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
raster
December 2nd, 2012
1:52 pm
Dogs suck, Without the 4 Bama turnovers they would have lost by 2 touchdowns
gator fan
December 2nd, 2012
1:53 pm
georgia is the wannabee team of the decade. still not there and still suck.
Mayo
December 2nd, 2012
1:54 pm
Excellent column, Mr. Bradley.
raster
December 2nd, 2012
1:56 pm
even if that last pass had not been tipped, it would have been a Bama pic, the receiver was not open. Winners win and losers lose. Gave up 350 yards rushing, nuff said
Voyager Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
1:58 pm
@Bama Stan, it is nice to know that your coach, team, and most other Bama fans do have class. Too bad you weren’t part of that gene pool. Go back to your mother’s basement, put on your Roll Tide Underoos, eat some pork rinds and enjoy the rest of your day feeling good about yourself. I’m sure you played a big part in the outcome of the game yesterday. Vicarious living will hopefully serve you well.
Give Richt a pass, Show Grantham a door!
December 2nd, 2012
1:58 pm
Where are Rambo and the GA loudmouths now about how GA is more talented? Has the better defense?
After giving up 350 rushing yards, I hope they realize that is NOT recipe for winning.
GA was lucky to be in the game at the end with such a pathetic performance at stopping the run.
Leave Richt alone ….turn the tough questions toward Grantham and a poor job of coaching the D.
Matt
December 2nd, 2012
1:59 pm
Mark, your best column I’ve read. Hell of a fight, can’t and shouldn’t ask for more.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:00 pm
Mark, you’re not a ga grad.
Not your place to tell us to go away, those who were disgusted by another failure.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:01 pm
Mayo
December 2nd, 2012
1:54 pm
Excellent column, Mr. Bradley.
********
wrong.
Dum-Bass
December 2nd, 2012
2:02 pm
***raster****you are probably right. I noticed on the replays I saw that neither GA receiver was in the end zone anyway. As Mike Lupica said on Sports Reporters on ESPN this AM it was bad coaching, and a bad decision. MR is just “copping out” with his explanation. He knows he blew it. All the NFL QBs and 90% of the college coaches would have spiked it there and set up two of their best plays. Richt said they had AL on their heels, well, apparently not, as it didn’t work out did it?
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:04 pm
Captain Ron
December 2nd, 2012
1:37 pm
All of you fair weather, so called Bulldawg fans calling for Richt’s head and bashing Murray and the Dawgs. Be true to your school and apply the same expectations of excellence to your own life. The Georgia football team has won more games in the past twelve years than at any other time in the history of the school. Fans SUPPORT their team. Opponents criticize the team. You are either FOR us or AGIN’ us. GLORY, GLORY TO OLE GEORGIA !
**********
another loser thrilled with second place……
Dum-Bass
December 2nd, 2012
2:05 pm
Mark Bradley: Go away, far, far, away. As far as you can, like San Francisco. That’s a good spot for you. Or even Seattle, that’s where they settle for second best, and seem to love it!
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:07 pm
It was clearly terrible coaching….
Any idiot knows it. But many can’t admit it since they’re satisfied wih just playing the game to begin with.
Pathetic.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:08 pm
Well, actually, in San Fran, the baseball bunch wins titles….
Don’t send him there!
BamaStan
December 2nd, 2012
2:11 pm
What a loser attitude. You weren’t playing the Green Bay Packers, it was another college football team. A loss is a loss and you had an opportunity to seize a moment and didn’t. Those windows close quickly, you lose a lot this year and don’t look now but here comes Muschamp and the Gators in the East.
ben bona
December 2nd, 2012
2:12 pm
Though I was cheering for Alabama, the VERY LATE, unpenalized hit by a Tide player on the Georgia quarterback was the worst, unnoticed and unpunished hit I have ever seen. The player should have been ejected and the ref (who was standing ten feet away) should have been removed from the game.
Am I the only one so outraged by that non-call?
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:13 pm
That’s right, we didn’t. We blew our chance, which is nothing new.
Still makes me sick.
BamaStan
December 2nd, 2012
2:15 pm
“the clock ran out”
hey, Richt, that’s what happens in football games.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:15 pm
No, ben bona, you aren’t….
Pathetic non call but over and done with now.
We are losers once again….it is our destiny every year for 32 straight now.
BamaStan
December 2nd, 2012
2:16 pm
Winners win and losers lose.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:18 pm
Especially when you’re too dang stupid to clock the ball on first down with no timeouts left and time for only 3 more plays if you use an ounce of sense…..
I’ve seen midget teams handle the final seconds better than that.
Winners succeed under intense pressure. Losers, like us, collapse and fail.
Makes me sick. Richt is legendary for this stuff.
phil
December 2nd, 2012
2:19 pm
Richt has failure down to an art form with this debacle…..
15 Minutes from 'Dem Hedges
December 2nd, 2012
2:20 pm
Great game…sad ending…oh, and buy the way, I spent $300.00 on two bogus tickets but we still managed to enter the Dome though not the seats…as Prez Reagan used to say, “Trust, but verify”…
ProudDawg
December 2nd, 2012
2:21 pm
Mark, that’s the best column you’ve ever written, and that’s saying something because I consider you a tremendous wordsmith. Don’t always agree, but you’re gifted. And I appreciate you being so bold and on point with this column. I love my Dawgs more today than I did yesterday, and that says it all….
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:21 pm
Rambo got abused by a Freshman!
Eddie Lacy abused him!
Jarvis Jones got blocked on running plays by a walk on.
Richt choked in the final 30 seconds.
Saban did not use his timeouts correctly in the first half.
Saban goes for two.
Alabama’s OL pushed UGa around.
This loss will affect UGa for years.
It will be 4 or 5 years before UGa gets back to the SECCG.
Grantham will leave for Greener Fields.
UGa Did Not Finish The Drill.
What is the difference between UGa’s loss and Tech’s Loss?
Nothing! They are now in the history books as losses!
DAWG GONE
December 2nd, 2012
2:22 pm
Tough Loss for the DAWGS. I thought this was the year for a National Championship. I know now that the DAWGS will not get a shot at a title over the next 7 years. Believe it or not this game bought RICHT another 7 years
GATA
December 2nd, 2012
2:23 pm
I think Jarvis and Ogeltree come back next year. They can’t walk away being 4 yards from going to the BCNCG.
Bills fan
December 2nd, 2012
2:23 pm
I can only imagine the comments from the naysayers, Bama fans and frustrated Dawg fans.
I come from a family with members in the many Halls of Fame in their athletic specialty. In the desire to be the best and win we lose sight of the larger picture. The pressure on athletes to win is really unrealistic and distorted. It’s a game and all one can ask for is to prepare and give their very best effort.
I have repeated this often here, but of all the coaches that I have observed John Wooden coach of the UCLA Bruins during their glory years of consecutive national championships sums up the essence of competition the best. He expected his players to give maximum effort especially in practice. That was all he felt that he could expect from his teams.
Looking back he mentionst that there were games that they lost in the regular season that he was prouder of the young men even in defeat, than he was after games they won the national championship. It always came down to doing ones best.
I enjoyed the game yesterday and was disappointed in the results, but I look at it as coach Wooden does and that is, that the Bulldogs and Mark Richt have nothing to be ashamed of. They left it all on the field and that is really the only thing one can ask of anyone, no matter the occupation they are in.
Mark Bradley
December 2nd, 2012
2:24 pm
Thanks to ProudDawg. And to all who have sent along a kind word.
Flo- Ri- Duh
December 2nd, 2012
2:25 pm
ESPN and Mark May are sooooooooo biased for Florida. Said he would put them in the 4 team BCS playoff if it was in effect this year. Never Mind that UGA beat them straight up and was rated ahead of them before the SEC Champ game and both were 11 – 1. Florida has NO offense… just beat a crappy over rated Fla State team that barely got by Ga. Tech who was crushed by UGA. Rating strength of schedule by how teams were ranked at the time Florida played them is wrong. Florida Atate obviously should not be ranked in the top #18 teams – they suck as dos the entire ACC. UGA came within ONE play of beating the #1 team in the country and you demote them? Mark May is a prejudiced IDIOT.
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:26 pm
Phil,
Singing a different tune today!
Where is that blow hard novel writing Thomas Brown? Another one in hiding!
Vance
December 2nd, 2012
2:27 pm
Our team played all 60 minutes. They never gave up. I think you have nailed the analysis of this game. I am terribly disappointed after waiting so long for a real chance for the national title–I believe that was the national championship game; however, any trashing of our players and coaches after that effort is BS and not warranted from a true bulldog fan. All of us want to win. There is nothing better than winning championships, but when you lose after this kind of effort for all 60 minutes of the game, there is no shame.
dmr
December 2nd, 2012
2:28 pm
Hey ALUM, take your fair-weather ass out of here and go cheer for Alabama! Many forget Alabama was a 4 – 7 program before they hired Saban. Auburn won a title 2 years ago and now they can’t win a single SEC game. Tennessee is in total shambles. Arkansas is trying to find itself.
Richt has been consistent. He’s built a foundation. Am I happy we lost? No. Can I respect the fact there was no quit in this team? Yes. Did I think we should have spiked the ball? Yes. Would you have believed we would even be in the game after giving up over 300+ yards rushing? Probably not.
So many great guys came back to play this season when they could have bolted for the NFL. It says alot about these kids and this program. You want to be mad? Fine. You want to be critical? Fine. You want to be an ASS like ALUM and some of the others? Go swing with some other team. When they begin to suck, you can complain and move on again. FAIR WEATHER PIECES OF $*&@(&*#!
dmr
December 2nd, 2012
2:28 pm
Hey ALUM, take your fair-weather ass out of here and go cheer for Alabama! Many forget Alabama was a 4 – 7 program before they hired Saban. Auburn won a title 2 years ago and now they can’t win a single SEC game. Tennessee is in total shambles. Arkansas is trying to find itself.
Richt has been consistent. He’s built a foundation. Am I happy we lost? No. Can I respect the fact there was no quit in this team? Yes. Did I think we should have spiked the ball? Yes. Would you have believed we would even be in the game after giving up over 300+ yards rushing? Probably not.
So many great guys came back to play this season when they could have bolted for the NFL. It says alot about these kids and this program. You want to be mad? Fine. You want to be critical? Fine. You want to be an ASS like ALUM and some of the others? Go swing with some other team. When they begin to suck, you can complain and move on again. FAIR WEATHER PIECES OF $*&@(&*#!
dmr
December 2nd, 2012
2:28 pm
Hey ALUM, take your fair-weather ass out of here and go cheer for Alabama! Many forget Alabama was a 4 – 7 program before they hired Saban. Auburn won a title 2 years ago and now they can’t win a single SEC game. Tennessee is in total shambles. Arkansas is trying to find itself.
Richt has been consistent. He’s built a foundation. Am I happy we lost? No. Can I respect the fact there was no quit in this team? Yes. Did I think we should have spiked the ball? Yes. Would you have believed we would even be in the game after giving up over 300+ yards rushing? Probably not.
So many great guys came back to play this season when they could have bolted for the NFL. It says alot about these kids and this program. You want to be mad? Fine. You want to be critical? Fine. You want to be an ASS like ALUM and some of the others? Go swing with some other team. When they begin to suck, you can complain and move on again. FAIR WEATHER PIECES OF $*&@(&*#!
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
2:29 pm
Dawgs fall to #6 in the AP……..can you believe that…..behind an Ohio State team that played absolutely no one. Ohio State, if they had played in the SEC East, would have lost to Florida, SC, Georgia and Georgia…..and Vandy and Tennesee would have given them all they could handle. Kentucky would have been the only sure when on their schedule.
And…..it looks like N. Illinois……is going to get a BCS Bowl over Georgia and Oklahoma…..what a joke the BCS is…….it is TOTAL Bulll…….CRAP……and S- – -!!!!!
Florida vs. Northern Illinois or FSU vs. Northern Illinois…….I know all Gator or Nole fans can’t wait to play that game. One more year of the total BS.
I personally…..would love to see a Florida vs. Georgia rematch….in the Sugar Bowl…..the place would be sold out…..and wild….and great. If it is North Illinois…..the Sugar Bowl will be about a 3rd filled. TOTAL BS.
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:30 pm
GATA
After getting injured earlier this year JJ will go pro, he is too good of a pass rusher to stay.
Ogletree wants to get paid, his family says he is gone.
Big Gator
December 2nd, 2012
2:31 pm
Mark Bradley and the Georgia reporters are a major reason this program have not won anything in 32 years, instead of putting pressure on Richt and asking him why Ala, Fla, LSU has won BCS Nat and Georgia has not, he gives them moral victories.
When Fla lost to Neb and Ala the Journalist in Florida were all over the program and coaches, there were no moral victory, but the low standards UGA fans instead are crying how they are left out of a BCS, news flash win your big games and stop listening to Bradley who along with Richt would be fired at any school in Florida.
GATA
December 2nd, 2012
2:32 pm
Your prob right. Just wishful thinking I guess.
stendek
December 2nd, 2012
2:32 pm
Bills fan huh? Pretty much sums it up!
stendek
December 2nd, 2012
2:33 pm
Hey Tampa Gator…sixth place is way too high!
GATA
December 2nd, 2012
2:33 pm
Since we are losing so many people what do you think GA will be ranked next year?
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:33 pm
Gator,
The Liberty Bowl will gladly swap teams and set up that rematch!
Tampa Gator
December 2nd, 2012
2:35 pm
Watching ESPN…..
Looks like Florida vs. Louisville in the Sugar. Charlie Strong vs. Floirda. A good storyline, at least. Florida will maul them over the 4 quarters.
Looks like Oklahoma is headed to the Cotton. Maybe they will match up Georgia in that game….and that would be a very interesting game. Georgia wins by 14.
Looks like FSU will play Northern Illinois…..in the Orange. Ain’t it just great to be in the ACC.
Leeman
December 2nd, 2012
2:36 pm
Richt didn’t want to spike the ball because he was in a hurry to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to several recruits and TIME WAS RUNNING OUT.
Bwahaha! Blame grantham and bobo, never blame richt you sheep! Let him sheer you for another 4 million next year too but it’s okay cuz richt “so classy”.
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:36 pm
Top 10 if Murray returns, Top 20 if he goes!
East TN Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
2:36 pm
Anyone who is not proud of our team and our coaches for what they did this year is not a dawg fan. If you only love our team when they win, you are not a dawg. It makes me sick to read posts from people claiming to be dawg fans who are criticizing Mark Richt. There’s a very good reason why we ran that play and we got unlucky that it didn’t work. If you think the answer as to why we lost that football game is because someone didn’t spike the ball, then you have no perspective on reality. Bama had a dominant offensive line and RBs and we still almost won. Bottom line, they had a slightly better team and we almost beat them because Coach Richt and our guys wouldn’t give up and fought to the bitter end.
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:39 pm
UGa runs Oklahoma out of Jerry World, they win by 20 if they do not have any SeCCG hangover.
Mark Bradley
December 2nd, 2012
2:39 pm
About the non-spike:
http://smartfootball.com/game-management/should-georgia-have-spiked-the-ball#more-4117
Fact Check Time
December 2nd, 2012
2:42 pm
Got a feeling this years bowl games will much to be desired.
Pitiful games shaping up.