WHAT THEY SAID: Georgia-Missouri
Compiled by Chip Towers and Tim Tucker
“That’s not even in my mind at all. What’s in my mind is making corrections and getting ready for Vanderbilt. That’s really all we can control right now. In the really big picture, the national picture, I’d be foolish to sit here and try to think of a scenario where we could get there. But if we keep banging away and playing good football, good things will happen for us.”
— Georgia coach Mark Richt on the Bulldogs' national-title hopes
“Overall, this was a great win. Georgia is a great football team, and they have a lot of injuries. I have been through that before, and I know that is difficult to deal with. … Georgia had all the momentum in the world in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter we got a little of that back.”
— Missouri coach Gary Pinkel
“You’ve got to shake off a loss. The world doesn’t stop. You’ve got to keep studying. You might have an exam on Monday. You’ve got to get back in the weight room when you’re sore and you’re tired. All those things. … When you lose, it’s just hard to get out of the bed in the morning, especially for young guys. But you’ve got to get over it, and I think we will.”
— Richt on overcoming the loss
“I came in, and everybody just told me to keep calm. … We executed well at the end. We scored when we needed to and came out with a victory, so that’s all that matters.”
— Missouri backup quarterback Maty Mauk, who replaced injured starter James Franklin in the fourth quarter
“I should have kept running, but I didn’t think I’d have a good look at the ball. So I kind of turned again, and I kind of lost the ball. At the last second I looked up and (L’Damian Washington) had caught the ball, and I tried to knock it out. They just executed a trick play. We had been looking for it. I just should’ve played the ball better.”
— Georgia cornerback Shaq Wiggins on the 40-yard Missouri touchdown on a double pass
“Obviously we have to finish. We have to execute on those drives and finish. We can’t turn the ball over at any part of the field, but especially in the red zone. You have to come out with some form of points. When you turn the ball over, you give the ball back and give the other team the opportunity to score. We’ve got to execute and get points down there.”
— Junior wideout Chris Conley on offensive breakdowns
“The guys are obviously disappointed, and that’s tough. But we also understand that we have to go back to work on Monday. Regardless of where the goals we set out for are, we can keep getting better.”
— Georgia offensive guard Chris Burnette
“We … didn’t take care of business when it counted. We had some trouble getting some stops. I think that we played well at times … but the next step is putting it all together.”
— Defensive end Ray Drew on the play of the UGA defense
“We had plenty of talent on the field on the offensive side of the ball (despite injuries). We just missed some opportunities. Definitely, turnovers killed us.”
— Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray
“We’re not in control of our own destiny any more in the East, but we’ll try to keep winning and get better week to week.”
— Murray
About the Author
Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.
