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
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
12:59 pm
GT Joe enjoys riding the wave of the poll and this IS a comment on his sexual orientation and has nothing to do with GT football………
Ricky Bobby just smiled
KB
September 19th, 2011
1:00 pm
GT Joe, PJ offers the same kids as everyone else, they just don’t sign with him, over 1/3 of the 2011 georgia squad had an offer from tech. And Charles Perkins wasn’t the Number 1 running back out of Georgia, he was 7th , behind Storm Johnson(Miami), Rajan Neal(Tennessee), Mack Brown(Florida), Rajaan Bennett(Vandy), Ken Malcome(UGA), and Ray Saunders(Kentucky).
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:00 pm
Trisha Yearwood recorded a song called ” walk away Joe”…. We could only be so lucky.
Do ya’ll think he has a job?
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:01 pm
DawginLex, talking about sexual orientation? LOL.
We really don’t care if you are “dawgin” a guy named “Lex”; but whatever you do in your own bedroom is your own business I guess.
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
1:01 pm
JB- that means there is no one over there. It was GT Joe blogging under 4 names. Even he got tired of listening to his non sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
1:02 pm
GT Joe can’t take a joke but he feels it is ok to bash others.
Project much?
Mark (another one)
September 19th, 2011
1:02 pm
This weekend will be this UGA team’s first truly away game. Especially for the freshmen, this will be a learning experience and a challenge. There will be a lot of noise and distractions. They also need to focus because any SEC team can beat another if the focus is missing.
Nutt will have his team up looking for a conference win. Georgia represents their best remaining chance to get an SEC victory this year. Their remaining SEC games are Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and Miss. St. at Oxford, and Auburn and Kentucky on the road.
If your a Dawg fan and your pounding your chest after last weekend, grow up. We did what we should have done. Its over and in the record book. The best news is we didn’t suffer another major injury. We now return to the SEC regular season, and we need to continue to improve. Every other team in the SEC will be improving as well.
All I have to say to the Tech fans on this blog is your not on the radar until Nov. 20th. Until then, keep playing hard and keep winning. We UGA fans know what its like to keep losing to the same team year after year. For you its UGA. For us its FL. If I look ahead to any game, its not Tech.
And of all of you that want to criticize UGA fans, you must not meet the same people I do. We’re not happy at 6-7, but we are also realistic and realize our team’s issues. We don’t believe a win over Coastal Carolina or a loss to Boise made us winners or losers. We also think before we type.
Contractor
September 19th, 2011
1:03 pm
GTJoe,
You honestly believe the football players are Engineering majors? I have friends at Tech that had to get an Institutional override into a Poetic Writing class to fill their electives, but it is only there for athletes, and have to get special permission to fill a seat in that class if they are not in the athletic program. So engineering is not a major for all Georgia Tech players, more like 10%. Tech still has Management majors, Philosophy, Psychology, and Interior Design majors, so don’t act like y’all are all bad a engineers and demand only the highest quality of minds and athletes.
KB
September 19th, 2011
1:03 pm
Left out Juwaan Thompson from Woodward(Duke) who was ranked higher than Perkins from the state.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:04 pm
OK, KB, Perkins was 1st team all-5A RB, aka big boy classification (that’s what ya’ll call the SEC, right? big boy football?).
KB, 1/3 of the UGA class also had a GT offer? So that means that 1/3 of your class could hack GT academically, leaving 2/3… well you know…
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:04 pm
Joe is here because Tech opened with three patsy’s and is 03-0. If they were 1-2, he would be at the Mac store looking a mega bite turbo boosters and Halloween costumes.
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
1:04 pm
GT Joe
Read slow or get someone to read it to you
I’m a Dawg
I live in LEXington
that’s in Kentucky
Everyone on here, including you, knows that.
As evidenced by the fact that I am having to rinse my mouth out every hour after sitting and watching that lousy excuse for a football game Saturday night in commonwealth stadium
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
1:05 pm
GT Joe is the obnoxious nerd everybody beat up in high school.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:06 pm
Okay Lex, if “bashing” people is putting out facts, then I am bashing i guess.
Contractor: No, they aren’t all engineers. Never said that. But they are the smartest football players in the FBS. And that can’t be argued.
BURN NOTICE
September 19th, 2011
1:06 pm
I agree with Judge Dawg. Improving team this year, little better next year with a mid level bowl like the Outback and things will be fine in Athens.
People here love their team and their coach. Winning isn’t everything. Don’t get all caught up in the rankings noise and BCS bull****. Just play the game and compete like honorable gentlemen and that’s good enough for us round here.
Dr. Jekyl
September 19th, 2011
1:07 pm
Most of the nation would be on the rise with Coastal Carolina and Mississippi! Look what Vandy just put on the ol’ Rebels. We should win by 30+ again this week. We should call this weekend “Hot-Seat Bowl” and go ahead and fire which ever coach loses the game at the sound of the horn ending the game. Bring out the SEC Commisioner, both school AD’s and Presidents and hang a medal of shame on the loser. Would make for great television and satisfy one of the fan bases on the spot!!!
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:07 pm
Nice one 1tooth! So witty!
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:09 pm
Burn………….please tell me you just didn’t post ” winning isn’t everything”? Do you Richt uses that as a message to the team ?
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
1:09 pm
And true.
GODAWGS75
September 19th, 2011
1:10 pm
HWY 400,
Wrong, rumor is Richt spoke about a buyout, and UNC has said they are interested in him. I went to UGA and I support UGA, that’s why I DONT SUPPORT Richt, I want what is best for our school. The rest of you I can not wait until we lose some more games to see what excuse you have to say then. We have a Great Team and Players, we have a horrible coaching staff. PS we did not score in the 4th against the high school team.
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
1:11 pm
GT Joe
Smartest players in FBS and that can’t be argued??
Yes it can
You are just too dumb to realize it
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:11 pm
Maybe Ole Miss will reach when Nutt is fired and hire Bobo.
WDE
September 19th, 2011
1:13 pm
@GT Joe how is probation working out for you folks at the Flats? Seems to me that for a bunch that can’t get to first base with a woman you have NO trouble scoring when it comes to probation. And Joe are you telling me the current Bugs can all count to 4? That is showing a marked improvement if they can.
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:13 pm
GT Joe, for real, over the years I’ve listened to Tech football players interviewed. I’m sorry, your theory does not hold water. Most can’t put a sentence together. Sorry.
Mark (another one)
September 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
GT Joe: I’ll argue that if a player is offered by both Stanford and GT, and he picks GT, he made a mistake. I’ve worked with lots of engineers from both institutions, and I would bet the Stanford graduates were smarter and better adjusted to living in the real world. They don’t need to brag, they just do things and let the world judge. And Stanford plays in the FBS.
Uncle Rico
September 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
Look, I used to play high school football and I have some awesome tapes my games so I am qualified to talk about college football. I never played or was invited to play at that level but I did play at the small high school level and I have played a lot, and I mean a lot, of video game football, too. I’ll be back to make some insightful comments, soon, about a lot of stuff related to what players and coaches are doing wrong and how I could do it better so keep watching for me on this board because I don’t know how to blog but I can get my good information out here very easily and I have a lot of opinions….lots of opinions. Until next time: Uncle Rico.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
Probation WDE? What probation? As far as I know, we can go to a bowl. So as far as I’m concerned probation is a non factor.
UGA on the other hand has NO bowl qualifying wins this year…
1eyedJack
September 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
What loser would wish his team would lose so that he could feel justified in his own opinion? Go root for Tech. They could use some more fans like you.
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
1:16 pm
GODAWGS75- are you serious?? Would you have really felt better if we put 70 or 80 on the board?? Would that have really made any kind of difference in your little pea brain?
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:16 pm
JB, your anecdotal evidence doesn’t compare the the FACTS, which is that GT football has the highest average SAT scores.
Facts hurt, so just ignore them like usual.
Contractor
September 19th, 2011
1:16 pm
GT Joe,
I would put up every service academy against the intelligence of your football team. There are plenty more as well. My point is that Georgia Tech offers a wide variety of “athlete” classes just like every other college. SAT score doesn’t mean your team is the smartest. Anyone can ace a standardized test, so let’s see your graduation rates and their GPA’s in college to apply intelligence, not skewed high school GPA’s and a standardized test.
GT Joe's Mom
September 19th, 2011
1:18 pm
Ya’ll listen. Joe is a bright boy. He loves Tech, but all his sweatshirts have a big VO in front on the Tech, so you guys figure that out. He needs to get a job and put those magazine’s up and ask out a real girl.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:19 pm
Contractor: FYI, GPAs at high schools are not comparable. GPAs at colleges are not comparable. Graduation rates at colleges are not comparable. What IS comparable is the SAT.
GODAWGS75
September 19th, 2011
1:19 pm
Uncle Rico,
So what you are saying is that unless you actually played college ball you can not talk about it? So if I donate money to the school I can not make a comment about the football program. So unless I am the president of the United States I can not comment on his policies too? You are a moron, I bet you wish you where on the highschool football team huh, but you didn’t make that.
WDE
September 19th, 2011
1:23 pm
@GT Joe yes you can go to a bowl and yes you are on probation…which means three things 1) when you get caught next time if its within the next 4 years you will suffer draconian punishment at the hands of the NCAA..perhaps even the death penalty 2) you had to give back the ACC “title” from 2009…I know they had to drive to Athens and we had to give it to them.. 3) Tick -Tock Tick-Tock .
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:23 pm
Hey contractor, UGA football’s average GPA was 2.77 in high school, or 45th out of 53 schools in the study.
I guess those high school GPAs are “skewed” in the wrong direction, huh? LOL.
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:24 pm
There is a pipeline for Tech ex football players to get a job in Atlanta ( I’m serious) and it’s at Air Tran in Baggage handling. There is a guy who post on here from time to time in Management and list all the ex Tech players working there. Now, with Southwest buying them, they are in training learning how to say, ” Bags fly free Dog”.
GODAWGS75
September 19th, 2011
1:25 pm
DJ Dawg,
Is that your excuse for no 4th quarter points, we were being nice. Thats what UGA needs now is to be nice. Sorry, the reason is becuase we couldn’t. Nice name calling, i’m sure you would be wetting yourself if you said that when someone was actually next to you.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:25 pm
WDE: probation is being appealed, FYI. Either way, non factor.
Didn’t prevent us from gaining 768 yards against a BCS AQ team saturday.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:27 pm
JB: Airtran beats jail.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/former-uga-player-charged-167891.html
JB
September 19th, 2011
1:29 pm
Or being a murder suspect.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:29 pm
I can see it now: After the November game at Bobby Dodd, when the clock hits 0:00 and Tech wins 60-14 over UGA, there will be a sign in the UGA section that says “At least we’re not on probation!” LOL.
DawginLex
September 19th, 2011
1:30 pm
Godawgs
Bashing Richt because he wouldn’t score again on CC is idiotic
Richt ran 2 plays straight up the middle with a walk on QB and a walk on RB to avoid further destruction of CC
Let the year play out and then let our AD do his job.
schmeckdawg
September 19th, 2011
1:30 pm
Do any DAWG fans know what is going on with Malcome and why he isn’t playing? Does he still have the groin injury or is he just not that good?
GATA!
DJ Dawg
September 19th, 2011
1:32 pm
GODAWGS75- If you would actually read any post I said that we have played like that for the last few years “to nice” When we play teams that we should beat we always seem to play down to their level and that comes from CMR. Im sure no one has a gun to your head forcing you to give money to the school so if you dont like whats happening then find someone else to give your money to hang on i got to go pee………………………………………..
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:32 pm
Richt is a good Christian man, 59-0 is destruction enough. 52-0? Not enough.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
1:32 pm
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
12:47 pm
Chuck: Crowell had 50 offers. I guess Isaiah showed interest in 50 schools? LOL
—————————–
Oooooh, sooo close .. 14 actually. He had interest in USCw but they didn’t make an offer. Nice try though.
Contractor
September 19th, 2011
1:32 pm
GT Joe,
If high school GPA’s are not comparable, then how is the SAT comparable? Every student learns the same information, every student takes the same SAT. It’s not like my high school taught me Europe won the Revolutionary War, and yours taught you the United State won. Once again, my point is that Tech offers classes to get kids through the program, just like all other schools, so your students are not any smarter than other schools. As much as you want it to be, an SAT score does not mean you are smarter than the guy next to you.
TampaDawg
September 19th, 2011
1:34 pm
GT Joe, don’t comment on Richt about the score. It was 59-0 at the start of the 4th quarter. He went for it on fourth down every time in the fourth and had 3rd stringers in there. So what does he say, “he kid, get in there and get some playing time but don’t try to score.” Dude, get over yourself! You have no room to be the judge in this.
GT Joe
September 19th, 2011
1:34 pm
Tampa: OOOH So close. Try 50 offers:
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/09/07/ten10-isaiah-crowell-shows-mark-richt-love-after-td/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
“Crowell has upward of 50 offers and claims his recruitment is still open”.
Multiple google articles say “over 50 offers”. But close Tampa.