Georgia’s A.J. Green (8) catches a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first half as Auburn’s Desmond Washington (14) defends in an NCAA college football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)ATHENS, Ga. — Following a 49-31 loss at Auburn on Nov. 13, Georgia football coach Mark Richt was asked to assess a season gone wrong.
“When you look at it, there were a few key plays in the games that we lost that had they gone the other way, we would have won,” Richt said. “We have not won the close games for an assortment of reasons. I’ve said for years that the teams that can win the close ones will be the champions.”
The Bulldogs were 0-6 at the time in games that had been in doubt at the start of the fourth quarter. They improved to 1-6 in such contests two weeks later by defeating Georgia Tech 42-34 to attain bowl eligibility, but the two-plus weeks that have followed the regular season have contained some painful reflection.
What if Washaun Ealey had not fumbled at South Carolina’s 4-yard line? What if Ealey had not fumbled into the end zone at Mississippi State? What if Caleb King had not fumbled in field-goal range during the final two minutes of a two-point loss at Colorado? And what if Aaron Murray’s splendid redshirt freshman season didn’t contain the blemish of an overtime interception against Florida?
“I usually lay in bed at night thinking about every single loss and what plays here and there I could have made,” Murray said Wednesday. “If you go back and look at the games we’ve lost, most of it is due to our errors. It’s tough at night reflecting on the plays we could have had this year that could have changed our season.”