Georgia motivated by loss

HOOVER, ALA. — You might think Georgia's season hinged when it finally beat Florida. You know, when all those Bulldogs streamed on the field to celebrate the team's first touchdown and then they went on to rout the Gators, 42-30?

Not so, says Bulldogs receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

No, he says the Bulldogs' year actually changed because of its rock bottom, the 35-14 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville. That was Oct. 6, two weeks before the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Fla.

"I really think we got outmanned," Massaquoi said. "After that, we wanted to show we could do better. We know we can't go out and perform like that ever gain. We know what will happen if we do."

After the loss to the Vols, UGA's worst defeat since the 2003 SEC Championship against national champ LSU, the Bulldogs rattled off seven straight wins to end the season, including that 41-10 whipping of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

On the heels of that, the Bulldogs are expected to be conference and national contenders this fall.

Coach Mark Richt also pointed to the Tennessee game as the impetus for the turnaround. And the change started with Richt himself.

"After getting beat so bad by Tennessee, without much emotion, I was taking inventory of that game," Richt said. "I was kind of wondering what went wrong. As I looked around, I was seeing that everybody was kind of waiting on someone else to do something — coaches and players.

"I was getting kind of mad at them until I looked in the mirror and realized that they were just basically reflecting me. I was sitting there watching, waiting for somebody to do something, too. ... I knew it had to start with me. And then it did kind of catch fire."

Richt's regret?

Nearly a year later, Richt said he regrets how that celebration went down. In his address of the media Thursday morning, he told a play-by-play account of what was supposed to happen and what happened.

He told his players he wanted a "team celebration" after the first touchdown. He had 11 players in mind, those on the field. The team thought differently, and everyone wound up in the end zone.

"In hindsight, I shouldn't have done it," Richt said. "I won't do anything like that again. It could have easily turned into a big, stupid brawl and everything else. That's as truthful as I can tell you what happened."

Well-received Nutt

After getting run out of Arkansas, Houston Nutt was flattered to see 1,500 fans show up at Oxford's Ford Theatre to welcome him as Mississippi's new coach.

"I can't tell you how we felt that day," Nutt said. "That was a day full of goosebumps. It just re-energized us from that moment forward.

"Then, you go into the meeting with the players, you see that hunger again. To see how they embraced our coaching staff, it excites you, motivates you. It makes you want to please. It makes you want to work a little bit harder. So it's just been an excellent transition."

With the cupboard that deposed coach Ed Orgeron left, Nutt might have more talent in place than he had exiting Arkansas. The Rebels host South Carolina on Oct. 4.

Clamoring for Clemson

A lot of coaches wouldn't want to face a top 10 team in the season opener. But Nick Saban's fine with playing Clemson in Atlanta on Aug. 30. He wants to see how his young Alabama team stacks up before the SEC's gantlet.

"They're a great team. They're a top 10 team," Saban said of the Tigers. "They're picked to win their league. But I think what it's going to help us do is enhance our development in terms of our identity as a team because it will certainly show us where we are in terms of how we compete against one of the best teams in the country, even though it's a first game and it's on the road.

"I also think that's going to help us down the road in our competition in the league, which includes several teams that will be in the top 10, top 15, and six or seven in the top 20."

Les-sening the blow

Yes, Saban has heard about LSU coach Les Miles chiding Alabama and its inability to beat teams from Louisiana.

Remember: The Tide lost to both the Tigers and Louisiana-Monroe in Saban's debut season.

Saban's response here Thursday was interesting: He said Miles was right.

"He told the truth. He told it like it was," said Saban, whose team finished 7-6 after an Independence Bowl victory against Colorado. "We need to earn it."

Saban then went into a diatribe about a scene in "Saving Private Ryan."

Oher the rainbow

Not many people expected to see Ole Miss standout offensive lineman Michael Oher at this year's media days. But he's here. All 6-6, 322 pounds of him.

Oher declared himself eligible for this year's NFL draft, only to change his mind later and join Nutt for his first season with the Rebels. Oher, the subject of a recent Michael Lewis book, says it's "probably the best decision I've ever made."

"I wanted to get that one more year in college," said Oher, a no-brainer selection for the SEC's first team. "The NFL's going to be there."

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the new South Carolina blog at www.charleston.net/blogs/gamecocks/