Five yards short: In bitter defeat, a winning Georgia effort
The final moments of a fabulous game: Chris Conley catches the ball. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
There are people who say that only championships matter, that finishing second is the same as finishing last. To those people, we say this: Go away now. Go away while we honor — and yes, that’s the proper word — as gallant a runner-up as we’ll ever see. Go away and let us speak of the Georgia Bulldogs.
They’d waited 30 years for a game this big, and they came as close as you could come to winning it without actually winning. Three times they took a lead over the mighty Alabama, and even after what should have been a crushing Tide touchdown with 3:15 remaining, even after what seemed a clinching Bama interception inside the final minute … even then, these Bulldogs found themselves with first-and-goal and time flying.
That they fell five yards short, that a tipped Aaron Murray pass for Malcolm Mitchell was caught by a falling Chris Conley and the final five seconds ticked away, cannot take away from the effort spent and the excellence displayed. The Bulldogs arrived as a underdog, but they carried the fight to the reigning national champion and they left five yards shy of the most thrilling victory — apologies to Lindsay Scott — Georgia football has ever known.
This was easily the best of the 21 SEC Championship Games, and it was one of the finest displays of collegiate football ever witnessed. “Alabama’s a great football team,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said, “and we were pretty good, too.”
Has a losing team ever had more championship-caliber men and moments? From Sanders Commings intercepting an AJ McCarron pass in the end zone to the same Commings catching a pass from tight end Arthur Lynch to convert a galvanizing fake punt; from Cornelius Washington blocking a field goal and Alec Ogletree taking the carom the distance; from the freshman back Todd Gurley pounding the midsection of the nation’s best defense to Murray taking his team downfield in the final minute … has there ever, in the long and distinguished history of Georgia football, been a prouder loss?
Alas, the Bulldogs needed 85 yards, and they could manage only 80. Are five yards sufficient reason to characterize them as losers, to suggest that this four-point loss is living proof that Richt and/or Murray can’t win the Big One? No and no, and if you’re of such a mind didn’t you hear me when I said, “Go away”?
Contrary to popular belief, not every winning effort translates to winning. Alabama was just a bit better (and much stronger up front), but the Bulldogs spurned every opportunity — and there were many — to throw up their collective hands and say, “We’ve given it a go, but this isn’t our day.” And that fighting spirit nearly turned this into the Dogs’ day after all.
“They played well, we played well, the clock ran out,” Richt said. “What are you going to say?”
It was the game for which Georgia had waited since Herschel Walker left Athens in the spring of 1983, the game Richt had waited 12 seasons to coach. It was a game to win one championship and go play for another, and there can be no dishonor in the way the day played out. Quibble with the ending if you will — should Georgia have spiked the ball before Murray’s last throw? Probably not, for Bama was clearly rattled — but you cannot fault the Bulldogs’ skill or heart or pride.
If you claim to be a Georgia fan, you cannot be disappointed with the performance — only the result. How many teams could have stood in against Alabama after the Tide ground out 350 rushing yards? Alabama is the nation’s best program and has the nation’s best coach, and with 10 seconds left there was no assurance that regal Bama would leave the Georgia Dome as the winner.
“I shook every man’s hand,” Richt said, speaking of his crestfallen Bulldogs, “and if someone had his head in his hands I rubbed his head and told him I loved him.”
If you love anything about competitive sports, anything at all, you had to love this game. “That was a great football game by both teams, and they could have won today the same as us,” said Nick Saban, the hard-driving Alabama coach. “It came down to the last play.”
That the final play on this frenzied day was made by Georgia’s opponent in no way diminishes Georgia. If anything, the Bulldogs stand ennobled after falling to Alabama in a way that they hadn’t after any victory of the past half-dozen years. They didn’t win, but they didn’t really lose. “The clock just ran out,” Richt said, and there was no better recap of these stirring events than that.
Alabama played great. Georgia played great. And then the clock ran out.
Further reading: Bama’s backs, Saban’s gaffe and a classic SEC title game.
By Mark Bradley
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1,506 comments Add your comment
Billybob
December 2nd, 2012
9:12 am
Afraid the truth hurts as evident as Mark Richt storming out of the presser last night when asked why he and Murray cant win the Big ones. Hope Howdy Doody McGarrity makes some changes.
Big Gator
December 2nd, 2012
9:12 am
Now these losers are crying they belong in the Sugar, no class, dogs, they did the same thing against Tenn a few years back, they lose the big game and cry and wonder why the rest of conference hates them.
Edisto
December 2nd, 2012
9:13 am
Well said, it was so hard to lose this game. Really game down to just missing a FG in the first half, making a yard on a third down and a tip at the end. How can anyone with a mind put those three plays in the category of coaching or on the shoulders of Murray. Go Dawgs!
Billybob
December 2nd, 2012
9:14 am
Afraid the truth hurts as evident as Mark Richt storming out of the SECCG presser last night when asked why he and Murray cant win the big games. Hope Howdy Doody makes some changes!
Daniel
December 2nd, 2012
9:15 am
I tell you puppy fans something, if you guys ever get rid of Richt you should go snatch up Lane Kiffin. He is the king of Moral Victories.
old dawg
December 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
to the guy from the ROME OBSERVER
who questions why CMR can’t seem to finish ahead of the Field in the SEC..Might suggest he ask the same to the OLD Ball Coach at USC , Les Miles at LSU or Muschamp at Florida,or the Coaches at Vanderbilt or Tennessee or TEch (I dont even want to spell it right) ..He’s coaching in some pretty high levels but then you are still writing for a small town weekly or daily and using your credentials to get in for FREE? Just what would your strategy have been to prevent that tipped pass as the clock ran out?
Shoulda, woulda, coulda
December 2nd, 2012
9:16 am
Tndawg
Mark, surely enough writers and coaches can get UGA in the Sugar bowl. Florida has no business in that game!
Enough with the whining, we knew the rules at the start of the season. Georgia is even being passed over for the Capital One Bowl for Texas A&M and for the Cotton Bowl by LSU. Look we played a great game last night, but we really rank behind Bama, LSU, FLA, SC and Texas A&M. teams played a tougher schedule than the dawgs.
Edisto
December 2nd, 2012
9:19 am
Well said. Hardest lose I have ever seen. It came down to a missed FG, not making a yard on third down, and a tipped pass. How can anyone with a mind blame the coaches or Murray. We scored 28 points, more than enough to win, our 9 NFL headed defenders could not find a way to stop the run…Go Dawgs and thanks for a great year with a very sad ending…
No Excuses
December 2nd, 2012
9:27 am
No excuses. We keep making excuses for this guy. Richt must go. He simply can’t win the big game. I’m tired of making excuses and taking pride in failure.
SPURRIER IS IN UGA'S HEAD
December 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
Now you know how the Gators felt against the dawgs this season. Blown chances, missed opps, probably should have beaten Bama, but gotta live with it. Hey, like with the Braves, there’s always next season!! Spurrier is bound sooner or later to get his shot at the SEC West, so stay tuned. UGA had their chance and blew it
GT Observer
December 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
Either team in that SEC title game would/will crush ND for national championship.
UGA has gotten better throughout the year and their play against Bama was impressive. That was the best college game I’ve watched in a long time and it could have gone either way. UGA fans should be proud of their players and coaching on this one.
Ace
December 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
Spike Murray and UGA cannot win the big one.
Daniel
December 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
Old Dawg, the reason he says it is because Richt is the longest tenured head coach at the same school in the SEC. the OBC has been to the top, as has Miles, Muschamp is only in his second year, Dooley couldn’t win because his dad was a douche and God probably decided it was time to punish that family name. Face it Richt does not have it in him. Case in point, rewind and watch Richt on the sideline after McAaron got his late hit penalty. “Bullcrap!” Richt exclaimed to the referee and I’m sure the ref probably thought it was some loud mouthed 10 year old in the stands, so he didn’t even turn around.
Ace
December 2nd, 2012
9:31 am
Pride won’t get you the Sugar, that’s where the Gators will be.
DawgFan
December 2nd, 2012
9:32 am
Proud today of my Dawgs. Great effort. Murray, Ogletree, Gurley were really good last night and so were many others. As Mark said if you don’t get it GO AWAY.
As for spike I think it didn’t matter. What if we spike it, regroup and then try the fade, it gets tipped and time runs out. Same result. I would have spiked but in this case the result of the play made it a moot point.
RunninWithTheDawgs
December 2nd, 2012
9:34 am
I would loved to have seen Murray chunk that last pass outta bounds so we could have had one more try. Oh well ! The one that got away. I was a dedicated long time Dawg fan before this game and that’s what I’ll be from here on out.
Road Scholar
December 2nd, 2012
9:34 am
Was that last pass play a “Reggie Ball” moment for Georgia?
Jimmy: “But the officiating was too lopsided”
Now what have your fans said in the past about comments about Tech game posters? BOO HOO!
I was waiting for the “Kill Richt” comments all year. It is humorous! You go to the league championship and your team played one he!! of a game. Do not downgrade their performance because YOU think something else should have been done by the coach. The players did not execute at times…it happens. Stop the whining!
Really?
December 2nd, 2012
9:38 am
“If you claim to be a Georgia fan, you cannot be disappointed with the performance — only the result. How many teams could have stood in against Alabama after the Tide ground out 350 rushing yards?”
Um, if the Dawgs hadn’t LET THEM GAIN 350 rushing yards they wouldn’t have had to have ’stood in’! As a UGA Grad I’m sick of all the rose colored glasses. We let a team rush down our throats for 350 freaking yards. With 9 ‘NFL Caliber’ defensive players. Against a team that isn’t exactly known as an offensive powerhouse. Where is the ‘moral victory’ in that?
We need a DC who can take all the defensive talent we get and produce appropriate results. We loss. I hope Dawg fans quit taking comfort in ‘close’ and demand better.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
9:47 am
Big Gator…..
When Florida lost to Bama in the SEC title game, they then went to the Sugar and clobbered Cinncinati. If you are going to come on here and represent FloridaNation, please do it with sense of class and knowledge. Fact is, Georgia beat Florida this year and played Bama down to the last second. I believe they earned the Sugar Bowl over Florida this year with their play on the field. But I also feel, unlike TnDawg, Florida deserves to be in a BCS Bowl as well with 4 wins of teams in the BCS top 13 (A&M, SC, LSU, and FSU). If Georgia gets the Sugar, I am OK with that. If Florida gets it, no one can say they don’t deserve it….they do. Unfortunately, one of the two top 4 teams in the country will not be going to a BCS Bowl. Now…..that is just plain stupid.
The Truth
December 2nd, 2012
9:48 am
Forget the lopsided officiating – this loss was about poor coaching. Screwing up with the clock at the end of the game is inexcusable.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
9:49 am
Big Gator….
Florida played Cinncinati in the Sugar after Bama beat them. Get your facts right if you are going to represent GatorNation….and you might want to think about doing that with some class.
TnDawg…..
Both Georgia and Florida deserve to be in a BCS Bowl. The fact the one of the two top 4 teams in the country will not be….is just plain stupid.
RunninWithTheDawgs
December 2nd, 2012
9:50 am
Road Scholar@9:34 — I have to agree. The fact of the matter is the best team won. I really think our D got coached up to stop McCarron’s passing attack and little did they know that a freshman was gonna come out running like Hershel Walker or Bo Jackson. The kid ran over us plain and simple. Anyone who wants to start replacing coaches on the Dawgs team doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I can just see it now. We fire Richt and he goes over and takes the job at Auburn and goes on to win the National Championship that he’s got coming. The next thing on the agenda is recruiting, Go get ‘em guys we’re gonna need ‘em. GO DAWGS !
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
9:51 am
Sorry for that double post……it appeared that my first post did not go through…..but there it is in original detail. But Big Gator needed to hear it twice anyway.
Great game…..last night….Dawg fans. The better team did not win the game. But that sometimes happens…..happened in 2009 as well.
Dumb Players
December 2nd, 2012
9:52 am
Georgia has extremely athletically gifted players with a ton of heart. If you can’t coach up intelligence,then you have to recruit it. Georgia’s DB played stupid pass defense late in the game looking in,getting burnt. Murray/Richt showed no intelligence with the last play call,throw it into the end zone for god’s sake. The reciever catching the ball knowing he couldn’t get in,is dumb as well.
Blocked kick run in for a TD- Athletic play
Murray/Gurley moving the team- Athletic play
Crunch time under pressure,tons of dumb play
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
9:57 am
The Truth…..
DId you not listen to the truth from Richt’s lips last night. They called the play they would have called if they had spiked the ball. No time was lost because they did not spike the ball. If Georgia had spiked the ball, Bama would have had time to set a new defense. RIcht had the right play called….unfortuanately, the ball got tipped and a receiver instinctively caught the ball when he should not have. If the ball had not been tipped, it would have either been a complete pass for a TD (and you would be sitting here telling everyone what a great call it was) or overthrown in the end zone…and Georgia would have had time for two more plays. The Bama DE just made a great play…..and Murray is just too short. But there was nothing wrong with the call or the play…..just the execution….and that was only because a player reacted on instrict….and the RT did not cut the DE.
Daniel
December 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
Tampa since you didn’t do it I will CLASS : adjective
Informal. of high quality, integrity, status, or style: class players on a mediocre team.
This is the definition of Class, you need to post it since most of the people in red and black don’t know what that means. Hell coaches throwing throat slashing gestures, just ooze with class. They deserve NO BCS bowl. Remember it’s not always who you lose to it’s WHEN you lose and they lost last. UF played it’s sloppiest game of the year in Jacksonville and guess what it still came down to within 5 yards of going to OT. But, the dog fans around me were incredulous and acted as if they absolutely destroyed UF. Have fun in Dallas , georgia I should be able to watch your game since it normally is a 1:30 kickoff.
hit a single
December 2nd, 2012
10:00 am
Great effort last night! I feel for the Coaches, the Team, the Band and all the Bulldog Nation. I said from Day 1 that the achilles heel of this team was the way we grab tackle instead of putting a face mask on the numbers. Our linebackers can run people down but when people run right at them we do a poor job. I am afraid that we have a couple that won’t make it in the NFL if they don’t change their approach. We play way too straight up. Watch the film and see how we don’t get off blocks, we turn instead of taking the blocks on. But even with this we played a heck of a game and we will be back. I am proud of Coach Richt for taking on the media (what a stupid question and the timing of it) and also Kevin Butler for calling out the officials in the post game show.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:01 am
Dumb Players…..
Obviously you did not play football. I played WR in high school. It is your natural instrict to catch the ball…..not a dumb one. He turned, saw the ball, caught the ball. And he had a split second to think about it. I am sure he would knock the ball down if he could replay it….but he can’t.
And Miurray WAS trying to throw the ball into the end zone. That was the play call…..a fade into the right corner…..the right call in that situation.
New museum
December 2nd, 2012
10:02 am
ATL could open a museum dedicated to how satisfying it is to be close, but not quite good enough. There would be an entire wing dedicated to the Braves. Most people’s reaction to yesterday’s game shows this is a market that doesn’t hold good teams accountable for failure. And, the media is generally in the pocket of team management.
Rip Van Winkle
December 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
It’s been 32 years; can I go back for another nap?
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:07 am
Daniel…..
Georgia is no medicore team…..and not all Dawg fans (yes, too many but not all)….post without class. That tipped at the end of the game is not terribly different than Reed’s fumble at the end of the game. They were both forced by the opposing team and might have cost both teams the game. There is not a lot of difference between these 6 teams…..LSU, SC, Florida, GA, and Bama….in no particular order. They all, in my opinion, are better than Notre Dame…and four of them deserve to be in a NCAA playoff system. But that would be a dream world….not current reality.
ga gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:07 am
Another great game; Murray or whoever made the call to throw it to the corner was correct; it is a game of inches and Murray did not quite get it over the DLinemans hand.
Ken Stallings
December 2nd, 2012
10:08 am
Are blogs just a magnet for classless people, or has our society simply lost class as a whole? Either way, the majority of the “win it all or else” and “taunting is acceptable” mindsets on exhibit here is sad to witness.
I am reminded how the true suffering of the Great Depression wised people up in a most painful manner. Our nation is now tittering on the precipace of the same economic ruin, with all the associated pain and destruction, and yet we still have so many people who think an absolutist mentality is mandated for a simple sporting contest. Perhaps that is not coincidence but rather the byproduct of the very malady on exhibit herein!
Wisedom is best gained through moral contemplation.
For those incapable of gaining it in this manner, wisdom often comes in the form of great pain and tribulation.
Seems most clear how most posters in this blog commentary shall gain their wisdom! One hopes they wise up without great pain, but reality says not likely!
Long time
December 2nd, 2012
10:09 am
Well said, Mr. Bradley.
Daniel
December 2nd, 2012
10:10 am
No offense Tampa, since I think we are a part of the same forum, but it is spelled DOG.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:10 am
Today’s BCS should be as follows:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas A&M
6. LSU
7. South Carolina
Georgia and Bama should play for the national title……but I think they did that last night.
Resident Georgia Fan
December 2nd, 2012
10:10 am
You damn smartass posters don’t crap about football. Go away as*wipes!
stendek
December 2nd, 2012
10:12 am
Had a few hours to sleep on this latest Dawg disaster. Even madder now than I was last night! Destiny did its job. Handed my beloved Dawgs an opportunity to play the only team in the Top 10 it can defeat – Notre Dame – for the mythical national championship. It was now or never. Destiny rarely offers up plum opportunities like this one to second raters like the Dawgs. Such favors usually reserved for SEC groups with heart and pride like Bama, LSU and Florida. Saint Mark Richt and his buddy QB threw the opportunity back in the face of Destiny. They both said no thanks. So all the critics and skeptics were proven right. Richt and that QB did choke on the national stage. Again! Spin a loss any way you choose. It is still a loss! The UGA QB will never be remembered because he did nothing to distinguish himself. Had the Colts defeated the Jets in Super Bowl III the name Joe Namath would be almost unknown today. If the saint could not win it all this season he never will. Please secure services of Nick Saben before the opportunity passes. I will take his departure from Athens after a couple of national titles. Gladly! Dawgs on fast track to nowhere with loser at helm and at QB. Fire em all! True Dawg fans do not praise defeats. AT LEAST NOT THIS ONE!
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:13 am
Daniel….
I beileve I know how to spell the name of an animal with four legs and a tail that can be domesticated for human use and companionship.
But….I also know how to spell the nickname that most Georgia fans go by…..Dawg. As…in THE SWAMP….instead of in BEN HILL GRIFFIN STADIUM.
Bama Fan and former ATL resident
December 2nd, 2012
10:14 am
Every SEC championship game from here on out will be compared to this one. It will go down in history as one of the greatest ever played. While I’m glad my team won, yours gave us a heck of a ride and did themselves proud. Having almost been on the losing end of it ourselves, I know that is little consolation because I would have been crushed had we lost. But those kids have nothing to be ashamed of. They left everything they had on the field. Congrats to a game well played.
Dawg Days
December 2nd, 2012
10:14 am
Shultz, possibly the best article you’ve ever written. Well done.
Daniel
December 2nd, 2012
10:14 am
Why would a 2 loss team play for the NATL title? There is a undefeated team and a couple more deserving 1 loss teams. And please spare me the uga beat UF argument, if we go by that then USCe only has two losses and THROTTLED uga.
Elementary My Dear Watson
December 2nd, 2012
10:15 am
21-10 lead in 3rd Q and UGA has all the momentum…………..Close the Sale! UGA cannot do it.
28-25 lead in 4th Q and the biggest play in the game by far at hand. 3rd and 1 and we cannot make a yard to keep the ball and Close the Sale. We do the above and it never should have come down to the final secs. Thats what ” Great ” teams do. They go for the jugular. UGA a good team, but not a great team. This game, as most, was won in the trenches, old style smashmouth football. Clearly, Bama won this game in the trenches.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:18 am
stendek….
So you fire your coach because he made the right call with 12 seconds left in the game. If the ball had not been tipped and caught in the corner of the end zone instead….you would be on here praising Jesus in Richt’s name.
And you hate Murray for driving your team down with just 50 some seconds left in the game…making one great pass after another to get them to the 5 with 12 seconds left…..to only have his pass tipped because the right tackle did not cut the DE as he should….and a receiver caught a ball that he should not have.
Yeah boy….but typical….I must say.
From Alabama Defense
December 2nd, 2012
10:18 am
Hope Mr. Aaron Murray remembers that lick we laid on his head for a long long time – maybe 5 years or more……ROLL TIDE ROLL!
Once again......
December 2nd, 2012
10:19 am
Once again. Richt and Murray cannot win the big game…..Losers!
Close? So what....
December 2nd, 2012
10:20 am
It’s about winning. Not how hard you fought or how close you came. Winning, that’s it. If you don’t think that, then maybe you can get things changed so that college football is like so many children’s sports where score is not kept and there are no winners or losers. Only some mushy, fell good, ‘we tried’ mentality.
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
10:22 am
Daniel…
Because Alabama and Georgia are the two best teams in the country. And…if this was 2014….Georgia would be in the 4 team playoff with Bama, Notre Dame, and Florida. And LSU won a NC with 2 losses just a few years ago. And I would rather watch a Bama vs. Georgia rematch than a Bama vs. Notre Dame game. Wouldn’t you? But…..as a Gator fan only….I would love to watch Florida play Bama in the national title game…..because you and I know….that would happen if there was a 4 game playoff this year.
OnecoGuy
December 2nd, 2012
10:22 am
Valiant effort by the Dawgs, but coaching let them down again.
Replay clearly shows Murray looking to sidelines and wanting to spke the ball with around 12 seconds left.
Another blown opportunity for Richt to prove his coaching skills. Then the spineless answer to the reporters questioning his 2-10 record against top teams is just another indication of how poor a leader Richtreally is. Nice guy, average coach, .
PS. Nick should remember he would have been at home watching the SEC Championship game had FL not beaten A+M. Yeah it was their first game of the year, but Boom knew what adjustments to make defensively after 30 min of game time, while Nick and his defensive wizards couldn’t figure it out after what NINE games of film. Gators had NO film on either Sumlin or Johnny Football before FL played A+M.
SOUTHEASTERN CHUMPS
December 2nd, 2012
10:23 am
I don’t feel sorry for any football team that gets a top 5 recruiting class year after year and still hasn’t made it to the National Title game in 32 years. The one reason you get a top 5 class is that your instate competitor is an engineering school. You can sign who you want and you still cannot get there.
WTF?
Dear Saban, you running your mouth is coming to an end real soon. If you think Auburn is the only school that is going to be investigated for false documents, player payouts and transcript fraud. Think again.
If the crybabies and losers cannot play in an BCS Bowl while other teams with more losses do, too bad losers. The other schools in other conferences didn’t make that rule. I am surprised as anyone that the NCAA and bowl selection committee doesn’t consult with you about who should play where. After all, you are the coach with the highest standards and integrity in college football today, NOT!