ATHENS, Ga. (AP) --Maybe it's his youth. Maybe it's all those years spent with Bobby Bowden.

Whatever the case, Mark Richt has made some interesting calls during his 13 games as Georgia's coach.

Some worked. Some didn't. All stirred up plenty of discussion in this football-crazy state.

``You know there's going to be scrutiny,'' Richt said. ``A lot of it is being blown out of proportion, I think, but it gives people something to talk about. We've got to do what we believe is right. The big thing is executing what we call.''

Richt's decisions had a direct impact on four games last season, and he was right in the middle of things again in the season opener last weekend.

The No. 10 Bulldogs led Clemson 31-28 with 40 seconds remaining, facing fourth and less than a yard from their own 38.

An obvious punting situation, right? That was Richt's first thought, especially since the Tigers had no timeouts remaining.

Georgia had two timeouts left, and Richt called them both to think it over. All of a sudden, the offense came trotting back on the field. The Sanford Stadium crowd held its collective breath.

``I guess that's why he's the head coach,'' backup quarterback D.J. Shockley said, managing a nervous grin. ``I'm sure it would be hard for someone else to make that call. But he had faith that the offensive line was going to get it done.''

Richt called ``Blastoff,'' a play that was put in near the end of preseason camp specifically for goal-line situations. With 275-pound defensive end David Pollack serving as one of the lead blockers, Musa Smith leaped in the air, cleared the pile of bodies and came down with a 2-yard gain.

Game over. The debate? It was just beginning.

``We've got a lot of people thinking it was a dumb thing to do,'' Richt said. ``We did it for a few reasons. Number one, it was about 10 inches. We had a play we really felt could work, and we had a bunch of guys who believed they could get it done.''

Richt also was concerned about getting a punt off. His snapper was Joshua Smith, a walk-on handling the job for the first time. Clemson would surely have loaded the line with 11 rushers, hoping to get a block.

``Anything can happen on the punt,'' Richt said. ``What if we had punted, they had blocked it, scooped it up and ran in for a score. I would have been a dummy, too. It was only about 10 inches. You've got to go with what's in your gut.''

At 42, Richt is one of the younger Division I coaches in the country. His resume includes a stint as the backup quarterback at Miami in the early 1980s (Jim Kelly was the starter) and 15 years as an assistant at Florida State, where he learned from the master of the trick play.

Bowden spiced his playbook with all sorts of unusual plays _ remember the fumblerooskie? _ and wasn't afraid to call them at critical times.

From the inside, Richt learned the decision-making process wasn't as reckless as it might have seemed to fans and the media.

``There's certain risks you have to take as a coach _ if they're calculated risks,'' he said. ``Coach Bowden always said he didn't mind taking a risk, as long as it was a calculated risk.

``Sure, you can take a risk out of the blue, do something a little unorthodox just because you feel like doing it. But you call a play for a certain situation because you've studied it, you have confidence in it, and it's not as much risk as some people might think.''

Richt got plenty of opportunity to make those sort of calls during his rookie season at Georgia. It was a learning experience, to say the least.

Richt redeemed himself in a 26-21 upset at Tennessee, pulling out a little-used play that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass to fullback Verron Haynes with five seconds remaining.

``That play had a little bit of a track record at Florida State,'' Richt said. ``The four times we called it, it worked all four times for TDs or two-point conversions. It came at a time when we needed it most.''

Then came a 24-17 loss to Auburn. Out of timeouts, Georgia reached the 1 with 16 seconds remaining. While officials briefly stopped the clock to spot the ball on first down, Richt sent in a play that he knew almost immediately was the wrong call: a handoff to Jasper Sanks at left tackle.

Sanks was stopped for no gain and the clock ran out before officials came close to marking the ball for another play.

``That was the very best football play we had, if we had blocked it properly,'' Richt said. ``The call itself was not a bad call. The decision not to throw it once or twice prior to that was what I questioned.''

Richt made a very public mea culpa. Right after the game, he told the media it was a dumb play. He repeated that assessment on his call-in radio show, as well as his weekly news conference.

``That's what got most of the attention,'' Richt said. ``That's what turned this thing into such a big thing and it's probably why we're still talking about it.''

At the Music City Bowl, Richt found himself on the spot again after a 20-16 loss to Boston College.

With Georgia leading 16-13 midway through the fourth quarter, the coach called a draw on fourth-and-5. The Bulldogs botched the handoff and never had a chance to convert.

The Bulldogs (1-0) were off this week, but Richt can look forward to plenty of make-or-break calls before the season is done.

Georgia meets No. 22 South Carolina next Saturday, while No. 4 Tennessee and No. 6 Florida loom further down the schedule.

``We're playing in a league (the Southeastern Conference) that has a lot more close games than where I was at Florida State,'' Richt said. ``There are more of those decisions that need to be made. At Florida State, it might be one of two times a year where you had to make those kind of decisions.''