Bulldog Bites: It was a good decade for Richt, UGA
David Pollack a consensus all-decade player. (Associated Press)
A host of all-decade SEC teams have been trotted out in recent weeks, and the only Dog who’s been pretty much a constant on them is David Pollack, though tight end Ben Watson also managed to crack Chris Low’s team for ESPN.com.
And yet despite not fielding as many consensus all stars as some programs, Mark Richt still managed to have a pretty good decade, as reflected by him finishing third, behind only Nick Saban and Urban Meyer (both of whom have two BCS championships) and ahead of Les Miles (one BCS title), on Low’s list of the SEC coaches of the decade. Said Low: “Despite some of the grumbling this past season in Athens, Richt’s consistency has been what sets him apart. He won SEC titles in 2002 and 2005 and has finished in the top 10 in the final polls in six of his nine seasons. He’s also won 10 or more games in six of his nine seasons.”
And from a national perspective, ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel ranks the Dogs No. 8 on his list of the 10 best college football programs of the decade, behind USC, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, LSU and Boise State, and ahead of Virginia Tech and TCU. I might quibble about Boise State’s placement, despite a couple of major bowl wins, but we’ll just note that the Dogs beat the Broncos in their one meeting.
Says Maisel of Georgia: “The Bulldogs’ success in the decade — two Southeastern Conference championships, a share of four SEC East titles — reflected the quiet, steely nature of head coach Mark Richt, who arrived after the 2000 season. They won 98 games while in the shadow of Florida. They won 98 games with a mixture of hard-nosed defense and two outstanding quarterbacks, David Greene, who set an FBS record with 42 victories (broken in 2009 by Colt McCoy), and Matthew Stafford. One other characteristic: Richt’s teams win close games. His Dawgs are 20-9 in games decided by five points or fewer.”
Yeah, a BCS trophy would have been great. But looking back on the ’00s, I have to say Richt has done a pretty fine job, despite losing some momentum the past couple of seasons.
You can argue about whether the 1940s under Wally Butts (three SEC championships, a consensus national title and another one with an asterisk) or the 1980s under Vince Dooley (three SEC championships and one consensus national championship) is the Dogs’ best decade ever, but I believe the past decade definitely ranks right after them.
Of course, the glass-half-empty folks might wish to concentrate on what Richt didn’t accomplish, but compared with the ’90s this decade has been paradise. What’s your view of the past 10 years of Georgia football?
A SWEET WIN IN ATHENS
A big congratulations to Andy Landers and the Lady Dogs for Thursday night’s tough, defensive-minded 53-50 victory over Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols, Georgia’s first home win over UT since 2000 and first win in the series since 2004. The Lady Vols are one of the most successful women’s basketball programs ever — the overall series record with UGA favors the Vols 39-15 — but those 15 wins by the Dogs are the second-most by any program over Tennessee, trailing only Louisiana Tech’s 17. And it says something for Landers’ tenure in Athens that the Lady Vols are the only SEC team with a winning record over Georgia.
It’s too early to say Landers has his program completely back on track, but the win over Tennessee is a big step in that direction.
YATA YATA YATA
David Hale of Bulldogs Blog talked recently with former UGA basketball mainstay Sundiata Gaines, now finally getting his crack at the NBA with the Utah Jazz. He put Gaines on the spot and asked which was a bigger moment for him, his game-winning shot to beat the Cavs or the Bulldogs’ SEC Tournament run two years ago.
Gaines’ reply: “Man, that’s tough. I love the NBA and all, and the last shot is great. But I’d have to go with the tournament run, just because, my team, I’d been with since the beginning. We had to work from the bottom and go all the way to the top. It was four games in three days, and that’s crazy and unheard of. And for us to go to the tournament — the last time Georgia won the SEC tournament was like 1983 or something, so to win it, that to me was probably the best moment of my life right there. Then comes the NBA shot.”
Once a Dog, always a Dog!
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83 comments Add your comment
sc dawg
January 22nd, 2010
10:55 am
Let’s hope the next decade is even better!!!! All the stuff with Myer, and Kiffen, and Leach should make us appreciate Richt even more!
PMC
January 22nd, 2010
10:56 am
The best is yet to come. They can be better than they ever were.
First
January 22nd, 2010
10:57 am
1st?
First
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
Victory is not mine. Richt is probably third, but that can change. He’s really good at what he does. Sundiata sounds like a girl’s name.
richtfan
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
the decade doesn’t end until Dec 31, 2010. The new decade doesn’t begin until the next day.
GW
January 22nd, 2010
11:00 am
The defense draining down the toilet really cost Richt the last few years. Just think of the games the defense didn’t even show up, even some of the wins. Turnovers didn’t help either.
Doobie
January 22nd, 2010
11:01 am
If Todd Grantham became Richt’s strong right hand, as Erk was for Vince, then fortunes could rise.
GeoffDawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:07 am
Let’s not forget about Shockley’s outstanding (SEC player of the year) senior season either. Were we not forced to start JT3 against Florida, we would’ve likely been in the MNC game.
C-Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:13 am
Boss Bailey was the man!
SD Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:19 am
I see Richt’s run as very Mac Brown like. Brown had Texas as perennial top ten team for years and they always seemed to falter when it came to getting into the big game. Eventually, they did it. I am not sure Richt will ever break through, but he has a good enough body of work to be owed the a few more chances to get there. Ten win seasons earn you the right to keep trying, but a string of eight win seasons doesn’t.
I will say this about the upcoming season, I don’t think number of wins is the ultimate deciding factor in Richt’s future with UGA. I would point to the lack of fundamentals that we often discuss here. Let’s improve fundamentals and I imagine the wins will take care of themselves.
Lindsey
January 22nd, 2010
11:24 am
So happy the Bulldogs have a great coach like Mark Richt, looking forward to another great decade, GO DAWGS!!!
SEC East Headlines – 1/22/10 | MrSEC.com
January 22nd, 2010
11:29 am
[...] late in the game.5. This Georgia fan/blogger believes that compared to the 1990s, the past decade was “paradise” for Dawg fans. 6. UGA defenders are wondering about position changes as they prepare to go from a 4-man front to [...]
Buckhead Bulldog
January 22nd, 2010
11:38 am
Proud to be a Georgia Bulldog! Good luck Coach Richt to another sucessful ten years of Georgia Bulldog Football!
Sic’ ‘em Dogs….woof-woof
Bremen Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:42 am
Very good decade, just the NC was all that was missing. Should have got to go to the game in 2002 and 2005 but it just didn’t fall Richts way. I think the voters support UGA a little more now that Richt has accomplished so much. Just look at what kind of raises coaches get for Richt going after them. That just shows the kind of respect he is getting from the college football world now.
Diamond Dave
January 22nd, 2010
11:45 am
Georgia was one of the top teams in the entire country in the 1940’s not just the SEC.
SC Dawd
January 22nd, 2010
11:59 am
Georgia might have been good enough to get to the title game in 2002, but not 2005. Texas and Southern Cal were a class above every team in the country that year.
il5
January 22nd, 2010
12:01 pm
Funny, you’d think a guy that is the #1 winningest coach in the SEC for the decade might be ranked a little higher?
Richt has a .769 winningest %. Saban’s .710, Miles .687, Mack Brown’s .677
Richt has done it in the SEC hardest conference strength of schedule, where as Meyer got most of his wins at Utah and Bowling Green, weak conference. Meyer hasn’t been in the SEC for the decade, only 5 years.
I would argue, that the person with the highest winning % in the #1 toughest conference with all the years in that conference, should be ranked #1.
Gator's Tator
January 22nd, 2010
12:05 pm
Bill-
I think Billy Bennett made Low’s all-sec team too, so 3 Georgia guys.
ESPN Bias Hurt Georgia This Decade
January 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
The ESPN hurt Georgia hard in 2007 when Herbstreit campaigned against Georgia to get Georgia knocked down from #1 to #4. That was a Natl Champ year. And 2002 13-1, winning the SEC, that type of year was good enough for Florida and LSU to get an Natl Champ invite but ESPN didn’t think Georgia deserved an invitation to the Natl Champ.
Most Georgia fans feel Richt has won the SEC 2x, should have been 2 Natl Champ invites. Plus the 2007 where Georgia finished #1 before Berbstreit’s bizarre anti-journalistic anti-Georgia bias tirade. Most Georgia fans see Richt as having somewhere between 2 and 3 Natl Champ while at Georgia.
ESPN will have no choice to be PRO-GEORGIA in this decade, Georgia’s gonna be the biggest story year after year as we dominate the SEC for years to come. If you win the SEC, you’ll get to the Natl Champ. That’s what Georgia needs to do to FORCE ESPN to be PRO-GEORGIA.
Andy
January 22nd, 2010
12:14 pm
This pre-Richt team sure have made a name for themselves post-Athens.
All Star Bulldogs From 2000 Squad
RxDawg
January 22nd, 2010
12:17 pm
It just blows my mind when “fans” actualy say they want Richt gone.
With a little bit more luck one of those BCS trophies could be sitting in Athens. But it’s not and that’s ok. We do control the SEC championship and we won 1/5 of those this decade sharing the glory with UF, Bama, LSU, and UT. It’s hard to get P.O.’d over that.
1970 Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
12:17 pm
Interesting that all the naysayers from within and outside the Bulldog Nation have stayed silent
here. I guess its hard to argue with cold hard facts. As judged by ESPN, UGA is a relevant
national football power. Thanks, Bill and thanks to Coach Richt and staff.
RxDawg
January 22nd, 2010
12:21 pm
Bremen, I think UGA was more robed in 2007 then in 2005 or 2002. In both of those years there were 2 undefeated teams ahead of us. In 2007 though, we were #3 and the #1 and #2 teams lost. ESPN and others pretty much campaigned against UGA since we didn’t beat out UT for the east tie breaker. I call BS. What if that #3 team was Notre Dame instead of UGA? If winning your conference has to be a requirement, then make the rule. Don’t just use it when it’s convienient.
Still….water under the bridge now.
Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm
Here’s hoping for another great decade with CMR!
gatorman
January 22nd, 2010
12:24 pm
il5, how can you put Richt ahead of Myer when he has a losing record against him.
gatorman
January 22nd, 2010
12:25 pm
RxDawg, didn’t you finish behind Tenn in 2007 in the SEC East?
RxDawg
January 22nd, 2010
12:31 pm
gatorman, didn’t I put that in my post?
It’s irrelevant by the rules. We were the #3 ranked team in the nation and red hot at the end of that year. After 1 and 2 lost they immediately had Richt on the phone for an interview for a likely chance of going to the national championship. However, since the polls are driven by popularity and human vote a media campaign against UGA convinced enough people to actually drop us way out of contention. We literaly were robbed. We went from #3 (with 1 and 2 losing) to #5 or 6. How many other times have you seen that kind of drop without losing? The answer is zero. I’m telling ya, replace UGA with an independent team like Notre Dame and that doesn’t happen. But really what’s the difference? It was an odd year and isn’t likely to happen again, but it did and it was wrong.
gatorman
January 22nd, 2010
12:37 pm
RxDawg, I agree 100% about the Notre Dame thing but if we are going to benefit from winning our Conference Championship by going to the NC, then you at least have to come in 2nd in your conference, not 3rd. Coming in 3rd simply means you had an easier out of conference schedule than the teams you finished behind in your conference to. The same has been true twice with other conferences: people argued for Tex and Okla and Ohio State and Mich. It won’t ever happen.
Seymour Hyknee
January 22nd, 2010
1:09 pm
Wally Butts? Come on, are you guys makin’ these names up? Don’t let your Sanjay Gooptah!
Boise Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
1:18 pm
gatorman… your logic is flawed. First let me say I don’t believe Georgia got hosed in 2007. The way the system is set up, if you don’t win your conference championship you shouldn’t be eligible for the BCS championship game. That being said I felt Georgia was playing the best football in the conference at the end of the year… but your statement that coming in 3rd means we played a weaker out of conference schedule makes no sense… it just means we lost the wrong two games in conference. LSU and Tennessee both had 2 losses in conference, same as Georgia. LSU lost to Kentucky and Arkansas (Georgia beat Kentucky). Tennessee lost to Florida and Alabama (Georgia beat both Alabama and Florida). The SEC doesn’t rank order the entire conference… if you did then Georgia would have finished in a 3-way tie for first place.
TommyP
January 22nd, 2010
1:26 pm
Boise: What he’s saying is IT’S NOT A RULE that you have to win your division or conference. Maybe it SHOULD be but it wasn’t a rule and it still isn’t.
Notre Dame never wins their conference…the guy made a great comparison. (I know that ND is an independent)
Reg
January 22nd, 2010
1:27 pm
If the first month of a year is year 1, not 0, and the 10th month of a year is 10, then the second year is year 2, and right on down the line to year 10. Since it takes 10 years to be a decade, then why is year 9 (as in 2009) being called the end of a decade? Perhaps the media could investigate to find what happened to the 10th year.
UGA89
January 22nd, 2010
1:29 pm
The decade that was –UGA vs the SEC.
vs the good = 13-7
vs the bad = 30-3
vs the teams that matter the most = 14-16
maybe it was a good decade, but certainly not a great decade. A 54% winning percentage against the strength of the conference isn’t that glowing of an accomplishment. the failure of the 2008 season, falling from being pre-season #1 to giving up over 400 yards on the ground to Tech, then finishing up with an 8-win season and Shreveport bowl in 2009, just reveals to me that the last two seasons have been tough ones. i think the team and the program have peaked. thank goodness a weak schedule next season makes for a potential good year –UGA could be 7-1 or 8-0 going into the Florida game, which will of course be a loss. but breaking in a new QB could spell trouble, so maybe i’m a bit too optimistic about 2010.
UGA = REDNECK
January 22nd, 2010
1:34 pm
With all those fans and high croot’n rankings you fools were unranked. Now get back to cutting my yard rednecks!!!!!
78 DAWG
January 22nd, 2010
1:41 pm
We’aren’t rednecks! dummy! Our school may not be highly rated by us news and world report, or employers, but we give each other jobs and that’s what drives the Ga economy!
We’ve had the top program in the sec for a decade and one of the top 5 in the nation (USC, Oklhoma, Ohio St and guess who…..the DAWGS! We’ve got 30,000 plus students, if 100 or so don’t go to class and break minor laws so what, they’ve brought money and pride to Athens so suck on it. Do your players know calculus or how many points a three pointer is worth?
Your JELLOUS!
Bad Breaks
January 22nd, 2010
1:43 pm
We could have been 10 – 2 or 11 – 3 this year if it weren’t for bad bounces, bad officials and untimely weather. Back in the top 10 next year. Aaron Murray is already being mentioned for the Heisman.
Minnesota Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
1:45 pm
To be honest, ESPN plays a lot of politics in their reporting. You can see the bias towards certain teams. Of course, if you win National Championships, you get the attention. We have been consistent, but have not won the National Championship. The chance to play in the big game boils down to taking the chance when it’s offered to you. We have not done that. I’m excited to see those opportunities in the future. You have to admit, we always have been good enough to get that chance to play in the big one! Go Dawgs.
The Truth
January 22nd, 2010
2:11 pm
“The ESPN hurt Georgia hard in 2007 when Herbstreit campaigned against Georgia to get Georgia knocked down from #1 to #4. That was a Natl Champ year.”
Yeah keep believing that, the fact is after the conference title games the rankings are adjusted, so you are saying a two loss UGA team who didn’t win the East or even play in the SEC title game should have been in the title game over a two loss LSU team that won the SEC that year? No Way. What did ESPN have to do with that? What did they have to do with the South Carolina loss or the Tennessee loss? Did Evil ESPN come up with that pesky tiebreaker rule that put Tennessee in the SEC Title game over Georgia? Keep dreaming, move on……………………………..
RxDawg
January 22nd, 2010
2:14 pm
To those actually trying to argue that it’s not the end of the decade…. the year 2000 counts as the first year of the decade.
2000-2009 is 10 years.
2010 is the first year begining in the teens (_ _ 1 _).
It’s just like the 1900s century was refered to the 20th century. The 2000s is refered to as the 21st century. It’s because the 1st century was 0000-0099. The 2nd century was 0100-0199 and so forth.
Huh…who’d of thought you would get math lessons on the UGA blog instead of Techs.
Kool-Aid
January 22nd, 2010
2:15 pm
“Aaron Murray is already being mentioned for the Heisman”
Are you kidding? Who is mentioning him, Georgia fans? It surely isn’t by anyone that matters considering nobody has seen him play one minute of College ball.
dan
January 22nd, 2010
2:33 pm
richtfan,
No we’re in the new decade now! 2000 was not a part of the 1990’s, it was a part of the 2000’s. I know that you’ve probably been told that we don’t start counting until 1, but that rule only applys when there isn’t other numbers in from of it!! Numbers with “200″ in front constitute one decade, and numbers with “201″ constitute another! Jeez, you and Neil Boortz! What the hell is so hard to understand about this!
Mikey in the SAV
January 22nd, 2010
2:49 pm
In 2007, we had a very inexplicable loss to South Carolina when we should have won.
We didnt show up in Knoxville and deserved to lose that game.
So…It was out of our control when UT went to the SECCG….
Should they have been there? UK had them beat..I mean, what team has a turnover in overtime and still wins? Vandy had them beat and could not kick a chip shot FG.
It wasnt meant to be for UGA. Period.
dan
January 22nd, 2010
2:53 pm
I think UGA had a nice run from 2002-2005, and 2007 was kind of sweet near the end. But overall I’d say it’s been a good decade. Better than the 90’s but not quite as good as the 80’s.
Part of the problem is that I really don’t think Richt’s focus is on winning championships. I think he believes that if he builds these players up as people, the wins and the championships will take care of themselves. And there is an argument to be made for that. A team is definitely made up of individuals and focusing on the process of getting better is important.
However, I think Vince Lombardi said it best when he said “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
How excellence is measured in college football is National Championships. Richt has has teams that had the potential to win a National Title, most notably 2002,2005, and 2007. But if you want something in life you have to seek it! Florida, LSU, and Alabama demand excellence and make winning National Titles a focus, and they achieve it. Mark Richt settles for goodness, and that’s exactly what he gets.
timthebrave
January 22nd, 2010
2:54 pm
The BCS is a joke and there is no true national champion until we get a playoff….but there is a SEC champion and the dawgs won 2 of them this year. That is pretty good in my book…Don’t remember too many of them in the 90’s…Go Dawgs!!
Where are all the All-American's?
January 22nd, 2010
3:17 pm
Mr King – sometimes I don’t know where you come-up with your crap – a good decade for UGA? Are you serious? Let’s see – no NC, how many SEC titles?, How many times beating FL and TN in the decade?? (which are the only REAL opponents that UGA has every year – the rest are middle to low, let’s see you play more than 2 or 3 REAL teams year end and year out.)
So, Mr King – with the so-called top recruiting classes nearly every year and the talent that UGA has – do you really think that it has been a very good decade for the dawgs??
Like the rest of the dawg fans, you live in denial and a fantasy world.
Positivity is a Glow « Football on the Brain
January 22nd, 2010
4:11 pm
[...] Bulldog Bites: It was a good decade for Richt, UGA—Bill King, Junkyard Blawg, AJC [...]
ChuckWDawg
January 22nd, 2010
4:27 pm
The Bulldogs’ 98 wins between 2000 and 2009 ranked 9th in the country only 4 games behind the the teams with the 4th most wins in that span. 2 SEC Championships after a drought of 20 years. 4 times they either won or shared the SEC East title. 2 wins in 3 BCS appearances. The very best program? No. A Top 10 program? Yes, The numbers say so. There are 111 teams who can’t put up better figuers. If you’re a Top 10 program among 120 then you’re a successful program. It’s all relative. But I’d say any team that finished in the Top 30 can claim to have had a fairly successful decade overall. (Note – Alabama’s 79 wins just squeezes them into the 30th place over the past 10 years in a tie with Clemson…)
AltamahaDawg
January 22nd, 2010
4:33 pm
I don’t share the view that UGA was robbed in 2007. Winning the conference should count for something and LSU did do that. To say we were robbed really misses the point anyway. The point is that in 2007 UGA was playing as good as anyone in the country and had it not been for a Vandy meltdown, or a Ky missed FG, UGA would have been in the SECCG. If the critisism of Richt is that he didn’t win the right game, or didnt have help at the right time, or snakebit, or deserves it , whatever, fine. But from a purely football standpoint, from a purely coaching standpoint, he DID have a NC caliber team in 2007. And 2002 for that matter. That’s the only part he can control.
70 Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
5:33 pm
Just read the post from Where’s all the all-Americans? Look in the NFL
Bulldog hater. There are about 40 of them there. Some went early so they missed the vote, but make no mistake they played some really good
football. Since he thinks UF and UT are the only top teams we play,
he obviously doesn’t know much about college football so I won’t debate
the other tired old criticism except to say I don’t like his school
either.
BigGAdawg
January 22nd, 2010
5:33 pm
RxDawg & Dan,
From what you are saying I must assume that the way you count to ten is: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9….Now how silly is that. There was never a year zero on the calendar. The calendar counts down with …4BC, 3BC, 2BC, 1BC, then 1AD, 2AD, 3AD, etc. There is no year Zero, therefore, a new decade, century, or millenium begins in the year 1, 101, 1001, etc. It is 1 thru 10, 101 thru 200, 1001 thru 2000, etc. The current decade did not actually begin until Jan 1, 2001. You got confused becaused the idiot media and the hotel industry decided to celebrate a year early. Just because a lot of people got it wrong does not make it suddenly become right.
Worth noting that the beginning of the 20th Century was celebrated at the at the correct time. People were smarter then than it appears they are now.
MGySgt Grts
January 22nd, 2010
5:44 pm
Hey Goober….The Decade DOES NOT end until the end of 2010 not 2009! Typical of a BullDawwwg fan or however you spell it. Out
70 Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
5:50 pm
The decade starts when the third digit changes. The 90’s started in 1990, etc. It’s amusing when folks begin to call people names to try to prove their point by appearing highly intelligent
.
January 22nd, 2010
6:20 pm
1980s started on? Jan 01,1980
1990s started on? Jan 01,1990
2000s started on? Jan 01,2000
365 x 10 = 3,650 days per decade. 3,649 was Dec 31, 2009.(Basic years for example purpose-no leap years)
Kool-Aid
January 22nd, 2010
6:21 pm
Georgia has a lot of players in the NFL, congrats. What did these guys do for Dawg Nation though? Not much, No National Titles and No National Title Appearances.
John
January 22nd, 2010
7:07 pm
Dream on if you think Ga will win against Urban or Nick either one. Saben makes his hoolums behave and is not scared of them as is Riche.
70 Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
7:33 pm
Hey Kool… those NFL players helped our Dawgs win a heck of a lot of football games and make the Bulldog Nation proud. It says a lot about our program to have 40+ pro players. To those few fans who think that a
football program is only successful if it plays for NC’s I would like
to say that you’re missing the point. College football is a great sport
played by amateurs. By your definition, 95% of the teams in America should just give it up since they have no chance to be NC’s. That would ruin a lot of great Saturday afternoons.and make those few remaining programs play a killer schedule. I guess Fl and Ala could play each other five or six times a season but that would be awfully boring.
GaGators
January 22nd, 2010
7:57 pm
Saban and Miles have a Natl Championships–they won the subjective popularity contest–but nobody beats Richt in the SEC with his 90 wins in 9 season. Nothing subjective about that. Richt has a higher winning % than either—and it’s all about the wins. Richt can’t control whether he’s an ESPN crowd favortie or not. Objectively speaking, he’s the #1 winningest SEC Coach over the last 9 season in the SEC, no one else has even been an SEC coach for the last 9 seasons.
Gator's Tator
January 22nd, 2010
8:00 pm
I bet Matt Stafford’s $40 mill doesn’t mind the NFL contract. tebow, if he makes the NFL, will get the minimum $100,000 for one year with n guarantees. Bad career choice. But he does have a Heisman for finishing as the #56 rusher and #22 ranked passer and a trophy Leak won him, and one other trophy.
$40 mill, or $100,000? Tough decision there….
Albert the Alligator
January 22nd, 2010
8:29 pm
30 Years and Counting Dawgies………………………………………………..
jesse james
January 22nd, 2010
9:04 pm
If we bring back discipline like we had for the Tech game and A&M game great things will happen. Coach Richt came in with discipline and expectations and I am afraid we got away from that. Like I said from the Tech game, the reaction from Coach Richt after the gatorade bath I knew Richt’s Dawgs are back. I know Coach Martinez, Coach Fabris, and Coach Janacek had their problems, but I feel alot of it was brought about because of lack of discipline. You don’t shut down Tech like we did at there place unless you know what you are doing. I am happy with our new coaches and am excited about the aggressive type of play they are bringing. I do wish the 3 coaches let go good luck and thanks for their contributions. There were alot of great memories from the decade. My big 3 would be the Hobnail Boot play, Run Caleb Run, and maybe the greatest defensive play ever made by Pollock made at South Carolina.
GaDawg
January 22nd, 2010
9:28 pm
Hey Bill,
Coach Dooley had six (6) SEC championships during his tenure at UGA.
GaDawg
January 22nd, 2010
9:35 pm
After re-reading the article, You were right Bill. he had three SEC titles during the decade of the 80’s.
jesse james
January 22nd, 2010
10:20 pm
i am soooo glad we have Mark Richt as a coach. He is soooo cute and really knows how to get the guys fired up. I can’t wait to see if he breaks out the black helmets again against that mean old Coach Meyer. That is sure to turn things in the dawgs favor.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 23rd, 2010
12:33 am
BigGAdawg,
Thank you for that very easy to understand explanation of why 2010 is really NOT the start of the new decade. I think people are getting confused by the change in digits in the tens position of the year. Also, the media apparently, sold that argument convincingly (and for whatever reason). Every 10 year period is a decade (by definition), and some people have chosen to believe that it starts with the change in the tens digit. You’ll notice, I’m sure, that no one addresses your point about years AD 1 through 9. Oh well, you can keep correcting them, but most will never get it.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 23rd, 2010
12:46 am
The last 10 years of UGA football have been very good by almost any standard. The two obvious exceptions are that we still can’t win consistently against Florida and the lack of a BCS National Championships. Despite those two flaws, you would have to be pretty ungrateful not to appreciate the many successes (i.e. Victories) we have had during this time.
I am proud of Coach Richt and the way he represents Georgia. I believe he is one of the best people we could have as a head coach. And, I think his approach will eventually pay off with a BCS National Championship.
G8TR
January 23rd, 2010
1:10 am
Our favorite measurement of Richt’s under-performance this decade is when UGA cites his “road win” record as successful but leaves out all of his Jacksonville losses. If this was considered a good decade for the Dawgs, we’ll take it. Back in the ’70s and ’80s, the UF-UGA rivalry actually meant something and was annually competitive. Now, on Richt’s watch, not so much. Kinda sad to see second-tier status in the SEC East embraced by a fan base as success. Can you imagine ALA accepting annual losses to AU, regularly placing behind LSU in the West and then somehow declaring the decade “good”? Not possible!
DawgJones
January 23rd, 2010
7:22 am
It was a good decade for win total…but you could count on one thing each year…a coloassal screw up from CMR (except in 05 when he coached at his best. Remember 01 on the goal line against Auburn? How about 02 in Jax when he had to play DJ and his inexperience led to a pick 6 for the Gators. I can’t even talk about all of the 03 talent that got beat by the Zooker. How about teams not even showing up against UT,,,see 06. 07 and 09. How about the Alabama 31- 0 and the Jax give up in 08 or the stupid black helmets in 09. A lot of wins, but key breakdowns means we are what we are. Oh by the way, the last four years we average 3.5 losses in a in 12 game season, Donnan did that and got fired…thank god Richt is at least 8-1 against Tech
"Last Call" Scott Hall
January 23rd, 2010
8:35 am
9 years with Mark Richt…
0 National Championship appearances
0 National Championships
0 undeated regular seasons
3 years with Nick Saban
1 SEC Championship
1 National Championship appearance
1 National Championship
2 Undefeated Regaular seasons
Glad to see you fleabags enjoy mediocrity.. more to come!
Bulldawg "REDNECK NATION" morons
January 23rd, 2010
8:57 am
When was the last time UGA ever fulfilled their so-called potential based on their incoming class draft rank or talent on their roster? They will once again fall short in the SEC, and to be honest, no one outside the state of Georgia will give a s**t.
The UGA Football program is a Legend Only In Its Own (small) Mind!!
AltamahaDawg
January 23rd, 2010
9:34 am
Appearantly they are a legend in your mind too.
Gator Nation
January 23rd, 2010
9:46 am
If you dawgs like Richt, we love him. We all hope he is the Head Coach at Georgia for a very long time. Might I suggest the black helmets again this October?
Florida Dawg
January 23rd, 2010
10:06 am
I base success on beating Florida…if you beat Florida, everything else will fall in place.
I know beating Florida was mention before Richt came on board.
I’m not trying to “dis” his accomplishments but this has got to change. It just has too.
Helmet colors have NOTHING to do with wins or losses.
BLACK is “one” of our official colors…Gators can’t decide if they are going to use white or Orange helment’s and if they are going to change their logos…Bama as we know, don’t care.
tbomachine
January 23rd, 2010
10:07 am
“last Call” you forgot to mention that embarrassing loss to that WAC team in the SUGAR BOWL–and Saban will be gone before 2011
AltamahaDawg
January 23rd, 2010
10:23 am
Nice omit of the 2 SEC titles too. And the 1-1 head on. And the Saban 6 loss season. But hey, whose counting.
Really?
January 23rd, 2010
10:34 am
Don’t compare Richt with Saban. Richt has been at Georgia for 9 years and has no national titles and Saban has been at Bama 3 years and has one. Plus that program is rock solid while Georgia is heading in the wrong direction. Plus Saban’s teams play with heart and discipline. But hey, if you like mediocrity and an occasional good season, that is fine by the rest of the league.
Really?
January 23rd, 2010
10:45 am
The only coach in the SEC that can compare with Saban is Urban Meyer. Just reality.
Krogunner
January 23rd, 2010
11:07 am
I for one am sick and tired of Richt. No one does less with more. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be right up there with the Floridas and the Alabamas. We recruit just as much talent and it really just comes back to a lack of discipline within the program. Get rid of the ‘black outs”, black helmets, and stupid dances and bring in a coach that teaches discipline. Imagine what the coach at Boise could do with our talent. Anyone watch them play? That is a well coached football team.
2007 delusions of grandeur
January 23rd, 2010
11:30 am
What is it with you crack smoking dawg fans that think Georgia should have had an invite to the 2007 bcs title game over LSU? You diddn’t even win your division.
Lets do a little analysis here.
LSU lost 2 games on the road in triple overtime in both against bowl bound teams. Now lets look at UGA’s 2 losses. One was a loss at home to a non bowl team in South Carolina. Championship teams do NOT lose at home to unranked teams that stay at home for the holidays. UGA’s other loss. They got blown out against UT. Championship teams may lose a game but true championship teams do not get BLOWN OUT! Why is this so difficult for you dawg fans to understand?
As a side note LSU beat that team that BLEW YOU OUT in the seccg and LSU did it with a freaking backup qb. LSU finished with 11 wins to UGA’s 10 in the regular season.
Nonconference. Georgia played no one of national consequence. Who did LSU play? LSU pounded VT 48-7 and before you belittle VT let me remind you imbeciles that VT won their conference, their bowl game, and finished #4 in the nation that year.
And lets not forget that UGA was dam lucky to beat Vandy. If Vandy doesn’t fumble the ball inside the 10 yard line while going for the winning score then the dores win that game. Your whole weakazz argument is that you were hot at the end of the season. Against who? You beat a Florida team playing with an injured Tebow and missing 3 d-lineman, you beat a vastly over rated Hawaii team. Auburn was the only impressive win in my book. So your sole argument was that you guys were hot at the end of the season. So what. Do you not understand that its a full season that counts??? Do you not understand that when you stack up LSU’s quality of losses vs UGA’s quality of losses, their win over VT, their win over UT with a backup qb that they are simply better to any objective observor? Why is this so hard for you guys to understand?
You guys are pathetic. LSU was flat out more deserving by any measure, quality of losses, quality of wins, nonconference schedule and a quality win over VT
The sooner you quit whining over the insane idea that you somehow got shafted in 2007 the better off your loser non bcs title program will be.
Nick Saban vs Mark Richt
January 23rd, 2010
11:39 am
Hardware is what counts. Me against Mark Richt??? Lets see. I resurrected an LSU program that had 8 losing seasons in 11 years and I won the sec in my 2nd year at LSU and won the national title in my 4th year at LSU. Then I took over a Bammer program mired in mediocrity and still suffering from scholarship losses and in my 2nd season went 12-0 regular season and came within less than one quarter of football from playing for the national title. Then I go undefeated regular season a 2nd year in a row and win a bcs title in only my 3rd year with what was a program in shall we say low tide? Sorry Bammers but I just couldn’t resist.
I’ll make it easier for you imbeciles touting Richt over Saban.
In 8 years Saban rebuilt 2 programs mired in mediocrity and won 3 sec championships and 2 bcs titles.
In 9 years Richt took over a talent laden Georgia team and has 2 sec titles. Mmmmh! 2 sec titles in 9 years vs 3 sec titles and 2 bcs titles in 8 years of rebuilding 2 down and out programs.
This one was easy. I’ll take Saban thank you.
DFWTX Dawg
January 23rd, 2010
12:59 pm
CMR is probably one of the most under-rated coaches in the sport. I guess Saban & Meyer have “outshined” him. That’s understandable given their accomplishments, but UGA fans should feel fortunate to have CMR running the program. Overall, this has been the most successful decade in the history of the UGA program IMO. Especially given the mediocrity of the 90s. To dub the 90s as the “decade of underachievement” is an understatement. We didn’t win the national title or as many SEC titles as the 80s, and there isn’t a class from the past decade that was successful as the class of 83, but no decade in the history of the UGA football program have UGA fans witnessed as many top 10 teams and 10 win seasons. CMR’s success is particularly outstanding when one considers how competitive the SEC was this decade. I hope UGA fans are patient in 2010. No rebuilding period comes without adjustments.
RED DOG 77
January 24th, 2010
2:47 am
DFWTXDAWG…….I am with ya brother ! Great post…keep up the good work….GO DOGS !!! GATA
kentucky cade
January 25th, 2010
7:26 pm
cats-34 pups-27…nuff said
Billy Donovan
January 28th, 2010
9:52 am
Very successful if you don’t count National Championships as a goal and as long as going to Shreveport is ok to finish out the decade.