensibly for a chance to go to the Independence Bowl or something of a similar ilk. Of course, for the 3-6 Noles to even have a chance to get to six wins and extend an NCAA best 35-year bowl streak, they’ll need to beat Florida on Nov. 25. That’s no sure thing, either.

TOO SHOCKED TO BE MISERABLE 

Michigan State: It’s been a nice bounce-back season for Sparty, whose season-wrecking wins against Michigan and Penn State did very little to help the Big Ten. But at least they decided to give a little back by losing 48-3 to Ohio State, a result which will probably propel the Buckeyes into the Big Ten title game and perhaps into the playoff if they beat Wisconsin and get a little bit of luck in other leagues. Don’t ever say Mark Dantonio didn’t do his part in 2017. 

Boston College: There has been a little bit of momentum behind the Eagles, and there was a path for them to finish on a big run to be 8-4. Instead, they’ll have to settle for something lesser after losing 17-14 at home to NC State. Though it wasn’t a poor performance, B.C. could have tied it up with a 39-yard field goal with 4:15 left. Instead, they botched the snap and couldn’t get the kick off. That basically doomed the Eagles, who are now 5-5. 

Vanderbilt: The Commodores are bad again. Really bad. But the good news is, if they do their part by losing to Missouri next week and Tennessee loses to LSU, it will set up literally the worst game in the history of the rivalry. Indeed, Vanderbilt and Tennessee will probably both be 0-7 in the SEC when they meet in Knoxville on Nov. 25. Is there anything more depressing than that?

Colorado State: The Rams absorbed one of the season’s most heartbreaking collapses, losing 59-52 to Boise State in overtime despite having a 28-3 lead early and a 52-38 lead with 3:02 remaining. The Broncos had to go touchdown-onside kick-touchdown to get to overtime, which they did, and the Rams didn’t touch the ball again until they were behind in overtime. Four plays and one fumble later, the game was over.

Duke: The 2012-2015 Duke football renaissance was a fun story line, but it’s over. The Blue Devils are back to being really mediocre, as they’ll miss a bowl game for a second consecutive season barring upsets of Georgia Tech and Wake Forest to close out the year. That they’ve lost six straight after starting 4-0, says the ACC is stronger than it was a few years ago while Duke has gotten a little worse. There wasn’t that much room for error to begin with.

FIVE TOTALLY REAL AND IRRATIONAL MESSAGE BOARD THREADS

“Oh it’s first down and we run it up the middle again!!!” - dawgvent.com (Georgia)

“Mullen chokes again” - sixpackspeak.com (Mississippi State)

“I’m done with the Air Raid experiment” - killerfrogs.com (TCU)

“Annual embarrassing losses: Get used to it” - ndnation.com (Notre Dame)

“What do you expect for the #60 highest paid staff?” - panther-lair.com (Pitt)