Richt: ‘I think we’re a team that is on the rise, but we’ll see’
After losing two games to highly ranked opponents, then winning one over an out-manned opponent, Georgia now enters the grind of its SEC schedule.
Saturday’s game at Ole Miss will start a stretch of four SEC games in four weeks for the Bulldogs, all but one of them on the road.
It should be a revealing patch of schedule.
“The thing I like is, we’re a team that is getting better as we go,” UGA coach Mark Richt said Sunday evening. “We do have a lot of room to grow yet. The last couple of performances, minus the huge mistakes, four or five plays that really got us [against South Carolina], I felt we were making a lot of progress. As you watch tape, it’s still pretty obvious we’ve got some youth and inexperience that still needs to improve.
“Overall, I think we’re a team that is on the rise, but we’ll see,” Richt said. “We’re going to play that first SEC game away from home and get a better feel for what kind of progress we have really made.”
That game is at 12:21 p.m. Saturday in Oxford, Miss., against an Ole Miss team that has the same record as Georgia (1-2 overall, 0-1 SEC) but is coming off a particularly dismal defeat.
While Georgia reveled in a 59-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Athens, Ole Miss suffered through a 30-7 loss at Vanderbilt -– the Rebels’ ninth loss in their past 10 SEC games and the Commodores’ largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent in 40 years.
Ole Miss’ starting quarterback, Zack Stoudt, was poorly protected by his offensive line and threw five interceptions. The Rebels’ defense allowed Vanderbilt to rush for 281 yards.
For Georgia, the trip to Ole Miss is followed by league games at home against Mississippi State on Oct. 1, at Tennessee on Oct. 8 and at Vanderbilt on Oct. 15. Then, following an open date, the Bulldogs face Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29.
“There’s a sense of urgency in that if we want to stay in this Eastern Division race we’ve got to win,” Richt said. “Right now we’ve lost control of our destiny in this thing [because of the loss to South Carolina], but there are so many more games to played. Our goal is just to win our first Southeastern Conference game this year, period; that’s all we’re worried about right this minute.”
His players’ confidence seems high despite the losses to Boise State and South Carolina.
“I think we’re ready to get back into SEC play and get going again,” quarterback Aaron Murray said. “We have a lot of guys playing great football right now, and we think we can play with anyone.”
The confidence, Murray suggested, stems not so much from the rout of Coastal Carolina, an FCS opponent, but from the 45-42 loss to South Carolina the week before and the Bulldogs’ belief they would have won handily if not for three turnovers and a fake punt.
To succeed in SEC play, Georgia will need to minimize turnovers and, according to Richt, improve defensively inside its 20-yard line.
“The one area where we’ve just got to get better as we get into more of the Southeastern Conference play is red-zone defense,” Richt said. “We just have not done a great job there yet, but that’s going to be a point of emphasis to see if we can force some field goals instead of some touchdowns when people do happen to get in there.”
Except for the continuing absence of starting inside linebackers Christian Robinson and Alec Ogletree with foot injuries, the Bulldogs appear to be relatively healthy.
Richt said Sunday that he hopes backup tailback Richard Samuel, who sat out the Coastal Carolina game with a heel injury, will be able to play this week. Richt also expects wide receiver Marlon Brown and offensive guard Kenarious Gates to return from ankle injuries and possibly defensive end DeAngelo Tyson from a strained back.
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400 comments Add your comment
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
10:52 am
Don’t forget to throw in interfering with an NCAA investigation there GT Joe. That’s why the penalty was so big. And since you’re on academics, please check out the posted link on football graduation rates.
ARdawg
September 19th, 2011
10:53 am
Tampa
I would say TN’s entire year was predicated on Bray’s arm and that was heavily reliant on Hunter in the line-up. Hunter’s gone and Da’Rick while he shows moments of brilliance is too unreliable. They desperately need another receiver to step up and the word is, they don’t have one. Probably another long year for the Vols
Beast from the East
September 19th, 2011
10:53 am
“Yeah, I think UT got exposed a bit this weekend. One receiver going down is bad and I feel for that guy because he is nothing short of super talented. But if losing a WR causes your ENTIRE team to take a dive then there are bigger problems. They can’t run the ball for nothing and that will be their achilles heal this year.”
TampaDawg,
If Bray has time, he’l pick anyone apart. UF did a great job of pressuring him. Our d-line looks to be one of the top 5 in the country. Don’t count out UT just yet. If you have to blitz to put pressure on thim, you could be in for a long day. The lack of a running game says just as much about UF’s defense as it does about UT’s offense.
JB
September 19th, 2011
10:57 am
GT Joe, we know why you are on here. It’s as simple as would you rather go to a dance and party in Athens………or on the Tech Campus? ….At least you don’t come on here and use the ole Tech 101 BS of, if you didn’t go to Tech, well life just ain’t worth living. Just the opposite. I married a female, have a business ( My business partner went to Tech, but yet we’re still successful. I handle all the involvement with humans) and going to a game in Athens is way fun, winning or losing. Have a good day.
ARdawg
September 19th, 2011
10:57 am
Beast
You appear to be a one man circle jerk on your Gators. They thoroughly beat TN and I’ll give you that. But quite honestly, TN doesn’t bring much to the table. I think FL will definitely be in the hunt and the D looked impressive however, you guys have a pretty killer schedule coming on
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
10:57 am
Tampa: interfering with the investigation (unintentional by the way), ALSO has nothing to do with academics.
What you should look at is AVERAGE SAT score of football players. GT is #1 in the land. The bottom 10 teams? Full of SEC teams! Can the academic conversation be over now?
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2008/12/30/athletes-show-huge-gaps-in-sat-scores
Big Dirty Dawg
September 19th, 2011
10:58 am
Gators defense looked good against Tenn. Weis has done a good job at getting his skills players (Demps, Rainey) into space to make plays. Somethign Bobo needs to take a look at. I wont say UF is back…but they are looking just fine. Tenn still a dangerous team…especially since we have to play them in Knox.
Burma Shave
September 19th, 2011
11:01 am
Richt says we’ll see
If dawgs are on the rise
But we all know
It’s one of his lies
BURMA SHAVE
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
11:04 am
Take one game at a time boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:04 am
Way to dig up the three year old article there GT Joe ..
JB
September 19th, 2011
11:05 am
I would like to see more of Mason at QB. The kid has unreal stats in high school playing against some Cobb county and Atlanta area competition.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:06 am
Hey Joe, it was a tech fan who brought up the academics issue.
JB
September 19th, 2011
11:07 am
Beast, I saw enough of a Florida team to worry me. I’m impressed with his NFL staff. Anyone who thinks Weiss isn’t tough is a fool.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:11 am
Tech guy brings up academics, and you bring up probation (as if probation had anything to do with academics) and you bring up graduation rates.
Then I show you SAT scores to end the conversation.
JB
September 19th, 2011
11:12 am
Richt saying he thinks we’re a team on the rise is a non risk as he just creamed CC and has an Ole Miss team on the ropes coming up. I think we do have the talent to beat everyone left on our schedule. Doing it is a different story. We had tons more (talent) than Colorado and UCF last year.
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
11:12 am
GT Joe, “What you should look at is AVERAGE SAT score of football players. GT is #1 in the land.”
Is that why ya’ll steer all your genius football players into Management?
bugsquacher
September 19th, 2011
11:13 am
NOT DRINKING THE KOOL AID YET…..
Good win Dawgs! But what does it really mean? Does it mean we are a contender in the SEC? Probably not. Does it mean we can contend with second tier divison one teams? Probably. Is this where the Dawg Nation wants to be? Probably not. Should we expect more out of the Georgia football program? Yes. Why? 1- one of the top football facilities in the country, 2- great booster and fan contributions and support, 3- great recruiting classes …. just to name a few. The facts speak for themselves, we are trending down, we are not feared in the SEC, we are known as a team which cant finish. LOOK AT THE FACTS…… they cant be disputed….
1-GEORGIA is a combined 0-5 against Top 25 teams in 2010 and 2011
2- GEORGIA has lost 10 of its last 12 against ranked teams. (2-10 record)
3- GEORGIA is now 15-14 in his last 29 games
4-GEORGIA is 6-10 in the past 16 SEC games.
5- GEORGIA is 3-5 in their last 8 games going back to last season
6- GEORGIA has won 1 of it last 4. (and it wasnt a powerhouse we beat today)
LETS SEE WHAT NEXT WEEK BRINGS WITH MISSISSIPPI
JB
September 19th, 2011
11:14 am
And, Tech leads the country is Accused murder suspects as associated with the athletic department.
JB
September 19th, 2011
11:15 am
Yea, I’ve heard Reggie Ball interviewed. I’m sold.
Honky Talkin'
September 19th, 2011
11:17 am
The Dawgs are irrelevent in the SEC….maybe they should go to the Big East?
Rooster
September 19th, 2011
11:19 am
Team on the rise. Young team. What a bunch of crap!!! My son’s peewee team could have hung 60 on Coastal Carolina. IF you think Georgia will run the table you are crazy. Just keep listening to Richt. Georgia finishes this year 5-8.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:19 am
GT Joe, maybe reading an entire post just isn’t your thing. He brought up academics, AMONG OTHER THINGS. As if GT is the holy grail of college athlete academics. I bring you graduation rates and you hand me high school SAT scores. Try again scooter. I want to know what happens after they have been at the program, not while they are in high schools in Atlanta, Columbus, Macon and Tifton.
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
11:21 am
True fans are the ones that support their team regardless of record. I will always stand behind the DAWGS whether we win or we lose. You play the games on the field and not on blogs, GO DAWGS GATA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:21 am
JB and 1ToothJack: are you doubting the credibility of US news and world reports?
AltamahaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:23 am
Joe, you would think that somebody might have enough confidence that tech is a very fine school, that he wouldn’t need to spend 3 pages on a Georgia Bulldog sports Blog to convince himself of that.
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
11:25 am
GT Joe, yeah. And I’m doubting your scholar athletes that are recruited from the same pool of doofeys that everybody else recruits from.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:25 am
Um, okay Tampa. Let me spell this graduation rate thing out for you. Hard schools have low graduation rates. Easy schools have high graduation rates. When I was at tech, the retention rate was 55%, because 45% couldn’t hack it and transferred.
It should be (painfully) obvious to you that if UGA football has high graduation rates AND 73.5% of the players are special admits (couldn’t get in on academics alone), your school is a) easy or b) cheats.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:26 am
1toothjack: we don’t recruit from the same pool of doofeys UGA recruits from. Sorry.
ratherBgambling
September 19th, 2011
11:26 am
% UGA has on winning the next 5 games:
Ole Miss: 90%
Miss ST: 50%
UT: 30%
Vandy: 50%
UF: 1%
Beast from the East
September 19th, 2011
11:26 am
JB,
Weis has done a great job so far. Our only real problem has been in the red zone. Too many FG’s, but our placekicker has nailed every one so far. If he can get that fixed, then we’ll be a tough team to beat with our defense. The secondary is young but they are VERY aggressive. They dropped no less than 5 INTs Saturday. At least they were in position to make the plays…..I guess!
Still lots of football left to play with a BRUTAL October slate. Good luck in Oxford. Go ahead and finish off Coach Nutt!
WDE
September 19th, 2011
11:27 am
@Beast I for one will not underestimate anyone..I think we can play with anyone on the schedule…we can also lose to anyone on the schedule. That being said what would any fan of a 0-2 team say about their first win of the year..it stinks…hell no its great! It beats losing all hollow and gave us a chance to give some playing time experience to backups that we may need soon. You can not discount that, it could prove a real blessing down the road.
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
11:28 am
And I’m thinking most of them don’t do their own work just like most everybody else’s don’t do theirs.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:28 am
Also, UGA HAS improved in academics. But let’s really talk about the reason why. The HOPE scholarship.
If not for HOPE, no smart kids would ever consider UGA. But hey, since it’s free, why not. Once HOPE goes away, UGA will go back to being Ole Miss or Auburn or MSU.
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
11:29 am
GT Joe, ya’ll offer the same kids. It’s just that most of them are “too smart” to go to Tech.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:30 am
Back to the article, Richt is most definitely on the rise! What a great win saturday! Congrats on that win, too bad it won’t help you get bowl-eligible.
Beast from the East
September 19th, 2011
11:32 am
WDE,
Not saying anyone should be disappointed with the win. Just find it crazy that so many want to discount most of UGA’s future opponents. Not very bright to do that, in my opinion. Anyway, congrats on the win and I hope ya’ll can win ‘em all before the WLOCP. It would be great if we were both ranked when we meet. Makes it alot more fun! Last year was a downer for both of us.
AltamahaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:35 am
I didn’t realize that the HOPE was only offered to kids going to UGA.
Contractor
September 19th, 2011
11:35 am
Georgia fans are regarded as some of the worst fans in the country because of the delusional fans that claim a National Championship run every year, and an SEC title every single year, to respond to a post earlier in the blog. It’s time to come back to reality and realize this is a rebuilding year for Georgia and to come to terms that a 8-4, 9-3 year isn’t all that bad. Of course I as a fan want to go undefeated, and I get very mad at every game we lose, but I also realize we are breaking in a lot of new guys, and still compete in the toughest conference in America. We have some great athletes, but so does Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Georgia Tech, so we won’t just win on athleticism. Hold on the the football, and don’t give up the big play is what we have to do. I think we have what it takes to get on a roll, but Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tech are no pushovers that we should just go ahead and calculate as wins, so we have to continue one game at a time, get above .500, then work into breaking the Top 25, instead of this we’re gonna roll through the rest of the schedule crap.
Even though we lost, I was very pleased with our team’s fight against South Carolina. They are a Top 10 team, and we would have beat them by two touchdowns barring shooting ourselves in the foot. I just hope we keep feeding Crowell the ball, getting Malcolm Mitchell the ball up field, and finding ways to get freaking Orson Charles into the game plan. That’s a winning combination, even if our defense plays 80% to their potential, so dial it up Bobo and get your athletes the ball.
Beast from the East
September 19th, 2011
11:35 am
GT Joe,
Like it or not, UGA has seen a rise in academics. I agree that much of it has to do with the HOPE scholarship, but so what? Keeping the state’s best and brightest in-state is not a bad thing, no matter how you want to spin it. I’m sure Tech has benefited, as well.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:40 am
Ohhh, ok GT Joe, so I guess the 6-year graduation rates of such schools as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins all being over 90% means they are a bunch of retards.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/data/spp+50
Yes, the might GT ranked higher than UGA on this report. I am ok with that, but to call UGA out when they are still on the top 100 list in the entire country is a weak argument. Kinda like the one you used to justify lower graduation rates for your football program.
rodney
September 19th, 2011
11:41 am
MusCHUMP looks like a clown on the sidelines. I’m glad we didn’t get that bozo.
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
11:41 am
Beast from the East- I for one discount no one on our schedule. Im really suprised that CMR actually put up 59 on the weaker opponent. I was really shocked at that because normally that does not happen. Another thing that has me concerned is how for the past several years Ga has played down to the other teams level. The weaker the team the more relaxed we seem to play. That comes from the top I for one would love to see CMR show more fire during the game instaed of being so cool and collective.
ARdawg
September 19th, 2011
11:42 am
Beast
Most UGA fans discount no one. You seem to have forgotten our track record. IMHO, running the table through the rest of the season is only required for Richt to keep his job. It means little to anyone else. After last year, UGA fans are well aware that we can be beaten by anyone. You should be concerned because, beating FL is one of the few that Richt MUST win.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
11:43 am
apparently GT Joe hasn’t been on rivals.com or scout.com much since he can’t figure out that GT offers many of the same recruits that UGA goes after a scholarship also.
Re@listic Dawg
September 19th, 2011
11:45 am
Florida is not back and will struggle on the road this year. As mentioned above the gators have trouble in the red zone and JB has not proven he can consistently make the big throw down the field which they will need against fast defenses that will match up well against rainey, burton, and demps.
The East is South Carolina’s to lose at this point…
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:47 am
Beast: I’m glad UGA is better in academics, helps the Georgia economy. But let’s not get carried away with the improvement.
Tampa: When your football teams average SAT is over 1000 and you still only graduate 50% of your kids, it tells you one thing: the school is hard. And we don’t hand out diplomas.
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
11:48 am
anybody really listen to Houston Nutt?
Every time I hear him speak, I expect to hear
“low miles, one owner, great price”
WDE
September 19th, 2011
11:50 am
@Beast from the East I agree I can’t help but think that many of the UGA “fans” that spout that nonsense are really trolls…how can you discount anyone with the way our season has played out so far? We have some real work to do to get better, just hoping the players don’t let up!
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
11:51 am
Tampa: regarding the recruits, try delving a little deeper for a change. I know it’s not natural for you.
But maybe, just maybe, the kids that get offers from BOTH UGA and GT have high SATs/grades? Did you ever think of that? But the dummies that UGA offers don’t get GT offers.
GT doesn’t recruit academic projects, but UGA does. Case in point: I’m pretty sure GT didn’t offer Crowell.
I-DOG
September 19th, 2011
11:52 am
Hwy 400:
Love the optimism. You said the next few years should be off the charts. What can we expect and when? Is it 10 wins next year and undefeated the year after?
I have concerns that we won’t have any depth at RB next year and we are losing at least 2 and probably 3 OL next year plus you gotta figure,if the last 5 years are any indication, that we will lose at LEAST one more to injury or leaving the team so that will leave us even more paper thin next year. I see only storm clouds on the horizon and I see the Richt defenders calling us “young” yet again next season. We are the Dick Clark of football (seemingly perpetually young)
I sincerely hope that you are right and I am wrong.