Sunday Press Conference

FOOTBALL

The Dawgs close out the regular season this Saturday night by playing host to Georgia Tech.

With an open date this past Saturday, Georgia (5-6, 3-5 SEC) had the weekend off. On Monday, the Dawgs will resume their normal practice schedule. The Yellow Jackets (6-5, 5-4 ACC) rallied past Duke 30-20 Saturday in Atlanta.

Speaking on his regular Sunday conference call with the media, Georgia coach Mark Richt said it will be a great challenge facing the Yellow Jackets who feature the nation’s top-ranked rushing attack at 319.4 yards per game.

“It’s the type of offense that defensively, you cannot afford to have a mental lapse or you will play dearly for it,” said Richt. “Paul Johnson’s teams are like that each year. You need to be focused on every single snap and you cannot think you got them because you don’t. You may have one play when you stopped them, but you need to do what you’re supposed to each snap.”

Last year, Georgia gave the Yellow Jackets a taste of their own medicine by steamrolling them for 339 yards on the ground in a 30-24 victory. Washaun Ealey gained 183 yards and Caleb King added 166 yards to highlight the Dawg attack. Richt said the Dawgs game plan in 2009 against Tech was not simply to run the football.

“We wanted to test the waters, and we didn’t think we were going to run it like that,” Richt recalled. “Once it started going well, we stayed with it. We always feel like we have good receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks that can put it on the money. We want to do both well.”

Georgia and Georgia Tech will meet for the 103^rd time since 1893 with the Dawgs leading the series 60-37-5. The winner of the game receives the Governor’s Cup Trophy. The Dawgs have won eight of the nine games in the Richt era.

“We’re excited about this rivalry game because it’s meaningful for our players and fans,” said Richt. “Sure it helps motivate a team, but motivation has not been a problem. Our guys have shown up and played well, they just haven’t finished well. Regardless of any bowl implications, we’re playing Georgia Tech, and it’s a game we need to be mentally and physically prepared to not only start the game but to finish. It’s our desire for our seniors to leave Sanford Stadium with a great memory.”