Richt’s Sunday call: talking Tennessee and more
A few quick notes from Mark Richt’s weekly conference call this evening:
- Safety Shawn Williams thought he pulled a hamstring while stretching in warmups before Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt, “but it was more of a spasm,” Richt said. “It just kind of tightened up on him and kind of shook him up. … It turned out it wasn’t [pulled], thankfully. I’m not saying it didn’t bother him throughout the game … but he played the majority of the game.”
- Familiar question, familiar answer. “We’ll figure it out in pregame warmup, I guess, just like last week,” Richt said to the obligatory inquiry about whether suspended defensive stars Alec Ogletree and Bacarri Rambo will return, as expected, from four-game suspensions this week.
- “I don’t think it’s serious,” Richt said of the ankle injury that forced defensive end Abry Jones from the game Saturday. But Richt pointed out that he had not yet received an update from the medical staff.
- Next up for Georgia: Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Sanford Stadium. Richt on Tennessee’s offense: “They’re throwing and catching it extremely well, and their run game is starting to come around, too. … They want balance in their attack, but it’s hard to have balance when you’ve got the kind of receivers they’ve got. You want to throw the ball, and you want to throw it down the field. You want to take some shots because these guys can really go. And they’re not only fast, but they’re tall and they’ve got leaping ability. … It’s hard not to want to throw the football with those guys and a quarterback who can throw it like Tyler Bray.” (Bray has thrown for 1,301 yards in four games this season. His top receivers have been 6-foot-4 junior Justin Hunter (30 catches for 410 yards) and 6-foot-3 junior-college transfer Cordarrelle Patterson (19 for 259). Patterson was recruited by Georgia before signing with the Vols.)
- Richt on Patterson: “We knew he was a special player. We wanted him big-time. He just looked like a big-time difference maker, a big playmaker. The fact he’s a couple of years out of high school [made him] even more of a threat to come in and make some things happen immediately.”
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF GEORGIA-VANDERBILT GAME:
Game story: No drama this time as Bulldogs rout Vandy 48-3
In the spotlight: Huge night for Aaron Murray
Mark Bradley column: Yeah, it was only Vandy. It also was utter domination by UGA
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196 comments Add your comment
Truth
September 24th, 2012
12:37 pm
VT and Clemson will climb the polls again and UGA and several other overhyped, untested SEC schools will fall. Then bowl season will show who has the power this year.
Then we can all look forward to “Wait till next year..”
Tiger Man
September 24th, 2012
12:39 pm
Clemson is better than UT, UGA, LSU, and USC.
ckgator
September 24th, 2012
12:41 pm
Florida plays #’s 3, 4, 5, and 6. Three of which are in October.
Not sure who has a tougher road. Certainly not anyone in the ACC. Perhaps UL-Monroe or FAU who play SEC giants seemingly every week?
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
12:54 pm
Tiger Man is on crack. FSU isn’t even as good as hyped. Clemson isn’t a top 20 team. Time will prove this
JoshK
September 24th, 2012
12:56 pm
Anyone hearing the rumors of more suspensions?
Joey
September 24th, 2012
1:00 pm
ARdawg, Bama’s starting lineups are no better than ours, but they substitute without any apparent loss of productivity, or skill. That is the difference.
What about did you think about my LSU remark?
Tiger Man
September 24th, 2012
1:01 pm
ARdawg
Wait till you see what Clemson does to USC.
Their Offense could run up and down the field on anyone in the SEC, except maybe Alabama.
UGA would lose badly to FSU and Clemson, lose by 10 pts to Miami, VT, and have a 50/50 chance with UNC, GT, NC, and Wake Forest. They could probably take care of Duke without question.
Im sure you know more than the AP and the Coaches (about watching UGA from your couch maybe).
Tiger Man
September 24th, 2012
1:02 pm
“..NC State, and Wake Forest.”
3rd Party
September 24th, 2012
1:08 pm
Joey, LSU is not very good. But I think you know that.
So your comment is really a back-handed compliment.
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
1:09 pm
Tiger Man
As I said, you my friend should put the crackpipe down. Drugs are bad, don’t do drugs, mmmmmkay?
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
1:10 pm
ARDawg….I won’t disagree with you that LSU looked bad on Saturday…however, it appeared that they were cleaerly overlooking Auburn and weren’t ready to play. However, I will disagree with you that Alabama isn’t as good and will get beaten. They look for real, and I see them winning another NC.
I’m not an Alabama fan, nor an LSU fan…I just think that simply dismissing LSU based on their performance against Auburn shows poor judgement. You can’t let one game fool you into some misguided sense of comfort. Is the East better? Yes…does the SEC still run through the West? Absolutely.
Joey
September 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
Damn! A tiger is on here bragging, after giving up 50+ and 70 points in their last 4 or 5 games?
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
1:48 pm
Huh?
I don’
t disagree with anything you stated other than Bama winning another NC. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Why don’t you just go ahead crown them champs and give them the trophy? 2 years ago was the same mindset, about this time of year concerning Bama. They went into SC and had their hats handed to them. Then took it in the shorts at LSU and AU. Bama is good, this I don’t challenge. Are they unbeatable, absolutely not. As you stated, any number of SEC teams will beat anyone else on a given Sat. Remember Ole Miss spanking NC Florida?. Bama is not invincible. Several teams have a legitimate shot at Bama. Most peopl around the SEC know it including Saban except Bama fans
Tiger Man
September 24th, 2012
1:49 pm
Clemson will finish ahead of UGA in the final rankings, will dominate USC.
UGA will lose 3x in the regular season and then lay an egg in the post season.
UCF 10 UGA 6
mmmkkay?
Tiger Man
September 24th, 2012
1:50 pm
No Championship since 1980, mmmkay? Yawn.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
1:53 pm
ARDawg…I’m not in love with Bama…I’m just realistic. You said that they would be beaten.
Now, I understand that no team is unbeatable….but what has Bama done this year that makes you feel so certain? They have looked dominate in every game they have played. It’s the reason that the voters moved Bama into the #1 spot in the polls before USC lost. They see the same think that I see, and the same thing we saw last year….dominance.
Can Alabama be beaten? Sure…every team can lose. However, at this point, Alabama looks to be on another planet than any other team in the SEC. I know you love your dogs, so you don’t want to see it that way, but it doesn’t change the truth.
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
2:04 pm
Huh?: will Alabama win a NC by actually WINNING the SEC, or their division this time around? They didn’t last year! Their NC last year was & continues to be BOGUS!!!! Nick Saban himself said teams that don’t win their conference championship shouldn’t be allowed to play for the NC, and I agree, yet he had NO problem whatsoever accepting HIS invitation to the dance.
Joey
September 24th, 2012
2:05 pm
Clemson 17 Ga Tech 31
Clemson 33 WVA 70
Clemson 37 FSU 49
Oh, and what happened the last few times Clemson played UGA?
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
2:07 pm
AlabamaDog…everybody in the country knew last year that the two best teams were Alabama and LSU. You know why I know? Because they played for the NC….the voters made sure of it.
Was it a weird year? sure. However, the voters got it right….and everybody knows it.
Hairy Dawg
September 24th, 2012
2:23 pm
Bammer boys is living in past of last year. Dawgs is the dominant team this year. Bammer has not beaten anybody except a stinky Arky team that lost midnight escaping Evil Peturdo Knevil.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
2:25 pm
Hairy Dawg…Bama also beat Michigan. Want ranked team has UGA beaten? Name me a team that UGA beat that was even ranked when you PLAYED them.
By the way, I’m not an Alabama fan. I just don’t guzzle the Kool-Ade either.
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
2:30 pm
Huh?: voters are just people with opinions, like me & you. Do I believe those were the two best teams? Absolutely, but their game on 10/5 last year should have been considered a play in game for the NC. Bottom line-Alabama lost the game (regardless of circumstances), and therefore should have been eliminated from consideration, let alone be given a shot at a NC when they didn’t win their conference, or even their division. As I recall, this very issue kept Georgia out of the NC game in ‘07.
Joey
September 24th, 2012
2:34 pm
“Bama also beat Michigan”
**********************
Michigan ain’t ranked, Huh.
We have to play our schedule – if we are good or not, we will know eventually. But, Ark and MI are bad teams – both worse than Vandy and Mizzou.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
2:51 pm
Alabama Dog…what kept UGA out of consideration in 2007 was the 3 TD loss to TN and losing to a very bad SC team that didn’t even go to a bowl game. The only think that Bama and UGA had in common is that neither won their conference. Bama’s only loss was a close game against the number #1 team in the country. Trust me, if the voters had had more confidence in UGA in 2007, they would have played for the NC…they didn’t.
There is no rule that says that if you don’t win your conference you don’t get to play for the NC…it didn’t exist in 2007, nor last year.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
2:52 pm
Joey…that’s why I asked for a team that UGA has played that was ranked even when they played them. You can’t name one.
Was Michigan overrated? Sure looks so. However, UGA has yet to play a team that has been ranked at all.
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
3:07 pm
Huh?: your points are well taken. That does not change the fact Alabama lost to LSU (on their home field, regardless of circumstances), didn’t win their conference, or even their division. WHO Georgia lost to, and by what margin, or circumstances is irrevelevant. I wasn’t one of those crying, or whining in ‘07, as some of my constituants did. Based on the fact Georgia didn’t win their division, or conference, I believed their exclusion from the game was both warranted, and justifiable. Alabama’s eclusion from the game because of the same circumstances should have been last year too.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
3:11 pm
Alabama Dog…if you feel like you have to win your conference to play for the NC then I respect that. Then you feel like Alabama should not have played for the NC last year. I have no problem with that either.
I think last year for just one of those weird years where circumstances dictated, to most people, that the 2 best teams were LSU and Bama. So they decided to have a rematch. To me, I don’t care where the two best teams come from….same division…same conference…different conferences…makes no difference. I just want the two best teams in the country playing for the NC.
Ghost
September 24th, 2012
3:12 pm
Tiger man,Any team that can’t beat GT on a consistent basis talking trash on a Georgia blog. LOL .
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
3:20 pm
Huh?
UGA so far has beaten everyone that showed up on Saturday to play. Thats all any team can do. Ranked teams or not, makes no difference. As of today, Bama has played no ranked teams. Doesn’t make them any less of a team now does it? You have a poor argument with poor logic. All teams play who is on the schedule and none of them get punished for it
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
3:27 pm
Huh?: ‘07 was a weird year also. Two teams played for the NC with two losses each. What probably made it painful for some Georgai fans was, Georgia didn’t get a shot at LSU (who played & won the NC that year). Even worse was Les Miles’ pathetic posturing. Remember this: “We’re undefeated in regulation”? Really? does it matter if you lost two OT games? Last time I checked, a loss was a loss.
Joey
September 24th, 2012
3:42 pm
Huh?,
Who is your team?
We want to look over your schedule.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
3:51 pm
ARDawg…regarding the ranked teams issue, I was responding to someone else that had brought it up. It had nothing to do with you.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
3:59 pm
Alabama Dawg….Yes 07 was a bit weird. But I have to be honest…with more than 2 “2-loss” teams, I have to agree with the voters in not giving UGA a ton of consideration…3 TD loss? A loss to SC? nah.
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
4:00 pm
Huh?
Just tossing it out there guy for public consumption. It is a discussion forum you know?
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
4:14 pm
Huh?: I guess you have forgotten about their 7 game wiinning streak in ‘07 after the Tennessee debacle? That also included a win over the defending National Champion-Florida. That alone should have warranted at least a little consideration, but alas, it didn’t. Agsin, I’m not saying in any way Georgia should have been in the NC game. they didn’t win their division, or the conference.That said, neither should Alabama have been in the game last January for those same reasons.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
4:51 pm
Alabama Dog…do you know what the combined records of the 7 teams that UGA beat were? I can tell you…not good.
I think most fans just want to see the two best teams playing for it all at the end of the year. That’s why LSU and Alabama did so. Again, I respect your opinion, and you are certainly entitled to it.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
4:52 pm
ARDawg…you took what I said the wrong way. I didn’t mean “butt out” I was simply trying to let you know that what I said wasn’t directed at you…or in response to something you said. One person said that the only team Alabama had beaten was a bad ARK team…I simply pointed out that Alabama had also played Michigan. I then asked him who UGA had played.
Alabama Dog
September 24th, 2012
5:01 pm
Huh?: I haven’t done the research, but what are the records of the teams Alabama beat to get there last year? They really only beat one relevant team that comes to mind last year-Arkansas. Then lost to LSU, with everything on the line. I agree with you the two best teams played for it all last year. There’s no real debate there. I guess my point is this: until there is truly a system, or definite criteria for making it to the BCS NC game, anybody can get into the game, regardless of whom they have/haven’t played, or beaten. That’s the tragedy of the way things are done, and decided.
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
5:09 pm
Alabama Dog…I only said what I said because you commented on UGA winning their last 7 games. I’m sure that the voters took that into consideration….I’m sure they also took into consideration the combined wins of those 7 teams….I’m sure further still that they looked at the fact that UGA got killed against TN and lost to a really bad SC team. Can you remember the last time any team played for a NC after getting beaten by 21 points and also losing to a team that didn’t make a bowl? I sure can’t.
I don’t disagree that a better system is needed. However, I also understand that defining absolute criteria can be more difficult than it might seem. The last thing the decision makers want to do is to create a system where, yet again, the best two teams don’t play for the NC. So, they have decided to not make the rule where you have to win your conference to play for the NC…why? Because they understand how tough some conference are like the SEC…where you can have several really good teams….vs conferences like the PAC10…where you have 1-2 good teams and then a bunch of pretenders. Additionally, you can’t make a rule for every weird thing that might happen. Again…last year was a bit of a fluke.
Athens Bail Bonds
September 24th, 2012
5:10 pm
While it appears that Gurley is the real deal, you Homers seem to forget you were talking NC and Crowell a Heisman most of last year. Just sayin….
Oh Alabama Dog, Bama beat the crap out of UF which you had to come from behind and only beat by 4 points.
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
5:18 pm
“While it appears that Gurley is the real deal, you Homers seem to forget you were talking NC and Crowell a Heisman most of last year. Just sayin….”
Nerd troll, really? Who was? Before or after the 0-2 start? I believe you are mistaken. That was the Nerds talking a championship after going 6-0 and then reality set in
Athens Bail Bonds
September 24th, 2012
5:28 pm
Ardawg before 2 and 3 star filled Boise ate your lunch before a home crowd in Atl. All summer long we heard about how he was being talked to by Hershel and that the Big Dawg was going to kill everyone. Nerd Troll? not hardly, just laughing at the L E G H U M P E R S for the 32nd season in a row.
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
5:51 pm
Nerd Troll….that Boise game was a disappointment but we got over it. Any loss knowing you are the better team is a disappointment. You adjust, you adapt and you move on. How relevant is that game now? You haven’t gotten over it, have you?
ARdawg
September 24th, 2012
5:53 pm
Obviously you won’t admit to your Nerd trolldom because then the 1-10 numbers come up
Huh?
September 24th, 2012
6:02 pm
ARDawg…so are you saying that UGA was better than Boise St last year?
ARdawg
September 25th, 2012
9:08 am
“ARDawg…so are you saying that UGA was better than Boise St last year?”
Yes, I am saying Georgia was a better team than Boise St last year