Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening statement…
“It’s an
exciting time. You can feel the fall in the air. It’s cooling down and becoming
football weather. We have a big SEC clash this weekend at 3:30 with the
nationally televised CBS game. I want to encourage all our fans to get jacked
up and ready to go. I want the Dog Walk to be wild. I want the students to be
crazed as always and make the pregame warmups an
exciting time and get it the stands as fast as you can because it’s going to be
a special day for college football. It’s the kind of game that everybody dreams
of growing up. If a kid wants to play college ball, he watches SEC football and
dreams about games like these. We’re excited to be in a game that has the
magnitude that is does.
“LSU, what
can you say about them? In all the years that I’ve been here, they won the most
games of anybody in the SEC. They have two national championships and three SEC
championships. It’s just a great program. They did it under Nick Saban and they are doing it under Les Miles. You certainly
could say they are the team of the 2000s. The past decade they have been one of
the best if not the best football team in the country.
“I would
have to think it’s going to be a beautiful day for football at 3:30 in the
afternoon. I can’t imagine a better setting to have it in than Sanford Stadium,
so were all pretty jacked up about this one.”
On whether Georgia and LSU would try to
establish the run…
“I don’t
think there is any doubt. I think both teams are going to be very intent on
running the ball and running it in a very physical way. I don’t think either
team is going to back away from trying to run that football.
What usually
happens when you don’t do well in a particular area where you have history, you
aren’t going to say let’s bail out on it.
You’re going to say lets get back to the basics and do it better than we
did and establish our ability to run the ball. I’m sure they’ll be emphasizing
it and I know we’ll be emphasizing it.”
On how Mississippi State stopped the run
against LSU…
“I didn’t
study every single down of that game. I started out watching their offense
versus Washington. So I’ve seen more of that game than I’ve seen of the other.
But I’ll get a chance to study that a little more, so I can’t really say what
they did. I saw a little a bit of it and it looked as if, just by sheer numbers
that wanted to outnumber LSU in the run game. So I know that was part of their
plan.”
On Georgia’s turnover ratio…
“We’re 3-1.
We put ourselves in position to be in this game this weekend and have it be
very meaningful and that’s really what you want at this point. Have we peaked?
No way. There’s no way this team has peaked. Will we peak is the questions?
Will we become solid enough and consistent enough to be able to win a game like
this. Time is going to tell. A very short amount of
time will tell. What we’ve done in the past is the past. We have put ourselves
in position to be undefeated in SEC play. Playing a team that is ranked No. 4
in the country at our house, we have a chance to see what we are all about.”
On his expectations of the team entering the
season…
“There was a
lot of mystery to me. Not for sure knowing what Joe (Cox) could do. Not for
sure knowing what our running backs were going to do. Who might be able to make
a play besides A.J. Green? All those questions everybody else had, we had. In
the offseason we were a little bit more healthy up
front. Losing Tanner Strickland and Trinton Sturdivant hurt us. There’s no question about that. If we
had those two guys we would be more solid up from than we are right now. I’m
not saying we’re bad by any means, but losing two guys like that that would
have been starters for you, hurts you. Defensively, I think we are still
finding our way a little bit. I was very pleased with how we played last week.
One thing about the defense in the three victories, in the fourth quarter we
have played extremely well. In crunch time we have played well. Last week’s
fourth quarter I think we held them to minus 13 yards total. The last three
drives of the game were three and outs for Arizona State. And without it we’re
not 3-1 right now. Have we played lights out? No, but we’ve also played some
pretty good football teams. I had a guy call me last night on my show and
wanted to gripe about defensive statistics and I didn’t mention it, but first
of all the 3-1 is more important than where you are ranked offensively or
defensively. If you play a couple of teams that you just totally out match and
you hold a team to 150 yards total and three points, you get a couple of games
like that, that’s going to look good on your stats for six weeks or the entire
year. But when you play Oklahoma State and Arizona State, you don’t have that luxury to be padding stats. We
knew that going in, and we know that what matters the most is on any given
Saturday do we play good enough to win and that’s been the most positive thing
that I can say right now. The other thing that I can say is positive is there
have been times when the offense has been outstanding. There has been times
when those six special teams have been special at one time or another. The
defense has played extremely well at times and certainly in the red zone all
year long. There are a lot of positives that have happened but they’ve all kind
of taken their turn. Thankfully, one of those segments has maybe been the
difference in wining these last three games. Now, if we could all come together
at the same time and play that kind of football then we will have a chance. If
we don’t it will be another barnburner I would imagine.”
On how games that go down to the wire help a
team…
“Right now I
feel very energized. Right now I feel very excited about where we are and where
we are going. I think a lot has to do with LSU coming to town and us having a
chance to play well and hopefully get a victory that could put us in great
position. We’re competing for the SEC and the SEC game, national TV, very
highly ranked and highly regarded program. It’s the challenge that most
competitors get excited about this kind of game. That’s just kind of how I feel
right now.
“I think it
builds confidence. I think when you’re in the middle of a game and you hit that
adversity everybody can look at each other and say ‘Here we go again; let’s go
do it,’ rather than ‘Here we go again, we’re in trouble’. I think the first
attitude is the one that we have at this moment and hopefully we continue to
have it. I’ve said it ever since I’ve been at Georgia; I think we’re a good
football team. I think we’re good enough to win the East and win the SEC, but
the teams that win the close games are going to be the champions and so that
has to be the first and foremost thing of importance is winning that football
game. That’s what we are preparing for right now.”
On Chad Jones and the LSU safeties…
“They do
match up well. They probably match up the best of any secondary that we play so
far this year. They match up in that they are talented but they are also bigger
men. (Patrick) Peterson, is 6-1, 211. That’s a huge
corner for a guy that can run like he can run and jump and have the ball
skills. Sometimes you have a big corner like that and you put him in the
boundary and expect him to be the eighth guy in the box and bring him on corner
blitzes. He can do all those things but he’ll the wide corner, their right and
left. He can play out in space. Of course (Chad) Jones as we’ve mentioned
already, his size and strength and athleticism, they match up well. When you
look at (Chris) Hawkins, he’s not as big of a kid, but he has some pretty good
height, and he’s 6-1. We’re not going up against some small corners that
wouldn’t have a chance against the jump ball situations that A.J. has been
winning all along. I’m sure by scheme and just by pure athleticism and size
they will match up better than anybody we’ve played.”
On similarities between what John Chavis is doing at LSU and what he did at Tennessee…
“They are
doing the same thing and for good reason. Coach Chavis
has been one of the finest defensive coordinators in the SEC for years. Even last
year’s team was second in the league, second in the country in some categories.
What they do is very, very sound very difficult to deal with. When you insert
the type of athletes that Tennessee and LSU have they’ll have nothing but
success.”
On defending Brandon LaFell
and Terrance Toliver…
“It’s going
to be tough. LaFell is one of the finest in the
country. I think he’s a very high draft pick. I’m not saying Tolliver won’t be
one day either but I think LaFell has proven that he
has star quality and he’s a mismatch for anybody one-on-one, let alone whether
they are our guys or not. When you look Tolliver’s size, 6-5, 206, we might
have one over 5-11 but most everybody is 5-11 or under. So I think just their
shear size is going to be an issue for us.”
On whether Georgia will use different backs
besides Richard Samuel and Caleb King…
“Not really.
I think Richard and Caleb will be the guys. I’m not saying we won’t see some of
Carlton (Thomas), but right now those are the guys we are going with. “
On whether Washaun
Ealey would redshirt
“It’s still
too early to say.”
On Fred Munzenmaier…
“Fred has
good running ability as a fullback. He’s definitely big enough to play the
fullback position. He does have agility and good running skills. We saw that in
his high school tape. Over the years we’ve had him play tailback for us in the
spring, and he’s probably carried a couple in a game.”
On balancing the desire to get the ball to
A.J. Green relative to the turnover ratio…
“You have to
throw the ball. If you are going to get it to A.J. you have to throw it, that’s
for sure. Every time you throw it there is a risk of a pick, and every time you
run in there is a risk of a fumble. You just have to play ball and keep working
on the fundamentals of ball security and the fundamentals of making good
decisions and good throws. The better we block, run block and pass block, the
better chance we have of not having turnovers. It does all work together but we
can’t say let’s not throw it because we could throw a pick. We just have to
play. Turnover ratios are important; what’s happened in the past I don’t think
is very important at all. The turnover ratio that is most crucial is what
happened in this game. I’m more concerned about the turnover ratio Saturday
than I am what we’ve had to this point, so hopefully we’ll get that thing
turned around and be in a whole lot better shape.”
On his role in Georgia’s playcalling…
“My input is
mostly throughout the week. I will look at film and personnel grouping, down and distance tendencies and field position.
I’ll write down things that I like, I’ll make a copy of it, and I’ll hand it to
Mike (Bobo). Some things I might discuss with him if
it’s a little bit different and if I need to explain. Most everything that I
write down he knows exactly what I’m talking about we’ve worked together for so
many years. I’ll say if you like it, use it; if you don’t, don’t. The
coordinator has to decide how much goes in and there are a lot of good ideas;
we just can’t have too much. Game day, the decision to go for it on fourth and
very short, that’s my call to make. There are certain things that I’ll do. I
might say let’s take a shot to A.J. right now. I might insert something like
that here and again. If we are rolling into a third down, I’ll tell Mike we have
two downs to get this first down instead of one. Or if we go into a third down
situation I’ll say if we don’t make it, I want the field goal team, or if we
don’t make it, I want the punt team. Or if we get the ball inside the 35-yard
line, it’s a field goal. If we don’t, we’ll pooch punt. There are things that
have to be decided about a play in advance so everybody knows what to do. I’m
still involved in that kind of thing, calling timeout when a quarterback is not
ready to either call timeout or get the ball snapped before the 40-second
clock. You have to be ready to do that too. You have to be ready for those. And
have conversations with the officials throughout the game.”
On Georgia’s turnovers…
“On the two
picks, one there was a lot of pressure in his face on the very first one. (Joe Cox) probably threw the ball a little sooner than he wanted. The second one, he
just basically threw it behind the receiver, not a very good ball. The fumble
was actually caused by our own man. Ben Jones was blocking and trying to get
second and third effort, and as he was moving to the second level and was
pursuing a linebacker, he actually ran into Caleb (King) and hit the ball with
his shoulder pad and helmet. Still, Caleb still has to be able to hang on to
the ball no matter who hits him and when they hit him. We had a fumble on the
kickoff where young Branden Smith was just running
out of there and the thing just flew out of there. Why does that happen? I
don’t know; probably because he’s a rookie. The one
punt fumble, I don’t know if Prince Miller could have done much about it, it
was a very short punt. He was coming up to try to field it where he doesn’t let
it bounce for 20 yards and has he’s running up full speed, (Brandon) Boykin was
blocking one of their gunners as hard as he can and he runs into Prince, and
the ball is on the ground. We’ve had a little bit of everything. It hasn’t been
that much of a common thread.”
On whether Akeem
Dent, Vance Cuff and Kiante Tripp will play Saturday…
“Dent,
probably not; Cuff, more than likely and (Tripp), no I wouldn’t think Kiante.”
On Caleb King…
“He’s been
progressing as he’s been able to play. I think he’ll certainly get a good share
of them. I’m not going to sit here and try to predict if he’ll get more than
Richard (Samuel). Right now in my mind they are 50-50 in my thinking. One guy
might be running a little bit better than the other, and he may get more. We’re
not to the position where we saying 75 percent of the totes here and 25 percent
there. We looking to more let’s play them both, keep them fresh, see how
they’re doing and kind of go from there.”
On Brandon Wood…
“Brandon is
a guy who is big enough and strong enough to play in the interior defensive
line. He may go back there next season. Right now he is healthy enough to play
and he’s had some experience outside. He’s a little bit bigger end that we might normally have, but he’s a good athlete. He’s strong, he has good quickness.
He just needs playing time. He’s been hurt almost his
whole career so this has been really good for him to be able to play and jut
get a taste of it.”
On the Georgia-LSU series…
“All the
games we have played against them have been very meaningful in season, and
twice for the SEC crown. They got one and we got one. When you think of LSU you
think of the cream of the crop and a team that if you’re able to beat them,
you’ve accomplished something special. That’s just how we look at them.”
On how A.J. has improved from a year ago…
“I think
he’s better in that he’s about 15-20 pounds heavier. I don’t think he lost any
speed or agility. He certainly understands the system better. Considering that
(Mohamed Massaquoi) is not on the other side of him
and Knowshon (Moreno) is not taking some of the
pressure off by being able to run the bell as well as we did a year ago, I
think he’s earning every yard that he has maybe a little bit more than he had a
year ago. He showed up with tremendous confidence in his ability to catch
anything within range, and he’s continued with that.”
#14 Joe Cox:
On Georgia’s offense and sophomore flanker
A.J. Green…
“We need to
make sure we are executing in the run game, and we need to make sure we are
executing in all our other aspects of the passing game with me throwing to
running backs, tight ends, Mike Moore and Tavarres
(King) and Rantavious. Really, just being productive
all the way across the board. I think that will free up A.J. even more the same
way it kind of worked out with Arkansas. There’s going to be a lot of attention
on A.J. with anybody we play, and we need to be able to take advantage of other
match ups that we can find with other guys we have.”
On facing talented safeties…
“It just
makes you want to make sure you know what’s going on that much more. You want
to get into the film room more and pick up on anything that you possibly can
with what they do pre-snap or right at the snap, so you can get a good read on
what their coverage is. It’s going to be a great challenge, and it’s going to
be a great opportunity too. I think we match up well with who
we are playing, and I think if we execute we can get the job done. It’s just a
matter of us executing.”
On Georgia’s first four games all having a
different feel to them and if he expected the season to be as unpredictable as
it has going into week five…
“I know that
after week one if you would have asked us where we wanted to be going into the
LSU game, we would have said three and one. That’s where we are. We found ways
to win. We stuck together. When the defense needed to make plays, they’ve made
plays. When the offense needed to make plays, we made plays. There’s a lot of
things in between that we need to correct that could make us pretty good
football team, and we are fully aware of the things we need to work on. I think
once we correct those things I think we can be a good team.”
#48 Fred Munzenmaier:
On scoring touchdowns on each of the first
three carries in his career and that streak coming to an end with multiple
rushing attempts against Arizona State…
“It was fun
having a little streak going, but I was glad to get several carries the other
night. Contributing is more important to me than getting the ball once and a
while on the one-yard line, so I felt good to be able to help out more in those
key situations.”
#3 Bryan Evans
On the big game atmosphere and the national
stage this weekend…
“Hopefully
it will be a plus for us when we get this win Saturday. They are ranked No. 4
in the country and we are ranked No. 18, and any time you can get an SEC win
and a win against at team No. 4 ranked team it is big for your program. I think
this can be a very big momentum booster.”
On Bacarri Rambo…
“Baccari Rambo is capable to come in and play for me or Reshad (Jones) if either of us goes down. He looked very
good out there. He is making plays on special teams and when coach calls him to
come in on defense he is making plays as well.”
#35 Rennie Curran
On the performance against ASU…
“We just
have to build off what we did last week and the good things. I really feel like
we had a good week of practice. We got some turnovers that we needed at crucial
times in the game, and we got pressure on the quarterback. It all starts with
our preparation: how much film we are watching, how we are attacking the scout
team, and the attitude that we have during the week.”
On putting together a good defense and
offense…
“You are not
always going to have a perfect game. No matter how well we play, there is
always something that we feel that we can do better. At the same time, we have
to be able to capitalize on our opportunities and not make mistakes that are
going to keep the team in the game and give them momentum. The main thing for
us is to continue to encourage each other because we all believe in each
other.”
On LSU this weekend…
“When we
play a team like LSU, we have to have a perfect game. We can’t give them any
room to breathe. We have to get ready to play our best game of football. We have to put all the mistakes we made
behind us, get ready to have a great game and put it all together.”