Finally, a positive spin on Richt’s future at UGA
Do you see Mark Richt growing old at UGA? (Associated Press)
It’s a given that Mark Richt’s program lost a little momentum last season, which in the knee-jerk world of college football “analysis” prompted the “hot seat” talk that reached a crescendo during the prolonged search for a defensive coordinator. After Kirby Smart decided to stay at Alabama, MrSEC.com declared flatly that Richt was “in trouble” and “his days are running out.”
The hiring of Todd Grantham calmed the waters a bit, but there’s still a contingent of pundits who seem to think that anything less than an SEC East title this fall will leave Richt with a tenuous grip on his job.
So it’s refreshing to see ESPN.com’s Chris Low opining that if any SEC coach is in it for the long haul, it’s Richt.
Low says that “Steve Spurrier told me last summer that he doubts the SEC will ever see a head coach again who endures at one place for 16 or 17 seasons the way Phillip Fulmer did at Tennessee. The money coaches are making these days is out of control. The pressure to win (right away) is even more out of control. But if there’s going to be another guy who makes it 15-plus years in this league at the same school, my money’s on Richt.”
Not only that, but Low says that while it remains to be seen if anybody can catch Alabama or Florida in the league, “if anybody can, I would go with Richt and the Bulldogs. He’s shown a willingness to change by overhauling his defensive staff, and they’re again working on a top 4 recruiting class nationally. And even after a disappointing season in 2009, the team didn’t get away from him and actually played its best football at the end. Let’s see what the next couple of seasons hold for the Bulldogs before we start writing Richt’s demise.”
Amen to that. I see Richt at Georgia for the long haul. What about you?
THERE’S THAT WORD AGAIN
Turnovers. The problem that plagued Georgia’s football team in 2009 was also responsible for the basketball Dogs’ loss to Florida Wednesday night despite strong scoring showings from Trey Thompkins and Ricky McPhee and the Dogs shooting 59.6 from the floor, a season high. It was nip and tuck for much of the first half before Florida went on a run in the last 4 minutes. The culprit mainly was poor ball-handling. Georgia turned the ball over 19 times, which translated into 33 points for the Gators.
Best assessment of the game I’ve seen so far came from coach Mark Fox at Georgiadogs.com: “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough or rebound well enough, and [Florida’s] points-off-turnovers and second-chance points ate us up tonight. … When we didn’t turn the ball over, we were pretty good at finishing plays. We have to defend better on the road if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. We have to rebound better on the road. We didn’t do either of those things.”
That’s a hallmark of a young team like Fox has this year. But they’re learning. The Dogs finally managed to put a game away against Tennessee. Now it’s time to grow up some more and win one on the road this Saturday against South Carolina, which upset No. 1 Kentucky this week.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE … OR FOUR
If you missed David Hale’s report on Orson Charles in Bulldog Blog, check it out. As part of a military science class he’s taken, Charles has decided to join the early morning ROTC physical training sessions at UGA in addition to his football conditioning. Reports Charles: “It’s definitely different than football — way different. In football, the most you’ll probably run is probably 200 [yards] back and forth. They go miles and miles and miles, and my whole method is just trying to keep up with them.”
Charles found he wasn’t in as good a shape as he thought he was, but he’s relishing the challenge of the 4-mile runs. “It’s more something I wanted to see if I could do,” he said. “Hopefully it rubs off on football.”
I like what this says about that young man.
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449 comments Add your comment
Ed
January 28th, 2010
6:49 pm
Worrying about the pretend national title in college football is a waste of time. Any championship that depends in large part on where you were ranked when the season began and what some BCS school in another conference and region does against opponents you don’t have in common cannot be considered a legit title (Georgia wasn’t worthy to play for the title in ‘02 because Ohio State pulled off a miracle 4th-down bomb against Purdue. Make sense?). Any so-called title that is effectively off-limits to 3/4 of the participants before the season even starts is a sham – look at LSU’s 2-loss farce in ‘07 as Ex. A. There’s a reason the NCAA doesn’t recognize a D-1 national champion. There’s no such thing.
Hometown Homer
January 28th, 2010
6:49 pm
Looks Like Hosehead Is Posting To Himself Again, funny thing about Dawgs, when they don’t have a response they resort to name calling or labeling.
macrotech
January 28th, 2010
6:50 pm
The Grinch, thanks! You continue to crack me up with your retorts! Best of wishes!
Dawgs 2010
January 28th, 2010
6:51 pm
Go Dawgs!
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
6:53 pm
“I actually wish Auburn had been given the title in some poll in 2004 because honestly, they were screwed over. They deserved a half-title way moreso than say GA Tech in 1990.”
Same here. Auburn went undefeated, beat 5 top 25 teams, one twice, beat the defending national champions LSU Tigers, set an all-time NFL recruiting record, had a tougher schedule than USC and Oklahoma combined…………….
One poll did give them the title.
Timmy Tebow's Tummy Hurts at Senior Bowl
January 28th, 2010
6:53 pm
Mel Kiper rips into Tebow today on ESPN, says he’s 3rd rounder, not a good QB, not a fan of Tebow:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft10/news/story?id=4864763
If Tebow gets drafted, it will be for the NFL minimum $100,000.
Georgia grad Stafford got $40 mill with Detroit.
ga gator
January 28th, 2010
6:55 pm
Timmy Tebow’s Tummy Hurts at Senior Bowl, I know you changed your handle again Bill, Get your facts straight first. Minimum salary is a lot more than 100K, second Timmy owned your out of state QB Stafford 2 out of 3 and lastly, he also had Tom Brady way out of the 1st round and he’s turned out ok.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
6:59 pm
I love Mark Richt. What a tremendous coach. Georgia is so BLESSED to have him.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
6:59 pm
“Georgia grad Stafford got $40 mill with Detroit.”
Yep, and he sucks.
ga gator
January 28th, 2010
7:01 pm
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha, sorry dude, thats what they do when they cant respond.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:01 pm
I think florida will go 5 and 7 in 2010. Just too many people moving away–players and coaches.
Georgia will go on a run, I have to admit it, it’s SO true.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:02 pm
Alright, looks like some dumb a$$ is posting comments that I never wrote.
tampadawg86
January 28th, 2010
7:02 pm
CMR is one of the best coaches in Football. He’s only problem is he’s toooo loyal to his people which isn’t such a bad thing. He just needs to realize he needs to put his best players on the field and the best coaches.. Which looks like he is starting to understand that. CMR is the now and future of Georgia. I hope he is going to be in Athens for a very long time.
Dawg Pounder
January 28th, 2010
7:09 pm
Someone said Stafford was a Georgia grad; incorrect, he attended UGA but didn’t graduate.
PT
January 28th, 2010
7:12 pm
Does anyone remember what it was like before Richt.
ga gator
January 28th, 2010
7:14 pm
PT, like I have stated before, He is a great man and coach. I hope he stays as long as he wants.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:16 pm
“Does anyone remember what it was like before Richt.”
LOL
The Donnan of a new era!
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:18 pm
Dude, quit stealing my handle.
Ok, back to my thoughts.
Georgia will win it all in 2010–GUARANTEED WITH A CAPITAL “G”
Big L
January 28th, 2010
7:20 pm
Why yes I do PT. Let’s see, 4 strait losses to Tech. Consistent 6 win seasons. And I actually saw a loss to South Carolina in 98, where ther were a bunch of empty seats at the beginning of the game. I said , emty seats at the beginning of the game. Yeah, I love Richt.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:22 pm
Yes, I live in a tralier, by a river, and I am unmployed hoping Obama will mail me some money.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:26 pm
Hey Bill King,
Can you do something about the inbred moron who is acting like a two year old?
Thanks
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:27 pm
“Yes, I live in a tralier, by a river, and I am unmployed hoping Obama will mail me some money.”
A true sign that whoever stole my blog handle needs to be deported back to her native country of Mexico.
Big L
January 28th, 2010
7:30 pm
Anyone who is plannin on baggin on me for bad grammer in my post, I am doing this from an Itouch, so, kiss my grits.
Big L
January 28th, 2010
7:36 pm
Hey, man, I dig trailors. You can pay em off fast, put em where u want , when u want. Insurance on em is super cheap. And there is plenty of room for livin in em. Who cares bout these folks and their houses with foundations and bricks and multiple bathrooms. Bunch of damn showoffs.
Nitwits Galore
January 28th, 2010
7:40 pm
Love this anti-Georgia dude, yes, smash watever-is-yo-fake-name today, so afraid of Georgia, they try to spin some negativity. Well dude, yo head gonna be spinnin’ once Grantham finishes with yo Gator ballers, you know the ones, afraid to schedule a top 10 team, yeah, those Gators. Talk all you want, Grantham gonna make yo head feel like it’s spinnin’.
Idiots R Us
January 28th, 2010
7:44 pm
Ok, hmmm, this is a UGA Blog, but some nitwit’s here anti-Georgia. Wonder why? Afraid that his team might LOSE IN 2010?
Big D Dawg
January 28th, 2010
7:47 pm
Auburn was on probation one of those 2 undefeated season!!
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:48 pm
“Auburn was on probation one of those 2 undefeated season!!”
Spoken like true trailer trash.
Auburn was NOT on probation in 2004.
Det. 160 alum
January 28th, 2010
7:49 pm
As a Det. 160 USAF ROTC alum and UGA grad I’d love to see the entire football team keep up with the “Fighting Bulldogs”. Keep up the awesome work ethic OC, that’s the kind of leadership this team needs.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:49 pm
“Wonder why? Afraid that his team might LOSE IN 2010?”
Yeah, watch out for that non ranked UGA team! Woooooooooooooooo scary.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
7:50 pm
“Well dude, yo head gonna be spinnin’ once Grantham finishes with yo Gator ballers”
Um…..I never said that I was a gator fan.
Bad Dawg
January 28th, 2010
7:55 pm
Been very close to this for a number of years now. Richt can recruit talent, but he and his staff are brain dead in developing it to its potential. If Tebow had come to Georgia, he would not have started until his senior year. It’s the Georgia way or no way.They do not know how to modify their way to take advantage of the talent they recruit. That’s why UGA will never achieve a National Championship under Richt. Richt’s head is harder than granite.
Big D Dawg
January 28th, 2010
7:58 pm
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha …… you being an aubarn fan, aren’t you embarrassed that the last time you guys won a mnc is 1957??
John
January 28th, 2010
8:02 pm
Its my understanding Richt has a better record at this time in his UGA career than Dooley. Our best players starting in the NFL this year. Consistant recruiting. Controversy in Athens is a Tech fans dream and probably where all the rumors started. Hope Richt is a Dog for life.
Big D Dawg
January 28th, 2010
8:03 pm
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha ….. you mentioned 2 undefeated seasons aubarn fan. so you trying to count the 93 season on probation as a mnc? you’re as smart as your alabama cousins counting 13 mnc
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
8:06 pm
“you mentioned 2 undefeated seasons aubarn fan. so you trying to count the 93 season on probation as a mnc?”
Are you retarded? I never said they weren’t on probation in 93. If you could actually read you’d have read where I wrote that Auburn was one of 4 teams to go undefeated since 1980. Auburn did it twice.
Some a-hole said that Auburn was on probation in 2004 which is a flat out lie.
“you’re as smart as your alabama cousins counting 13 mnc”
And you’re as smart as your south georgia cousin who turned out to be your sister.
Big D Dawg
January 28th, 2010
8:11 pm
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha….. glad I struck a nerve…. I knew I could when it comes to Alabama. and maybe you guys…. Aubarn fans should be the ones fearing the thumb this year when UGA gets you again
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
8:17 pm
“Aubarn fans should be the ones fearing the thumb this year when UGA gets you again”
I don’t know about that, Auburn will finish in the top 5 with recruiting. Chizek took over Tubervilles mess. It’s not like Chizek had been there for over 10 years like Richt.
You clowns beat us but you still went to a bad bowl and beat a bad team.
Both UGA and Auburn finished with the same record.
Chris
January 28th, 2010
8:29 pm
Ed,
That was a very good post. You’ve got to have some breaks to get into the beauty contest.
And for all you people saying GA got dissed in ‘07 when Nebraska and Oklahoma didn’t win their conference title, they CHANGED THE RULE. You now have to win your conference championship to be considered for the title game. Nebraska/Miami was the worst ‘title’ game ever. I believe only Oregon would have given Miami a stiff test that year.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
8:34 pm
“You now have to win your conference championship to be considered for the title game.”
Then how do you explain Auburn 2004? They won their division, won the SEC and went undefeated.
Big L
January 28th, 2010
8:47 pm
I would give up a year of my life , if tomorrow could be the first day of the 2010 college football season. The last year of course. And i would habe to die, you know, no living in sevritude or being held for male prostitution. And no working at McDonalds . As long as none of that happened, I would totally give up a year. And no Chinese prisons, or Lost reruns, long as none of that. Okay no ………aaahhh, forget it , ya’ll know what I mean.
Big L
January 28th, 2010
8:59 pm
Okay, Aubarn aint beat nobody in a while. They have lost 4 strait to THE DAWGS, and hey , we all feel real bad about 2004. Deal with it. Let’s all quit talkin about the Georgia Tech of Alabama
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
9:00 pm
“They have lost 4 strait to THE DAWGS, and hey , we all feel real bad about 2004. Deal with it. Let’s all quit talkin about the Georgia Tech of Alabama”
Yeah, and guess what, you have nothing to show for the last 4 years. Deal with it. Let’s all quit talking about the Iowa State of Georgia.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
9:03 pm
“Okay, Aubarn aint beat nobody in a while.”
Neither has U-GAY.
Big L
January 28th, 2010
9:11 pm
Ooooowooo, the west georgia syndicate of Tiger lovin buttholes is mad as hell now. Bring it on, cause UGA far as I remember got a sugar bowl AND 4 strait victories over the tiggers. And hey, smashawhatevaucallayoselfa, Ya’ll got Chizick from Iowa State. Self loathing is no way to go through life. Maybe a little therapy. A nice comfy couch, low lighting , and a Barry White album for you and your boyfriend. Enjoy ladies.
Big D Dawg
January 28th, 2010
9:14 pm
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha ….. and who did ya’ll beat….. “big 11″ northwestern team?? and boy were you guys sweatin it at the end. at least we didn’t sweat out the big 12 team we were assigned!
and again…. about your last mnc….. what was that now 1957??
CALHOUNDAWG
January 28th, 2010
9:17 pm
Well I believe we own Aubarn and for Tech and Vol nation I undestand misery loves company 6 and 6 sounds like seasons YALL have endured hate on hate on GO DAWGS
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
9:18 pm
Big L……..and ZERO NT wins. Awwwwwwwwwwwe, poor whittle puppies!!!!!!
“and boy were you guys sweatin it at the end. at least we didn’t sweat out the big 12 team we were assigned!’
Yeah, in the Outback Bowl. You know, that bowl that is bigger than the Shreveport bowl!!!!!!
“and again…. about your last mnc….. what was that now 1957??”
Auburn claims 5 NT. If Bama can claim 13 I guess we can claim 8.
Again, U-GAY is a second rate football school who hasn’t done anything great since 1980.
Oh, and Herschel was TERRIBLE in the NFL.
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
9:19 pm
“6 and 6 sounds like seasons YALL have endured”
We went 8-5. Ya know, the same record as the mutts had!
Smashsmeesha Bobeesha
January 28th, 2010
9:20 pm
By the way, I am LMAO about PETA coming after U-GAY for mistreating animals.