Nov. 27, 2005
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Chan Gailey
On what he said to the guys after the game
I told them that you can’t make the mistakes that we made and expect to beat a good football team in a big rival game. You can’t do that. Things that we have not done all year happened in this ball game and it catches up to you when you do those things.
On what some of those things are
When you line up incorrectly, get holding calls, multiple holding calls, which we hadn’t had all year. Things like that, it just costs you drives, costs you field position. That’s what got us in the end, the field position
On if he thought it would be a late score that would determine the game
I thought all along that this would be a fourth-quarter ball game, that this would be decided in the fourth-quarter one way or another. We talked about that from day one.
On the difference between the opening drive and those following
It was missed execution on our part, in my opinion. I’ll have to look at the film to say exactly, but that’s what I think it is. Miss a block here, give up a penalty there, miss a throw here. That’s what happens to you.
On if it was all-around, not just running or passing game.
Oh yeah. It was everywhere. We had some penalties in the kicking game that cost us field position, things like that..
On double-checking calls, if it changed tempo of game
We obviously have not experienced that the entire year. It was a little unusual, but I don’t know that it broke the flow of the game or anything.
On what Georgia did defensively against Calvin Johnson
They were rolling up to him and doubling him is basically what they were doing. They called roll coverage to his side to try to double him.
On the seniors not getting the win over Georgia, disappointment
You’ll have to ask them to get their true comments, but I know that we’re all disappointed that we didn’t win. It’s a yearly thing, I never put this thing in the context of streaks or how long it’s been since you’ve done this or done that, but that’s for you all to talk about and the fans to talk about because every year is a unique and different year, every team is unique and different.
On the play at the end going to Bilbo
Their guy really made a great play. He guessed right. He guessed on the short route, and if we’d had the fade on, he would have been in trouble. But he was playing off, and we were trying to run the short hook in front of him. He guessed right and jumped on it, you have to give him credit.
On if winning in-state feels better and losing feels worse
Sure. Anytime you play your instate rival and don’t win, it hurts a little more. I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t. I try to say it’s just another game, but that’s not true.
On playing nickel in the second half (for Georgia)
They were in nickel a bunch.
GEORGIA HEAD COACH MARK RICHT
[On which play was the most important, the TD or Jennings’ interception]
“I think the touchdown was the most important because it gave us the seven-point lead. Even if they scored at the end, we still could have gone to overtime. They’re both equally important to seal the victory, without any doubt. I’m just proud of our seniors, Shockley makes the throw, McClendon makes the catch, and you’ve got Jennings making the interception, and DeMario Minter playing Calvin Johnson all game long.
“It was just a great field position game, a great defensive battle. We had to stay patient, as much as we hated it, and let our special teams do their job, and then knock it in when we needed to. It was a great team effort, and I’m just thankful for the victory.”
[Did it surprise you to not allow another point after Tech’s first drive?]
“I think so. After that first drive, you’d have thought they might have scored again somewhere along the way. But our defense played beautifully the rest of the way. We started slow in a couple of games. In the Florida game they got two drives on us, but nothing the rest of the way. I’m just proud of Coach Martinez and the job he did, along with Coach Fabris, Coach Jancek and, of course, Coach Garner, and the guys that just got after it. It was a great team victory.”
[On the plan to pressure Reggie Ball]
“We got some pressure on him. We contained him pretty well. He didn’t run wild on us, although he did have a couple of nice runs. All in all, we held him to a decent amount of passing yardage as many times as he threw it, and we had the two interceptions. So overall, I think we held him in check pretty good.”
[On Tech’s ability to run the ball]
“They just block well. They’re a good football team. They’ve got good backs, and they’ve got guys who are blocking extremely well. It was just a game where we didn’t give them many good field position opportunities. They were going to have to drive the entire length of the field.”
[On the plan to defend Calvin Johnson]
“The main thing was seeing how long DeMario Minter could hold up against him. We’ve got a lot of confidence in DeMario, and he played a fantastic game. That ran it well enough to force us into a lot more single coverage than we wanted to going into the game. But DeMario did a great job of breaking on the ball.”
[On the getting out of the poor field position to begin the second half]
“We did have to mount a couple drives to turn that field position around. Getting the ball on our one or two-yard line wasn’t something we were planning on. It was just a game that was grueling mentally. You had to stay patient and play field position. Our defense had to play well, and we had to continue to bang away until something good happened. A couple of great returns by Flowers and some great blocking helped us out there. It was one of those games where we had to fight to the finish, and we did, and thankfully came out on top.”
GEORGIA TECH PLAYER QUOTES
On the loss:
“It’s hard to swallow. You win some and you lose some. It didn’t bounce our way. We didn’t play as good as we wanted to, it happens.”
On the defensive effort:
“You can’t ask for any more from these guys. They played for these seniors tonight and did the best that they could. There are no guarantees in football or in life. I’m proud of these guys.”
On trying to limit Georgia’s offense:
“We never really do (focus on an opponent’s score). We just don’t want to let them on the scoreboard. They had a couple of big plays here and there, and that really killed us. We did the best we could.”
On Tim Jennings’ interception:
“It was a great play by a great player. He guessed right and there is nothing you can really do about it. He made a great play on the ball and stepped up in a big time situation. That’s what big players do, and there’s nothing you can really say about it.”
On Georgia’s defense making adjustments:
“That’s a great defense. They’re going to make adjustments and they did. We really didn’t execute every play like we wanted to. We really didn’t execute all night. We were off rhythm after the first drive. They’re a great defense. They made plays and took advantage of our mistakes.”
On the seniors:
“It’s a little sad to put that feeling in for these seniors. I know they’re blessed to come out and play this game. The Georgia game is a great game, a big game, but when it’s all said and done, it’s just a game. It’s a big rivalry and everybody hypes it up, but they’re going to see greater and bigger things when they leave.”
On the loss:
“It’s a disappointment. There are not too many words to say – it’s a disappointment.”
On the defensive battle:
“We were just going back and forth. Both defenses were fighting. It was just that type of game. The field position was a big factor. They got a good return on the punt and got good field position. They threw the ball up and scored. It happens.”
On the UGA go ahead touchdown:
“We were blitzing both linebackers off the edge in man coverage. The cornerback is one of the toughest positions on the field. They’re out there one-on-one with the receiver. It happens.”
On losing to Georgia:
“It’s real disappointing. It was a close game. You get to the end and it gets taken away from you. I just want to say that I’m blessed and the team is blessed just to see another day. No serious injuries and everybody went out and played their game and played their hearts out.”
On the game:
“Sometimes you don’t have control over certain things. They came out and played a great game. We played a great game but made some mistakes here and there. It was a tough loss, but I can’t be too down because my teammates played their heart out. What more can you ask for.”
