JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Criticism is coming, and Mark Richt knows it.
Richt’s Georgia Bulldogs were inept in almost every way during Saturday’s 27-3 loss to Florida at EverBank Field. Georgia was outgained by 190 yards and has been scratched from the SEC East race after being the overwhelming favorite back in July.
“I think it’s part of being in a leadership position, because if you’re a leader in any way, shape or form, you’re going to be criticized in good times and bad times,” Richt said. “That’s part of it, and if you’re a parent who lets your kids stay out until 11 when everybody else gets to stay out until midnight, they’re going to criticize that decision.
“Our jobs as head coaches are very public and emotional, because you have so many people that care about their programs.”
Richt is 141-51 nearing the end of his 15th season as Georgia’s coach. He dropped to 5-10 against the Gators, who were projected to finish fifth in this year’s East race.
Ramsey on a roll
Redshirt sophomore Brice Ramsey hasn’t claimed the starting quarterback job this season, but he did well in his first start at punter Saturday.
The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder from Kingsland, Ga., averaged 43.4 yards on five punts and had a long of 50. His average against the Gators would rank among the top five punters in the SEC.
“We were having some issues at that position as far as the consistency we were looking for,” Richt said. “Brice would show up for one or two punts a week and started hitting them, and we were like, ‘This kid is not bad.’ During the open week, when we had more time to watch him, he performed well.
“I thought he did a nice job today.”
Ramsey’s only punt before Saturday was a 42-yarder against South Carolina.
Defensive review
A year after allowing 418 rushing yards to Florida, the Georgia defense was only mildly improved, as the Gators rushed 48 times for 258 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. The Gators had 413 total yards.
“We were very resilient, but we gave up too many points,” Bulldogs redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Davin Bellamy said. “We definitely played hard.”
Bellamy led Georgia with seven tackles and two tackles for loss. He caused and recovered Florida’s only turnover by stuffing Gators quarterback Treon Harris for a 1-yard loss early in the third quarter at Florida’s 25-yard line.
That helped set up Marshall Morgan’s 27-yard field goal for Georgia’s only points of the game.
“It’s always good to change field position and change the momentum and get a sack on the same play in a game like this,” he said.
Odds and ends
Former Ridgeland High cornerback Devin Bowman was not on Saturday’s travel roster, marking the third straight game he’s missed. Sterling Bailey’s block of Florida’s first extra-point try was the first for the Bulldogs since Ray Drew last year against Georgia Tech. Malcolm Mitchell’s 13-yard reception in the second quarter put the fifth-year senior over 2,000 yards for his career. .. Georgia’s first-time starters Saturday were Bauta, redshirt sophomore tackle Aulden Bynum (who lined up as a tight end) and freshman cornerback Juwuan Briscoe. Sophomore safety Dominick Sanders, who missed the first half due to a targeting penalty against Missouri, failed to start for the first time in his 21-game career.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.