Outback Bowl 2012: Mark Richt Goes Gutless, Kirk Cousins Leads Michigan State

Fortune favors the bold. An ancient bit of wisdom to be sure, but one apparently lost on Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Richt had the better team in the 2012 Outback Bowl, but when it came right down to it, when things got tight, he didn’t have the nerve to lead his Georgia Bulldogs to victory in a 33-30 triple overtime loss to Michigan State on Monday.

As if Richt’s gutlessness wasn’t apparent enough, he had the misfortune of facing Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins, who proved himself to be a true competitor in every way that Richt is not. Cousins was not perfect on Monday—far from it. Look at the recap and you’ll see that he threw three interceptions against only one touchdown pass. But when the battle was over he emerged as a hero, as much for his character as his actual play.

Cousins was relentless throughout the day, constantly on the attack, constantly willing—even in the face of his mistakes—to take responsibility for the outcome of the game. Because that’s what real men do. Or perhaps we should say, in the spirit of gender neutrality, that’s what real competitors do.

Richt, on the other hand, faced with repeated opportunities to put his team over the top, turned curiously passive.

Controlling the ball with a 27-20 lead and 3:43 remaining, Richt and his offensive coordinator Mike Bobo had an opportunity to slam the door on the pesky Spartans. Instead they politely ran the ball on first down (0 yards), on second down (2 yards), and then, facing 3rd-and-8 with 2:15 on the clock and Michigan State out of time outs, with a chance to win the game with one good play, they ran it again and punted it back to Cousins.

It was as if the Outback Bowl 2012 Football Gods were saying to Mark Richt: “Here you go. Your fate is in your own hands. Take action. Win the game,” and Richt replied, “No. It’s too much responsibility for me to bear. Take it out of my hands. Put it in theirs. I’ll hope for the best.”

As we’ve already established, fortune favors the bold. With Richt looking on helplessly, Cousins drove his team 85 yards in 1:47 to tie the game, making Outback Bowl 2012 an overtime affair.

Now, usually, when Fate hands you an opportunity and you blow it, you don’t get a second chance. Miraculously, Mark Richt got just that when his defense intercepted Cousins on Michigan State’s opening possession of overtime.

Again Georgia had a golden opportunity to slam the door. To earn a victory. Faced with the same situation in the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma State drove a dagger into Stanford, attacking the Cardinal defense and driving the ball to the 1-yard line for a chippie field goal to win it. Richt, on the other hand, just didn’t have it in him to attack. He ran it once and then kneeled down for a 43-yard field goal attempt from a kicker who was 21-for-35 on the season. 

Wide right.

Of course.

It was a rare and remarkable combination of gutlessness and foolishness. Usually, there is at least some logical argument to make in support of the ultra-conservative approach. Even when he ran it on third-and-eight with 2:15 left in regulation Richt could have mumbled something about “trusting his defense,” about “playing the percentages” by forcing Michigan State to drive 85 yards with no timeouts. He would’ve been wrong, but he could have made the case.

But when Richt refused to advance the ball in overtime, when he went immediately for a no-sure-thing 43-yard field goal, there was no mistaking it. He was too timid to think straight. Mark Richt just didn’t have the nerve to lead his team to victory. Kirk Cousins did.

And that’s why, when all was said and done with Outback Bowl 2012, Cousins was a champion.

And Richt was a loser.