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ATHENS – As much as the loss to Clemson hurt, it may have helped Georgia beat South Carolina.
At least that was the opinion of Georgia coach Mark Richt, who reflected on the Bulldogs’ 41-30 win over the sixth-ranked Gamecocks on a teleconference call with reporters Sunday.
“Losing your first game is not fun at all, especially when it’s your first game and the whole world is watching,”Richt said of the 38-35 road loss to the No. 4-ranked Tigers in Week 1. But I’d have to say it helped us in Game 2. I’d have to say we realized there’s no margin for error. You can’t make certain mistakes and expect to win.
Georgia cut its penalties down from 9 for 84 yards to 5 for 16 and the Bulldogs didn’t have a turnover after losing that 2 to 1 to Clemson. Their only error – and it was significant – was punter Collin Barber mishandling a snap.
“We tackled better, we blocked better, we played with more intensity,” Richt said. "I think playing that game and living through it helped us in the South Carolina game.”
Now Georgia is well-positioned going forward. The Bulldogs moved back up to No. 10 in the USA Today coaches’ poll and No. 9 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday. They get a well-deserved week off this week and face North Texas the following week. Then No. 8 LSU comes to town Sept. 28 for what should be Georgia’s third top-10 matchup of the season’s first month.
South Carolina, by the way, dropped to 13 and 14 in the new polls.
The injury news Sunday was good. Richt said X-rays were negative for both tailback Keith Marshall (left knee) and tackle Kenarious Gates (right ankle) and both are expected to be available to play in the next game. Richt also expects wide receiver Jonathan Rumph, who missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury, to return against North Texas.
Richt said the Bulldogs would likely practice in full pads Tuesday and Wednesday, then have a non-contact practice on Thursday. They will take the rest of the week off while the assistants hit the road recruiting.
After reviewing video of Saturday’s game, Richt said the play of center David Andrews, linebacker Amarlo Herrera and tailback Todd Gurley stood out to him.
“Just watching Gurley run was fun,” Richt said. “He’s just a powerful back and has such great balance. And I thought our backs pass-protected extremely well and our linemen really improved from Game 1 to Game 2. They protected better overall and got after it physically. And I thought Sterling Bailey played extremely well and I thought Ray Drew really made progress.”
Richt praised walkon Patrick Beless again for handling the place-kicking duties in the absence of Marshall Morgan and welcomed back Morgan. The sophomore missed the first two games on disciplinary suspension.
“Marshall has been kicking the ball extremely well,” Richt said. “If we were to have a three-way competition (between Marshall, Beless and Adam Erickson), it would have been Marshall’s job going into the season. Marshall made a mistake, Marshall’s been disciplined for that and I’m not going to continue to punish him. So I’m expecting to Marshall come in and take over the kicking duties. But it’s good to know that Patrick is capable and has been in big games.”
NOTE: Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Weekfor his performance against the Gamecocks.The senior from Tampa, Fla., completed 74 percent of his passes (17-of-23) for 309 yards and four touchdowns. That gave him a pass efficiency rating of 244.2. It was the ninth time Murray has had at least four passing touchdowns in a game. He connected with eight different receivers, including first-time starter Justin Scott-Wesley who hauled in a career-long 85-yard touchdown to put Georgia up by 11 points in the fourth quarter. Murray moved to No. 2 on the school's all-time list for total offense with 10,907 yards in his career.
At least that was the opinion of Georgia coach Mark Richt, who reflected on the Bulldogs’ 41-30 win over the sixth-ranked Gamecocks on a teleconference call with reporters Sunday.
“Losing your first game is not fun at all, especially when it’s your first game and the whole world is watching,”Richt said of the 38-35 road loss to the No. 4-ranked Tigers in Week 1. But I’d have to say it helped us in Game 2. I’d have to say we realized there’s no margin for error. You can’t make certain mistakes and expect to win.
Georgia cut its penalties down from 9 for 84 yards to 5 for 16 and the Bulldogs didn’t have a turnover after losing that 2 to 1 to Clemson. Their only error – and it was significant – was punter Collin Barber mishandling a snap.
“We tackled better, we blocked better, we played with more intensity,” Richt said. "I think playing that game and living through it helped us in the South Carolina game.”
Now Georgia is well-positioned going forward. The Bulldogs moved back up to No. 10 in the USA Today coaches’ poll and No. 9 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday. They get a well-deserved week off this week and face North Texas the following week. Then No. 8 LSU comes to town Sept. 28 for what should be Georgia’s third top-10 matchup of the season’s first month.
South Carolina, by the way, dropped to 13 and 14 in the new polls.
The injury news Sunday was good. Richt said X-rays were negative for both tailback Keith Marshall (left knee) and tackle Kenarious Gates (right ankle) and both are expected to be available to play in the next game. Richt also expects wide receiver Jonathan Rumph, who missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury, to return against North Texas.
Richt said the Bulldogs would likely practice in full pads Tuesday and Wednesday, then have a non-contact practice on Thursday. They will take the rest of the week off while the assistants hit the road recruiting.
After reviewing video of Saturday’s game, Richt said the play of center David Andrews, linebacker Amarlo Herrera and tailback Todd Gurley stood out to him.
“Just watching Gurley run was fun,” Richt said. “He’s just a powerful back and has such great balance. And I thought our backs pass-protected extremely well and our linemen really improved from Game 1 to Game 2. They protected better overall and got after it physically. And I thought Sterling Bailey played extremely well and I thought Ray Drew really made progress.”
Richt praised walkon Patrick Beless again for handling the place-kicking duties in the absence of Marshall Morgan and welcomed back Morgan. The sophomore missed the first two games on disciplinary suspension.
“Marshall has been kicking the ball extremely well,” Richt said. “If we were to have a three-way competition (between Marshall, Beless and Adam Erickson), it would have been Marshall’s job going into the season. Marshall made a mistake, Marshall’s been disciplined for that and I’m not going to continue to punish him. So I’m expecting to Marshall come in and take over the kicking duties. But it’s good to know that Patrick is capable and has been in big games.”
NOTE: Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Weekfor his performance against the Gamecocks.The senior from Tampa, Fla., completed 74 percent of his passes (17-of-23) for 309 yards and four touchdowns. That gave him a pass efficiency rating of 244.2. It was the ninth time Murray has had at least four passing touchdowns in a game. He connected with eight different receivers, including first-time starter Justin Scott-Wesley who hauled in a career-long 85-yard touchdown to put Georgia up by 11 points in the fourth quarter. Murray moved to No. 2 on the school's all-time list for total offense with 10,907 yards in his career.
