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
IlliniDawg
December 3rd, 2012
11:39 am
It must really suck to be as bitter as JoeDawg, Happy, Chuck, or other so-called UGA fans. Now as for the cocky Bamatards and insanely jealous Technerds (that’s you GTBob), why do we really care what the hell they think?
DeezNutz
December 3rd, 2012
11:39 am
Dawgs Delusional? Gator fans, shall I point out that “great” teams NEVER have 6 turnovers in one game. Also, before you go spouting off about the dawgs being whupped by Bama and getting lucky to even be that close and all the other BS that flows from your fingertips. You almost lost to ULL. They’re in the SunBelt conference, not the SEC West. So let’s not hear about how we didn’t beat anybody. WE BEAT YOUR SORRY BUTTS 17-9 because great teams don’t turnover the ball SIX TIMES!! So, just be happy you backed into the Sugar Bowl. Also, try not to teabag anybody while you’re in New Orleans or you might be there for a while.
Buckeye
December 3rd, 2012
11:40 am
80sChamp
December 3rd, 2012
10:56 am
Pre season top ten
Post season has been
Although your summary of the dog has more than one word (Delusional), it is perhaps the best overall summary of the dogs.
MurfDawg
December 3rd, 2012
11:40 am
Note to lord saban:
Congrats on winning a great ball game. Bama made one more play than UGA and that was the difference. My son was at the game and said the Bama fans were ok after the game. I guess he didn’t run into you. Tell me what Lord Mike Price would have done in this game? Enjoy your win, enjoy the BCS and go back to your trailer and your fat toothless wife/cousin/sister and stfu.
JaxYJ
December 3rd, 2012
11:40 am
Hey Jarvis, have you been able to rub out the cleat marks yet???
AltamahaDawg
December 3rd, 2012
11:43 am
Fritter, that’s simply a fault argument. I know what the meme is. I was taking about the reality of the situation, now that it’s been broken down, without the emotions.
2 play is 2 plays. What would spiking have changed?
BTW, the point is not to run 2 plays. The point is to make a TD with one of them. watch the replay. Mitchell’s position was perfect, and that WAS a TD.
Buckeye's Mama
December 3rd, 2012
11:46 am
Sorry to the board for my sons behavior. Buckeye wasn’t that bright as a child. I was a crack whore and all that dope must have done something to his brain.
Todd - Lawrenceville
December 3rd, 2012
11:46 am
Gawgs and Dawg Nation; absolutely nothing to be sad or mad about. UGA played well enough to win. Although I hate loosing to Alabama, it was a good game. Both teams made some mistakes; its not a mistakeless game. To know it all came down to 1 play or two in teh end, I am proud of teh team… no complaints; even with the coaches.
The rest of you blamers should leave it at the door and be proud of the game the tream played.
crimson 1
December 3rd, 2012
11:50 am
Hey the Capital One Bowl ain’t bad for a team that allowed 350 rushing yards to their arch rival in a championship game. You don’t deserve a BCS bowl. Don’t embarass yourself and our league. Play a team on your level. Someone you can beat.
clem
December 3rd, 2012
11:50 am
dawgs need to hire Mr. Spock to be their time management guy. who ever is doing it now, is not in top echelon.
DawgFritter
December 3rd, 2012
11:50 am
Enter your comments here
Doggone
December 3rd, 2012
11:50 am
Why is nobody talking about the horrendous officiating?
GTBob
December 3rd, 2012
11:51 am
No moral victory in that game and it only exposed the heart our guys have. They played their b_utts off in that game and you know it.
They did, but it wasn’t good enough. Alabama had to play pretty bad just to make it interesting. It doesn’t really matter what kind of heart the players have. They do not have the skill level or discipline required of champions. This will never happen while Richt is the coach.
GTBob
December 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
GTBob, you criticizing Murray and Richt in football is kind of like Bozo the clown criticizing Einstein in physics. You simply have no clue as to how little you understand.
Ok then. Give me a list of all of the big wins in Murray’s career.
DawgFritter
December 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
He was covered. Actually, he was covered AND out of bounds. He would have NEVER made that catch. No way no how. Go back and look, he was past the cone out of bounds. No room for a back door pass.
Poor execution, poor decision, poor play, poor coaching… Poor dawgs…….
Alphare
December 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
BAMA usually plays a clean game with minimal auto points to opponents. But their defence was questionable in this game and made some obvious mistakes.
They allowed UGA to score on a fake punt and a blocked kicked, which is avoidable and should be avoided.
Also, on UGA’s last drive, defenders let UGA receivers get out of bounds and thus stopped the clock multiple times.
UGA took advantage of every opportunity to score. But in the end, it was not enough.
UGA is scary if the whole team is back next year.
Doggone
December 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
Crimson 1 – You just embarrassed your team by showing how moronic Tide fans are. Your team was smoked by a freshman quarterback.
MurfDawg
December 3rd, 2012
11:54 am
Note to Big Gator:
What do Sewanee, Tulane and GT have in common? They all won SEC titles before the gators. I can understand why the gator nation believes that there was not football until 1991. But some of us remember games before 1991. The gators do belong in the Sugar Bowl. They played a tough schedule and only had one hiccup. You should be calling out Bama for a soft schedule, not UGA. I think all the Dawgs are saying that we should be in a BCS bowl, not the Cap One. Most of us are proud of the Dawgs, proud of the season as a whole and realize it is only a game. See you in Jax!!!
AltamahaDawg
December 3rd, 2012
11:55 am
It’s the exact same play they would have run. So why not just run the play? And if it’s incomplete, there was 5-6 second left to run the (probably) same thing again. as opposed to 8-10. Nothing would have turned out differently. Except the exact moment the clock would have shown zero during the last (2nd) play.
So the only difference is: do you want to stop and talk about that play for 10-15 seconds first, then run it, or just run it. Now, that’s might be a legit debate. Some say better to stop and talk, others say that gives Bama time to adjust. But that at least a debate, and the only one.
NOT getting 2 plays is not a legit debate.
Tom in Atl
December 3rd, 2012
11:55 am
The game boiled down to UGA playing with 69 scholarship players. Alabama had exactly ZERO points in the first 28 minutes of the game. They were not running it down UGA’s throat (Anyone remember lacy getting crushed at the goal line and fumbling) – but the Dawgs did not have the depth to rotate Defensive linemen and Linebackers and keep them fresh. Eventually they wore down – which leads to arm tackling – which leads to Bama running at will. Saban’s offensive philosophy is to be balanced – but UGA made them one dimesnional (which is actually what you hope to do as a defense) – when they got pressure on McCarron and took the Bama passing game away. Saban himself admitted they could not handle our pass rush.
But hes Nick Saban for a reason – they switched in mid stream to a 2 tight end set and ran the ball over and over – even when trailing. Eventually – that paid huge divdends – and Bama’s superior depth won out. Had UGA had Arby Jones, Vasser, Thornton, and probably one or two more to give the other guys a blow and keep them fresh – I beleive Bama would not have had quite so much success running the ball. They may have still found a way to win – but it would have been much more difficult.
That being said – the guy UGA put on the field on defense gave all they had – they just obviously wore down – to question their effort or Grantham’s coaching is not taking into account the realities of what happened on the field. In a war – you have to have reinforcements. Bama had more than UGA – and eventually won the war of attrition.
Huh?
December 3rd, 2012
11:57 am
Crimson 1- So Bama should pass on a bowl after allowing the Dawgs to come within 5 yards of winning the game? When did bama become GA’s “arch rival”? Maybe you are confused with FL, AUB, SC, Tenn, or GaTech which are all bigger rivals than Bama. It is OK to congratulate a team after a win or a loss, but it takes a man to do so. I do want Bama to beat ND, but I wish folks like you aren’t around to “take credit” for the win
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
December 3rd, 2012
11:58 am
@ Chuck Oliver:
NOBODY wins EVERY game EXCEPT you and your ilk who apparently believe in magic. Some of America’s winninest active coaches have NEVER won a NC.
UGA played the BEST team in America to a standoff it could have gone either way. That tells a normal human being a little about the quality of the team AND coaches. CMR has won TWO SEC Championships and SIX SEC East championships in his 12 years at UGA.
I won’t bother to explain any further since I am pretty well convinced that you are either a troll or extremely ignorant about College Football or both!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most NORMAL people would look around and see that those selected to rate College Football Teams in America and decide that “Just maybe I ain’t the genius I think I am since the QUALIFIED voters still have UGA ranked in the TOP 5 Teams in America” and that is one hell of an accomplishment……………………………..UNLESS YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Tide is Rolling and Nothing can stop it
December 3rd, 2012
11:59 am
Aren’t you guys used to heartbreak by now?
Chuck Oliver
December 3rd, 2012
11:59 am
Hey, Chuck Oliver here…
So why cant you and your quarterback win the big games?
I think it is the YOU and maybe not the quarterback.
It is ME talking by the way coach, not THEY
Bama Mike
December 3rd, 2012
12:00 pm
Thought the difference was Bama being able to rotate in multiple defensive lineman. Our offensive line is what it is. The rotation of Lacy and Yeldon did not alter game plan. I thought Gurley was best back we have seen all year. He must have had 70 yards after contact. However there was a drop off whenever Marshall came in to spell Gurley. Georgia top 3 team deserves better bowl.
MASTER TROLL
December 3rd, 2012
12:01 pm
Be a GA Bulldog and be a LOSER! Yeah you’ll “play your heart out”, “leave it all out on the field”, “come up one play short” and “just run out of time” but the moron side of your kool aid drinking fan base will heap praise on the ineffective coaching staff, actually supporting contract extensions and pay raises for LOSING! Yes sir, step right up. Be a GA Bulldog and be a LOSER! 32 years and counting. Brought to you by Wise Up headache powder.
AtlSteve
December 3rd, 2012
12:01 pm
I agree this is the best SEC Championship game I’ve seen. In fact, it was the best game I saw all weekend (NCAA or NFL). Both teams fought for the whole 60 minutes. One of those games that you hate to see either team lose.
DogFan for sure
December 3rd, 2012
12:02 pm
crimson 1 – You came within 5 yards of losing and you come out with that crap. You are an idiot and fans like you are the reason most folks hate Bama. Bama was beatable on Saturday night and anyone with half a brain knows that. I’m not counting you in the folks with half a brain or one at all just in case you’re wondering. Bama could have very easily have been 10 – 2 this year if not some last second heroics at LSU. I would be a little more humble if i were you but I’m sure you won’t be. Texas A&M showed everyone the blueprint for beating Bama. I’m hoping Notre Dame doesn’t figure that out. Even though there are STUPID Bama fans like you – I have several good friends that are Bama fans that know how fortunate Bama was to win the game on Saturday. GO SEC!
Chuck Oliver
December 3rd, 2012
12:02 pm
Wow, a SEC east title. Is that YOU saying that or THEY?
Very impressive, especially with all the future NFL talent on the team.
Come on man! They underachieve at every level. I am so sick of UGAg fans thinking they are something they are not. Embrace reality doofus.
And this is ME, not THEY
Erk
December 3rd, 2012
12:03 pm
Just wondering if anything is going to be done by the helmet to helmet non call on Murray. How can you not call anything on that? That guy’s a$$ should have been thrown out of the game. It could have very well knocked Murray out of the game and apparently the refs would have totally been fine with it. Saban seemed to get numerous “look the other way” non calls. Just call it both ways please.
crimson 1
December 3rd, 2012
12:03 pm
@ doggone, that freshman will win the college player of the year. Be glad Jawja did not face him. As for Georgia, you are what you are. You can’t win the big one. It is always something with you whinners. I expect you will lose the bowl game you are invited to. Always letting the SEC down.
Purist
December 3rd, 2012
12:04 pm
I’d rather be a dawg fan than name myself master troll on a message board.
Georgia Bama Fan
December 3rd, 2012
12:04 pm
I hate to bust your bubbles, but I think CMR is lying about the last play. It maybe to protect Murray, or himself, but the play was not a fade to the back of the endzone. If it was a fade to the back of the endzone, the ball wouldn’t have been tipped at the line of scrimmage. It would have had a different trajectory that could not have been tipped. The receiver stopped as well like it was going to be a back shoulder pass. The bottom line is if you are going to catch the defense off guard, you better have your ducks in a row in that circumstance. A championship coach will make sure this is the case.
GTBob
December 3rd, 2012
12:05 pm
UGA played the BEST team in America to a standoff it could have gone either way.
But it didn’t. It went Alabama’s way like it always does. Even when they play a bad game they usually find a way to win. That is the difference in UGA and Bama. UGA is not capable of that.
Chris Georgia
December 3rd, 2012
12:05 pm
First down with 15 seconds left on the clock…why does the leader of the team have to look over at the coaching staff for directions??? Clock the ball, give your line a chance to regroup and make sure everyone is on the same page…SPIKE THE DAMN BALL!
Roll Turd
December 3rd, 2012
12:06 pm
Crimson 1,
You must be from Alabama son. It’s whiners, not whinners. Learn to spell fool.. You give Alabama a bad name with the way you speak.
tripledart
December 3rd, 2012
12:06 pm
These are not pro players.End of the season everyone is worn out.Bama was just deeper in personnel.
Richt is a savior to the program.I am Tech fan but found myself pulling for ga.Yes the under dog.Coach if you had took the Texas A M job last year you would not have to put up with these dumb ass fans.
Tripledart
Neither dog nor tide fan.
December 3rd, 2012
12:06 pm
Amazing how doggy fans hide the fan gear the day after losing. As someone who cares less about either team, it’s easy to make this observation. A person couldn’t swing a dead dog in Kroger without hitting six people wearing uga stuff at noon on Saturday, but there was no uga wear on Sunday ANYWHERE…funny how that happens…but saw plenty of bama stuff both days.
Take pride in you team, win or lose! Great game, but unfortunately one team loses…
GTBob
December 3rd, 2012
12:06 pm
Just wondering if anything is going to be done by the helmet to helmet non call on Murray. How can you not call anything on that?
If you don’t want to get blocked then don’t throw interceptions.
Huh?
December 3rd, 2012
12:07 pm
Thanks Bama Mike. Marshall is lot better than you saw. the coaches wanted the “power” back I guess. I would have liked to see Marshall on the edge. the guy is lightning fast. Dawgs need depth on both lines, but hopefuly “grew up” on Sat night. Good luck in Miami.
Dr Real
December 3rd, 2012
12:08 pm
Dogs lose. They are losers. The people on this board are all delusional. I know you get fired up, paint your face, and when you leave the muffler shop you work at drink the koolaid, but really? You are losers, your coach is a moron, and the fans are the worst in the country. You embarras GA with how obnoxious you are. Redneck and UGA are the same. You need to lower your expectations. This is insanity.
Carl Whitworth
December 3rd, 2012
12:08 pm
Best game I’ve ever seen, Dwags showed the nation what the SEC is all about. Game could have ended differently, but the negative insults about Murray and Coach Richt should not be. Go Dwags, beat Nebraska. Thanks for the year
GT Sux
December 3rd, 2012
12:09 pm
6-7 and we are going to a bowl.. LOL .. Congrats Dawgs.
AltamahaDawg
December 3rd, 2012
12:09 pm
Nope. He was not fritter. he was 3 yrds in bound when the ball was thrown. I JUST watched the replay.he had the defender turned with his back to the ball. Mitchell had a TD. Textbook play developing before the tip. …..and The WR is never “open” on that play.There is 10 yrds to work with, of cource the defender has him covered.. WR just has the advantage on the jump ball, while the defender has to turn and react.
You are mistaking that it had blown up (IMO) because as soon as the ball was tipped, Mitchell stopped and changed his route in reaction. Prior to that , he was on a bee line for the back corner.
But that all pure speculation. I no more know what “would” have happened than you. So lets say you are correct….do you really think the Bama defender would have had WORSE coverage if we had given him more time to get set?
That’s our best 10 yrd TD play. Worked all year, and that’s what we were running one way or the other.
just sayin'
December 3rd, 2012
12:09 pm
WOW, glad to know everyone is getting over it! It’s just a game, people! Played by 18-22 year old young men/boys. Don’t let it dictate your outlook on life.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
December 3rd, 2012
12:10 pm
@ Tom In Atl:
Well said Bro but we don’t have enough time to educate most of the Single Digit IQs posting NEGATIVES on here about ANYTHING Dawg Nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need to be encouraging our team because it has got to be a long way back to being able to put your whole heart and soul into preparing for Nebraska. Most knowledgeable College Football fans understand that so we need to help them move on without filling these pages of who didn’t play well on offense/defense/special teams. etc..
UGA PLAYED AND COACHED A HELL OF A GOOD GAME and Nobody in Dawg Nation should try to tear any of that down. The rest do not matter and they can “Embrassez moi poisson”
Dr Real
December 3rd, 2012
12:10 pm
GA Bama Fan,
You are spot on. No way that was a fade. Watch the tape, he was covered like a blanket. Les and Mark are starting to look a lot like brothers.
GT Sux
December 3rd, 2012
12:10 pm
Dr Real,
Looks like you are the redneck by your post.
Erk
December 3rd, 2012
12:11 pm
Hey Bob, so it’s okay to take a helmet to the head if you throw an interception? Really, wow, now I feel so much better. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
jw
December 3rd, 2012
12:11 pm
Said it all year – you guys don’t appreciate what Richt has done. Better than Dooley – thousands of times better than anyone since he left – and what do you do – whine and gripe about every minute detail of Georgia football.
When are you guys going to enjoy the spoils of the program? – better yet – all you Dooley Dawgs and all you folks who reference him as the standard – how many times did he get close and lose? I know after 1980 – he let at least two championships slip through his hands – yet he is god and y’all want to rail Richt out of town. Fickle bunch, you are.
Dooley is Georgia Football – many forget he had rocky times at UGA – guess one National Championship fixes all those other misses he had over the years. Why not accept Richt and quit micro managing every single move he makes – you guys are going to run off the best thing Georgia Football has had since Saint Vincent of Dooley.
You guys complain about everything – how about doing what I said earlier in the year – ride it out and enjoy this season – it is special – and stop griping about everything -