ATHENS \u2014 Mark Richt had his own way of keeping his Georgia football teams fire up after big wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would always try something to make them mad,\u201d Richt said. \u201cI thought players played better when they\u2019re hot. I think coaches coach better when they\u2019re pissed off, and so I would look for something to make them mad, and sometimes the other team helps you out by talking smack.\u201d<\/p>\n
There hasn\u2019t been much trash talking leading up to Georgia\u2019s game with Auburn at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, but UGA coach Kirby Smart has his own ways of keeping his team fired up.<\/p>\n
The most recent, a pregame speech before the Alabama game, was leaked and drew some public backlash from some who didn\u2019t understand or appreciate the motivational technique \u2014 even the UGA players do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like your favorite pregame song,\u201d former Georgia offensive lineman Ben Cleveland once said <\/a>when asked about Smart\u2019s motivational talks. \u201cIt makes you want to put your helmet on and run through a brick wall.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get that every day at practice, you are bound to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Richt said the pregame speech \u201csets the tone,\u201d and \u201cgets guys physically and mentally ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour team has to know what they are doing, but they also need the emotion to play a physically challenging game,\u201d Richt said. \u201cIt\u2019s lore, and it\u2019s a type of warfare, but it\u2019s not life and death like our soldiers. But you do need emotion, it takes a lot of guts and it takes a lot of bravery to run into a guy full speed, and he\u2019s running into you full speed, and no one is backing down.\u201d<\/p>\n