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
keith
December 1st, 2012
10:39 pm
I HOPE WE NEVER RECRUIT ANOTHER FLORIDA QUARTERBACK EVER!!!
DAWG N BAMA
December 1st, 2012
10:39 pm
BUNCH OF IDIOTS ON HERE. WOULDNT TRADE CMR 4 NOBODY. PROUD OF HIM STANDING UP 4 HIS TEAM. 117 WINS N 12 YEARS. GO DAWGS
Strat Cat Dawg
December 1st, 2012
10:39 pm
Once more, Mr. Bradley, you’ve captured the heart of the story in prose. Thanks to the Dawgs and thanks to you. Furman Bisher is smiling.
Dejay
December 1st, 2012
10:40 pm
Wreck, you’re right. But that doesn’t mean that ask of that talent will end up in Athens, much less the right talent; you still wanted to have Jasper Sanks in your backfield or Jamal Lewis? All of that talent didn’t help UGA one bit in the ’90s when Florida and Tennessee was wiping the field with Goff’s and Donnan’s squads. And how is that talent doing against South Carolina nowadays?
keith
December 1st, 2012
10:41 pm
MARK RICHT WOULD BE A GREAT PASTOR, AD, OR MAYBE UNIVERSITY PREZ.. HE LACKS THE KILLER INSTINCT FOR THIS AGE GROUP!!!
John
December 1st, 2012
10:42 pm
Now maybe Shawn Williams will shut the h–l up. He and Jarvis Jones were pathetic.
stendek
December 1st, 2012
10:44 pm
True Dawg fans know that praise over defeats such as this one lock in such losses for decades to come because a putrid coaching staff is allowed to remain intact. The Tide coach would not be telling his players he loved them had they lost. He would be kicking their a**es and having them run stadium steps till dawn. That is what championship coaches do. To them losing is not an option. It is an accepted way of life for Saint Mark Richt! So spare me the hearts and flowers Mark. Call crapola a rose if you wish but it will still stink pal!
Burma Shave
December 1st, 2012
10:44 pm
Richt had no clue what he was doing
His dawgs were along for the ride
At the end of the day when all was done
Triumphant was the Crimson Tide
BURMA SHAVE
Toll Ride
December 1st, 2012
10:45 pm
I thought the clock always runs out in the 4th quarter.
John
December 1st, 2012
10:45 pm
Coach Richt said at the post-game interview that the difference in the game was that the clock ran out; gee, I’m sorry, did somebody forget to tell him that the game only lasts 60 minutes? No, Coach, the difference in the game was that you were outplayed and out-coached.
texgafla
December 1st, 2012
10:45 pm
Just like Texas A &M……UGA never loses, they just run out of time….oh well, it’s just a game.
TRUUGAFAN
December 1st, 2012
10:45 pm
Listening to everyone laud yet another loss is why it’s been 30 years since this program has won a national championship. Everyone is happy and satisfied that the team played well. Hang your hat on them doing good and 30 years from now, they’ll still be talking about the 82 season. Sick of this almost crap. There are no moral victories. There are wins and losses, end of story.
Tommy
December 1st, 2012
10:46 pm
Half of the so-called ‘fans’ on this board are indicative of the problem with today’s sports environment. 5 yards short vs. the defending champion = eastern Michigan. . . Ok. Maybe if you losers lives didn’t revolve around feeling big because the name on your hat beat the name on the other guy’s hat you wouldn’t take this stuff so personally.
Yeah, keep saying losing like that is no different from finishing last. Great life lesson there. Can’t wait to see how y’alls kids turn out. Idiots.
All that said, they should have clocked the ball at the end
Georgia’s final drive ends agonizingly short | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:48 pm
[...] Bradley column: Five yards short in bitter defeat a winning UGA effort [...]
GATA
December 1st, 2012
10:48 pm
Just got back from the Dome. Hurts like hell but I’m damn proud of these Dawgs and the fight they brought. Not taking anything away from Bama, but they know this could have gone the other way. Got no problem with the no-spike since they had Bama on their heels and it would have given them time to regroup. The tip/catch was freak thing. If not for the tip it would have been incomplete and gotten the 2 other attempts anyway. Now go beat the crap out of Texas and end with a top 5 finish.
After further review
December 1st, 2012
10:48 pm
It’s clear from reading the comments here who the true Bulldog fans are. Yes, I think the spike would have been the better play, and it seemed to me that Murray wanted to go that way as they ran up to the ball. Coaching at any level is not easy, and to keep a program consistently winning 10 games a year si a great accomplishment.
Is it frustrating to get that close to a shot at the national championship and fall short? Absolutley. Is it right to be calling for the coach’s head after an 11-2 season plus a bowl game? Absolutely not.
yeah uh huh
December 1st, 2012
10:49 pm
LOOK it is about RESULTS, not performance! as usual they fell short in a big game (biggest ever) who knows when we’ll get here again
Orlando Dawg
December 1st, 2012
10:49 pm
Great piece Mark, made me feel much better. What a game, 5yds from Miami! Loved the effort and love the Dawgs!
A bitter pill to swallow
December 1st, 2012
10:50 pm
Two ways to build winning teams:
1. Hire 1st rate coaches and recruit players with talent and character (example: Alabama).
2. Hire 3rd rate wannabe coaches and recruit overfed illiterate dummies, then schedule a lot of crap teams (example: Georgia).
Method #1 works. Method #2 gets you a decent W-L record, but no championships.
Air Force Dawg
December 1st, 2012
10:50 pm
I’m hurt over this one too, but some of you are pathetic and are acting like we just got blown out by South Carolina again. We stood toe to toe with an incredible football team that no one gave us a shot at beating. We come up a play short and you’re back to the “fire Richt” and “mediocrity” comments. I’m proud of my Dawgs, and I wish everyone could be.
Notebook: Nick Saban believes Georgia deserves to be in BCS Bowl | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:50 pm
[...] Bradley column: Five yards short in bitter defeat a winning UGA effort [...]
What they said after SEC Championship game | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:51 pm
[...] Bradley column: Five yards short in bitter defeat a winning UGA effort [...]
SO CLOSE
December 1st, 2012
10:51 pm
some analogies are in order here.
Georgia Fans are to college football as Cubs Fans are to major league baseball….
Georgia’s chances at any meaningful post season play are similar to Charlie Brown’s chances of making contact with the football when Lucy is holding for a feild goal (and Lucy is a different team every year bwahahahaha!!!)
UgaDawg96
December 1st, 2012
10:51 pm
Blame this one on coaching. Murray should have been coached to down the ball with 14 seconds left. Two throws to attempt to win. Nothing further to say.
Bama delivers BCS knockout of Georgia, 32-28 in SEC Championship | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:52 pm
[...] Bradley column: Five yards short in bitter defeat a winning UGA effort [...]
allSEC
December 1st, 2012
10:52 pm
I am amused at the folks who believe that this was such a colossal failure of Georgia coaching and talent… remember, the Dawgs were playing ALABAMA – which by the way has ranked #1 in national recruiting over the last 5 years. Yes, Georgia has some great players. But Bama will have just as many (if not more) playing on Sundays in the future.
Mark Bradley is a pandering hack tool
December 1st, 2012
10:53 pm
Mark, whatever the AJC is paying you, they are paying too much. You are such a pandering hack and tool that it astounds me that even UGa fans can take you seriously. Please run for political office, you’d be perfect.
Fools Gold
December 1st, 2012
10:56 pm
UGA was out coached once again… pure and simple…Men against Boys players and coaches…
Fun in the Deep South
December 1st, 2012
10:56 pm
One word of consolation for all the disappointed dawg fans : SHREVEPORT
Did you know that Shreveport now has an all-night bowling alley and a nice new Putt-Putt? You’ll love it!
Humble_U
December 1st, 2012
10:57 pm
BWAHAHA HUUUUUMBLE Georgia=2nd tier
Enjoy your wesucklikenormal2ndtierteam.com Bowl in the bowels of Mississippi.
Saban Never Sleeps
December 1st, 2012
10:58 pm
A great game to watch!! Bama almost beat themselves but came through in the end like the CHAMPIONS that they are. SEC CHAMPIONS!!! Might have been different if games are 60:05 but they are and always have been 60:00.
Ga8tr
December 1st, 2012
10:58 pm
This has to be one of the most delusional columns ever written following a loss. Go ahead. Console yourselves, Dawgs. Lick your own parts to your heart’s content. You are truly the most patient fan base in college football. And the least intelligent. No contest. But you’re gallant!
playmeortrademe
December 1st, 2012
10:59 pm
Keeping a program consistently winning 10 games a year when you should pencil in 9 wins before the season begins isn’t hard at all, and honestly, Richt hasn’t done much of that since 2007. That would also be okay if UGA was Mississippi State, 10 wins was overachieving and the head coach makes under $1 million per year. UGA is different. Richt has a wealth of talent to recruit from and develop, and he’s not gettin paid $3 million per year to win 10 games, he’s paid to develop players to win games like tonight, and he failed, and he has been failing consistently. It’s a trend. Richt may luck up one day like Dooley and win a title, but he’ll never get Georgia to be a perennial championship contender like Saban has made Alabama.
Saban Never Sleeps
December 1st, 2012
10:59 pm
January 8th will be here soon and represents the off season. You leg humpers are also the off season champs so keep it down for a few weeks
SO CLOSE
December 1st, 2012
10:59 pm
Georgia……always a bridesmaid, never a bride
UgaDawg96
December 1st, 2012
11:01 pm
Humble_U… Are you that Auburn fan that was pouting a few of weeks ago in the stadium? Only you would would know about the bowels of anything. I think I can smell you through the computer.
I Was Sinking Deep In Sin
December 1st, 2012
11:01 pm
We are and always have been a second tier program. But we’ll always have Herschel! Thank God for 1980. CMR for president!
Fools Gold
December 1st, 2012
11:02 pm
This column is nothing but blowing smoke up the rear end. Its a huge loss. Very embarrassing watching the defense getting shredded up the middle time and time again. The whole college football world knows Richt cant win the big games……
stendek
December 1st, 2012
11:04 pm
Two things which SHOPULD occur:
Dawgs drop out of Top 10.
Dawgs compete in Toilet Bowl.
Nuff said!
Eric C.
December 1st, 2012
11:05 pm
Mark Bradley, thanks for the excellent commentary…it was poetic. And it is really heart-warming the way Mark Richt handled the players after a gut-wrenching defeat.
GB’s Hamburgers…agree, that was a critical 3rd and short play and I’m still not sure how he didn’t get it.
emsaly
December 1st, 2012
11:05 pm
Cant stop laughing at the UGA dawgs lickin their wounds… Ha Ha HA HA HAAAHAAA HA!!!
I hope you remember this hurt, and remember it for a LONG time, at least ANOTHER year… Ha HA HA HAAHAA HA!
All your talk got you the same place as before which is NOT winning an SEC title…HA HA Ha HAHHA Ha!
Cloudodust
December 1st, 2012
11:07 pm
MB : Every win is glorious, every loss is bitter. So goes the game. I personally don’t buy into the phrase moral victory so let’s not start that ball rolling. It didn’t come down to one play except in theory. If one wants to play that game, the better team won the last play and at the gun was 4 points better to boot. All in all, another good SECCG. Alabama fans will not be poisoning trees and hopefully Georgia fans will not be throwing eggs at players residences (egging seems to be a trend around the state of Georgia this season).
stendek
December 1st, 2012
11:07 pm
Everyone outside of Athens knows Mark Richt is a fraud! Wonder if those fools will ever wise up? Probably not!
Flat Tire On Hwy 441 in Athens
December 1st, 2012
11:09 pm
For those who love moral victories and believe UGA Football is back
The 2012 10 Win National Championship T-shirts will go on sale Monday at the bookstore
When you buy a t-shirt you will recieve a Moral Victory Trophy to take home as well
Eric C.
December 1st, 2012
11:09 pm
Ga8tr, I’m sorry that it doesn’t quench your thirst for gloom and doom by UGA interests…Wth do you care about it anyway? Go and enjoy your sugar bowl and see you next year.
jlmdra
December 1st, 2012
11:09 pm
Next year, Bulldog fans. Or the year after that.
Cloudodust
December 1st, 2012
11:10 pm
Those enjoying Georgia’s pain need to remember, What goes around, comes around. It always does. Always.
Heavenly Daze
December 1st, 2012
11:10 pm
Well, let’s see, UGA has played three games in the Dome in the last 15 months and lost them all. Maybe Georgia should just not ever play in the Dome again. That would mean, of course, that they can never win the SEC, but they can’t win anyway, so what difference does it make.
Well, back to the Kool-Aid for the next nine months while we all convince ourselves that Georgia will be #1 next year. I think I’ll switch to grape this time, the cherry doesn’t seem to work.
It looks like Mark Richt is the Jim Jones of college football, with all of us following him slavishly and drinking the Kool-Aid.
Okay, see y’all next season.
Proud
December 1st, 2012
11:11 pm
That was a superior effort, we should not be ashamed, & anyone who disagrees should have been in Charlotte tonight rooting Tech, or in Manhattan rooting for K-State or in Indy rooting for Wisconsin, because you’re not a Georgia fan.
ole dawg
December 1st, 2012
11:12 pm
Glad to see that some of you whiny ass, soft,” take your ball and go home”, bratty, so called UGA fans are blogging away. Your damn team will end up in the top 5 in the final BCS and Alabama was very fortunate to leave ATL with a win… but don’t let that stop your cyring and whining. UGA has put themselves in position to win the SEC championship 2 years in a row. There is every reason to .believe UGA will be back in the SEC championship game next year. I have some advise… go root for another team. Your whining is an embarassment to UGA
To all of you yelling “we should have spiked it”: so we spike it, throw to the corner on the first play and the ball is tipped and Conley is tackled on the 5. Nothing changes. It was the right call. Lady luck just smiled on Bama.
I am damn proud of our coaches and players. I can live with effort. I saw some effort. Championships are our goal and we are headed in the right direction.