Georgia earns respect in defeat, but loss not easy to take
Kenarious Gates drops to a knee as Georgia lost SEC title on game's final play. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
This was the day when representatives from every other conference, when every critic weary of the SEC’s six-year-plus rule in college football, should have come to the realization, “Oh. So that’s why they’re the best.”
Georgia and Alabama looked like the two best teams from the two best conference, if not the two best teams in the nation, and they just played a conference championship that saw four lead changes in the second half and the game not decided until the game’s final play.
What would happen if Georgia and Alabama played 10 times?
“It probably would look like that every game,” Bulldogs wide receiver Tavarres King said. “And there would be several different outcomes.”
Georgia doesn’t have that luxury. The Dogs lost the SEC championship game 32-28 at the Georgia Dome. They came that close to playing for a national championship.
They had a chance at the end, with quarterback Aaron Murray having driven the team from its own 28 to the Alabama 8 with 15 seconds left. At that point, we can debate whether Murray should have spiked the ball to reset the offense. But suffice to say, the game ended with a tipped pass that was caught at Tide’s 5, the final seconds ticked off and one team celebrated its impending berth in the BCS championship game while the other collapsed in exhaustion, uncertain of its bowl status.
The irony here was that Georgia probably gained more respect in defeat than in any of its 11 victories. The Dogs were criticized for a perceived soft schedule, for the way they were physically hammered be South Carolina, for the hiccups at Kentucky.
Yet on Saturday, even the opposing coach, Nick Saban, was moved to comment: “I think it’s a crying shame if Georgia doesn’t get to go to a BCS bowl game. That game came down to the last play. It’s ridiculous. Some teams are 7-5 and talking about winning their conference and going to a BCS bowl game? Something’s not right here.”
So yes, the Dogs proved their worthiness on this day.
Coach Mark Richt has made the program relevant again in the SEC, and therefore on the national scale.
Afterward, Richt said, “I told them I was disappointed. But I wasn’t disappointed in them.”
That said, Georgia lost to a better team.
Alabama was the superior team physically. The Tide rushed for 350 yards, led by Eddie Lacy (187) and T.J. Yeldon (154). The physical domination started with the Tide’s offensive line taking over the game in the second half, blowing open holes in Georgia’s defensive front. It continued with the Dogs, clearly worn down and drained, began to miss tackles.
“[The defense] got tired of being run against — I could figure that one out,” Richt said. “We just got knocked off the ball.”
At some point, it figured Alabama would try to get Georgia to bite on play-action, and that’s exactly what happened. With the Dogs leading 28-25, Alabama had a first down at the Georgia 45 when quarterback A.J. McCarron faked a handoff, stepped back and hit wide receiver Amari Cooper streaking down the left sideline, behind cornerback Damian Swann. The touchdown put Alabama, which once trailed 21-10, up 32-28 with just over three minutes left.
The Dogs had two more chances. They went three-and-out on one possession and quickly had to punt. They used their last two time outs during Alabama’s possession but forced the Tide to give up the ball one more time. They got the ball back with 1:08 remaining.
“We’ve had plenty of one-minute drives during the season so it’s not like guys were freaking out or anything,” Murray said later. “We were just like, ‘Let’s play ball.”
On the fourth play of the drive, Murray had a pass tipped and intercepted at midfield. But he and the team got a reprieve when the play was reversed by replay, which showed the ball hitting the ground. The quarterback then completed consecutive passes to Arthur Lynch, King and Lynch again. The ball was now at the eight with about 15 seconds remaining.
Richt decided to keep going and not have Murray spike the ball to stop the clock. “Even spiking the ball takes time,” Richt said. “We had a play called.”
The play was fade route to Malcolm Mitchell at the back of the end zone. But there were only nine seconds left when the ball was snapped, Murray’s pass was tipped at the line and Chris Conley caught it in traffic at the five (first instinct). He was buried and time ran out.
Richt: “In that play you want a touchdown or an incomplete pass.”
In between is trouble. In between ended the game. Georgia was that close going to the national championship game. That’s something they will have to live with.
By Jeff Schultz
If you blinked, you missed a blog
• SHORT TAKES (UGA): Dogs should’ve spiked the ball
• Braves dump a pitcher (Hanson) they once viewed as gold
• Falcons’ offense hits a wall (but as usual it doesn’t matter)
• Braves need this free agent splurge on B.J. Upton to pay off
• Weekend Predictions: Georgia pulls the upset but Tech goes down
• Georgia’s best chance vs. Alabama may be to step on the gas
• SEC title would mean Georgia’s return to elite status
• Georgia playing at level we haven’t seen under Richt
• Upsetting Georgia would give Tech needed boost for future
• Vince Dooley: Joy from Georgia’s resurgence, pain from son’s firing
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754 comments Add your comment
DaTruth
December 2nd, 2012
11:35 am
FIRE MARK RICHT, HE”S THE PROBLEM, FIRE MARK RICHT
MoreyL
December 2nd, 2012
11:38 am
after getting steamrolled by that big, physical Alabama offense, it may take ga a whole month to recover in time for the cotton bowl.
Dogs2013
December 2nd, 2012
11:40 am
Mark this down–the Ga team in 2013 will be loaded with talent–Gurshall, better oline, better D—the dogs will win the SEC east easily again, beat fla and sc and this time, beat alabama in the sec champ game! Dogs–back on top!!
Tide washed away the stain of Georgia
December 2nd, 2012
11:42 am
Say goodbye to Georgia’s national title hopes. This was their one and only shot. And, yes, they played a great game against a great team, but they were only in this position in the first place because of a cupcake schedule. They faced two real teams during the regular season and got drilled by one (S.C.) and barely beat the other even though it practically beat itself for them (Florida). Next year the schedules get easier for S.C. and Florida, while Georgia adds Clemson and LSU and a more experienced Florida team. And after THAT, the playoff system moves into place, meaning Georgia will have no choice but to beat MULTIPLE quality teams to win a national title. And guess what? Never. Gonna. Happen. Enjoy the rest of the Mark Richt era, Bullpuppy fans, because this loss just guaranteed that you’ll never win a national title under Richt. Oh sure, you’ll have your top-rated recruiting classes that you can celebrate. Meanwhile, REAL SEC TEAMS like Alabama, well, they’ll be celebrating, you know, CHAMPIONSHIPS.
And Mark Richt will be laughing at you suckers all the way to deposit his millions in the bank! 
Marietta-Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
11:43 am
Murray knew what to do, you can see him clearly looking at the sidelines motioning to spike the ball. The coaching made the call not too. The offense played good enough to win, this loss falls squarely on the defense and its inability to stop the run. Its doesnt get anymore obvious than that. We benefited from a weak schedule and luck to be where we were. The team did the best it could considering the poor coaching. Once again we were outcoached, same story different day..
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
11:50 am
dogs, hire Chizic.
He won a NC and you wouldn’t have to pay him for a while
Ouch
Big Crimson 75
December 2nd, 2012
11:51 am
Great Game.
I’ve been fortunate to attend every Bama SEC CG.
This one was a classic.
Good to see the cry-babies out this morning.
There were enough calls last night for either team to moan about.
In actuality, THE ONLY call that directly resulted in points was a missed call on Bama.
UGA scored in the 2nd half & CJ Moseley was getting gang-raped by 2 UGA linemen!!!
No call….such is life, move on & play the next play.
We already know, it’s woulda been good clean football if Ogletree(the real player on UGA’s D), or #29 had done it to McCarron.
Jan Kemp
December 2nd, 2012
11:53 am
Now is the time for all good atheletes to come to the study hall and prepare for exams, before the bowl season.
Now student the word “quarter” means “four.” So, if the test asks, “How many quarters are there in a football game?”, then the answer is “four.” Do not get confused and try to figure out how many quarters you get paid to play for the university. That is much too difficult to figure out.
Flat Tire On Hwy 441 in Athens
December 2nd, 2012
11:54 am
Marietta-Dawg
Until the delusional kool-aid section of our fanbase realize that we will continue to lose big games and against ranked teams
Big Crimson 75
December 2nd, 2012
11:54 am
DJ Fluker owned #29 last night.
Just facts.
Don’t hate me, blame #29.
The fumble he caused was on our QB, not Fluker.
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
11:55 am
marietta dog,
That’s the point. Murray didn’t need permission to spike the ball. He should woulda coulda known better and done it on his own.
Shows a lack of coaching giving him the keys in that situation and shows Murray’s lack of confidence and leadership to pull the trigger and spike it on his own. He knew the spike was the right call and didn’t have the gonadicals to pull the trigger. He had to ask his mommie for permission.
Bad coaching coupled with poor QB decisions at crunch time equals dogs whining and crying (again)
But no matter
SEC! SEC!
Truth
December 2nd, 2012
11:57 am
So glad they lost!
UGA fans are so annoying and obnoxious as it is, a national title would have been throwing gas on the fire.
So glad we can all finally move on from the delusions for 33rd year in a row!!
Big Crimson 75
December 2nd, 2012
12:01 pm
Marietta — I was staring at Murray last night after he hit the TE, he was motioning his arm to spike the ball over & over, then it was obvious they were calling in a play.
Our D was dazed, but the play UGA called went after the side of the field we had our best players on — they were trying to hit Mitchell against Miliner(covered, btw).
Every UGA fan I spoke with afterwards couldn’t believe they didn’t spike the ball.
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
12:05 pm
ALERT:
There will be more dog crying and whining tonight when FL gets the BCS nod.
HA!
1 4 GT
December 2nd, 2012
12:08 pm
1 January 1981………………………………………………and counting! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
12:10 pm
ALERT:
Final AP Poll Top 5
1. Notre Dame
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Florida
5. Oregon
the dogs nightmare continues!
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
12:23 pm
tom brown,
Care to comment?
1 Notre Dame (60) 12-0 1,500 1
2 Alabama 12-1 1,424 2
3 Ohio State 12-0 1,302 4
4 Florida 11-1 1,279 5
5 Oregon 11-1 1,250 6
6 Georgia 11-2 1,213 3
7
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/ap/?eref=sinav#ixzz2DusCH4WJ
Buckeye
December 2nd, 2012
12:24 pm
Peace Out dogs
Go lick your wounds
Flat Tire On Hwy 441 in Athens
December 2nd, 2012
12:26 pm
Sammy; Mystic; Dizzy, Izzy, Columbus, and whatever else you have for names
I need a good explaination as to what happened
I thought you said Saban wasnt even close to being equal to Richt
D is for Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
12:26 pm
And the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth will continue for as long as the multi-millionaire pretender coach is in Athens. It’s that simple.
If you want impressive records, achieved mostly against crappy teams, and don’t mind being embarrassed by a dozen arrests a year, then give Richt a lifetime contract and be happy. If you want to win big games against ranked teams, and win championships, then run Richt out of town on a rail.
Your choice.
Dawg Fans Today
December 2nd, 2012
12:27 pm
Whahh! boo-hoooo
TrishaDishawareagle
December 2nd, 2012
12:28 pm
Congratulations to ALABAMA for winning the 2012 SEC Championship, and congratulations to UGA for playing one hell of a good game and , I admit, outplaying anything I thought you had in ya.
It is a shame they have the 2 per conference BCS rule, You deserve a BCS game like Saban said.
Now, Before I puke from congratulating Alabama, go beat the hell out of those insufferable Notre Dame lucky charms eating shamrock smoking idiots. I can’t put up with a year of a wheezing bad dentures wearing Lou Holtz and Rudy references.
Raiderbeater
December 2nd, 2012
12:38 pm
You’re a fool or a Florida fan if you actually believe UF is the second best team in the SEC.
A travesty
When???
December 2nd, 2012
12:42 pm
When do the WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR chants begin?
And when does it register in McGarity’s addled mind that his head coach is always going to come in second?
When? Inquiring minds want to know.
TrishaDishawareagle
December 2nd, 2012
12:42 pm
And to the “Fire Richt” people, ..Please do! We are looking to hire, down on the plains…
AAAAA Athens Bail Bonds R Us
December 2nd, 2012
12:44 pm
Any more dawgs arrested today?
Game Changer
December 2nd, 2012
12:44 pm
Now it is apparent why no one wants T Grantham, our D was steamrolled by Alabama.
7576DAWG
December 2nd, 2012
12:53 pm
Georgia ends up 6TH in the AP and 5TH in the coaches lolls. About right with two losses but could have fallen a lot farther if not for one of the best games I have ever seen. Great job to the entire Georgia team. Can’t wait to see our final recruiting class and can’t wait until next year gets here.
11-2 is a good year, right!?
December 2nd, 2012
12:56 pm
@Trisha,
PLEASE take him. If you never want to beat Alabama but once every 5-7 years, take him. If you want to lose to LSU regularly, take him, and if the right coach comes to UGA, you’ll lose that game more often than not as well.
Can’t or won’t recruit 5-star offensive linemen. Can’t let go of an OC that loses more games than he wins due to his terrible playcalling. Picked a terrible DC whose everyones-an-NFL-draft-pick defense got steamrolled in two of the three biggest games of the year.
PLEASE take him!
BamaRTR
December 2nd, 2012
12:56 pm
georgia’s D got owned by the Bama Oline and running game–it will take them awhile to recover. Bama beats ND by 9—bet the house!
chilidawg
December 2nd, 2012
12:58 pm
Nothing to hang your heads about, dawgs. That was a hell of a game.
Proud
December 2nd, 2012
1:01 pm
Any one on here bashing the coaches about the last 15 seconds are idiots! Great game by the dawgs! Came up short, but very proud of the effort from coaches and players!
Randy
December 2nd, 2012
1:02 pm
Bulldogs complaining about Murray cheap shot, yeah right. Remember Georgia Southern dawg fans? Tackling by grabbing the helmets? Picking them up and body slamming them on the back of their necks? Yeah it’s OK when you’re playing little boys in football but when the big boys slap you back you have a different take? Typical dawg fans whining.
That leg humping and vomit eating is hard to take, but them dawgs licking balls and butt sniffing gotta go!
dnn
December 2nd, 2012
1:04 pm
Richt is a good coach…not much out there that could take his place and have Ga continue to be successful.Murray good luck in the future but please Move On..IMO i think he’s just too short.Lets get a Tall Qb that can see over the Line.DEFENSE….u gotta Tackle..hit and hold for help..not this bumpin and goin for the strip.. that will never work against Big Physical teams ..
DP
December 2nd, 2012
1:05 pm
Buckeye, you should quit running your mouth and be thankful Ohio State was able to stick to Big 10 and MAC patsies this year and avoid another bowl game beatdown from the SEC. Your fans really distinguished themselves by giving a standing ovation to Cheatypants Sweatervest before the Michigan game.
Pitbull
December 2nd, 2012
1:05 pm
Proud of the Dawgs. Came within a play of winning the SEC.
Pay no attention to the Tech hater posers that troll Georgia Blogs. The are the real losers.
Now lets go win a bowl and go 12-2 for the year. A great year.
11-2 is a good year, right!?
December 2nd, 2012
1:07 pm
I’m amazed at everyone who think that was a great game. It was close, exciting to watch at the end, but not a great game.
Georgia threw away opportunities in the first half. Alabama dominated the second half at the line of scrimmage like Saban knew they would. But two Alabama mistakes, the clock management at the end of the first half, and the end zone interception, plus the questionable overruling of a PI call that lead to the blocked punt in the second half practically gave the game to Georgia.
And then Alabama proceeded to dominate Georgia and outscored them by two touchdowns in the last quarter and a half. Georgia threw away the gift Alabama gave them because they are poorly prepared, coached, and except for a few, pretty soft.
Proud of the UGA players, they gave it all they had. But UGA will never win a BCS championship with that coaching staff if they can’t win a game where the opponent all but gives the game to you for 2 1/2 quarters.
Reggie Ball
December 2nd, 2012
1:07 pm
How can you dawg fans say you are proud? You lost. Face it… you can’t win the big game. You choke. Maybe you should tranfer to the Big Ten.
Pope UGA XXIII
December 2nd, 2012
1:09 pm
Interesting to note some of the comments posted here. I have on
more than one occasion, been very critical of Richt & Murray, but no
objective UGA fan can be critical of this effort. Most of the Alabama
posts have been along the lines of being a good winner & Nick Saban
was also very respectful with his comments unlike a certain coach in
Columbia. You can fairly easily pick out the 8th grade dropout Bama
fans by their idiotic comments, and I’m sure there are a few of the
North Avenue nerds posting under a different name.
It’s a shame that Bob Knight didn’t stand in for Richt at the press
conference after the game as there might have been one joke of a
reporter needing to go to the ER to have his note pad removed from a
certain bodily orifice.
Randy
December 2nd, 2012
1:12 pm
Yeah what a teammate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dummy you threw the ball to him and now your griping cause he caught it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Georgia football at it’s finest.
http://www.ajc.com/gallery/sports/college/fans-players-react-heartbreaking-uga-loss/g6mJ/#2918215
ABAC-North
December 2nd, 2012
1:13 pm
What about those Chop-Blocks? Why didn’t they call Bama for that? A flag or two could have stop Bama!
thomas not concise brown
December 2nd, 2012
1:17 pm
Great moral victory Georgia! If that was your goal.
Its funny, Georgia is proud of how close they came. Alabama mad it was that close.
just add an example of why the how that Georgia is equal to Alabama is false. Alabama is playing for championships, Georgia is playing to prove it belongs and celebrating moral victories.
Let me ask a simple question Georgia fans, who had the biggest moral victories in 1980? Answer you don’t know, you only think of winning it all, you.
A moral victory is always a loss, but georgia Fonda those acceptable because georgia doesn’t belong in the league of those who aim only to win it all.
Wally1i
December 2nd, 2012
1:19 pm
A Mark Richt coached team will never beat a Saban coached team. Georgia has as much or more talent but simply cannot prepare well enough to beat Saban.
thomas not concise brown
December 2nd, 2012
1:19 pm
dammit i hate autocorrect.
Truth
December 2nd, 2012
1:20 pm
LOL. Dawg fans are all stroking themselves and saying how great they did. Yeah, after another week or so goes by, all that matters is that you LOST. Years down the road, no one will remember that you LOST your conference championship. 2012 will be the year of Alabama or Notre Dame.
Get real and face it. Your program is a perrenial excuse machine. This was the best shot you have had at a title in 32 years, and you blew it!
CMR was pi$$ed at Chuck. It hit a nerve because he knows it is true! He has more sense than the homer fans do!
thomas not concise brown
December 2nd, 2012
1:20 pm
raw talent can stop runs up the gut… Georgia does not have the talent on defense.
Marietta-Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
1:23 pm
Watched the CMR post game presser on rivals, he gets pretty riled up when that reporter asks him about the inability of him and his QB to win the big one, comes back after the presser is done to confront him lol.. Looks like the truth stings alittle.
11-2 is a good year, right!?
December 2nd, 2012
1:23 pm
Don’t forget UGA is paying Mark Richt $3 million per year for moral victories like this. I’m sure the major donors are happy about the moral victories. They can’t wait to brag about that moral victory to their Alabama and Florida friends.
Coach Mediocre Richt
December 2nd, 2012
1:26 pm
The UGA Kool-aid must taste really good….Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder can see that this dude and his staff will never win big games on a consistent basis.
ALABAMA DEFENSE
December 2nd, 2012
1:26 pm
We spiked Murray’s head!