ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia football coach Mark Richt was asked Tuesday about his nice-guy image and if he would be tough enough to make difficult decisions at the end of this season.

"Let's face it, we've had the best winning percentage in the history of Georgia football," Richt said. "We've done pretty well. This year we have not, OK? We're averaging 10 wins a year and have won the SEC twice when we hadn't won one in 20 years, so it's not like we've been floundering around.

"Now this year we have been, and I don't like it. People who know me well know that I have an edge to me that maybe I don't show publicly all the time. Maybe that's what the public wants to see, but if you're going to be accused of something, being accused of being a nice guy is not one of the worst things to be accused of."

Whether Richt answered the difficult-decisions part of the question is debatable, but his track record remains stout even with this year's 4-4 mark. He is 86-26 in his ninth season, which translates to a 76.8 percent win clip that ranks fifth historically at a Southeastern Conference institution.

Ahead of him are Tennessee's Robert Neyland, who leads with an 82.9 percent win rate, and the Alabama trio of Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas and Paul "Bear" Bryant. A coach has to be at an SEC school a minimum of five years to qualify, so Richt is about to bump down a spot.

Florida's Urban Meyer is 52-9 in his fifth season, an 85.2 percent clip.

Asked the biggest reason for this season's slide, Richt quickly pointed to the turnovers. Georgia has lost 21 and gained six, with its minus-1.88 ratio ahead of only Miami of Ohio nationally.

"If we did a better job in that area, who knows what the record would be?" Richt said.

Ealey's eyes OK

Freshman tailback Washaun Ealey on Tuesday downplayed Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes gouging his eyes during the third quarter of Saturday's 41-17 loss to the Gators. Ealey said Spikes, who has been suspended for the first half of this week's game against Vanderbilt, never really got close to his eyes.

"I don't think he should have gotten suspended at all," he said. "We were just out there playing football."

Chippy, chippy

Bulldogs middle linebacker Rennie Curran said last Saturday was "definitely" the most heated game in which he's competed. The Spikes gouge has been popular on Youtube.com, but there is also a clip of Georgia linebacker Nick Williams getting away with a late hit on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

There were five personal-foul penalties.

"Both teams dislike each other, and things are going to happen," Curran said. "I had to keep my head on a swivel a lot of times. Guys were trying to cheap-shot me, trying to go for my knees and things like that. Everybody was trying to take each other out."

Odds and ends

Richt said sophomore Caleb King will start ahead of Ealey this week based on King's superiority in pass protection. ... Georgia and Tennessee Tech have met before, with the Bulldogs winning 67-0 in 1943. ... The Bulldogs are 68-17-2 in homecoming contests, with their last loss coming to Vanderbilt in 2006. ... Georgia is ranked 107th nationally in kickoff coverage, and Richt said the Golden Eagles "might be the best-coached kick return team we've played." ... The Bulldogs have allowed more than 35 points four times this season after five such occasions last season.