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
All Saints
December 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
The Tide was rolling
They were at their best
While the dawgs farted around
Bama passed the test
BURMA SHAVE
td
December 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
Dum-Bass
December 1st, 2012
9:58 pm
If you saw the replay and did not see 26 in the end zone on a back shoulder throw then your name fits.
UgaSuxA$$
December 1st, 2012
10:10 pm
hahaha all you dumb b*****s, I hate to say I told ya so but…..I TOLD YOU GA WOULD LOSE…I am sitting here LMFAO!!!! just like I said I would
bamaBOB
December 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
bama won DESPITE aj mcarron….
murray clearly the best qb on field…
transpose qb”s and it is a runaway
yeah uh huh
December 1st, 2012
10:11 pm
richt loses to yet another high ranked team he needs to go, can’t win the games that count
dawg tired
December 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
Enough of the bowl speculation. Who cares what bowl game Georgia goes to? Aside from the one ND and Bama are playing in, the rest matter as much as NFL preseason games. Just a reason for fans to travel and players to practice. They are not hanging any “Outback Bowl” banners in Sanford stadium.
kingdaddy
December 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
I’m proud of these Dawgs. No shame in their game. We should have spiked the ball, and took a couple of shots. We played an awesome team and took them to the edge. At least we know our team is for real…
Northof100
December 1st, 2012
10:12 pm
We lost the game when we decided to punt from our 40 on 4th and 1 with 2:55 to go. Richt/Bobo coached scared. Lost their composure at the end.
This was UGAs year. This team was similar to the 1992 team (Zeier/Hearst/Hastings): Flat out loaded and so talented anybody could win double digits with them (except Chizik).
Never forget we were beat by UCF in a bowl, dismantled by Boise St at home and have not seen Bobo show one iota of progress/evolution over the past half-decade.
Prediction: Richt gone in two years.
Fools Gold
December 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Our Strength and Conditioning program is still a joke at UGA. It was evident in the trenches. Our D was trying to strip the ball instead of wrapping up and playing fundamental and sound football. Its coaching people! Wake up and smell the coffee.
Apostle
December 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
Oh yeah,Bama played such a tough schedule.Western Kentucky,Florida Atlantic and Western Carolina.They are titans of the gridiron ….right!! Bama fans have a right to question UGA’s schedule???
dawg tired
December 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
McCarron has a ring (soon to be two) and Murray has eggs covering his house.
bamaguy
December 1st, 2012
10:13 pm
The better team won. It’s just that simple. Great game by Georgia. It’s why the SEC rules.
DAWG
December 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
I am done with Georgia, I have been waiting since 1980 for another national title and we lay a goose egg. Apparently it is time we lose our coach and get in the league with Georgia Southern, and then maybe we have a remote shot at winning. Saban will win his third title in just the few short years he has been at Alabama. Our coach has had twelve years and cannot produce. I will have one huge garage sale and will lose money on the crap that says Georgia, the only good thing is that I will free up some closet space. What a joke of a team and what a joke of a coach, the school is paying him way too much money, and that stupid ford commercial about we own Saturdays,give me a break.
Dacusville Bill
December 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
If it’s any consolidation to my Jawgie Dawg Buddies–Ya’ll got a better Coach than Tech has–Wish Cotton was a monkey and Pitiful Paul was Jawgie’s Coach—Maybe you can play Clem and Son in the Chicken Feel It Bowl–
Shack
December 1st, 2012
10:15 pm
If Georgia defense gives up 7 yards a rush…. The 2 point call was easy. Got manhandled all night, Jarvis jones was invisible.
Ga 2-2 this year against teams with winning records…. Not championship caliber team. Richt choked in biggest moment…. 1980
Spartacus (Formerly 7-19 Against Ranked Teams)
December 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
I’ve been as hard on UGA and Richt on these blogs as anyone. However, I sensed a change with this team since the Florida victory. Damned proud of UGA and Richt with today’s game. I was there and today, the team didn’t quit like they did last year. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team.
Let’s have an awesome recruiting class and try again. With Gurley and Marshall, our future looks bright.
Typical
December 1st, 2012
10:16 pm
BCS bowl- who cares?!! Only bowl game that matters is in Miami. Typical UGA fans looking for respectul bowl games instead of national titles.
kingdaddy
December 1st, 2012
10:17 pm
You idiot Tech fans get tired of watching your championship game, lol. More empty seats than fans in the stands. Pitiful. We were 5 yards from an NC, you won’t even get invited to a bowl…
Northof100
December 1st, 2012
10:17 pm
Hadn’t stopped them AT ALL in second half and we decide to punt????
Didn’t think Gurley could get 1 measly yard????
36 inches????
No faith (for a man of faith) in your players.
The stage was too big for UGA’s coaches.
ricocarty21
December 1st, 2012
10:17 pm
I am an Alabama fan and I had to get my nitro out after the last play of the game. The Dawgs were impressive. One more play and ya’ll would have been playing Notre Dame!!! Whooo!!!
Texas Dawg
December 1st, 2012
10:18 pm
To @cmac, your observations are spot-on. UGA did burn precious time after every first down when they didn’t get out of bounds. Even on the final play, they lost 5-6 seconds getting in position (hence the reason to spike the ball). To @Gordon, if you get into that game, though, you’d also need to consider: If Morgan had hit the (for him) makeable field goal in the first quarter, we would have been three points closer; if Murray hadn’t thrown the interception at the end of the first half, Bama probably doesn’t get that field go — so again we’re three points closer; and finally, for all the yards Gurley gained tonight, if he gains just one on that 3rd and 1 with about 5 minutes to go when we were up 28-25, we burn at least two more minutes off the clock and who knows, with a little luck maybe we can even run out the clock. So I don’t think Saban’s decision to go for two then was so smart, he was only doing it then to get the Tide within a field goal — he had no idea that at the end of the game it would have them up four points and force us to go for a touchdown rather than a field goal.
td
December 1st, 2012
10:18 pm
DAWG
December 1st, 2012
10:14 pm
If you can not stand up and be proud of the way the DAWGs played tonight, then please do quit watching them and good riddance.
Sam
December 1st, 2012
10:18 pm
Get ready for the chick fil a bowl
Aaron Murray = Reggie Ball
December 1st, 2012
10:18 pm
UGA, still underachieving wannabes.
Spartacus (Formerly 7-19 Against Ranked Teams)
December 1st, 2012
10:20 pm
Not to take anything away from Bama, but this year’s Bama team doesn’t match up nearly as well as last year’s Bama team. You got exposed by LSU in a close win, you lose to A&M, and barely beat UGA.
Having said that, I’ll root for you to win the BCS…..it would kill me to see that overhyped Irish team win the BCS
Typical
December 1st, 2012
10:21 pm
A murray has zero future in the NFL and buyer beware on any team that drafts him. He’s mediocre at best in the collegiate game and the NFL is much faster.
flagboy?
December 1st, 2012
10:22 pm
Great game for the casual fan.
heartbreaking for us Dawgs. 4 yards away from playing for the National Championship. No shame in that. Doesn’t make it easier to take, but it’s true.
Old man football
December 1st, 2012
10:23 pm
If they played 10 times Bama woulda beaten them 10 times. UGA was lucky it was close to begin with. They got an int in the end zone to stop one bama drive and got a reprieve from the refs on a ball that was clearly not tipped. The next play they get a backhanded fg block and runback for a cheap td. That was just luck. The reality is that Bama mauled UGA, had about 120 more total yards, 37 minutes time of possession, 8 more first downs. They did everything they could to blow that game and they still ended up winning. If they replayed this game it wouldn’t be close. Bama’s backs would run right at the UGA D and maul them all over again.
LOYAL DAWG
December 1st, 2012
10:23 pm
This loss was not Mark Richt’s fault. This loss was not Aaron Murray’s fault. This loss was not Mike Bobo’s fault. If we played like this vs ND, we’d beat them everytime. Bama and UGA are dead even if you ask me. They just were 1 play better tonight. Please fans no negative crap tonight. This is the hardest loss in my life as a fan. I’m only 29, so I missed the “glory years”. But this might be the best game we have played in at least 5 years. I’m not accepting losing, just understanding that the 2 best teams in CFB just played a classic and we were a tad bit short. GO DAWGS!
E from Riverdale
December 1st, 2012
10:24 pm
Hairy Dawg you nailed it really nothing more to say. This one really showed how ineffective TG is as a DC. had no answer(s) to stop the running game of Alabama..
Spartacus (Formerly 7-19 Against Ranked Teams)
December 1st, 2012
10:24 pm
Yeah, Agree TexasDawg, that 3rd and 1 that we didn’t convert was a killer….we make that and I think we win.
dawgfan
December 1st, 2012
10:24 pm
Agreed. Spike was right call. Has Richt ever admitted a coaching mistake. Don’t get me wrong, dawgs played great, but I can’t remember him ever admitting he was wrong. This time he was.
32 years and counting.....
December 1st, 2012
10:25 pm
time to live vicariously through the better SEC squads in the post season
Lance
December 1st, 2012
10:25 pm
One of the absolute greatest games I have ever witnessed.
As I watch 7-5 Wisconsin bludgeon Nebraska in the Big 10 CG, and Florida State slop around with Ga. Tech in the ACC, Alabama and Georgia truly showed the nation what football is all about.
That said … Roll Tide!
Fools Gold
December 1st, 2012
10:25 pm
BAMA Dominated this game…. The Score doesnt reflect it…. lets be real…. Mark Richt Chokes on the Big ones!
dawgfan
December 1st, 2012
10:25 pm
Disagree. The D was ineffective after it had to be out there for an hour+. They were understandably gassed. The offense has to hold the ball to give the D some time to breathe.
Monistat Brigade
December 1st, 2012
10:26 pm
Try some. Maybe it’ll stop some of this bellyaching and crying over losing to a superior team. You tried hard, it wasn’t enough, so now treat the itching in your mysterious lady parts and move on.
dawgfan
December 1st, 2012
10:26 pm
I mean hour+ straight in 3rd to 4th quarter practically, with punt return and O 3 and out.
LOYAL DAWG
December 1st, 2012
10:26 pm
I’d love to hear the comments if that back shoulder fade pass to Mitchell wouldn’t have got tipped and we scored a td. Would it still be fire Richt, Murray sucks, blah blah blah??? I bet no one would have said the spike was the correct call.
Jon Heisman
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
Y’all got a chance that comes once in 32 years and could not handle it.
Spartacus (Formerly 7-19 Against Ranked Teams)
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
Not so sure that spiking the ball was such an easy call. You have a Bama defense reeling, Murray was throwing a fade route that only our receiver can catch, it just got tipped….wish Murray was 6′5″
td
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
E from Riverdale
December 1st, 2012
10:24 pm
Hairy Dawg you nailed it really nothing more to say. This one really showed how ineffective TG is as a DC. had no answer(s) to stop the running game of Alabama..
And what DC in College football would have an answer for Alabama’s running game tonight? Even Nick Saban said they had to run the ball because they could not keep the UGA pass rush off of their QB.
Sam
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
Wow. I thought the sec refs were bad. The big 10 refs called a penalty on th sickest legal block
Fools Gold
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
Todd Grantham was looking clueless when Bama was shredding hid D.
Old man football
December 1st, 2012
10:28 pm
“You got exposed by LSU in a close win, you lose to A&M, and barely beat UGA.”
Exactly how did we get “exposed” by LSU? We turned the ball over twice in critical situations while they had no turnovers, it was a night game at Tiger stadium, and they had 2 weeks for 1 game. And we still freaking beat them. As for Tam they are the hottest team in college football right now. And even then we came within 2 yards of winning after coming out flat and spotting them a 20 pt lead in the 1st qtr. It was a letdown game for us after a bigtime emotional game at LSU. As for beating Georgia tonight that was a lopsided asskicking session. We completely dominated the dawgs. A series of breaks and an int in the end zone and a lucky blocked kick return for a td are the only reasons the game was even close.
Shack
December 1st, 2012
10:29 pm
Loyaldawg? Your team just got thumped at line of scrimmage giving up 350 on the ground. Don’t think for a second this Georgia team was any good. Too much hype, combined with little Debbie schedule, and kool aid drinkers…. It was always there in front of u, but u didn’t want to see it…. No defensive heart…. None. And richt cowers when lights are brightest…. Ga 2-2 record this year against teams that have winning record….. U got duped again.
JB at home
December 1st, 2012
10:29 pm
I’m as tough on Richt asanyone, but not tonight. The Dawgs played their hearts out. Bama is one tough machine with little weakness. Georgia has some weak spots, but had the best on the ropes. I tip my hat to to the effort. It was like a cheesy movie. When we couldn’t stop the run in the second half with a tight game, I knew we had little chance. Teams with great defense and 350 yards rushing don’t lose.
Jon Heisman
December 1st, 2012
10:29 pm
Like I said it last week, if Tech ran all over ya’ll for 450 yards, that’s exactly what Saban is going to do. Called it.
Nan
December 1st, 2012
10:30 pm
Best two teams in the USA BOTH played a great game in Atlanta tonight
LOYAL DAWG
December 1st, 2012
10:31 pm
Easily the best game of the year in all sports (except for the fact we lost). I just hate how everybody knows exactly what Richt should have done or not done after the game is over. Once again, Richt and Saban both can coach. The guy for Bama made a great play and tipped a potential game winning td pass. If that pass is not tipped and we score, both guys are still great…GREAT coaches. Richt coached his tail off today.