Georgia’s Mark Richt refuses to look into future; focusing solely on Georgia Tech
By RYAN BLACK
For the AJC
Period.
Multiple times during his teleconference with the media Sunday, the Georgia coach was asked about what Saturday’s events — top-ranked Kansas State and No. 2 Oregon both losing — meant to his team. With the losses by the top pair, it is assumed that if the No. 3 Bulldogs can win out, they will clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship game on Jan. 7 in Miami.
Richt didn’t want to hear any of it.
“Right this minute, all I can think about is Georgia Tech,” he said. “Does anybody want to talk about Georgia Tech?”
Avoiding distractions this week shouldn’t be a problem, Richt said. His team is well aware of what the Tech game means for the program. Richt went on to list the various stakes riding on Saturday’s outcome, such as the Governor’s Cup, which goes to the game’s victor. Another benefit is being able to use a win for recruiting leverage over the state’s top prospects. And plain, old-fashioned bragging rights are on the line, too.
But Richt felt it was most important to win for Georgia’s seniors, who will be playing their last game between Sanford Stadium’s hedges.
“The winning team gets a trophy and I know our guys would love to have that,” he said. “I know as a head coach, I’d love to have one myself, because it has all the names of our seniors on it. It’s something we take a lot of pride in and I know Georgia Tech does as well.”
One aspect of the Yellow Jackets’ offense that has become more worrisome to Richt compared to previous years is the improvement he’s seen in their passing game. Every time Richt has watched or read about Georgia Tech this season, the uptick in its aerial proficiency seems apparent.
“I usually try to see how they did every week throughout the year and you hear that they’re throwing touchdown passes and that type of thing,” he said. “They’ve always had a tremendously high yards-per-completion coming into this game and it (seems) they’re throwing it a little bit more and better than they have the past couple of years. So that’s just one more thing to deal with.”
Georgia has an advantage of spending more time fine-tuning its game plan with school out for the Thanksgiving holiday. That means the NCAA’s 20-hour practice limit will not be in effect. The Bulldogs could practice as long as they want or stay in the film room all day.
Neither scenario is likely, of course. Richt cautioned “more isn’t always better.”
“We’ll at least not have to worry about counting every minute and if a player like (quarterback Aaron) Murray or whoever wants to spend a little more time with Coach (Mike) Bobo watching film, that’s not a problem,” he said. “That’s going to be real helpful.”
Etc.
After Tennessee fired coach Derek Dooley Sunday, Richt expressed sympathy for Dooley, given his relationship with Vince and Barbara Dooley, Derek’s parents. Though Richt said the dismissal was “part of the business,” he believed Dooley wouldn’t be out of a job for long. “He’s a highly intelligent person and a tremendous coach and I know he’s going to land on his feet and have something great happen in the future.” . . . Richt was informed the Bulldogs received one first-place vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll. He said he didn’t cast the vote. “I guess somebody thought we were No. 1, so I guess that’s good,” he said. “But right this minute, it’s not all that important.” . . . There were no major injuries reported following Saturday’s 45-14 victory over Georgia Southern. “Usually if it was something big, I’d know about it by now,” Richt said. “So I doubt there will be anything that will show up before (Saturday’s) game.”
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124 comments Add your comment
Frodo
November 19th, 2012
2:12 pm
Dawgingatorville: Your stats are ridiculously flawed. The Ga Tech stats come from a schedule generated from one of the worst conferences in CFB. The Sunbelt would win at least 50% of the games against ACC opponents.
Bobo Fan
November 19th, 2012
2:21 pm
I sure hope that Mike Bobo is interested in being a head coach. Tennessee,Auburn, Kentucky or Georgia State would be great places for some one with his great experience. Please some one hire him.
DAWG4LIFE
November 19th, 2012
2:32 pm
Don’t really like the fact that Tech has the opportunity to play spoiler. Given their inferiority complex, they would rather beat us than beat FSU nine of ten times…especially given the fact that we are legitimately 3 wins from a MNC.
That being said, on paper, there is absolutely zero reason Tech should even be in this game after halftime. The only concern I have is that Vad Lee looked pretty good in the very short time I have seen him play, and that he may be able to lead a few scoring drives. Tevin Washington flat out sucks, so hopefully he will get the majority of the snaps.
Unfortunately for them, I don’t see their defense stopping us, at all, especially is we start slashing them open with the ground game early.
Just my two cents.
Dwayne
November 19th, 2012
3:21 pm
bammmer fans upset because paul bryant was a bear to sandusky as a child.
Not So Fast
November 19th, 2012
3:29 pm
All the trolls and haters are getting nervous. They know if UGA wins the next two they are in. Notre Dame is very beatable. They also know if this happens they will look like fools and be rendered irrelevant.
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned once by Bill King & Chip Towers but only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
November 19th, 2012
3:55 pm
dWag fans…..Bobo & MURRAY are 3-9 against top 25 teams but somehow those 2 are going to almost double that win total in 2 games to win the BCS MNC? HAHAHAH………………….Bet the HOUSE……..Take it to the BANK………….or is it more like WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR again?
#1bamafan
November 19th, 2012
4:12 pm
I am glad that BAMA now has a second chance after they did not get it done against TAM, when we had a chance. I think the DAWGS are playing their best right now. If they can both get by this Saturday I think this will be an even game and one of the best SECCG in years. I have many Georgia friends and I look foward to the game. RTR
Jville Dawg
November 19th, 2012
4:43 pm
#1bamafan – well said. When you look at the scores against common opponents, with the exeception of the Tenn game, the scores are very comparable. The Tenn game was outside the norm for our defense, and had a lot to do with two starters playing their first game of the season.
But heading into this game both have balanced offenses, and are playing solid defense. I agree, this should be a classic, especially with so much riding on the outcome.
GIGO
November 19th, 2012
6:28 pm
How many times do we have to go over this? Alabama is NOT in the SECC game yet. Come back and talk trash when you QUALIFY for the SECC game. Or, maybe just cancel the Auburn game…I mean why play? After all, Alabama can beat NFL teams…they just can’t beat A&M…or win the west…
dan
November 19th, 2012
7:05 pm
A few things:
1. Alabama fans, you WILL be in the SEC Title game. Auburn is horrendous.
2. UGA fans: there are games where you look on the schedule and say ” we could win this game if we play well”, and then there are others where you should win because you are simply the better team. UGA is simply a better team than Tech. That defense of their’s is a real problem. Now if the Dawgs go out there , half-a$$ around , and turn the ball over 5-6 times, then yes Tech has a shot. But if UGA settles in and executes, trust me they will beat Tech by a LOT.
3. As for Bama vs. UGA: UGA’s defense vs. Bama’s offense will be a pretty even battle. But for the Dawgs to win this one, the offensive game plan has got to be solid. Murray has GOT to show up, the O-Line has GOT to show up, Bobo has GOT to show up with the play calling, and the Dawgs can’t do stupid things like jump off sides and turn the ball over. Because if they do those things….there is no way on God’s Green Earth that they will beat Bama. But if they come out with a sense of urgency and take the fight right at Bama, they got a shot. But that is a LOT of question marks. Right now, I like Bama to win 34-24 or 31-17. Mark Richt & Co. have got to show me that they can put it all together in big games like they used to be able to do 5-10 years ago.
NCDawg
November 19th, 2012
7:15 pm
There are two sides to every scheduling situation and so often we only hear about one of those sides. Truth is no one on the west coast wants to play UGA or any SEC team. The cons outweigh the pros. Here is a west coast AD reasoning this out… “Ah… we can look better in the polls if we win. Err..but that is IF we win. Every other year we have to deal with jet lag from 5 or 6 hour flights just to possibly have our season go in the toilet. Sure it would look good on paper but damn… that trip… the heat and humidity..I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
They might agree to playing A&M because it’s half the distance.
NCDawg
November 19th, 2012
7:31 pm
The Dawgs have a legitimate shot at beating Bama. They do not defend the pass as well as UF does. If we can get Murray settled in with short, quick throws and run the ball enough to keep Bama off balance we can put up some points on them. If Murray catches fire it could be quite a day.
The key is to attach Bama pretty much the same way we attacked UF in the 2nd half. We cannot start out trying to garb big chunks down the middle. Murray needs to approach the game like any other game. He can’t approach it with the “gee, we have to be nearly perfect” mentality he approaches big games with. He can’t nut up. If he can just get a few throws in then it should be a great day to be a Bulldog.
Bama’s offense has to be pressed. Mccarron cannot be allowed to sit in the pocket and pick us apart. We must bring pressure and get in his face and get those WR’s out of rhythm. If we attack Bama we can beat them. If we lay back it will be a LONG day. Their running game has to be stuffed just like we stuffed UF. They will be looking at what LSU did last year in the second half and will try to replicate it. TG needs to anticipate this and game plan for it.
If the Dawgs come out with UF level intensity- Bama will be in trouble. They believe they will win just because they are Bama. If we jack them in the mouth early- it will shock them. We have the athletes to match up… we just have to bring it.
NCDawg
November 19th, 2012
7:32 pm
garb = grab … dammit
ROLL DAWGS!
November 19th, 2012
8:19 pm
Squash the BUGS so the BUG fans will cry some more! They are so Jealous! Love to here there stupidity! They are so delusional! They believe they have a chance even tho their offense is pathetic and their defense is even worse. Just plain pitiful! They had to leave the SEC because they could not win a game. Georgia has beaten them 10 out of the last 11 games they have played and the year they won they had to give up their ACC championship title because they cheated. Are the BUGS even ranked in the top fifty? I don’t so! GEORGIA RULES THIS STATE! The BUGS will LOSE again this weekend to the mighty DAWGS! Now its time to here more crying from the little inept bug fans! LOL Start trolling cry babies!
dan
November 19th, 2012
8:35 pm
Good points NCDawg! I agree.
houstondawgfan
November 19th, 2012
8:53 pm
Go Dogs, great year. However Bama beats us by 10 in the dome. Murray still.looking hit.or.miss.some games and the oline stinks, thus Alabama will expose the weakness by blitzing heavily.
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zbulldawg
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LET THE BIG DAWG EAT
E Guilbeau
November 20th, 2012
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Go Jackets!
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