Richt on Murray, Mason, Gamecocks, etc.

Some notes from head coach Mark Richt’s postgame press conference:

- Aaron Murray’s 22-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first half was “probably not that wise,” according to Richt.

“Thankfully he did score. But he’s gotta understand that there’s times when the play is not there, you must throw the ball out of bounds, safely and allow us to get the three points.”

Richt also thought Murray should’ve thrown the ball out of bounds on a few other plays where he scrambled out of the pocket.

“But really overall I thought he did very, very well. I think he enjoyed playing the game because things were a little bit clearer than sometimes they are in practice.”

- They made the decision to play Hutson Mason earlier in the week, but didn’t announce it Wednesday because Richt didn’t know if Mason had been told.

“He’s one play away from starting. And he is the second team QB,” Richt said.

Logan Gray did get some brief reps at quarterback earlier in the week, and “looked sharp,” according to Richt. But Mason is still the clear No. 2.

- In case there was any doubt, Aaron Murray’s interception was blamed on Kris Durham, who had the pass go off his hands. Durham and Richt both said it should’ve been caught.

But Richt added that Murray should’ve been picked off late in the half on his pass into the end zone – Richt said Murray meant to throw it out of the end zone but came up way short.

- The reason Brandon Bogotay, and not Blair Walsh, was kicking off early in the game was because Walsh had a sore leg for a few days of practice last week. Richt said Bogotay had been the kickoff man during some critical drills, so they went with him initially. But Richt added that the switch back to Walsh later in the game wasn’t because Bogotay kicked off poorly, then just wanted to get Walsh back on those duties.

- The Bulldogs only had five penalties, way under last season’s average. But Richt wasn’t happy with some of the false starts.

“I had some seniors with less poise than the freshman quarterback, at times,” he said. “But we settled down there.”

- Based on Branden Smith’s output on offense, Richt said “we need to incorporate him more.” He also wants to give Marlon Brown more looks.

Interestingly, while freshman Michael Bennett may still redshirt, Richt said Bennett is ready to go. So he’s not ruling out using him.

- Finally, Richt was asked about next week’s showdown with South Carolina, and its potential to be a huge early barometer in the SEC East.

“I think time will tell how big of a game it is," Richt said. "We know it’s huge for us and they know it’s huge for them, but the bottom line is if we play well throughout league play and they do too it could be the deciding factor between making it and not.

“I have a lot of respect for them. I watched them Thursday. It certainly didn’t ease any feelings of knowing we’re gonna play a very, very good team. I thought they gained confidence, I thought they showed they have a lot of weapons. I think their quarterback play was outstanding. Their defensive play is always very stellar.”