Richt: ‘We spent ourselves in a worthy cause…. You’ve got to kind of get over the heartbreak’
Georgia coach Mark Richt said his program is moving on from the “heartbreak” of Saturday’s SEC Championship game loss and “getting back to work.”
Mark Richt: "It was heartbreaking, no doubt." (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
“You know what? We spent ourselves in a worthy cause,” Richt said Sunday night. “We of course wanted to play for the national championship. We knew we were just a couple of yards away, maybe a couple of seconds away or a tipped ball away or however you want to say it. We were at least in position to win it.
“It was heartbreaking, no doubt. We were all highly, highly hurt by it. … We just came up short. It was one of those games where either team could have won. So you’ve got to kind of get over the heartbreak of that. And I’ve always had the ability to understand what the reality is and move on.
“We’re already out recruiting. We’re getting back to work.”
Despite the dashed dream of playing for the national championship, Richt said he expects his 11-2 team to be enthused about its trip to Orlando for the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl against Nebraska.
“We’ve got a new goal in sight: We’re excited to try to get 12 wins,” Richt said.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity acknowledged that the day after the SEC title game was a difficult one in Bulldog Nation.
“I know we’re all still hurting a little bit right now,” McGarity said. “But the sun came up … and there’s nothing we can do about it but learn from it and move forward.”
How coaches ranked Dogs
After Georgia’s 32-28 loss to Alabama, voters in the USA Today coaches’ poll ranked the Bulldogs everywhere from No. 2 to No. 11.
The highest vote cast for Georgia was by Vanderbilt’s James Franklin, who had the Bulldogs No. 2 (behind Alabama and ahead of Notre Dame).
The lowest votes cast for Georgia were by Baylor’s Art Briles and Washington’s Steve Sarkisian, both of whom had the Bulldogs No. 11.
Richt and Alabama’s Nick Saban voted Georgia No. 3 — ahead of Florida, which both put No. 4.
Coaches’ individual ballots were released for the first time this season, per customary procedure on the final poll before the bowls.
Overall, Georgia was ranked No. 5 in the coaches’ poll. In the other two components of the BCS standings, Georgia was ranked No. 5 by the Harris Poll but an average of No. 11 by the computers. That added up to an overall BCS ranking of No. 7.
Conference limit to be eliminated
The rule that kept Georgia from playing in any of the four BCS bowls (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange) will be scrapped when college football goes to its new playoff system in the 2014 season.
The current rule is that no more than two teams from a conference can go to BCS games in a given season. Alabama, of course, got one of the SEC’s spots this season with its berth in the national title game. Florida moved up to No. 3 in the final BCS standings, clinching the SEC’s second spot because of a rule that stipulates a team ranked in the top four automatically gets a BCS invitation unless two other teams from its league are ranked higher. Georgia is the highest-ranked team not in a BCS game.
McGarity noted that the SEC has six of the top 10 teams in the BCS standings — but only two of the 10 spots in BCS games.
“It’s obviously being corrected in 2014, so a number of individuals thought that was not a fair way to treat conferences,” McGarity said. “I think the way it’s set in 2014 will reward those conferences that have the ability to place teams in the top 10.”
Under the 2014 model, there is no specific limit on how many teams from a conference can make the four-team playoff and the other top-tier bowls, although various arrangements between leagues and bowls will still be a factor.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who sharply criticized the inclusion of Northern Illinois in a BCS game (Orange Bowl), scoffed at the current two-per-league limit. “Who came up with this rule?” he asked on air Sunday night.
Herbstreit added: “To leave teams out like Georgia and … Texas A&M and Oklahoma, all of us want to see those teams in games that matter, and you’re going to give us Northern Illinois.”
‘They call themselves the CornDogs’
Georgia’s bowl opponent, Nebraska, brings back childhood memories for Richt.
“It’s kind of personal for me in that I was born in Omaha and my mom and dad grew up in Nebraska and all my cousins on that side of the family are big Husker fans,” Richt said.
“They like the Dogs, too,” he added. “They call themselves the CornDogs, actually — combination of Cornhuskers and Dogs.”
Richt said his family moved from Nebraska to Colorado when he was 7 or 8 and then to Boca Raton, Fla., when he was about 13. But “I still had Nebraska on my mind, really, up until the time I went to college at Miami.”
— Tim Tucker, AJC
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781 comments Add your comment
Ga/Fl.Stillman dog
December 3rd, 2012
10:19 am
Why we lost.
!. Miss interseption by Rambo (again). both his mis INT”s and allowing the receiver to PULL THE BALL AWAY has cost us dearly.
2. Can’t stop the run… The so called SOFT defense let us down again by not stoping the run. You stop the Run We Win, hands DOWN.
3. Damion Swann is a waisted test tube baby. his inability to cover ONE ON ONE and allowing that game WINNING TOUCHDOWN cost us.
4. Grantham cant do nothing against good running teams (it has been shown time and time again).
5. Bobo and the offense played more than well enough to win (Sorry guess defense let you down.) No matter (spike) or not the defense should have held up. But yeah Murray should have spiked the ball also.
6. Georgia will be right back in the thick of things next year. With or with out the early draftees. We have another chance and People we will be in the hunt next year.. I SAID IT FIRST. UGA will win east and face Texas A&M in conference championship.
GFY
December 3rd, 2012
10:19 am
Go find yourself another team, Joe Dirt. Looks like you have all the answers so I am sure the next coaching committee will try and pick your brain (which should be a tall task based on size).
Alabama Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:20 am
First off, all of you “band wagon fans” like Joe Dawg calling for CMR or CTG to get the ax can take a long walk off a VERY short pier. We don’t need fans like you to begin with. I grew up in Atlanta and have been a UGA fan for 50 years. I still remember Herschel bulldozing Bill Bates in the TN. game.
I am as disappointed in the way the game ended just as much as anyone. We just got outplayed by the Tide in the run game. Our “D” couldn’t get a stop when they needed to. It didn’t help that Alabama had ONLY 2 penalties called against them, where we had about 11 called on us. The helmet to helmet hit on Murray wouldn’t have changed the interception by the Tide on the under thrown ball, but it would have (and should have) set them back 15 yards which MIGHT have made a difference. Alabama, with its storied history, gets calls (or non-calls) just like Tony Gonzalez with all his years of experience gets away with a “little” push off on a pass play where a rookie tight end gets called for offensive pass interference when doing the exact same thing. SH!T happens.
The bottom line is all of those young men played their hearts out and left everything on the field Saturday night. I am VERY PROUD of them and the coaches that we have at the University of Georgia. Mark Richt is not only a good coach, but a fine Christian man. You couldn’t ask for a better person to run your football program.
This game will make for a very long summer.
GO DAWGS!!!
Texas Pete
December 3rd, 2012
10:20 am
Sick and Tired,
I agree that the ball should have been spiked but that didn’t lose the game. Grantham waiting too long to slow down Bama’s run cost UGA the game. Swann getting burned badly was a contributing factor too since he didn’t even contend the final TD pass.
59bulldawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:21 am
The coaches and the players left it all on the field Saturday night. Sure it hurt! It hurt bad! But they all deserve our support and appreciation for the effort they gave! I have never been prouder of our team . . . not even in 1981 when we won it all!
Dawg Fan
December 3rd, 2012
10:21 am
Georgia Coaches and Players – You represented above and beyond! Thanks for a Great Game, and a Great Year so far! End on a Strong note and make some cornmeal out of the Huskers!
Joe Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:22 am
Well Texas Pete; i guess its good that don’t have any kids yet. But your right i am gonna teach my kid that losing is not acceptable. However there is a difference between not accepting losing and being a bad sport.
GFY
December 3rd, 2012
10:23 am
Why is it that Suckeye (tech nerd) always hangs out on the UGA blog? I suppose they try and make their miserable life better by denigrating others……..
Dawg Realist
December 3rd, 2012
10:23 am
Joe Dawg, what action/actions did Murray take during the game to make you state that he “choked”? With the game on the line, 65 seconds on the clock and from his own 15 yard line, he was 5 for 7 for 76 yards against the #1 ranked defense in the country. On the completion to Lynch with :15 left, Murray was looking at the sideline and motioning his arm as if to say “let’s spike it!” He was obviously told to do differently by the coaching staff. He then attempted to throw a fade route to Mitchell in the endzone, but it was tipped by a blitzing linebacker. Please explain to me how a “non-choker” would have done anything differently than he did on the last drive. I look forward to your brilliant response.
CHDawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:23 am
The offensive line’s play was one of the best stories from the game. We have a couple of players in their first year at UGA, one a true Freshman! We had a couple of regular players who are getting their first serious playing time and we have a couple with some experience. We have come a long way this year, and they were able to stay on the field with the nation’s top defense–a very physical front 7. No seniors in the whole bunch of starters. We should have a great offense next year. If Murray comes back, it could be our best offensive year ever in UGA history. Mason could do great, too. Just haven’t seen him enough to know. The D is going to need some serious rebuilding next year. Go Dawgs…all real Dawg fans are extremely proud of you, even though we are all terribly disappointed you didn’t get into the BCS. So close…
Joe Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:24 am
wow I cant believe the delusion on these boards.
Clean
December 3rd, 2012
10:24 am
Just ignore Joe Dirt the troll
Phil
December 3rd, 2012
10:24 am
I’ve had season tix for 27 years and have been through the good and the bad. But facts are facts: in the 12 years of the Mark Richt era, seven national championships have been won by SEC schools and we have zero. I don’t expect to win a NC every year. Just one in twelve would have been nice. It;s not like we haven’t had the talent. We have. One year it’s one bad game. Another year it’s one bad play. And in another year it’s bad clock management. Etc. Etc. It’s always something. Tell me why I should keep putting my heart, soul and $$ into an on-going story with so many plots but the same “almost got there” endings?
Dawg4Life
December 3rd, 2012
10:25 am
At the end of the game, we should have spike the ball, our coaching staff choked!!!
Fight Irish Fight!!!!
#3 in BCS
December 3rd, 2012
10:25 am
Did Jarvis Jones play Saturday night? I think I saw him on the field.
Joe Dawg's a loser
December 3rd, 2012
10:25 am
Does anybody think Joe Dawg has ever been more than mediocre at anything he’s done, himself, EXCEPT finding fault or blaming others in his own pathetic life. Unfortunately, the world has too many Joe Dawgs who are afraid to look into mirrors at themselves and their own sorry existences. They much prefer to mouth off about others, which is the easiest thing for negative imbeciles to do.
Huh?
December 3rd, 2012
10:25 am
Hey Sick and Tired-
I happen to disagree. If you understand the game of Football, the idea is to explit a mismatch. Mitchell had single coverage against a Bama DB. Murray saw it and called for a fade. IF the pass doesn’t get tipped, the ball is either caught for a TD or it is incomplete. If you watched the game and I am not sure that it woud matter if you did, UGA had a 3rd and 1 in the second half. Instead of no huddle/hurry up, they elected to substitute, which allowed Bama to do the same. Dawgs sub in 2 and Bama counters with 5 subs. Bama stops UGA. Why give them a chance to do that at the end. take advantage when you have the mismatch. It sucks that UGA didn’t win, but don’t for a second think that they lost
Silver Fox
December 3rd, 2012
10:26 am
A primer on spike or not to spike….especially for uninformed whiners who don’t really understand football.
UGA had a play called for the situation, a fade to Mitchell in the end zone. Unfortunately the pass was tipped, fell short, received by Conley and the rest is history.
Had we spiked the ball then ran the fade to the end zone and the pass was tipped, fell short, received by Conley you get the same outcome.
Having the play ready while ALA was reeling was a good strategy. Spiking the ball would have given them the chance to regroup. Their DE made a good play, and, as I said, the rest is history.
I just hat it….stop by Borders and pick up a copy of “Football for Dummies” and next year you may be able to make an intelligent remark.
Dawg Realist
December 3rd, 2012
10:29 am
Phil, you don’t have to keep putting your “heart, soul and $$” into UGA. The UGA football program will not notice your absence, and you will probably have better mental health going forward.
Mask of False Bravado
December 3rd, 2012
10:29 am
That wasn’t a fade, but a back shoulder stop route…and it was covered. Watch the replay.
adam
December 3rd, 2012
10:30 am
Has Notre Dame ever lost to Alabama? I don’t think so.
MFG
December 3rd, 2012
10:31 am
They played hard! They left it all on the field! They came up one play short! they ran out of time! Bama respects them! all true, but losing still sucks! enough with all of the platitudes already! I love my dogs, but that loss still sucked, no matter how you sliced it!
Phil
December 3rd, 2012
10:31 am
Using Silver Fox’s suggestions, I guess Spurrier should pick up a copy of “Football for Dummies” too since he is on record at wondering why UGA didn’t spike the ball. So the old ball coach must be a dummy. Right?
80sChamp
December 3rd, 2012
10:32 am
I played on the 80 championship team Was not a starter but was on the team.
The way I see it, MR needs to recruit better, keep the GA 5 stars in state, and hire some better coaches that can coach these guys up. They consistently under-achieve. Not like the old days where we hammered everyone with smash-mouth.
Who would want to play for a team that is always overrated and frequently disappoints? All the good players are headed to AL, SC, FL and Clemson. Ridiculous.
MR is no VDooley!!
Buckeye
December 3rd, 2012
10:32 am
dogs,
Note Herbstreit plugged the dogs.
Tired of cheating
December 3rd, 2012
10:32 am
Uga never had a chance. Mike Slive, Steve Shaw and the powers in B’ham made sure Bama won. When Uga got ahead, bama was allowed to “march and hold” till scoring. The tape proves it. Only bama could go to titile game last year when not winning the wsey and only bama can play anentire
Sec title game and not get called for holding. Bama is coddled and protected and the sec is the loser for it. I am tired of bama, its cheating, and the sec! Any ref that doesnt call a personal foull on dial for the hit on the uga qb must work for steve shaw ad mike slive!
augusta dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:34 am
Bubba,just remember this—— CMR is a good man but will never win the sec much less a n.c. with a defense giving up so many yards and an o.c.. calling predictable plays like the third and 1 late in the game when the whole state of Ga. was expecting it— including Bama’s defense……. Result- No first down and punting to Bama and then a long awaited pass for the touchdown……….Out coached again…………………………….
lord saban
December 3rd, 2012
10:34 am
well if the Dawgs are gonna play nebraska someone better tell the dawg defenders that they can pick themselves up off the Georgia dome turf. its safe now. the bama O line has left the building. word is that they went to Miami
Phil
December 3rd, 2012
10:34 am
Dawg Realist… why do you feel the need to use an ad hominem attack when you have no idea who I am and have never met me? How about commenting on the facts I posted?
Zach
December 3rd, 2012
10:35 am
Great game. Tough loss. I do think the guy who took that shot on Murray should be suspended for the national championship game. That was a dangerous hit. And if safety is the emphasis of SEC and NCAA officials, then that hit shouldn’t be overlooked. That was truly bad.
Buckeye
December 3rd, 2012
10:35 am
the dogs have had two prominent wins in the last twenty years. Two SEC! SEC! Championships.
Hardly earns the right to claim SEC! SEC!
Leave that to the big boys a la FL, LSU and Bama.
dogs are mid-tier, nothing more, nothing less.
You are what your record (past and present) says you are
STFU
December 3rd, 2012
10:37 am
How many times has not playing in a playoff system gone UGA’s way? About a 100 times in the polls. This year, you people chose to play nobody. That was your decision. Over half your schedule were teams so horrible most of the coaches have already been fired and gone before season ended.
Boohoo…..you all will be asking for a non playoff system when it starts up …you made your own bed..
Dawg Realist
December 3rd, 2012
10:38 am
Bravado, there is no such thing as a “back shoulder stop route”–what Murray was actually attempting was a back shoulder fade. And yes, there was good coverage, and the ball would have been incomplete if the ball hadn’t been tipped. Are you suggesting that Murray should have intentionally thrown the ball to Conley in the flat since the “back shoulder stop” route was “covered”? That’s funny considering that if Murray would have thrown to Conley on purpose and the clock ran out, folks like you would have been screaming “why didn’t you throw it to Mitchell in the endzone?”
Columbia SC Dawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:38 am
Joe Dawg: go to hell.
Huh?
December 3rd, 2012
10:38 am
80sChump-
Please look at UGA recuiting classes over the past several years. The talent is there. You may have even noticed it on the field this year. How do consider that the team or coaches “underachieved”? Is it NC or bust? I wanted them to win Sat night, but I left the Dome proud of the program and personnaly, proud to be a DAWG. Like my mama used to say, if you don’t have something nice to say… STFU
STFU
December 3rd, 2012
10:39 am
if you had spiked the ball…would of ..should of..could of…shut up
AltamahaDawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:39 am
I have to say, I am absolutely stunned at the amount of Georgia fans actually perpetuating the whole “spike” controversy. I get that a couple of commentators tried to drum it up shortly afterwards because they simple went with the meme, and I understand why trolls grasp something like for a couple more days, …… BUT now that the replay clearly shows the reality, and hearing the explaination, and knowing the truth, why on earth is any rational Georgia Fan still beating that drum? It’s just factually incorrect.
CHDawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:39 am
Phil, if you are really a Dawg fan, then you have to be kidding! Everybody wants 1st place every year, but only one team can win. If you were in the top 10% of sales reps at your company in five of the last ten years and somebody wanted to fire you for not being the #1 sales rep, you would get it. You would cry bloody murder. As the old saying goes, duty is ours, results are up to God. The Dawgs went beyond the call of duty and the results slipped through their fingers. All you can do is keep the faith, and keep on pressing. Giving up, starting over, like some of you guys want to do, is what quitters do.
Dawg Realist
December 3rd, 2012
10:40 am
Phil, your post was all about you and your whining, so I don’t know why you would expect a responsive post to be about anything else.
Fuckeye
December 3rd, 2012
10:40 am
Buckeye= 0-8 vs SEC
T1Dogs
December 3rd, 2012
10:40 am
Georgia needs to put a new and different emphasis on defense and recruiting on D. Todd Grantham? Overrated and overpaid. Ga’s D got steamrolled by south carolina and alabama and even gave up big yards to lowly tennessee. Big changes are needed to win BCS titles. Will they make these changes? Of course not–more of the same.
ProudDawg
December 3rd, 2012
10:41 am
Reading these posts just reaffirms the idiocy of many. Good game; nice job; we’re proud and pleased with what was accomplished; and, we’re lucky to have the coaches and the program that we do. Thank you Coach Richt. Thank you Team.
Big Gator
December 3rd, 2012
10:41 am
Hey dogs how is the Captiol one bowl working for you? you dont get good bowls for moral loses.
By the way gators have won 7 SEC championships and have beaten Ala 4 times in those games, because we play LSU and Ala during the season and dont dodge them during the season, for all you cry baby dogs, who say we dont belong in the Sugar, look at our schedule compared to yours, you lost by 28 to SC, and we were the only top ten team you beat.
DelServ Dog
December 3rd, 2012
10:41 am
I, like the rest of the bulldog nation, am hurting this morning. To have come so close and not quite made it is especially hard. I have been critical in the past of Coach Richt and some of the coaching staff because of what I perceived as poor coaching. I still stand by those criticisms at those times. However, I can find no fault with the coaching or the intensity of play by my team in this contest. It was as well-coached and well-played game as I have witnessed in many years. My thanks to Coach Richt for his defense of Aarron Murray and himself at the press conference after the game. Neither deserved the cheap shot by that thoughtless reporter. To all of the football team (coaches and players) thanks for a wonderful year and let’s get that 12-win. My congratulations to Alabama for a hard fought victory and I will support them as our SEC representative in the National Championship game. Go in there and blow-out the Irish to substantiate that the SEC championship, at least for now, is in reality the National Championship.
Coach Mark Richt
December 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
I count my blessings like my tan, hair, and hot wife!!!
Dawg4Life
December 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
So let them regroup SILVERFOX, we were torching their secondary. I know football, you idiot.
MG
December 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
Anyone know how much of the defense & offense are we losing for next year?
robert
December 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
College football at a high level is difficult. Very. Ga has a winning program. Great tradition. Good job coach.
bruce mac
December 3rd, 2012
10:43 am
The defense was worn out in fourth quarter. The Dawgs played there heart out but in the end lost out because of past recruting issues including character problems. We had 69 scholarhip players on the field and some of those were walk ons that earned a scholarship. Alabama had 85 scholarhips players. In the end Bama is just deeper and as a reasult better than us and wore us down. UGA needs to take a long hard look at their recruting practices and soon. We are taking the field with one hand tied behind our back and that is not fair to our boys. GO DAWGS.
Dawg4Life
December 3rd, 2012
10:43 am
I agree Grantham is overrated.