Georgia’s final drive ends agonizingly short
The drive of his dreams turned into a nightmare.
Aaron Murray, Georgia’s quarterback, got the ball back one last time with 1:08 to play in the SEC Championship game, 85 yards to go for a game-winning, stuff-of-legend touchdown. Improbably, he got the Bulldogs 80 yards of the way. But there it ended, Georgia 5 yards short of a berth in the national championship game when the clock turned to all zeroes and Alabama began celebrating a 32-28 victory.
“To be (so close) to making probably one of the greatest comebacks in Georgia history, it stinks (to fall short),” Murray said.
“That’s something you dream of as a little kid, to win the game like that. And it’s just (awful) the way it ended, that’s for sure,” he added.
On the game’s last play, according to Murray and Georgia coach Mark Richt, Murray was attempting to throw to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell in the back of the right end zone. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and landed in the hands of receiver Chris Conley, who was stopped short of the end zone — a worse scenario for Georgia than an incomplete pass, which would have permitted time for another play.
Georgia had no timeouts remaining, and the final few seconds ticked off the clock after Conley’s catch.
Georgia’s final drive started at its own 15-yard line after an Alabama punt, the Crimson Tide leading by four points. The drive seemed to end on the fourth play, when officials on the field ruled a Murray pass intercepted. But after a review overturned the call, changing it to an incomplete pass because the ball had hit the ground, Murray completed passes on the next three plays — 15 yards to Arthur Lynch, 23 yards to Tavarres King, 26 yards over the middle to Lynch.
“Arte did a good job of hitting his landmark,” Richt said of the 26-yarder to Lynch, “and Murray did a good job of stepping up and putting it on him.”
That put the ball at the Alabama 8-yard line with nine seconds left on the clock. Richt vehemently defended his decision to run a hurry-up play at that point, rather than to spike the ball.
“You don’t spike the ball there,” he said. “We had the play we wanted. It takes time to spike the ball, and we’re thinking about maybe (getting) three plays there.
“The clock stopped for the first down (on Lynch’s catch) while we were getting to the line of scrimmage,” Richt said. “We called a play. We called a play we call ‘stout.’ It’s a fade by the outside receiver and a four-step speed-out by the inside receiver. We were attempting to throw the ball to the outside receiver. The ball got batted and just landed, unfortunately, right in the arms of our … inside receiver. Not a good thing, with no timeouts.
“We run that (inside) route because a lot of times … it grabs the attention of the cornerback … and hopefully gets the corner to think the ball might be going to the inside receiver. And then you throw it over the top. We were taking a shot. Again, the ball got batted. So what can you do?”
The play wound up as a 3-yard completion to Conley — surely the most disappointing pass completion of Murray’s quarterbacking career or Richt’s coaching career.
“Someone asked me just a second ago what I thought the difference was (in the game),” Richt said. “All I could think of was, we just ran out of time.”
“They could have won just as soon as us,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “It came right down to the last play.”
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Game story: Alabama delivers BCS knockout of Georgia, 32-28
Bradley column: Five yards short in bitter defeat a winning UGA effort
Schultz column: Georgia earns respect in defeat, but loss not easy to take
The final drive and play: An agonizing ending for Georgia
What they said: post-game comments from players, coaches on both teams
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105 comments Add your comment
Strat Cat Dawg
December 1st, 2012
10:17 pm
Dawg fans feel the pain but we should be proud of our team. If you have any class, don’t blame Murray, the coaches, or Conley. They gave us everything and we just fell a few yards and a couple of seconds short.
01HAWK
December 1st, 2012
10:19 pm
ROLL TIDE ROLL
warlaw
December 1st, 2012
10:21 pm
A very bitter pill to swallow, but the entire team can hold their heads up high. They battled for 60 minutes, but needed 60 + 5 more seconds. What a way to lose. I felt all night that it would come down to the last possession, whoever had the ball last would win. I was wrong…but clearly there is not a gram of difference between these teams and it is nothing to be ashamed of to lose to them. Dang it…so we go on to next year with a great nucleus and a huge freshman class. Keep the dogs in the fight for national relevance and a championship will come to Athens.
richt's Butt Cut
December 1st, 2012
10:24 pm
Proud of the effort but….. SPIKE THE DAMN BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RJ
December 1st, 2012
10:27 pm
Congrats to our team for playing to the end and to Bama for the win. I hope we see some class from the Bama bloggers.
ugagolf80
December 1st, 2012
10:31 pm
look-Nick Satan told the truth-either team could have won-did they gash us in the 3rd qtr-yes-but Bama couldnt stop us either-we got double the yards that they normally give up. they tipped a pass and it fell in our receivers lap in bounds-bad luck.if we spiked it and they had a chance to prepare theres no guarantee we get a TD-a helluva game on both sides-one unlucky tip and the clock ran out-its as simple as that.
T.Earl
December 1st, 2012
10:33 pm
Great game, somebody had to win and I wish it would have been our Dawgs. The players did a GREAT job and represented the state’s flagship university with pride and a great effort.
NOW, can we move on to our 2nd favorite past time of calling for Mike Bobo’s job? Just kidding, but really does our current defensive players really want to leave school without an education or a national championship? Come on guys! Buy an insurance policy and play one more year! everyone involved did a great job but I live right outside B’ham and I am SO tired of hearing about how people roll their laundry detergent around over here!
GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!
Jesse
December 1st, 2012
10:36 pm
Murray is good… he’s just not great. They’ll never win it all with him there. He’s great against lesser teams, but struggles against the top teams. They kept it close and had a shot, which is more than I thought they’d do. So at least that was good. It would be nice to see them not drop in the standings as they held their own, and beat UF earlier.
DILLIGAF
December 1st, 2012
10:41 pm
Murray should have made the call and spiked the ball so that the offense could calm down and the coaches could discuss the play. true, Bama’s defense was on their heels and it owuld have given them a chance to regroup but spiking the ball was clearly the thing to do.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda… the Dawgs fought hard on every play. No shame in that.
UGA/85′
Tony
December 1st, 2012
10:47 pm
Richt has no concept of clock management late in the close games. This has been seen over and over again. No excuses – just another classic failure in a big game.
DawgH8ter
December 1st, 2012
10:48 pm
ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!
Notebook: Nick Saban believes Georgia deserves to be in BCS Bowl | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:50 pm
[...] Schultz column: Georgia earns respect in defeat, but loss not easy to take [...]
Slim
December 1st, 2012
10:51 pm
This one is going to hurt for a long time…Alabama deserves credit for coming back when they were down 21-10 after the blocked field goal. They were down by 11 at the six minute mark of the third quarter and didn’t give up. They scored 22 points in 21 minutes….
Bama delivers BCS knockout of Georgia, 32-28 in SEC Championship | UGA sports blog
December 1st, 2012
10:52 pm
[...] Schultz column: Georgia earns respect in defeat, but loss not easy to take [...]
Jon
December 1st, 2012
10:58 pm
What a game. Both teams kept throwing jabs the entire game. Congratz to all the Georgia fans. Georgia played great. Neither team deserved to lose that game. You guys should not be left out of the BCS, in my opinion. Good luck!
Texas Dawg
December 1st, 2012
11:10 pm
I don’t care what CMR says, the smart FOOTBALL play at that point in the game was to spike the ball. I still haven’t heard from him why you wouldn’t spike the ball in that situation. It’s rubbish to say that by not spiking it, it kept Bama from setting up its defense. Really, at that point, who cares if they set up their defense. Our offense would be set, too, and at that spot on the field, I like our offensive weapons to win out over their defensive guys. And, had we spiked the ball and run the same play and the same thing (tipped pass) had happened, we would have had extra time to get up and try to run one final play with about 2 seconds left — or maybe spike it again and then run a play.
By the way, is anyone paying attention to the ACC championship game? Tech is actually making a game of it! Geez!
Texas Dawg
December 1st, 2012
11:15 pm
Well so much for that. Bees lose! Would gloat, but not much fun now after our own loss.
UGA
December 1st, 2012
11:15 pm
One of the best football games I have watched in some time. This was the National Championship game. Even though we came up short, Georgia fans just witnessed a taste of the greater things to come for UGA football. The system and recruiting is in place and things are only going to get better. For it only to be a 4 point margin of victory that was only one a play away from going to the National Championship game, Georgia has earned the right to play in the BCS Sugar Bowl. No one should be hanging their heads after this game. They left it all on the field. Proud of our team, our coaches, and the entire Dawg Nation. Keep your head up Murray, you played a heck of a game. Hope you will return next year. Coach Richt is a class act and is the more focused and determined than I have seen during his career at Georgia. I know where I would go if I were a recruit….UGA. Proud to be a Georgia Bulldog!
slobodan
December 1st, 2012
11:21 pm
Better results than last year; but the dogs still got the ball crammed down their throats in the run game. Don’t much need a Jarvis Jones type pass rusher when all they got to do is hand it off. I don’t understand the dogs method of grab tackling up around the shoulders. The dogs got some good players, but they’re not going to force many fumbles against running backs like Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon; they should have been making sure of the tackle instead of grabbing. The only one that was likely to fumble was AJ McCarron; and he was doing nothing but handing off; except for the playaction TD when CB Swann decided not to run with their best WR for some reason.
The Tide is Rolling and Nothing can stop it
December 1st, 2012
11:21 pm
All that NFL talent and you give up 500 yards.
Yep, Todd Gratham is so awesome.
Idiots
EagleDawg
December 1st, 2012
11:22 pm
This was the best football game I’ve seen this year.
Disgusted Dawg
December 1st, 2012
11:24 pm
Can Richt step up and admit he made a bonehead call. He should ahve spiked the f-ing ball. These are young players who were clearly puzzled (if not baffled) at the line, including Murray, because time was winding down and Murray wasn’t spiking the f-ing ball. Flat out worst playcall ever. Spike the f-ing ball, regroup, make 2-3 attemps in the end zone, Georgia Touchdown, SEC Championship, MNC, Done. But, no, let’s run down there blow 6 seconds off the clock, hastily throw the ball up and settle for disaster. This is classic Richt, both losing the big one and not admiting to his mistakes.
wayner
December 1st, 2012
11:26 pm
are you crying,ha,ha
GTVET
December 1st, 2012
11:31 pm
Watched most obf the SEC game,and I believe the best team lost…Hell of a try UGA…I was pulling for ya…Good luck in your bowl game…..GO NAVY BEAT ARMY!!!!!!!!!!
Voyager Dawg
December 1st, 2012
11:33 pm
Proud of the Dawgs! They played to the final second. Alabama is a great team and I think Nick Saban showed a lot of class in his post game comments. Georgia is a great team as well. I hope Alabama goes on and kills Notre Dame and Georgia gets some respect from the BCS. Georgia is definitely the second best team in the SEC and a loss at the championship game should not penalize this team in terms of bowl games (even though it most likely will). No Georgia coach, no player, no fan should hang there head over this one. Go Dawgs!
Mark Ellis
December 1st, 2012
11:42 pm
My heart goes out to Dawg fans.
You always seem to come up short when it counts.
Unfortunately with your current coaching staff nothing is going to change…
Spectators
December 1st, 2012
11:47 pm
At first I thought we should have spiked the ball. But it is ridiculous to get hung up on that one play. The fact that our defense held them for us to even get the ball back and for Murray to drive the length of the field in 1 minute with no time outs to potentially win game was remarkable. The bottom line is that Mark Richt earns about $4 million a year for good reason. The media and anyone else who focuses on one play call are spectators at best sitting on the sidelines looking in. Had Murray completed the pass to Mitchell to win the game it would have been considered genius. Until you are actually standing on the sidelines coaching a team in the SEC with all the variables associated with it, you really don’t know what you would have done.
Truth
December 2nd, 2012
12:01 am
Your weak schedule came back to haunt you! Enjoy watching us beat ND for anothe NC….Roll Tide!
flo-ri-duh
December 2nd, 2012
12:03 am
No reason to bad mouth the coaches or the players. They gave every thing they had and I am proud of them. On the other hand the obvious “no calls” the refs let Bama get away with should get some refs fired. That blatant cheap shot helmet to helmet on Murray should have gotten Dial kicked out of the game and Bama moved back 15 yards. Instead thee is a “no call” with the ref standing ten yards away watching the cheap shot. That “no call” resulted in 3 for the Tide. That ref should be reassigned to high school. If it wasn’t for that UGA could have kicked a winning field goal at the end of the game. Hopefully that play will be sent in for revue and Dial will be suspended for the title game.
House Divided
December 2nd, 2012
12:04 am
Sorry UGA
flo-ri-duh
December 2nd, 2012
12:06 am
Truth – you aren’t a Tide fan you coward. Bama schedule was rated #39 and UGA’s #42 – very little difference. Pricks like you are cowards.
House Divided
December 2nd, 2012
12:08 am
Sorry UGA, the dawg luck seems to run ourt when it comes to the really big wins.
Nate
December 2nd, 2012
12:15 am
9 seconds left? What game were you watching. There were 15 seconds left on the clock when he should’ve spiked it. Richt, Bobo, and Murray deserve each other. Georgia fans deserve better.
House Divided
December 2nd, 2012
12:17 am
Seems Ga’s luck runs out when it comes to the really big plays, and then Richt makes a fool of himself at the end of the press conference instead of turing the tables on the reporter telling him it was a stupid question that he wasn’t going to answer..
The REAL Phil
December 2nd, 2012
12:19 am
The not spiking the ball was done to prevent Alabama from substituting to a dime package. You can debate, if you would like (and have the knowledge and experience needed), the odds of passing into the end zone against a nickel vs. a dime, but it was not clock mismanagement as you bozo’s who wouldn’t know a football from a flying saucer think it was.
Whiznot
December 2nd, 2012
12:22 am
Mark Richt outsmarted himself just like he always does. Spike the ball and have three throws into the end zone. Every receiver must be in the end zone. It’s not rocket science. Sheesh, twelve years and nothing has been learned since the first year Auburn screw up.
Whiznot
December 2nd, 2012
12:26 am
It is especially galling that no matter what he does Mark Richt will never admit he made a mistake. Because Richt never admits he made a mistake he never learns from his mistakes. At home, alone, at night he probably blames God for his own idiocy.
Jimmy
December 2nd, 2012
12:35 am
Phil, are you serious?? Bama WAS in a dime package. They were playing prevent the entire series!!!! You spike the ball so you have two to three shots into the EZ. Do you think that defense was going to be flustered, w/ all the big games they’ve been in?? Get real man. There was no guarantee UGA would have scored even if they had spiked the ball, but they sure did have a much better chance. That was just horrible coaching.
Dawg Gone
December 2nd, 2012
1:07 am
Screw Bama. I won’t pull for those pecker heads when they play ND (won’t pull for ND either). I was so sick and tired of hearing Vern slobbering all over Bama and how great they were.
Offense was off, Bobo didn’t make adjustments, Murray – choke, Defense was out there way too long.
I don’t care about the SEC just my DAWGS! I hope that ND sticks it down Bama’s throat like their daddies do.
Hunker down
December 2nd, 2012
1:19 am
What a amazing game. The game lived up to all the hype. Truly two heavy weights slugging it out. It is a shame that any one had to lose the game because it seemingly was the clock that decided the outcome of the game and both teams were deserving and capable of winning the game. In my mind if the game is 30 seconds longer the Dawgs score and win the game. But give credit to the University of Alabama and not only two premier running backs in the nation, but in my estimation the best offensive
line in the country.
I would not be surprised in years to come this doesn’t become an ESPN Classic game.
Very proud of the Dawgs and their effort!
Hendu
December 2nd, 2012
1:41 am
Sure dissappointed, sure I hope all good fans in our conference pull for Bama over ND.
With the clock ticking from 12 down there had to be a concrete decision and it looks like it was left to Murray. Can’t blame it on a kid but I do want to know where all the coaches were to holler deep or none or, at least, spike it, spike it, spike it.
Murray gets alot of balls tipped anyway and the coaches know this. With the correct trajectory even “Too Tall Jones” doesn’t tip it. Not to mention the TIMEOUT when Bama was 3rd and more than 5 from midfield, the bomb may have been the call already but CMR decided they needed more time to think about it. Bama took that time to decide BOMB. Good pass, good play.
Still, if we like to control our fate, Richt is the man, and we and he really like Bobo, then WITF doesn’t every red and black blooded SOB holler SPIKE IT SPIKE IT SPIKE IT.
From there the full “brain trust” can gather every morsel of their wit and experience and trust the 1 play that even a common idiot like me has in the vault for this occasion. Any coach or want to be has the “IT” play. Gotta run the IT play once before you run two rushed plays of any kind.
Saban gave up points late in 1st half due to clock manage. Richt called a D timeout which haunted him for the last 5 minutes and left him indecisive.
Compare a game of football to the christian bible. Do what you want to with timeouts in the first half but you better make them count in the 2nd half. Continue to pursue and beat your opponent with your fine conditioning, D fundamentals, hustle, and make them call their TO’s. 2nd half TO’s must always be a meeting of the minds or to ice opponent kicker, not real sure if that works.
Bama did not lose focus, we did. Good on them. Whip ND men in arms.
Hendu
December 2nd, 2012
1:42 am
Hell, sorry about that men. I was so long time would have run out on me anyway.
Ace
December 2nd, 2012
2:14 am
1-2 against good teams
50000names
December 2nd, 2012
2:55 am
Either team could have won and I as a Bama fan could not have been upset had GA scored at the end. The Bulldogs played a marvelous game. For those who keep talking about the missed call by the ref-there should have been a flag on Dial for the hit on Murray. But likewise the ref made up a tipped ball call on the pass that would have otherwise led to pass I therefore nice interference call. Anyone watching the replay has to be honest and admit the rotation of the ball did not change in air. I don’t care that it was reviewed by the replay booth. That call was not right. In the end it eas a hard fought game, both coaches made some bad calls, and either team could have won.
madDog
December 2nd, 2012
4:40 am
spike the ball with 15 seconds—set up 3 good plays to the endzone. Alabama couldn’t stop GA’s passing game—Dogs score and win the game. Amazing.
Eric C.
December 2nd, 2012
5:37 am
It’s funny, on one hand, you’ve got Richt saying you don’t spike the ball, and then Bobo says he would spike if he could do it over.
I can see both sides…if the ball isn’t tipped they may have caught Bama off guard just enough to hit Mitchell on the fade route, or still had time for at least one more play if it failed.
If you spike the ball…you could have a chance for 3 plays, but then the Bama D gets to settle in as well. Too bad for the missed 50 yd FG earlier.
jdawg
December 2nd, 2012
6:11 am
They came up short, but hold your heads high Dawgs. Still a great season.
Mark Person
December 2nd, 2012
6:28 am
Not spiking the ball was about as stupid as it gets. If he spikes, it he’s got 13 seconds left and probably three shots to the end zone. Beyond belief!!!
Theoilchannel.com
December 2nd, 2012
6:45 am
GooD Game!!
UGA = Yawn
December 2nd, 2012
6:49 am
Who writes these articles??? The UGA QB was motioning to the coaching staff to spike the ball!!! That was the correct thing to do. That would have given UGA 2 plays instead of 1. The coaches, on the sideline, must have told him to run that hurried play. The biggest mistake of their lives!!! I for one am happy but for the writer to not catch that is beyond me. To not have played Bama, LSU or A&M in the regular season – the 3 top teams in the SEC – and be in a game where you could make it to the NC game – that may never happen again. I would have to assume future schedules will not even be remotely as easy as this year’s.
Fair n Balanced
December 2nd, 2012
6:56 am
I don’t think there is any question that Murray should’ve spiked the ball. In fact I was yelling at the TV, “Spike the ball. Spike the ball.” When we caught it by accident…..I knew it was over.
BUT I would like to say that I’m tired of the Richt bashing fans. And the Murray bashing fans. Did we come this close to a NC with Donnan? Goff? Richt has a higher winning % than any coach in Ga history. You don’t think he is disappointed today? Do you really think he went home last night and said, “We’ll, I still get paid a lot of money so what does it matter?” I don’t think so. He is crushed and spent today. Murray is a fine young man and a great qb. Leave him alone. My hope is that he stays for his sr year and breaks every record in the book. Because he will if he stays.
CHDawg
December 2nd, 2012
7:04 am
Great game, Dawgs! Every real UGA fan is proud of you and we don’t need anybody else. Losing hurts and you can always second guess something. The fade route was carefully planned and practiced and we have quickly scored on it before this year, so it was a great call. The coaches knew exactly what they were doing. An incomplete pass yields the same two plays regardless. Why give Alabama time to set up? The tip and catch were most unfortunate for us. The losers who say other fans are happy with mediocrity are just babies pitching their fits. They cause problems everywhere they go when they don’t get their way. Great bunch of Dawgs, and I am disappointed with you–you worked hard for this season and game…Go Dawgs.
Yellow Fuzz
December 2nd, 2012
7:08 am
To the entire dog nation (AH’s too):
The fact is you controlled your own destiny. If you won last night, you play for the BCS Championship Game against Notre Dame and have a chance to win your first National Championship in 32 years. If you lost, you knew that you would fall behind Florida in the BCS rankings and not be eligible for a BCS bowl (no conference gets to send more than two teams). You knew this for over a week.
Everyone in college football knows that the BCS system is a crap shoot and that’s why it is being shelved in 2 more years. It sucks now, but it is what it is-an “everybody wins a trophy” type of system. While wanna bees like Louisville etc., get rewarded for underachievement, georgia needs to go to the Cotton Bowl, beat Texas by 30 and finish up a legitimate top 5 team! Think of where you came from just a few short years ago!
I could not be more proud of your players and coaches. They are top notch, though I think Grantham should have made adjustments and lined up Jarvis Jones in the middle instead of outside in the 2nd half. Same run defense, just more inside stunts and different looks for Alabama’s massive offensive line to contend with.
Nevertheless, Grantham is a great coach and georgia prepared for and played a tremendous game in the national spotlight. They won the hearts of many outside of the dog Nation (use Google and see for yourself). Coach Richt, Bobo, Grantham and company have brought you all the way back to national prominence. You can now compete NATIONALLY on the field and in the living room of the best recruits in America!
However, though I have gained a lot of respect for the Georgia program, I would not hesitate rolling one of you if you bark in my face in public.
Cats hav fleas 2
December 2nd, 2012
7:09 am
Reading the comments section makes it hard to pull for Ala in the NC. Tide fans…sore losers and sore winners!
Is the dawgs starting lineup still in the Athens jail?
December 2nd, 2012
7:35 am
Man, it does my heart good to see the obnoxious loud mouthed, low IQ georgia fans eat their hearts out over their own stupidity. It doesn’t get much better than this!
T2Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
7:40 am
Murray comes back in 2013—the Dogs will be better than ever. They’ll win the SEC east easily again and this time, beat Alabama in the title game—book it!
CHDawg
December 2nd, 2012
7:43 am
Cats, just read the comment below yours and realize they might not be UA fans–there are some sick and bitter people (who need professional help) who post on these anonymous blogs. What kind of person would do that after the great effort Georgia put in last night? Just pathetic people. Saban was gracious and most UA fans are like most UGA fans–good folks. Just take the high road. Congrats to UA and good luck VS the Irish.
gator in ATL
December 2nd, 2012
7:44 am
Hard to pull for Bammy, but harder to pull for Dawgs. Awesome game though. Just a thought, is it in the ref’s guidebook that one should never, ever, never call holding on Bammy? Been that way for years and years. But I am glad that the Dawgs got to taste the lack of calls like TT and UF did in the SECCG just like a few years back.
Kyle
December 2nd, 2012
8:16 am
You can say you were close and played your hearts out etc. etc. but if you don’t win you are a loser. There is a reason you didn’t win and there is no excuse for second and I’m a Georgia fan saying that.
son's who?
December 2nd, 2012
8:38 am
UGA, UF, and USCe all have similar schedules next year. The games continue. Life goes on. If anyone thinks Murray, or Bobo, or Richt lost this game, or choked, or whatever you want to call, then you should have showed up at the Press Conference andn told them so.
You would have wet your pants, like that idiot reporter did.
kidding yourself
December 2nd, 2012
8:39 am
The dawgs have finally upstaged Reggie Ball. You will remember it forever.
Buffy
December 2nd, 2012
8:45 am
Whiznot-good observation. Saban admitted his clock management scew up at the endof the first 1/2 during his brief interview…….but Richt cant admit a huge blunder for not spiking with 16 seconds left.The REAL Phil is the idiot he aspires to call with his dime vs nickle theory. Any football acumen would choose 3 shots at the end zone over 1 fade route against the dime. Dogs had a chance to win it, Richt blew the chance, no doubt about it.
Alabama Returning To BCS Championship Game, Beats Georgia 32-28 In Classic SEC Title Bout
December 2nd, 2012
8:46 am
[...] 5. “Someone asked me just a second ago what I thought the difference was (in the game),” Richt said. “All I could think of was, we just ran out of time. [...]
Buffy
December 2nd, 2012
8:47 am
And I was neutral observer by the way. Notre Dame Class of ‘56. Go Irish!
Slim
December 2nd, 2012
8:52 am
Hard to pull for Bama because they’re sore winners??? UGA fans are the worst (I thought LSU fans were bad, but Georgia fans are on another level). A friend of mine attended the Bama UGA game in 2008 with his family. After the game, Georgia fans screamed and spit at him and his family as they left the game. I’m talking little kids they screamed at and spit on. Today I could not be happier that UGA lost this game and could of won…love it!!! The “Blackout” and now the SEC championship game…
The Bear
December 2nd, 2012
8:58 am
Great game last night! Bad calls on both sides of the ball, and I did not like that hit on Murray. UGA played a hell of a game and should go to the Sugar bowl just like Bama if they would have lost. To you Flo-ri-duh keep crying maybe your buddy kerryb can get on here and yall can team up? Instead of making excuses back your team and be proud.
Roll Tide
Markspal
December 2nd, 2012
9:28 am
Michael Slive’s office just received a request from Richt…asking the 2013 LSU game be dropped…Richt wants to play Auburn TWICE
true dawg881
December 2nd, 2012
9:33 am
All i gots to say is im proud t be a dawg and they played thier tails off go dawgs and whoever you get in a bowl game take this loss out on them go dawgs
The Tide is Rolling and Nothing can stop it
December 2nd, 2012
9:57 am
Dawg Gone
December 2nd, 2012
1:07 am
Screw Bama. I won’t pull for those pecker heads when they play ND (won’t pull for ND either). I was so sick and tired of hearing Vern slobbering all over Bama and how great they were.
Offense was off, Bobo didn’t make adjustments, Murray – choke, Defense was out there way too long.
I don’t care about the SEC just my DAWGS! I hope that ND sticks it down Bama’s throat like their daddies do.
Look at this idiot!
You just gave up an SEC championship rushing record. Your “defense” was embarrassed as your offense kept you in the game and you STILL blame the offense.
32 years and counting for the DUMBEST fans in college football.
44
December 2nd, 2012
10:05 am
yes Clock Management is important in college football. Too bad the University of Georgia does not offer that course..
1980 was so long ago
December 2nd, 2012
10:16 am
and getting longer
GT 1990 National Champs
December 2nd, 2012
10:19 am
“”yes Clock Management is important in college football. Too bad the University of Georgia does not offer that course..”"
You would think thist is covered in the Football 101 course at uga right after the question, “How many points is a touchdown worth?”
Growler
December 2nd, 2012
10:19 am
No guarantee they’d have won, but it was an astounding gaffe not to spike the ball at :15 and have 2 or 3 legit shots at the end zone. Not a hater, but I agree with ealier points: Saban admitted his first-half time-management gaffe… Richt offered some lame explanation that they thought they had a good play (watch the video.. even an untipped pass wasn’t gonna work). Awful way to lose after that astounding last minute drive. (and don’t forget the time-out Richt blew on defense that would have given them more time at the end, another bad gaffe not talked about).
jeffjacket
December 2nd, 2012
10:36 am
you guys keep playing easy schedules , and this is the result , 2 and 10 against top 10 teams. CMR can get angry if he wants to, but , you cannot argue with true stats!
mikebo
December 2nd, 2012
10:37 am
Georgia didn’t lose but bama made one more play.Ya’ll played one he!!uva game.Go Dawgs and roll tide.
jeffjacket
December 2nd, 2012
10:39 am
another stat you cannot argue with.
ga has 9 defense players going pro, they have allowed over 1000 yds rushing in the past 3 games. But all i continue to hear is how great CTG is, really?
mikebo
December 2nd, 2012
10:47 am
Dawg Gone Fans like you is the type of fans no one wants.If the dawgs had won i would be pulling for your team i the c-ship game.SEC rules.
cdog
December 2nd, 2012
10:54 am
the game was lost on the defensive side.georgia needs badly a defensive coordinator and defensive lineman plus replace swann at the corner.he can’t tackle nor cover.why was he out there?.todd grantham teaches his linemen to tackle the blocker and hold on the line of scrimmage. the ball carrier would be by passed and the line would stand there tackling and dancing with the blockers.its stupid and crazy his schemes.Aaron murray played a great game buy he need to figure out how to find open recievers.when he breaks the huddle he has his mind made of who he will throw to.overall, the dogs should have won.the tide dominated the defensive line.
GB's Hamburgers
December 2nd, 2012
11:13 am
Irritated by being asked about it, Richt tried to gloss over the “no spike” call indicating that they saved some time by running the ill-fated play. I guess he thought no one noticed that they wasted 5-6 seconds just getting that play off. A humbled Bobo, on the other hand, called it a “mistake” and took responsibility. So the difference between these two men is on display. Richt is stubborn, even in the face of the obvious. Bobo will acknowlege a mistake and can therefore learn by them. Truth is, we lost because of the usual array of penalties and because the defense was gashed by the run.
Vulture
December 2nd, 2012
11:20 am
First, excellent, hard fought, game. I am sure the whole nation enjoyed it. Time management was poor and the defense tries to tackle high against tough runners. Great game – Tough loss
LVDawg
December 2nd, 2012
11:21 am
I am so proud of our team. I wonder though the second to the last series
that we had the ball deep in our territory, why did bobo go conservative and not do some play action pass? Why did he run the ball?
badlands dawg
December 2nd, 2012
11:21 am
good game……but the bama football team goes on for rings….and the dawgs well we just go home…….I was in Florence AL……all week and listening to the radio the talk show and fans talk about ND not about UGA I ask a few football fans about the sec game …….a good tune up game for ND…..nobody was talking for or about UGA……….I ask some fans who the coach was for UGA and nobody knew who he was………really …….. I ask one guy at applebee’s who was the coach at bama he look at me and said GOD my man
Fats G
December 2nd, 2012
11:23 am
I guess this should put an end to the argument that UGA is not a top 5 team. Richt said it best,when he told the sports reporter,he had WARRIORS inside after the game. Best SEC championship game I have ever seen!!
GB's Hamburgers
December 2nd, 2012
11:33 am
I was interested in Ogletree’s comments after the game. He didn’t take the “politically correct” path. He said that his team mates were missing their assignments … not filling their gaps against the run. All year, turnovers caused by our great athletes, has obscured our defensive problems. It was the same deal again Sat. night. But this time individual heroics couldn’t compensate. Grantham’s defense was gashed and no adjustments were forthcoming to correct it.
mikebo
December 2nd, 2012
11:34 am
I hope that Saban makes Dial sit out the bcs game.Hitting Murray on the interception.was uncall for.Why the ref’s didn’ call the penalty i don’t know why.RTR.
bruce mac
December 2nd, 2012
11:37 am
Get it all out Bulldawgs. The bigger problem is it is most difficult to get to this position. 30 more years will be a long time. I personally don’t think I will ever see UGA win a National Championship again. Give it to Saban and Bama, they just find a way to win. That is what winners do and then there is us at UGA.
Buffy
December 2nd, 2012
12:02 pm
GB Hamburger has it right…………….I had not read/heard BoBo took responsibility for the clock gaffe. Good to hear. That was just awful. But, as a body of work, the Bama rush/ Dog Defense decided the game. Credit must go to the Bama O-Line for creating nice gaps and seams. The were controlling the line of scrimmage. Go Irish!
1 4 GT
December 2nd, 2012
12:24 pm
1 January 1981…………………………………………………and counting! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
King Here
December 2nd, 2012
12:32 pm
CMR, You are a punk. Spike the ball you worthless POS. I jus shouldt have asked you to step outside and spanked that a$$ like the Bama O-line did to the UGA defense. You cant win the big game and never will.
UGA1993
December 2nd, 2012
1:21 pm
All of Richts butt sucking supporters ought to be ashamed, the dogs had the best team by far and dumb Richt blew it. Fire the clown now and quit accepting second class status.
Randy
December 2nd, 2012
1:28 pm
The only person to feel sorry for here is Mark Richt a class act in a classless town. Each and every week he has to deal with the thugs on the team, the classless bragging and chest thumping of his wannabe players. His thug defensive coordinator, his laughable offensive coordinator.
The funniest thing is dawgs defensive loud mouth, bragging, chest beating players waking up this morning with cleat marks up their chests and on their faces from being ran over my men instead of your usual pre kindergarten schools you face.
Feel sorry for dawgs and dawg fans??????????? No sir it’s big boy football. this wasn’t Georgia Southern or Tech you were playing. Man up and take it like a man. Quit whining.
Seems I remember when Tebow cried all them dawg fans gave him the what not, now it’s your turn.
Go look at the photos on the AJC and look at Murray letting his own receiver have it.
Hey Jarvis buddy boy where u at? Still putting band aids on?
Ogletree u a little stiff from the beating you got?
Ha Ha Ha Ha
Oh yeah one other thing………..Is the drill finished???????????????
RawDawg
December 2nd, 2012
1:53 pm
To those who are saying Richt should have had Murray spike the ball, you know that even if they had spiked the ball they could have run the same play with the same exact result on the next play. They made the right call, it just didn’t work out.
Go Dawgs!
the WIZARD
December 2nd, 2012
1:56 pm
As a BAMA fan im glad we held on. But i must say those kids from GA left every thing they had on the field,and on spiking the ball i would have done the same thing we were gassed. Great Game RTR.
East TN Dawg
December 2nd, 2012
1:56 pm
Mark Richt coached a great game. He didn’t choose to spike the ball because he wanted to catch bama offguard and not allow them to regroup. The pass Murray threw was either going to be a TD or an incomplete because it was being thrown to the endzone. The only reason it is being criticized is because people can’t accept an honorable defeat and have to blame it on something. Bottom line, we played our hearts out. Bama’s O-Line and RBs were incredible and they are the slightly more talented team. The main reason we had a chance to win this game was because of some great coaching by Bobo and Richt and a gutsy 1 minute drive with no time outs by our QB. It makes me sick to see people criticizing our coach and players.
Rod
December 2nd, 2012
1:58 pm
I disagree with Mark Richt tremendously!!! It was a great game, but not spiking the ball is ridiculously. Anybody that played football knows u spike the ball. He’s trying yo cover up for his mistake. It’s sad these young men played their hearts out, and to lose a game like that. U have to practice this for these kinds of situations. What a heartbreaking lost.
Anj
December 2nd, 2012
2:02 pm
Just spike it. Like every nfl team would do. Then you have 2 or 3 plays to choose from. Why camt Richt admit that!
badlands dawg
December 2nd, 2012
2:32 pm
hey EAST TN DAWG……GA CMR can not beat the coach of bama……….. GOD coaches bama he goes for rings UGA CMR goes for hot dogs and a good movie….not even in the same boat……bama coach walks on water you just don’t get do you………its ok there is always NEXT year………qb murray crm coach bobo why don’t yall just go on vacation ……let the rest of us play some football ………
Craig
December 2nd, 2012
3:57 pm
So many of these are hard to read without laughing or hoping your Internet goes out permanently. If Richt kicked a FG to lose by 1, I would agree he would be an idiot. You can’t wait to see the outcome of a play then say that play was a good or bad call. The fake punt was brilliant? The pass that got tipped proves he’s an idiot? The blocked FG was due to a brilliant weakness found in the film room? Possibly proves Saban is stupid?? Getting gashed for 42 yards only happens to ill prepared losers? The truth is not one of you critics has ever won as often as Richt or Murray, if you even played sports. You certainly haven’t won in anything against that caliber of competition. OK, you keep up with recruiting, read the sports page, watch the games, and became an expert? You have to be in formation and set to spike the ball. If you know what play you want and have the personnel you want, why take two seconds off and give the defense a chance to regroup, substitute, and get coached up? How does someone so stupid get the first 80 yards in 60 seconds against a ‘mastermind’ anyway? Does Saban know the ball is going to get tipped? is that why he was white as a sheet? Go dust off your trophy for participation in 5th grade swimming, log on jrhighprospects.com, and scrutinize a veteran for battle tactics you think would have resulted in fewer lives lost, rather than thanking him for his service. You play Call of Duty, you’ve earned that right.
Rod
December 2nd, 2012
7:47 pm
Craig, u r the one that probably didn’t play sports. I’ve played all three, n was good in all three. Some of us who has played the game know u practice for situations like that. Mark Richt was wrong. In any league, little, high school, or NFL, u r told to spike the ball. It would have at least given GA two or three more plays. They blew it, and u need to know what u r writing about before responding.
Whiznot
December 2nd, 2012
9:17 pm
Everyone in the football fraternity knows that Richt was an idiot not to spike the ball to save scarce time and regroup. Now we know that he is double stupid and even defends his colossal blunder. Amazing but hilarious.
Hugh
December 2nd, 2012
11:16 pm
Last night I said any HS QB knows to spike the ball with a first down and 16 seconds. That was probably unfair to Murray, although he could have just taken matters into his own hands. If Richt sent in a play instead of giving the spike sign he does not deserve a national championship. But, sadly, the players do. Man up Richt. Tell me you screwed the pooch. With two shots into the end zone, I like our chances.
Hugh
December 3rd, 2012
12:03 am
Spike the ball – no brainer – spike the ball
Browndog
December 3rd, 2012
7:47 am
Guess if the play had worked and a touchdown was scored then several on here would be saying that it was a stupid play and CMR should have spiked the ball and not gone for the score until he better understood the situation. Excellent game and effort by all involved! Best SECCG ever. Good luck to Bama against ND and UGA against Nebraska.
GZC
December 3rd, 2012
8:31 am
There was no penalty called against the Bama player because an interception was thrown and Murray, just before the time of impact, turned into a defensive player…
bye bye dogs
December 3rd, 2012
12:25 pm
Playing the best team in the nation and you think you are going to surprise them with a hurry-up play? Wow! Nothing learned from wins or losses the entire year. Attitude can can be lethal. Another lost season with subpar accomplishments. Soon the schedule makers will do us in.