Richt’s Dogs have struggled against ranked teams
Mark Richt is only 2-7 in his last nine games against ranked teams. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
If most are doubting Georgia’s chances of upsetting No. 2 ranked Auburn Saturday, one reason is that the Bulldogs’ five wins have come over Louisiana-Lafayette (2-7), Tennessee (3-6), Vanderbilt (2-7), Kentucky (5-5) and Idaho State (1-8).
But there’s another reason: Mark Richt’s teams have struggled against any team in the top 25, let alone a BCS title contender.
Richt’s Dogs have lost seven of their last nine against ranked teams and are 4-8 since 2008. That includes losses this season to the only two ranked teams they’ve played — No. 24 South Carolina (17-6) and No. 12 Arkansas (31-24).
Contrast that with Georgia going 5-0 against ranked teams in 2007 and 10-1 in a stretch that started in November 2006.
In the recent 2-7 stretch vs. ranked teams, the lone victories came over No. 7 Georgia Tech in 2009 and No. 18 Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl the year before. The losses came to Florida (twice), Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, LSU, South Carolina and Arkansas.
The breakdowns:
♦ Here’s Mark Richt vs ranked teams year by year: 2001: 2-3 2002: 5-0 2003: 3-3 2004: 2-2 2005: 4-3 2006: 3-22007: 5-0 2008: 3-3
2009: 1-3 2010: 0-2 Total: 28-21 Here’s the breakdown since 2008: 2008 #8 Alabama: Lost 41-30 #22 Vanderbilt: Won 24-14 #13 LSU: Won 52-38 #5 Florida: Lost 49-10 #22 Georgia Tech: Lost 45-42 #18 Michigan State: Won 24-12 2009 #9 Oklahoma State: Lost 24-10 #4 LSU: Lost 20-13 #1 Florida: Lost 41-17 #7 Georgia Tech: Won 30-24 2010 #24 South Carolina: Lost 17-6 #12 Arkansas: Lost 31-24
♦
So there are the numbers. How confident are you that Georgia will buck this trend in Auburn?
♦
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445 comments Add your comment
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
7:49 am
After a year like this one and you guys still can’t stop yourselves from trash talking.
With no Bama or LSU on the schedule, this was supposed to be your year yet here u r with 5 losses.
You’d think some humility might be warranted at some point.
One week of attention
November 8th, 2010
7:51 am
Enjoy this one week in the national spotlight because playing Auburn is the ONLY thing that can make you relevant for a brief moment this season.
If the stars were to align and Georgia were to win, there’s no way the Tigers get to the BCS title game; no team can overcome a loss that would be that bad.
Mark Richt now = the last 3 years of Bobby Bowden at FSU. The ship has hit the iceberg and is sinking fast.
No joy in Athens
November 8th, 2010
7:51 am
“Richt’s Dogs have lost seven of their last nine against ranked teams and are 4-8 since 2008.”
And that’s a very big reason why Richt has to go. That’s not the kind of record you pay a coach several million dollars a year for.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
7:57 am
“GEORGIA OFF. IS AS GOOD AS AUBURN AND OUR DEF. IS WAY BETTER THAN AUBURN ”
*********************************
gomdawg,
So why are we 5-5 and Auburn 10-0?
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
7:57 am
UGA’a five wins: LaLa, Tennessee, Vandy, Kentucky and now sisters of Idaho.
What an impressive list.
Thankfully the Vols were rebuilding.
NoRichtFan
November 8th, 2010
8:01 am
As I and many others have said, to no avail, if UGA wants to be mired in mediocrity, then keep Richt & Bobo and the other losers. I can’t fathom why a 2-8 record against FL would continue to justify paying Richt $3 million a year. Maybe UGA fans like to lose to top-notch programs. Maybe Adams just doesn’t give a damn as long as the money continues pouring in. I have no idea. But, anyway, Schultz you have pointed the obvious out to anyone who can read.
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:05 am
NoRichtFan
Here is something we can agree on, believe it or not.
Why do the coaches get to just tear up the contract when they want to leave but the college can’t do the same thing when the coach should be fired?
There ought to be a one million buyout on every contract.
These guys are already set for life.
To fire Richt, what would the settlement be?
Around 5 mil?
Like he needs it.
JB
November 8th, 2010
8:06 am
Microsoft and Google heading to South Carolina…..Apparently every computer in the State has quit working………Whoops, just the football team has quit……typical Carolina…..Crowing always starts early and ends about the same time of year….They lose to Florida and Clemson and fall out of the top 25……yet again………You can always tell when Beach season is over in Carolina, Beach chairs and the football team start folding……….
BCSstinks
November 8th, 2010
8:07 am
This has nothing to do with being an ACC guy or an SEC guy. I for one enjoy college football but at the same time I am not shy about telling the truth. GT is just not that good this year but at the same time we have beaten teams with a much better record then UGAG has. To say you are a top 25 defense is insane. You have stopped nobody with a decent offense. UF is aweful this year and yet they put over 30 on you.
JB
November 8th, 2010
8:08 am
Jackets2010……………….We don’t know, Ask Hewitt for us….LOL
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:09 am
Ga Tech’s five wins: South Carolina State, North Carolina, Wake forrest, Virginia, and the sisters of Middle Tennessee.
What an impressive list.
Thankfully, North Carolina had a dozen players suspended.
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:11 am
Funny.
At least Hewitt’s pay is only 1.7 mil.
Only.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:12 am
The good news this week is no Cocks crowing, and no Tide Rising . . .
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:13 am
The good news this week? No Cocks crowing, and no Tide Rising!
Woo hoo!
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:13 am
Yea but we’re Yech.
Thought u could do better than to match us.
You know at least Richt usually coaches his best against Auburn for some reason.
Correct?
Nick
November 8th, 2010
8:13 am
When you have Joe Cox last year, starting with very little game experience, gonna lose a lot of games. This year, repeat same mistake, you have Aaron Murrsy starting, with no game experience, gonna lose a lot of games.
Compound that with the decision to hire a defensive coach that runs a 3-4 scheme, and then, on top of trying to get through another season with a QB without exerience, Georgia also has to make it through the learning curve on defense, without the 3-4 body types to run it.
Add to that te 4 game suspension from AJ, and you can see Georgia is lucky to have 5 wins.
I expected Georiga to finish 4-8 in 2010, so they’ve exceeded my expctations, but I don’t see another win this season.
JB
November 8th, 2010
8:13 am
NoRichtFan……………the “money” will slow up this year for next year tickets and Hartman Fund when all realize Richt is returning, and he will be back, But Next year, even at 8-4, Beating cupcakes and losing the one’s that matter, I don’t see him surviving…..There are some on here who thinks the magic is coming back and will give him forever…..But When Adams see’s the money going away………….Richt goes away………It’s not about Championships with Adams, it’s the money..
Lake Burton
November 8th, 2010
8:13 am
Numbers don’t lie. Beat Auburn or no, Mark Richt and staff must go. Period.
The whole picture
November 8th, 2010
8:15 am
So 4-8 lately, but if you take the whole 4 yr window you mention, they are 19-9….is that correct?
Richt looks like Freddie Kruger in the pictue; no $h!t
November 8th, 2010
8:16 am
Seriously look at him, he looks like Freddie, wish he coached that mean.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:16 am
Yeah, at least Hewitt averages a win per $100 Grand. Richt gets about $350 Grand per win these days . . .
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:17 am
Who hired Adams anyway?
My next door neighbor hates him as do many Dawg fans.
No wonder u r stuck with mediocrity.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:17 am
It’s kinda quiet today without a rooster crowing or tide rising.
Nick
November 8th, 2010
8:18 am
Richt’s record against top raned teams is better than Saban’s.
Fair and Balanced
November 8th, 2010
8:18 am
How confident am I that we will beat Auburn? About as confident as I am that Congress will balance the budget. About as confident as I am that Obama will turn Republican. About as confident as I am that birds fly north for the winter. About……… Won’t happen. Can’t happen. UGA is a poor team that is poorly coached.
RussDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:18 am
Not looking forward to what Auburn will bring on this Defense.
Just hope we have enough left to take it out on Tech.
Bobo must be demoted or sacked.
CMR needs to forget missionary trips and start focusing on Spring drills
ATL is TigerTown
November 8th, 2010
8:18 am
I have very little interest in the predictions of a moron named Hairy Dawg. He seems to have some pathetic little life and gets his jollies by making utterly childish and stupid comments on line. Talk about what you’ve done, not what you’re gonna do. You have no idea what the future holds. You’re dreaming, hoping, wishing. I almost feel sorry for that pitiful little excuse of a fan.
I’m feeling great right now. It’s Great To Be An Auburn Tiger! War Cam Eagle!
Spokesman for the SEC East
November 8th, 2010
8:18 am
It was embarissing to see all of the empty seats on TV during the SC-Ark game. No wonder the team always fades in the end.
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:19 am
With the money college coaches get, it has deservedly become “what have u done for us lately?”
If they want loyalty, they should take less.
Candela Ross
November 8th, 2010
8:19 am
Hey, dawgfan: Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
UGA fans don’t seem to care about anything but football, and they don’t care if their players are enrolled in silly majors that no parents who are paying the bills would send their kids to UGA for. The very few football and basketball players who graduate have no job opportunities and end up unemployed or working in menial jobs that hardly require a college degree.
Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.
Jan Kemp exposed the crap going on at UGA with athletes being enrolled in courses a ten-year-old kid could pass. That was almost three decades ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the abuses are more blatant today. Way too many illiterate morons are being recruited, and the very high arrest rate shows clearly that Richt does not care if his players have any morals or self-discipline.
The bottom line is that most Tech fans have very good jobs and productive lives that don’t depend on Tech’s football record for their happiness in life. It would be great to beat UGA more often, but when you put scholar-athletes up against dummy-athletes, it’s usually no contest.
It’s pretty pathetic to see UGA fans who typically have never been within miles of a college classroom and who live or die with UGA’s weekly results on the football field.
So keep on posting your “30-24″ all you want, especially since you’re home with plenty of time on your hands. I wish you well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get your old job back at the Waffle House before your unemployment checks stop coming
Spokesman for the SEC East
November 8th, 2010
8:20 am
Hey Jeff, Vandy and Kentucky were’nt ranked the last few years when they beat the Preacher in Athens.
Spokesman for the SEC East
November 8th, 2010
8:21 am
Candela Ross, so you are telling me that Josh Nesbitt is a scholar? You are the moron; dude can barely talk.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 8th, 2010
8:22 am
JB, you really think Richt can go 8-4 next season? Losing AJ, Durham, and Houston? Optimistic.
What’s crazy is the Dawg improved in all four areas that cost them games last year: defensive scoring, penalties, special teams, and turnover/takeover ratio. And they still may lose more games this year than last.
Kenneth
November 8th, 2010
8:22 am
Alabama went 7-6 in 2007, in their 1st year installing the 3-4, it’s just a complex defense to learn, and without the correct personell in year one to run it, Saban went 7-6 in 2007. If Georgia loses to Auburn, and beats Ga Tech, they’ll be 6-6, win the Bowl game, that’s 7-6, which is exactly where Saban finished his first yea rinstaling the 3-4.
good to know Richt’s keeping up with Nick Saban’s trajectory so far with the new 3-4 defense.
Hank
November 8th, 2010
8:26 am
Since Saban went 7-6 in 2007, his year one with getitng the new 3-4 defense going, Georgia was expected to go 7-6 at best, but add in starting a freshman QB, that has cost georgia at least 1 loss to Florida. Add in the 4 game suspension to AJ Green, that has cost Georgia at least one more loss to Arkansas. So, 5-7, considering those 3 developments, is about where Saban would have fnished with the same stuff going on.
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:26 am
One problem both Tech and Georgia blogs have is the teens using them to infuriate adults.
Then they disappear if their team does poorly.
Anyone seen m?
Even I don’t miss him.
Kenneth/Patrick
November 8th, 2010
8:26 am
Richt can’t wear Saban’s jock.
Nick
November 8th, 2010
8:28 am
Surpised Georgia didn’t lose 21-14 to Idaho State like Alabama/Saban did in 2007 to Louisiana Monroe. 55-7 win, lot better than a 21-14 lss, but it surprised me.
Spokesman for the SEC East
November 8th, 2010
8:28 am
Kenneth/Patrick/Hank keep it up please, we don’t want Richt fired.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
November 8th, 2010
8:29 am
WAR EAGLE!!!!!!
6-6 won’t be so bad, UGA
Tom, Resident Georgia Fan
November 8th, 2010
8:29 am
St. Simpleton: Great game against Va Tech thursday night!
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
November 8th, 2010
8:30 am
No way we beat Auburn this year I just hope its not a 30 point loss! I am not giving up on the dogs I am being realistic this is not a team that can compete with a real team yet.
GO DAWGS !!!
But tired of waiting for next year
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:30 am
Problem, Kenneth, is most Tide fans believe their coach can win the big game.
Lots of Uga fans no longer believe in Richt.
They think he lost good assistants and the replacements have not nearly been as good.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
November 8th, 2010
8:31 am
If UGA fans still want to fire Richt, I think wade Phillips is going to be available in 5…4…3…2…1…
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:31 am
Great blog name Trisha
Monty Markham
November 8th, 2010
8:31 am
The thing is, you have to factor in how many dawgtard players will be arrested this week, and if their probation officers will allow them to travel out of state.
Kenneth
November 8th, 2010
8:31 am
Not too many people expected Richt’s team in 2010 to beat Saban’s team in 2007 as far as defensive stats go: Georgia’s hoding the competition to less than 20 points a game, Saban gave up over 22 his year 1 with the new 3-4 defense in 2007. So Richt is ahead of the game. Both will likely end up wit a 7-6 record in year 1 with the 3-4, BUT, BUT, Richt ALSO had a Freshman QB, and a 4 game suspension to his #1 player.
Jackets2010
November 8th, 2010
8:32 am
Have the Cowboys ever looked so pathetic?
Saturday Evening Post
November 8th, 2010
8:33 am
Is Wally Butts still available?
Just askin’.
Spokesman for the SEC East
November 8th, 2010
8:33 am
Kenneth/Patrick does your chihuahua come up with this crap for you?