Richt: ‘We’ve got to look within, starting with me, as to the things that have kept us’ from success
For a complete roundup of the AJC’s coverage of Georgia’s loss to Mississippi State, please click here.
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Partial transcript of Mark Richt’s news conference following Saturday night’s 24-12 loss to Mississippi State:
Opening comments: “We’re definitely in a position that I’ve never been in as a player or a coach. . . . It’s certainly not a good place to be, but we are where we are. We’ve got to stay together, and I’ve seen no signs of change in my mindset that we’re a close-knit family. But we’ve also got to look within, starting with me, as to the things that have kept us from having the success that we want. That’s what we’re going to do.” (Later, asked for specifics, Richt said: “I’m not going to say anything right now, because I’m not sure. I need time to watch and reflect.”)
“I want to congratulate Coach Mullen and Mississippi State on the great job they did. They came out ready to play. They played hard, and they did what they had to do to win the game. Their fans did a wonderful job of supporting them.”
On Georgia’s lack of scoring: “We had a turnover inside the red zone and a penalty on a touchdown that got called back, so that’s at least one touchdown and possibly two touchdowns right there that got taken away.”
On where the team is: “If you go by watching film down by down, you’d say we’re not as far off as some people might think, but if you look at the record, then we are pretty far off of where we want to be.”
On Mississippi State’s defense: “They were blitzing a lot and out-numbering the running game and trying to pressure the quarterback. They were blitzing the quarterback a lot because he was a freshman, but they blitz a lot anyway, period. My guess is that there were a higher percentage than most of their games. At times we just called running plays blindly. We were going to run the play no matter what, and there were times where we had success and times where we got hit in the mouth.”
On being 0-3 in the SEC: “I never would’ve predicted it, but that’s where we’re at.”
On Mississippi State’s opening touchdown: “You’d like to get a stop and get points on the board yourself. It’s a 60-minute football game, though, so it wasn’t the difference in the ballgame. It was good for Mississippi State to build momentum, but we didn’t feel like that had a tremendous effect on the football game.”
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727 comments Add your comment
DOO DOO LEE
September 26th, 2010
10:58 am
you know us non-dog fans get tired of all the 5 star boasting by you people that goes on year in and year out. What good does it do you? Next year, you sign a whole lot of 5 stars maybe you will remember this season and just keep mum ..GEEZ sux to be you
UGAVIII
September 26th, 2010
11:00 am
So Bobo calls plays blindly. No surprise there.
The surprise is that the defense sucks as much as the offense! Our secondary is either pathetic or the coaches don’t have the players in the right position.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:00 am
Dont blame D.When OFF cant get more than 6 points a half.
landover
September 26th, 2010
11:00 am
Still trying to come to grips with Barbara Dooley’s quick conversion to wearing orange.
.
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:02 am
harold
September 26th, 2010
10:54 am
GEORGIA FOOTBALL IS A JOKE. GRANTHAM WHO WAS FIRED FROM CLEVELAND IS AS BIG A JOKE AS BOZO! IT IS TIME FOR RICHT TO GO!
Just how good did you think a fourth choice would be, he’d be about like Gratham——-wait, we did get Gratham–too bad he accpted the job. He must really like the lake alot.
upsetdawg
September 26th, 2010
11:03 am
I hear everyone about Bobo and I agree. I think my wife could call a better game then he has in the past 2 years. But, I do feel that another problem is our dawgs getting man handled on the field. That comes down to Strength!!!! I think it is time to make a change with our strength coach! There is no reason why UGA should get blown off the ball every play! Our defense should be in the backfield more but they cant b/c they are too weak to push through the o-line. And can we get someone that knows how to hit. Maybe the reason we aren’t getting any turnovers is b/c we dont hit hard enough to make the other guys fumble!!
Central Fl Dawg
September 26th, 2010
11:03 am
I been a GEORGIA fan for 42 years, and living in the middle of gator country for most of that time, I have never ever QUIT loving and supporting MY dawgs.
My patience is running very thin now. It appears the whole team has quit playing football. No emotion, no sence of pride, no desire, there is nothing there that I saw where there was any hope. The team is just going through the motions.
This season reminds of the Goff (goof) years. I thought those years were rough, but “reflecting” back over that time, It doesn’t compare to now. I will never QUIT on my dawgs, even though they have quit on me.
CMR just ought to toss in the rest of the season and play what few guys there are left that have heart. Play the ones that have the desire, the fortitude to put the program ahead of their own selfish agendas.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:03 am
Muury looks great but bisides that we are horrible on OFF
Browndog
September 26th, 2010
11:04 am
Bama Stan is right. We can all pull for Alabama while they dismantle the rest of the SEC and win another National Championship. UGA appears to now be at th e bottom of the SEC, but with no where to go but up. I just want to see the team be competitive, but that appears to be several years off. At least now I can get a lot more done on Saturday’s for the rest of the fall.
Andy in Blairsville
September 26th, 2010
11:04 am
This strong start will do wonders for recruiting.
dawgfan
September 26th, 2010
11:05 am
We have an embarrassing football program. I want to know what is needed to become even an average, mediocre team at this point. No way our program is a good SEC program. We’re at the bottom of the league right now. Totally embarrassing!!!
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:06 am
You cant win when you cant score
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:08 am
Got a question? Click here to send it to Mike Farrell
Will Georgia land a five-star prospect in this class, or will Mark Richt’s perceived hot-seat status hurt the Bulldogs’ chances?
Scared away from UGA?
With Mark Richt supposedly on the hot seat, can you see Georgia landing any five-star prospect this year?
- Drew from Destin, FL
As far as current five stars, I don’t see that happening but they are in the mix for players who could end up as five stars when all is said and done, depending on how their senior seasons go and how they do against the best in all-star games.
Despite the struggles on the field and the coaching rumors, Georgia still has a good shot at landing running back Isaiah Crowell, defensive end Ray Drew and cornerback Marcus Roberson who are all in striking range of five-star status.
This from Rivals.com and was written before the Miss State debacle
Randy M
September 26th, 2010
11:08 am
The tough reality is that I can’t recall ever seeing a head coach make a turn around on a program that has tumbled this far. This tells me, that if we wait to replace CMR we are prolonging his pain and ours. Replace CMR and get back to a tradition that is REAL GEORGIA FOOTBALL.
Dawg Rule
September 26th, 2010
11:08 am
The dawgs will get it turned about and beat colorado! They are worse than UGA. Dawgs win easy in boulder: 31 – 13. Mark it down!
Outsider
September 26th, 2010
11:08 am
The problem with Georgia is a completely delusional fan-base. You people act as if there is a room in Athens stocked full of national championship trophies. What am I missing? Mark Richt is the only, and I mean only, thing that has kept your program even half-way relevant in the modern era. For those of you in such a hurry to get rid of him, be careful what you wish for.. .
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:10 am
We all need to pull hard for a turnaround and hope that Georgia can pull out 4of our next five GO DAWGS
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:12 am
Dawg Rule
You said the same thing about Carolina and Miss State———–how did that work out.
JR
September 26th, 2010
11:12 am
Richt could start calling the plays again. That could be done immediately.
amtmojoe
September 26th, 2010
11:13 am
Another UGA player arrested for DUI. OMG!!! Just when you think you have reached the bottom and now this…
techengineer
September 26th, 2010
11:14 am
“I think with the “blindly called running plays” statement along with everything else he said, Richt was hinting that he is going to replace Bobo.”
Even when Richt called the offense it was only mildly better. GA #1 problem is the play calling. The dude from MS made him look childish. GA needs a real O Coordinator.
ERK
September 26th, 2010
11:14 am
I’ll say it “ONE MORE TIME”, the university is getting what they deserve when they lied about not offering me the job!!!
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:16 am
Richt needs to start immediately or he can go with Bobo no matter CMR cant win the big game anyways
WonderDawg
September 26th, 2010
11:18 am
“The surprise is that the defense sucks as much as the offense! Our secondary is either pathetic or the coaches don’t have the players in the right position.”
************************************
How is this a suprise to anyone who keeps up with football? It took Nick Saban a full year to install the 3-4 D and two years before they were dominate. Saban himself tried to hire Grantham after his first season at Bama.
Even with a new defense, and mostly new players, he still cut SC and ARK scores by 30 points from last season.
If our offense is scoring 6 and 12 points, I doubt we will be winning games against anybody. In fact, if you take away the three TDs we scored the last two weeks after falling behind by double digits, and Ark and Miss State going in a prevent-type defense, our offense has done close to nothing all this season.
UGA’s problem is not the D. It’s the O. Our OC has proven over and over he is in over his head at game-planning and in-game adjustments. That, along with our predictable sets (remember Kiffin’s line, “Georgia is the easiest team on our schedule to prepare for. They’re running the same stuff they have for 10 years”) That was before the game, and before UT stiffled Bobo’s offense (3 points).
It was a wake-up call that still hasn’t been heard by Bobo’s Boss.
But you can bet the Big Boss (McGarity) has seen enough. He has seen excellence up close and personal for several years in Gainesville. He will force Richt’s hand on the OC. The only problem is we’ll have to wait til the end of the season for changes.
ApopkaDawg
September 26th, 2010
11:18 am
Lets face it Dawg fans…
Yes, we are officially the worse team in the SEC right now.
No, no one is going to fire a head coach mid season unless he locks someone in a closet or chokes somebody out.
Yes, we do have a Freshman QB (redshirt Freshman) and a new DC, but a lot of other teams have the same challenges, if not worse.
To get out of the “dog house” CMR has to:
1. Demote Bobo right now. Put him back with the QBs and take over the offense.
2. Play some younger guys and let EVERYBODY know that EVERY position is open.
3. Win! The only way to make this go away is to win the rest.
Finally, if McGarity is going to pull the trigger, please stop calling for Peterson. I do not want to see a WAC world beater come into the SEC and turn into the next Ron Zook. Nor do I want to see an unproven Assistant come in and roll the dice (UGA ties or not). We have the money, the tradition, and the conference to go after Harbaugh at Stanford. Aim high. We need someone like Harbaug to compete with the Sabans and the Myers inthe conference.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:19 am
CMR is soft NEEDS to have more Fire
captguitarman
September 26th, 2010
11:19 am
Another headline this morning about another Dawg being arrested for DUI. That makes the total 10 arrests for this year. Maybe Georgia should join a prison league. Add to that a critical player who sold his jersey to an agent in violation of a well known NCAA rule, and is still sitting things out. Who knows how large the unvisible portion of this “icerberg” really is. But every week after every game you get a little better idea of its size. Add to that the penalties. Week after week, month after month, year after year – arrests, rules violations, and leading the league and NCAA in penalties — penalties that cost the crucial gains and losses and crucial games. Anyone see a pattern here yet? It’s pretty obvious that there is no discipine on this team, and discipline comes from the top down on all athletic teams in all sports, and Georgia football has none. It’s that simple. What do you think Saban or Meyer or Spurrier or Johnson would be doing in this situation? Breathing hell fire at their players. All winning college coaches are tough disciplinarians, so that means that at Georgia, a winning team for some time now, discipline has become a very low priority — and the actions of the players on and off the field prove that point. They do not fear their coaches, and they do what they want to do. A coaching staff that cannot instill some discipline in a get a big time college football program is a staff that has to go – if the team is going to win again. Richt is a fine man, and good coach, but the inmates are running the asylum, and he and his staff need to fix that problem, or get out of Dodge.
kevin
September 26th, 2010
11:20 am
I like Richt as a person but for the last 3 years his program has been on a downward spiral. 2008 they started the season ranked #1 in the country and ever since have gradually/ steadily gotten worse in all phases of the program – defense, offense, special teams, team disciplines, and team discipline. Bobo is a dodo. Richt admits he hasn’t a clue of what to do. When your best player on the team is the punter it’s time to clean house and start over.
Why does this happen to an otherwise good program with so much potetial?
Why does a good coach and a good program lose his/its direction?
Is it the rich alums pulling the strings and getting in the way?
When things break down – where are the trick plays? spread offense?
This is one frustrated fan who is finding something else to do until changes are made!!
dawgfan
September 26th, 2010
11:21 am
Another arrest!!! Jeez, it just keeps getting worse and worse. Just when I think we’ve reached rock bottom we find a way to dig ourselves to an even lower low.
Randy M
September 26th, 2010
11:21 am
Message to Outsider……This is much more than a National Championship. Look at the trend against significant opponents in or outside the SEC in the last three seasons. Some of the wins were way too difficult and many of the losses were wipe outs. At the University of Georgia we are not about being “half-way relevant. This is a program that is rich with generations of a winning tradition. The ID of “Outsider” is actually what I call RELEVANT.
AMG
September 26th, 2010
11:22 am
1-3 and loss to a team Tech beat the last two years HAHHAHAHHAHAAAHAAAAHHAHAHAHHA YES! You don’t even run your own parking lot HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
Water Girl to CMR
September 26th, 2010
11:23 am
Honey, lets go with the blackout in Boulder.
WonderDawg
September 26th, 2010
11:23 am
Dawg Rule, have you lost your mind? Do you even know who Colorado’s coach is? 31 points? We scored 12 against Miss State. We scored 6 against SC (who gave up 35 to AU). Have you even watched a game this season?
stendek
September 26th, 2010
11:24 am
Better to laugh than cry so…
http://stendekk.wordpress.com/georgia-bulldogs-plummet-to-very-bottom-in-mississippi/
Ga. State Fan
September 26th, 2010
11:25 am
The Panthers would destroy the Dogs!!!
Andy in Blairsville
September 26th, 2010
11:26 am
At this point I don’t think UGA could be Georgia Southern.
Andy in Blairsville
September 26th, 2010
11:27 am
At this point I don’t think UGA could beat Georgia Southern.
fixed it
WonderDawg
September 26th, 2010
11:31 am
Only a Techie, whose team got shellacked yesterday can come on here all cheerful, talking trash.
You can sure tell whose program is used to losing . . .
techengineer
September 26th, 2010
11:31 am
WonderDawg I agree with your sentiments entirely. I’ve had Richt’s back forever but it was apparent year ago that we needed an D Co and it took him an eternity to act and even then he was forced! Now we’ve known there has been problems with the O Co as well. He’s in way over his head. Amateur at best. I have no more patience for Richt. I’ve had his back for years but this O problem just did not come out of the blue!!! Anyone remember the damn QB sweeps with Stafford a year or two ago? OMG GA offense play calling is worse than the Falcons back when they had the SwampFox!!! Horrific! Fire them all now!
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:32 am
Lets all face it.We all knew before the saeson started we would have RED SHIRT FRESH QB.I truely belived at the start off the season we would be 8-4 at best.Know I find myself praying for 6-6 mabey 7-5.Mike Bobo was a loser when he played and he is carring that tradition with him.I will never give up on the Dawgs but i gave up on Bobo years ago when he was stinking up the football field.
ERK to Andy
September 26th, 2010
11:33 am
You got that right!!!
Beau Bock
September 26th, 2010
11:35 am
It’s obvious that Ga. needs to hire Jerry Glanville!
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:36 am
So lets stop crying.As long as Bobo is there we will lose.
DAWG with bag over his head
September 26th, 2010
11:36 am
WilliamG,
I’m beginning to believe “fans” like you are the real problem with our program. How many seasons should we be patient and why do you believe that CMR, left to his own devices, would make any major changes? We’ve waited three seasons for a change and all we’ve gotten is a new DC and a program full of thugs with a steadily declining W-L record. You “fans” are fiddling while our program burns. The time to act is now.
Richt ties Goff with 0-3 SEC start
September 26th, 2010
11:37 am
Andy in Blairsville
You did, but Georgia CAN’T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fair Weatherd Fan
September 26th, 2010
11:38 am
It’s time for the BLAAAACK JERSEYS.
ugafan
September 26th, 2010
11:39 am
Jerry would at least strike fire under that asz Our coaches cant get them fired up for nothing.
John
September 26th, 2010
11:43 am
You guys can forget about Peterson. Peterson has been approached time and time again and always says “no”. The reasons are simple and they won’t change. His entire family loves to snow ski and you can’t do that in Athens. He makes enough money to be more than happy and rich for the rest of his life and has the perfect lifestyle for his family. He is there for the duration.
Smart has no head coaching experience and you risk another 4 years of mediocrity of you roll the dice on an asssistant coach. If you want to get a coach with “elite” potential in the SEC and nationally, get your checkbook out and get Gary Patterson from TCU. After the Big 12 near-disintigration, he may be ready to make a move to the best conference now.
Georgia needs a coach with both “wheelbase” and “horsepower” and that means writing a large check for a coach that has proven they can do the job at this level.
mcdaviddawg
September 26th, 2010
11:44 am
For those complaining about the lines. Watch the Richt recruiting, he has never gone after the big linemen that you must have to compete in the SEC. Combine that with no coaching and you end up with what we have this year. Fire Richt while there are still very good athletes on the team.
savannadawg
September 26th, 2010
11:44 am
I reallly don’t want to try to fix our woes now with our current starters. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, play some walk-ons and some freshmen. IF you do this, at least you can say we are building for the future. Otherwise this current trend will continue. CMR. YOU WANT TO FIX IT????? It has to be accomplished starting today. The team needs to run until they cannot move anymore. Monday and Tuesday from hear on out they need to be HITTING one another. Screw the injuries. Wed. Run Just the specific plays you WILL execute on Saturday. Thursday. Study the enemies O and D. Friday. Have a pep rally with the team and the student body to promote cohesivness with the students. And CMR get your butt out there and promote your team. I don’t care about the wins and loses anymore, It’s about this teams future