CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mark Richt has been Georgia’s football coach for 168 months, but this one was among his least favorites.
The Bulldogs began December on the heels of a 30-24 overtime loss to visiting Georgia Tech, just the second setback Georgia has experienced against the Yellow Jackets in Richt’s 14 seasons. Then Richt lost offensive coordinator and right-hand man Mike Bobo, who was named last week as the new head coach at Colorado State.
“It has not been a lot of fun,” Richt said Monday as the Belk Bowl held its final media gathering before tonight’s game between the No. 13 Bulldogs and No. 20 Louisville. “It’s never fun to lose any game, but it’s part of the business, and that’s why we’ve worked so hard at this game.
“This is the last little taste in our mouth that we’re going to have.”
Georgia and Louisville will enter Bank of America Stadium with identical 9-3 records, so a 10-win season is an obvious goal for each team. The Bulldogs also have a chance of finishing among the top 10 in the final rankings, something they’ve done just once since 2009.
“When I look at the big picture, it’s hard,” Bulldogs senior quarterback Hutson Mason said, “because we wanted to accomplish something different, and we didn’t get it done. It’s a black-and-white business, but when you look at the overall picture, we do have the opportunity to accomplish something special.
“Finishing in the top 10 alone is something to really cherish for the rest of your life, and we have that opportunity. I just want to spend New Year’s Eve with a good feeling.”
To ring in 2015 with good cheer, the Bulldogs must combat two familiar former Southeastern Conference faces — Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
Petrino guided Arkansas to the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 2010 season, defeating Georgia in Athens along the way, and to the Cotton Bowl in 2011. Hiding information from athletic director Jeff Long about an extramarital affair led to Petrino’s termination at Fayetteville in the spring of 2012, but he has not taken long to recover.
His Cardinals defeated Miami and Notre Dame in the regular season and could defeat another name program this evening.
“Coach Petrino is a guru, and we’ve got to figure out a way to stop everybody,” Bulldogs defensive back Damian Swann said. “We can’t try to key in on one person. We’ve got to go out and create some energy and create some negative plays and create some turnovers so we can steal a couple of possessions and hopefully run away with it.”
Grantham, who was Georgia’s defensive coordinator from the 2010 season through 2013, became the focal point of the Belk Bowl when the matchup was announced. There will not be much lacking for familiarity tonight, with Grantham knowing Georgia’s offense and the Bulldogs knowing his defense.
“It’s like 100 percent the same as when he was here,” Georgia center David Andrews said. “Coach Grantham put in his scheme, and we just so happen to be playing against each other. He’s definitely going to be prepared for us, seeing our offense for the four years he was with us. It’s going to be an interesting matchup.”
A matchup that will produce 10 wins for the winner and will either improve or further dampen Richt’s mood this month.
“The seniors would love to hit number 40, and the team would love to hit 10,” Richt said. “There is a chance we could finish in the top 10 depending on how things fall. Are those the primary goals when the season begins? No, but for where we’re at, there are still some very positive things that could happen to finish the season well.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.