Richt: ‘I thought that if we ran another play things could get out of hand’

Excerpts from Georgia coach Mark Richt’s postgame news conference:

Opening comments: “Congratulations to Coach Chizik and Auburn. They clinched their opportunity to play in Atlanta in the SEC Championship. I know the feeling, and it’s a great feeling. They’ve done a great job this season and did a great job tonight. They were a better team than us tonight. We certainly had our moments, but they weren’t enough to win. They’re a very good football team and I want to give them credit.”

On Auburn’s on-side kick to open the second half: “We alerted [the players] at the half. The dilemma for our special teams is if they sit at the tee and watch the ball too long when all those guys are flying down the field at 100 miles an hour and they’re supposed to get in position to block, they can’t make the block. Auburn’s kickoff coverage team was one of the bigger differences in the game. And with them getting the on-side kick to start the second half and take the lead . . . we were hoping to get the ball first and put them in a position to be behind. We didn’t get good field position off our kickoff returns, and their kickoff coverage team tonight was the best we’ve played all season.”

On biggest differences in the game: “We just couldn’t stop them. That was the biggest difference. We didn’t continue to score, and that’s all there is to it. Auburn was very efficient in what they were doing on offense. It’s very difficult to stop a quarterback who can run like that. The only way to outnumber a run game like that is to bring both safeties to the line of scrimmage. When you do that, he throws the ball too well. Cam (Newton) is a true dual threat and a tough kid. They have other good players that played well today, but he’s the difference.”

On Auburn playing well despite the week’s distractions: “As a coach and for players, when you go to practice and the meeting room and you’re in your complex, it’s kind of a haven for you. It’s a place where you can focus on the task at hand. When you’re surroundedby guys focused on the same task it’s a good medicine. When there are things swirling around that youcannot control, you have a chance to enjoy playing the game you love.”

On Georgia’s decision to take a knee on the last play of the game: “The reason why I did that was that tempers were flaring and were out  of hand. I thought that if we ran another play things could get out of hand. My goal was to take the knee and make sure nothing broke out. When things get that hot and that emotional, I thought it was the wise thing to do.”

(Transcript provided by Auburn.)