Richt: 2012 SEC Championship Game Loss Was Good for Team

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Georgia Bulldogs are chomping at the bit to get going again after a heartbreaker in the SEC Championship Game.

This week, the head coach and some of the Dawgs sat down with reporters at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama to talk about that loss and the upcoming season.

“It’s good experience to be in that game,” says coach Mark Richt.  “It’s better experience to win it, obviously, but I think it was healthy for our team to go through that, and hopefully, we’ll learn from it and be better for it.”

After losing to Alabama, the Dawgs had a tough bowl game against Nebraska.  Unfortunately, the start of the 2013 season doesn’t get much easier.

“Clemson and South Carolina back-to-back–they’re two teams that could easily be in the Top 10 preseason,” says Richt.  “And then of course a few weeks later, we play LSU as well.  We really have a tough grind of a schedule to begin with.”

To prepare for the rough start, senior quarterback Aaron Murray says the Dawgs have been putting in extra work this summer.

“Summer time is not mandatory,” says Murray.  “So really, you don’t have to even show up at all, but our attendance has been awesome.  Everyone’s been showing up to workouts, conditioning, 7-on-7, putting in extra time in the film room.”

All five of Murray’s offensive linemen are coming back this season, and so is tailback Todd Gurley, but the Dawgs have plenty of slots open for new guys on defense.

“Until we start playing–and we are going to be playing against some really outstanding football teams to start out the year–I really don’t know what they’re going to do or how they’re going to respond,” says Richt.  “But I know we’ll be as prepared as we can be.  We’re going to practice them hard.  We’re going to be diligent in teaching them what to do.  But again, it’s the experience of doing it.”

Summer camp starts in two weeks and the first game is now just seven Saturdays away. 

At the annual event, media members chose Alabama to win the SEC again this season.  Georgia got the second-most votes. 

The Dawgs open their season on Aug. 31 at Clemson.