What they said after SEC Championship game
“Thought it was a great football game. Unfortunately, we ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. I think Alabama is a great football team, obviously. I think we’re pretty good, too.”
– Georgia coach Mark Richt
“To be (so close) to making probably one of the greatest comebacks in Georgia history, it stinks (to fall short).”
– Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray
“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.”
– Murray
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make a smart play. Instinctively, I grabbed the ball when I probably should have let it go.”
– Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley on his catch that ended the game, five yards short of the end zone
“We kind of had that I-would-not-be-denied attitude out there today. I’m not saying we played our best football game of the year in terms of execution, but the way we were able to run the ball, especially in the second half, was probably the difference in the game.”
– Alabama coach Nick Saban
“This conference will test your mettle. There are a lot of good teams in this conference. We beat a really good team out there today. We really couldn’t handle their pass rush, and it was difficult for us to throw the ball. But you have to give our offensive line a lot of credit for … doing a great job of blocking so that we could run the football … for 350 yards and come back in the game a couple of times.”
– Saban
“He just told me congratulations and that I did a great job running and that it was the best he’s ever seen me run.”
– Alabama running back Eddie Lacy on what former Crimson Tide star Mark Ingram said to him after the game, in which Lacy ran for 181 yards
“I’m going to tell you that I think it’s a crying shame if Georgia doesn’t get to go to a BCS bowl game. …. They played a tremendous game out there today. That was a great football game by both teams. … So, I mean I think it’s ridiculous (if Georgia doesn’t go to a BCS bowl such as the Sugar, Fiesta or Orange) . I watch teams playing that are 7-5 that are talking about they might go to a BCS game because they won their (conference) championship? Something’s not right here. … I don’t think it’s fair to the Georgia players, coaches and their institution if they don’t go to a BCS game.”
– Saban
“When I saw that No. 9 running down the field with a blocked field goal, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s a problem.’”
– Saban on Alec Ogletree’s run that gave Georgia a 21-10 lead in the third quarter
“I told them I was disappointed (in the outcome), but I wasn’t disappointed in them. That was the main thing. I told them they were warriors in there, and I was proud of them.”
– Richt on what he told his team after the game
“That was impressive by their people up front. We were just not able to stop it.”
– Richt on Alabama’s running game
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
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
124 comments Add your comment
danny
December 2nd, 2012
5:05 pm
doc — David Greene and DJ Schockley are from the state of Georgia and they won SEC Championships.
Pale Rider
December 2nd, 2012
5:12 pm
Welcome to Georgia athletics- ho-hum contenders- see Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Tech and Bulldogs
Pale Rider
December 2nd, 2012
5:14 pm
For those who bash Chuck Oliver, my question is why didn’t Richt just answer the question everybody wants to know? If Oliver didn’t ask it, I would have.
doug
December 2nd, 2012
5:20 pm
Can we at least agree that Chuck Oliver is a moron?
GB's Hamburgers
December 2nd, 2012
5:20 pm
Ogletree had the most honest observation of the loss. He said that his team mates failed to follow their assignments, leaving the gaps unfilled. How else do you explain 350 yards against our elite talent? We did get out usual turnovers but that’s no substitute for a good defense.
GB's Hamburgers
December 2nd, 2012
5:25 pm
Spike or no spike? Richt tried to gloss it over. He even said they saved some time, when everyone knows it took 5 to 6 seconds to get that play off. He is a stubborn man. Bobo was the opposite. With a humble demeanor he made it clear that he should have spiked the ball. Of the two, only Bobo will come away with a lesson learned.
WhatchaSmokin'???
December 2nd, 2012
5:43 pm
@ Rich —
“Screwed by SEC again letting Murray get hit, Not going to do any thing about it. Did not 2 years ago no this year. To much money to be made off of Bama…”
Are you serious? Mike Slive and Jarvis Jones should be Co-MVP of the 2012 GA Team. How stupidly ez do you want your Conference schedules to still find a way to disappoint?
GA is THE big TV market program in the entire SEC.
Consider yourself lucky that the SEC doesn’t vote UGA out of the league for giving up 350 rushing yards…..That is PAC12 type defense!
unbiased SEC fan
December 2nd, 2012
7:27 pm
This game did boil down to coaching mistakes. Poor Clock Management is what cost Georgia this game. There were missed calls by the refs on both teams but they balanced themselves out, after all Georgia is the most penalized team in the SEC.
Its very obvious to the college football nation that Georgia was outcoached and needs a new head football coach! If he had only signaled a “Spike” to Murray, the outcome would have different.
Mark R. can’t win the big games – period. Obviously Georgia had more talent than Alabama but they still lost. Why?, because of the inability by Mark R. to successfully coach his team for end-game win situations.
Dawg07
December 2nd, 2012
7:47 pm
Proud of the Dawgs!
Would have liked to have won, but great effort.
Neutral
December 2nd, 2012
8:48 pm
Damn I’m proud of my DAWGS. You guys are awesome and made us all proud. Let’s go to Orlando and have some fun and kick Nebraska!!!! GO DAWGS and thanks for playing your hearts out!!!
Neutral
December 2nd, 2012
8:49 pm
@unbiased SEC Fan
Are you impaired or stupid…..maybe both!!!!
BIGDAWG13
December 2nd, 2012
9:42 pm
to all you dickfaced georgia fans who say that richt needs to be fired and the ones that thought eggin murray’s house was a good thing let me tell yal this yal r the dumbest douchebags on the planet…i ges u real georgia fans dont remember how richt got us out of a drought and coached us to win a sec championship game in 2002 and one in 2005 and he has one of the best coaching resumes in college football and murray has played fantastic 3 consecutive 3000 yd seasons sec record but yeah that doesnt matter without the big wins but oh yeah what about florida if it wuznt for him on that last touchdown drive we probablly woodnt of won that game… ever since the south carolina and kentcuky games we have improved tremendously and in all honestly if connely woodnt of caught that we coodve easily won that game and murray played excelent i ll always stick with richt and murray until they actually stop coaching and playing for georgia but evn aftr that i ll still probably support them so whoever says eggin murrays house was right and we need a new quarterback and that we need a new coach go suck a cock and be a georgia tech fan
GO DAWGS! 11-2! BEAT NEBRASKA!
Chuck Bagley
December 2nd, 2012
10:26 pm
millercodawg, you moan groan, complain but I have yet to hear you name the replacement coaches. Where are they, who are they or are you just willing to experiment in two year shifts?
Daniel J
December 2nd, 2012
10:56 pm
Georgia played an awesome game! For those of you that want to beat up on Mark Richt…get a life! He’s a class act running a first class program. I’d rather get beat by a great team any day rather than get beat by weak teams time and time again and never get to the big games. Mark Richt has recruited top-notch players and has consistently produced. No one wins them all and if they do they weren’t playing any body capable of truly testing their abilities. This will be clear when Bama demolishes Notre Dame!
Johnintexas
December 3rd, 2012
12:32 am
UGA lost the game. If this had been early in the season, all this valiant effort crap might mean something. Richt should have made his players and coaches sit on the field and watch the Alabama coronation. They need to taste only defeat because that’s what happened. They got beat. And it matters not if it was five yards or five inches. There is but one goal and the Dawgs did not achieve it. If the players get all this adoration for a great effort, all that says is the expectation for defeat was there all along. Alabama fans are criticized for being too unrealistic. They expect the Tide to play for the national title every year and that expectation spills over into every aspect of Crimson Tide football. We can all say they’re crazy but Alabama is playing for their third BCS title in four years.
FORMATION 4 SUCCESS
December 3rd, 2012
12:44 am
JUST SAYING, AFTER ALL THE LOSSES THAT GT HAS HAD TO UGA, THERE HAS ONLY BEEN ONE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 1990 AND THAT TROPHY HAS GEORGIA TECH’S NAME ON IT. UGA, YOU STILL HAVE TO LOOK UP TO US BECAUSE WE STILL SIT ON TOP OF THAT MOUNTAIN. IF I COULD JUST GET THIS THROUGH THE HEADS OF MY BOYS ON THE FLATS WE CAN GET THIS THING TURNED AROUND. IN THE MEANTIME UGA FOLKS, MY DARLING DAUGHTER SAYS IT BEST. SSHHH!!!
Old Gold
December 3rd, 2012
12:57 am
any team that gives up over 300 yards rushing in 3 straight games doesn’t deserve a BCS bowl. One thing they do deserve is an award for talking the most smack and never backing it up.
Dawg4Life
December 3rd, 2012
7:42 am
At the end of the game, Coaching Choked, period.
Dawg4Life
December 3rd, 2012
7:46 am
Richt don’t need to be fired, but we do need a change, some way, some how, to get over this hump.
yarddawg
December 3rd, 2012
8:16 am
To any Alabama fans that come on here and read this blog, I would like to congradulate the University of Alabama and their fans, what a great game it was, I feel bad for our players and coaches, but the bottom line is, somone has to lose and someone has to win. I also liked that Georgia didnt quit and showed alot of fight, I am proud of our players as well, but most of all I glad that nobody was seriously injured, because they were knocking the hell out of each other, Good luck Bama in the NC game and good luck Dawgs in your bowl game. GO DAWGS!
Billdawg69/71
December 3rd, 2012
8:53 am
Being an alumni, former coach and season ticket holder, I am apalled at the assumptions of bandwagon jumpers such as millercodawg who find ways to critisize coaches and teams who had just battled what is probably the best team in the country to a near win. Assumptions that the coaching staff did not consider the “spike” are absurd. Our quicktempo offense had Alabama on their heels; same as A&M did with the same approach. The play was a great call; Murray’s best patter to throw to our best receiver. Even with a “spike” we have just two plays. Not calling for a spike does not eliminate the possiblility of a tipped ball and the resulting short reception. Conley caught the ball with his back to the goal. For all he knew, there could have been no defender behind him and he could have backed into the end zone. Time to give up all the “what ifs” for you bandwagon jumping non alumni. I continue to be proud of our coach and players and am confident they gave their all. Go Dawgs!!
Tide/Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:29 am
Well, the comments are just about what you would expect. Ga. could have won the game. Ala. could have lost the game. What do you expect from two great teams. Some lament the clock ran out on Ga. It’s true it did, but if there had been 2 minutes left on the clock Ga. would have taken the lead and with a minute and a half left Ala. would have come back and won the game. The clock runs out on someone in every great game. That’s the way 2 great teams play.
Millercodawg you speak highly of your own IQ. The problem is, the more you write the more your IQ is exposed as myth. If your IQ is so high, try writing the same way you would speak to someone face to face.
Tide/Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:56 am
Dawg4life UGA is over the hump. After 2 very degrading seasons Ga. has come back and played in the last 2 SEC championship games. How many teams have played in those 2 games? Just 3, (LSU, Alabama, & Georgia) Georgia twice and Alabama & LSU once each. Alabama has come back from losing to La. Tech to winning two National Titles. Ga. is on the way back much like Ala. Alabama had the advantage in this game because of their depth of experience. The talent was pretty much the same. Ga. came close to winning. That’s how close they are to a National title. Keep the faith!
fcdawg63
December 3rd, 2012
5:28 pm
Great job Dawgs! The only thing you could have done better was to have won. The pass defense shut down McCarron except for 1 crucial pass. The run defense, well it finally came around but too little too late. That final 15 seconds? Who called it, BO BO or DO DO? Seems like spiking it would have been better, but that’s why he gets the big bucks. So ironic, last year the problem was dropped passes, this year it should have been dropped. This is one for the history books. Best game ever according to my Alabama friends. I agree.