Richt’s deal with Dogs: Win turnover battle, grow beards
ATHENS – Georgia’s football team is looking scruffier these days. And that’s a good thing, coach Mark Richt explained Tuesday.
Richt, who normally forbids beards on the team, made a deal with his players: When the Bulldogs win the turnover battle in a game, shaving is optional the following week.
And after winning the turnover battle the past two weeks, 3-0 against Tennessee and 2-0 against Vanderbilt, beards are sprouting all around the locker room.
“I hope they are the nastiest looking bunch in America by the end of the year,” Richt said.
Richt actually made the same offer to his team last year, but no one noticed because the Bulldogs lost the turnover battle for the season by a whopping 28-12 margin, ranking 118th out of 120 major-college teams.
“Unfortunately, we were clean-shaven all year,” Richt said. “This year, they’re getting a little furrier.”
All that fur will have to be shaved after any game in which the Bulldogs are on the losing end of the turnover margin, Richt said. And what if the team breaks even in turnovers in a given game? In that case, Richt said, the beards can stay if the team is ahead for the year in turnover margin. Georgia has an 11-7 advantage in turnovers so far this season, thanks to the 5-0 edge the past two weeks.
“It’s just something we’re doing for a little motivation,” said scruffy-chinned linebacker Akeem Dent.
Fullback Fred Munzenmaier and tight end Artie Lynch appear to have the fastest-growing beards on the team, according to several players.
Turns out, though, Richt’s rule isn’t always the final word on the subject.
“I got a little fuzzy last week,” quarterback Aaron Murray said, “but my mom got mad at me so I had to clean it up before the game. She likes it clean-cut. I’ve got to make Mommy happy because my birthday is coming up and I want some good gifts.”
Besides, Murray admitted, he can grow a beard only in patches. “I’m still a teenager,” said the redshirt freshman quarterback, who will turn 20 on Nov. 10.
Senior wide receiver Kris Durham is among the players growing a beard, which he calls “icing on the cake” compared to the larger benefit of winning the turnover battle: “It is going to help us win games.”
Turnovers have been a serious problem for Georgia in the past couple of seasons. Critical fumbles figured largely in losses to South Carolina, Mississippi State and Colorado this season. And the problem was at its worst in the second half of last season’s loss to Kentucky, when the Bulldogs committed four turnovers to blow a 20-6 halftime lead and lose 34-27. Georgia plays at Kentucky on Saturday, hoping to win the turnover battle this time and keep the beards growing.
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230 comments Add your comment
jack bull
October 19th, 2010
3:21 pm
thing is, gimmicks work with 18.19 and 20 yr olds…
JB
October 19th, 2010
3:29 pm
Meyer and Florida and two big wins over patsies taking pressure off Richt…….Went on Kentucky Message boards today….They are worried about us……( who would of ever thunk it)
This week will be a better test of where this team is, also Fla and AU will also tell us more…
This is a strange year…….Be just like us to beat Kentucky and lose to Idaho St.
MURPHY
October 19th, 2010
3:29 pm
Bryan G,
Great post! Whatever wins games Im all for it!
DawginLex
October 19th, 2010
3:31 pm
Hartline is getting better. Randall cobb worries me the most. He is a football player and he hates losing.
McDawg
October 19th, 2010
3:31 pm
really need to get all over the QB; score TDs not FGs
MURPHY
October 19th, 2010
3:31 pm
jack bull,
I coach high-school players and you have no idea what simple-little gimmicks will keep them focused. Its amazing how a simple gimmick can get their attention.
Dawgtards ruin this state
October 19th, 2010
3:32 pm
Maybe he should try a blackout?
DawginLex
October 19th, 2010
3:34 pm
dawgtards,
Uk wears blue at their home games and UGA will be in white but we appreciate the suggestion.
Now we know why you call yourself a tard.
Dawg_Mike
October 19th, 2010
3:35 pm
@ McDawg:
I totally agree. TD’s not FG’s. Keep Blair Walsh busy extending his PAT record, not kicking FG’s.
But lately it does seem he needs some practice on FG’s…huh?
Fred
October 19th, 2010
3:37 pm
WHatever works in this wild and wooly year ,eh?
WHo’da thunk that with 3 conference losses we would STILL have a chance at the SEC title?
coachKR
October 19th, 2010
3:38 pm
Durka wears a Burka!
Alphare
October 19th, 2010
3:39 pm
It turns out CMR and Bobo are offense genius after all. Where are the whining UGA fans?
Brad
October 19th, 2010
3:40 pm
Did the starting QB at UGA really just say “my mommy”? Is he 7? Doesn’t sound like a tough football player to me.
Only Georgia
October 19th, 2010
3:40 pm
Only UGA could dream up something so stupid. What’s next, another successful blackout? Maybe Saban should try this trick, whatever he does obviously lacks the genius shown in Athens.
Mind Over Matter
October 19th, 2010
3:42 pm
Whatever works!! Go Dawgs, Sic Em!!
PeePants the hobo clown
October 19th, 2010
3:45 pm
Richts having a little fun,no big deal. Relax….Oh yeah GT folks go to your own board and talk about how much ya’ll suck in that weakass conference of yours…leave us alone
Only at Tech
October 19th, 2010
3:45 pm
Where the male students date blow up dolls and obsess 24/7 about UGA.
Huh?
October 19th, 2010
3:45 pm
Richt is again using gimmicks to “fire up” his team. So, their motivation is face fur? Sad.
JTH
October 19th, 2010
3:46 pm
Now if they could stop with the braindead penalties they can get facial tattoos.
Herschel Walker, the red panty stalker
October 19th, 2010
3:46 pm
Offensive genius’, you guys beat UT and Vandy. And even if all the delusion on here is true and this is a good team, what good does it do you now with four losses already. Woo hoo, you may even win the sec east, big deal, no big feat considering that it appears that no one else is playing like they want that title.Yahoo, we beat Vandy, next stop, NC. DDF’s, indeed.
MB
October 19th, 2010
3:47 pm
Always amusing on the comments from the nimrods who hate on the ‘Dawgs and what they do no matter what. They can’t help but chime in with their little two cents. Get a friggin’ life. Who CARES if it’s a gimmick?!? Great coaches have used them forever. Vince Dooley did. Erk Russell did. Frank Howard did. Shug Jordan did. Phil Fulmer did. Even Steve Spurrier did when he came to FL.
These are very young men at UGA, Auburn, AL, etc., not seasoned veterans of the NFL. College leans heavily on the emotion and right motivation. It’s why some coaches can do well there and others are more cut out for the pros. Gimmick away. It’s only “dumb” if it doesn’t work, and then it’s not really dumb. Just try something else for that little edge. Like Durham said, this (beard thing) was just “icing.” Think it’s the primary reason why he’s playing so well? Of course not, but it helps–if even a little bit. Sometimes you win by just a little bit.
As for you haters, go screw yourself. Probably the only one who would.
Mind Over Matter
October 19th, 2010
3:47 pm
Why is this considered a “trick”? It’s just some fun the guys are having as a team. If it motivates them, great!
WE TUCK N RUN THIS STATE
October 19th, 2010
3:47 pm
must be out of black helmets and jerseys… also will allow driving with a suspended license if they score more than 3 pts in a game. Don’t have to show up for court on a traffic ticket if you are up before 3pm on school days…
San Francisco Dawg
October 19th, 2010
3:48 pm
I heard that the Tech cheerleaders had beards…wonder if Johnson will use that gimmick as well…please!!
Money
October 19th, 2010
3:49 pm
Does it really matter if you are winning the “turnover battle” if you lost two close games because a certain running back couldn’t hold on to the football?
MB
October 19th, 2010
3:51 pm
And we all know how the “Haters” are…Don’t worry geeks, your time is coming. 2010 in Athens is going to be much, much worse for your little team than 2009 was in the Joke-by-The-Coke. Whoa I think King just ran for ANOTHER 15 yarder against the maggots!! What a pounding. Beautiful.
MB
October 19th, 2010
3:52 pm
@ Huh? Your name says it all dumbass.
3 and 4, will win no more!!!
October 19th, 2010
3:53 pm
MB, the reason they have played so well is because they played Vandy. And I agree with your comment about all of those coaches, except when you called Dooley great. Slightly above average at best.
materbiscuit
October 19th, 2010
3:56 pm
Anybody who equates football with war has never been in or had a loved one in a war. As Jeff Dunham’s “Walter” would say, “DUMBASSES!”
COURT IS FOR SUCKAS
October 19th, 2010
3:58 pm
I guess all that talk of 4 hotdogs and 4 cokes was not motivation for the Techies huh DAWGIES? I thought dogs were supposed to have thick skin? Cry me a river puppies!
Mommy!
October 19th, 2010
3:58 pm
“Gotta make Mommy happy.”
WOOOooowww….
Cue all other quarterbacks pretty much everywhere making fun of Murray. The PR machine could be a LITTLE more careful. Not that there’s been a lot of pro-UGA PR this year anyway. That helps about as much as the orientation video going viral and getting universally laughed at.
MB
October 19th, 2010
4:00 pm
Only because they played Vandy…(wrong). If they’d beaten Vandy by 1 or 3 what then? No, they did what they were supposed to do: they completely and totally dominated Vandy–as well as UT. Again, exactly what they were supposed to do. UGA has been in every game in which it’s played (no blow-out losses. Must really suck for you). I guess Miss State sucks huh? SC not too shabby either.
Dooley “slightly above average?” R i g h t
90 wins in 10 years still=3-4
October 19th, 2010
4:01 pm
so now Saint Richt and Booboo are geniuses? Vandy and Tennessee must be better than their records indicate. BTW Wake Forest could stand a chance in the SEC Least this year!
MB
October 19th, 2010
4:03 pm
“Does it really matter if you are winning the “turnover battle” if you lost two close games because a certain running back couldn’t hold on to the football?”
Classic. The RB playing Sat HELD ON TO THE BALL. Guess what? No turnovers. Doh!
mcdaviddawg
October 19th, 2010
4:05 pm
Beards will look great with the black helmets.
So now Miss. St. is a powerhouse?
October 19th, 2010
4:05 pm
come on guys, you lost to Miss. St. for crying out loud. Tech beat the brakes of of them 2 years in a row. Whipped Vandy the last I heard too. So I guess that makes Tech a Nat’l Powerhouse by your definition? Just because they may have SEC in their title doesn’t mean squat anymore!
SEC East= WAC
October 19th, 2010
4:06 pm
ENOUGH SAID…
3 and 4, will win no more!!!
October 19th, 2010
4:07 pm
Slightly above average indeed. Ask anybody who doesn’t sip the Athens brand kool-aid and they’ll tell you the truth. Just remember the pain of those bitter, non blow out loses, more to come.
Colorado must have gotten 5 downs!
October 19th, 2010
4:07 pm
just use my excuse if you can’t find your own…
Sven Ottke
October 19th, 2010
4:08 pm
More Richt gimmicks I see. When will he ever learn. What a joke of a leader.
Old Dawg
October 19th, 2010
4:09 pm
Even pro teams use motivation, it’s called bonus money. Like others have posted, all coaches provide incentives for victory. We always had a post game meal after our high school games, but when we won a booster took us out for steak dinners … and every high school kid loves a great steak so we won a lot more than we lost.
I don’t mind the beards as much as I do dreadlocks. Then again, I’m older than dirt!
This just in!
October 19th, 2010
4:10 pm
You are now worried about Kentucky! KENTUCKY! Is this a BB blog?
DawginLex
October 19th, 2010
4:10 pm
Tech couldn’t beat Kansas this year much less MSU, Ark or SC.
Tech would go 3-9 with UGA’s schedule.
Paul in RDU
October 19th, 2010
4:10 pm
Winning (and playing well and with discipline) certainly seems to change people’s perspectives.
Lose a couple of games and any player with long hair or dreadlocks hanging out is a “thug”
Win a couple of games and players having long hair and scruffy beards are “having fun” and “showing individuality”.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with 18 – 22 year old kids growing their hair long and beards. Hopefully people will keep that in mind if and when they next lose a game.
DawginLex
October 19th, 2010
4:12 pm
Hey this just in,
Kentucky has done something that Tech can’t do.
Beat UGA twice this decade.
WHAT'S YOUR POINT?
October 19th, 2010
4:14 pm
DawginLex.. Tech at least rebounded from their losses. What did the pups do after losing to SC? ARK? Colorado? Msu? Oh wait.. they finally got a break and got to play a JV Tennessee team and then Vanderbilt High! Way to go boyz!!!
WHAT'S YOUR POINT?
October 19th, 2010
4:15 pm
and what’s your record against Florida? take your time, I’ll wait…
Herschel Walker, the red panty stalker
October 19th, 2010
4:16 pm
Guess what, lexdawg. 3-9 is what UGA will do with UGA’s schedule. I love this sh*t. 6 weeks ago you DDF’s were talking all kinds of smack about what cakewalks SC and MSU were going to be, now that these guys have waxed your asses, they are suddenly sec powerhouses.
Rock the Casbah
October 19th, 2010
4:16 pm
So the Tech weenies are out in droves trolling the boards..all I can say is ROCK, CHALK, JAYHAWK !!!!
The Tech obssession with UGA is hilarious. As a famous man once said, ” you are all a bunch of pathetic losers !”
Gotta Lov'em in Athens
October 19th, 2010
4:18 pm
Sorry you guys take offense to trash talking on blogs about other schools. Remember that the next time you are so fast to jump on one yourselves. In the words of Les Miles, who actually has a Nat’l Championship..” Have a great day!”