ATHENS — Twice during his weekly news conference Tuesday, Mark Richt was asked if he felt Saturday’s game against South Carolina was critically important to his well-being as the Bulldogs’ coach.
Phrased a different way by different reporters three minutes apart, Richt gave the same terse answer each time.
“I view it as a very important game,” he said, when asked if he felt the outcome was “pivotal” for him and his program.
A short time later, a reporter from a South Carolina newspaper asked if Richt felt like it was “a must-win game.”
“Didn’t I just say it was a really important game?” Richt snapped back.
“But is it a must win?” the reporter repeated.
“I think it’s a really important game,” Richt said, now glaring. “You want to ask me again? Because you can, and I’ll answer it the same way.”
And so the tone was set for this week’s SEC opener between the Bulldogs (0-1) and No. 12 South Carolina (1-0) at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Criticism of Richt, in his 11th season as Georgia’s coach, has been at an all-time high after No. 4-ranked Boise State manhandled the Bulldogs 35-21 in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
The loss was Georgia’s 10th in its past 12 games against top-10 teams. A loss to South Carolina would be its 10th in its past 17 SEC games.
Georgia’s players were quick to jump to their coach’s defense.
“We’re behind him 100 percent,” senior tight end Aron White said. “I have complete confidence that all the players on this team are playing for Coach Richt. He’s still our coach. We’re still his players, and we’re in this together.”
Rambo shows remorse
Free safety Bacarri Rambo expressed remorse for what he called “a big mistake” and said he believes he could have made a difference against Boise State on Saturday. Rambo, the Bulldogs’ leading returning tackler, was reinstated this week after a one-game suspension for an unspecified team rules violation and is expected to start against South Carolina.
“It messed up our team goals, having to sit out that one game,” said Rambo, speaking to reporters for the first time since last spring. “I’m not going to say we could have won if I would’ve played. But I want to help the team as much as I can, and the results of the game probably would’ve been different. That was a big mistake, and I learned from it.”
Rambo would not say what infraction led to his suspension or exactly when it occurred. “I’d rather y’all ask Coach Richt,” he said.
Lee to start at guard
Dallas Lee will get the first start of his career at left guard Saturday. Richt indicated that might have been the case even if Kenarious Gates had not been injured.
“We thought he did real well,” Richt said of the sophomore from Buford, who took over when Gates left the game with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. “He might have played better than any of the guards as we graded it out. So whether Kenarious was healthy or not, he would have had a very good chance ... of starting this week.”
Gates was held out of practice Tuesday, but is expected to be available Saturday.
Samuel to LB considered
Richt said he briefly considered moving tailback Richard Samuel back to linebacker in the wake of the injury to Alec Ogletree. Samuel was Ogletree’s backup at “Mo” linebacker before backfield attrition forced the Bulldogs to switch Samuel back to offense, where he played his first two seasons.
“I thought about it kind of just laying on the pillow at night,” Richt said. “But by the time Richard got back and trained up and really ready to play, ‘Tree’ would probably be back and be healthy and ready to go. We’ve had 29 preseason practices plus last week, so we have over 30 practices with these other kids.”
Ogletree is out at least four weeks with a broken foot. Michael Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera and Jeremy Sulek are competing to start alongside Christian Robinson. Linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti said the Bulldogs are exploring other options, but wouldn’t elaborate.
Sticking with no-huddle
Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said the Bulldogs plan to stick with the no-huddle offense they unveiled Saturday. He said the decision to switch in the offseason was an attempt to run more offensive plays. But the Bulldogs ran just 60, to Boise State’s 71.
“We wanted to get more plays, which we didn’t do on Saturday,” Bobo said. “But we’re committed to doing it. More plays equals more opportunities, more chances to score. Last year we just didn’t think we had as many opportunities as some other teams.”
Etc.
Nose guard Kwame Geathers did not practice for the second straight day because of a neck injury. Richt expects him to play Saturday, however. ... Freshman Malcolm Mitchell had “another great practice,” Bobo said. Look for him to play extensively against South Carolina. ... A limited number of tickets remain on sale for Georgia’s home game against Coastal Carolina (Sept. 17). They’re $45 each. Call 1-877-542-1231.
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