OK, so what happens with Richt if UGA loses in Starkville?
Quality-of-life-wise, it would behoove this man to win next week. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Not to say I’m smart or anything, but the Georgia season has played out the way I figured: Win, loss, loss. (No, I wasn’t so all-seeing as to know A.J. Green wouldn’t have played a down.) I also had the Bulldogs winning eight of the next nine games and finishing 9-3, which I do believe will occur. That said …
The Mississippi State game has long seemed to me the pivot point of Georgia’s season. It’s a game UGA should win, but it’s on the road in a different time zone, and strange things can happen in the realm of the cowbell. And today I pose the musical question: What happens if Georgia doesn’t win in Starkville?
Nothing much, I submit, but I’m willing to concede I might be in the distinct minority. Opening the SEC season 0-3 hasn’t happened under Mark Richt — to be accurate, the Bulldogs have never before been 0-2 in league play under Richt — and would loose all manner of outcry from the masses. Greg McGarity, the new AD, wouldn’t join the chorus, but even a new AD couldn’t help but note the furor.
I say again: I think Georgia is going to be fine. This is a young team with a new quarterback and a new defense that faced two very difficult early games without its best player. I find no dishonor in either defeat. And I expect these Bulldogs will tame the maroon Bulldogs on Saturday in Starkville. But I’m pragmatist enough to grant that this could get ugly if UGA doesn’t.
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992 comments Add your comment
ugabeast
September 19th, 2010
10:14 am
northwest ga dawg, sad to say but you hit the nail on the head.
Mike
September 19th, 2010
10:16 am
Bear Bryant & Nick Saban combined, only got 1 top 10 finish in their 1st 9 seasons. Richt had 6.
Nothing like facts to answer sensationalistic journalism.
Dawg in Dallas
September 19th, 2010
10:17 am
This is crazy! Richt has averaged 9 wins per season and you want him fired…ridiculous! Do you remember the Coach Donnan and Coach Goff days? Dooley was a 7-8 win a year guy until Herschel….we lost to two good football teams. Could have won them both, but we ddin’t lose to Jack St and Vandy….give this team time…could be a good team….beat Florida and all is right with the Bulldawg nation…
GOP
September 19th, 2010
10:19 am
hey red panties
Hide behind your liberal, socialist panties jerk
dawg-gone
September 19th, 2010
10:19 am
It is getting harder and harder for good ole Buck to make excuses.
Is there ANY other school who would give Bobo a job?
Maybe Bill Curry will call.
bardawg
September 19th, 2010
10:19 am
I’ve got to reiterate what I said in a previous statement, “loved BOOBOO as a quarterback & even as the quarterbacks coach he was adequate, but the boy’s in way over his head as the offensive coordinator. Maybe we need to bring Suzzanne Yocalin out of retirement to coach football, at least she knew how to win national championships!
Ted M
September 19th, 2010
10:20 am
Does anyone know a website that lists defensive tackles in their box scores for college football?
ESPN does for the NFL but not college.
dawg-gone
September 19th, 2010
10:20 am
Richt has not lost his fire to win…u can’t make chicken salad out of chicken sh#!…he was very upset with his coaches .
hey red panties…what planet u from? DA !
GOP
September 19th, 2010
10:22 am
dawg-gone
September 19th, 2010
10:20 am
Richt has not lost his fire to win…u can’t make chicken salad out of chicken sh#!…he was very upset with his coaches .
hey red panties…what planet u from? DA !
Wait a few minutes, he’s teabagging me!!!!!!!!!!
From 11-3 to 13-1
September 19th, 2010
10:22 am
`
Bradley believes Georgia will win 8 of the next 9 games,
except for GEORGIA TECH of course.
Sad but true
September 19th, 2010
10:23 am
bubba dog
September 19th, 2010
9:27 am
Republican Dogs want accountability and want CMR gone. Democrat Dogs will settle for excuses and talk about what a wondeful person CMR is.
I’m with you Bubba
————–
Typical of many (not all) republicans…criticizing the other person, but you can’t offer any intellectual solutions. Fortunately, the majority of the country is fed up with your regressive, racist good ole boy tactics! The state of Georgia ranks 47th out 50 in education–these blogs are proof. Anytime a black player does something wrong he’s labeled a thug. Let me guess, none of you ever did anything wrong between the ages of 18-22? The funniest thing about Republicans is they claim to be Christians! What a joke!
Dr. Phil
September 19th, 2010
10:23 am
When the fat cats start screaming for Richt’s head, Adams will hang him out to dry, and it appears that those rumblings are starting. As long as Richt was contending for the conference, donations rolled in, and Adams turned his head at arrests and unsportsmanlike behavior. A competent president would have put a stop to these behavior issues years ago, but Adams is a self-serving politician protected by a corrupt governor and hand-picked Board of Regents. There will be a new governor soon, who should send Adams off to his villa in Italy, and hopefully clean up the BOR from the likes of Regent Leebron. Then UGA can begin rebuilding the University and the football program.
Epaminondas
September 19th, 2010
10:23 am
Don’t even THINK about firing Richt. He’s a good, Christian man who does missionary work in the off-season. The Lord Jesus would be very disappointed if he were to be fired.
dawg-gone
September 19th, 2010
10:23 am
Yo Mike..
so there you go…
PROOF that Richt is a better coach than Bear Bryant and Saban!!
How lucky we are to have Richt and his SUPER staff!
p.s. you really had to dig DEEP to find that stat!
Yuck
September 19th, 2010
10:24 am
OMG…the haters are out in full force today.
You guys probably would have fired Saban after his 6-6 season at Alabama in 2007.
And I like the post that tries to tie political affiliation to one’s support of our coaching staff…way to spread the hate.
Mark,
If Georgia does lose to Miss. St., I don’t think anything will happen. UGA could/may go 6-6 or 5-7, and nothing will happen publicly. I think you only get one season without a winning record though if you are Richt, but like you, I don’t think that is going to happen. This team is better than last year’s team. Last year we escaped with lucky wins against SC and Ark. This year the games went the other way. I’ll take this team over the 2009 team any day of the week.
Roddy
September 19th, 2010
10:25 am
Coach Richt needs to play the kids who are disciplined and talented enough to finish the drill.
Bottom line, we need better character kids on the field at UGA.
Amen. Stop recruiting the punks who are already known to be thug wannabes.
old timer
September 19th, 2010
10:25 am
I wish some folks would learn the difference between loose and lose.
Reid
September 19th, 2010
10:26 am
hey red panties, thanks for supporting my socialist plan for America. Me ,Obama and Pelosi will control everything shortly. All free food etc even free games with your tax money.
Typical
September 19th, 2010
10:29 am
Typical racist southerners…criticizing the other person, but you can’t offer any intellectual solutions. Fortunately, the majority of the country is fed up with your regressive, racist good ole boy tactics! The state of Georgia ranks 47th out 50 in education–these blogs are proof. Anytime a black player does something wrong he’s labeled a thug. Let me guess, none of you ever did anything wrong between the ages of 18-22? The funniest thing about Republicans is that a lot of them claim to be Christians! What a joke!
dawg-gone
September 19th, 2010
10:30 am
Mr GOP…
who recruited these lads who now YOU refer to as :
Chickens ##t!?
and you have to resort to “political” garbage to prove your points?
so nice you can real political affiliations here…
first signs of a desparate, angry man…
taxpayer
September 19th, 2010
10:30 am
hey red panties -
This is a sports blog so go somewhere else to air your socialist views.
But while you’re at it, your political IQ is dubious at best. The guys that should be in jail are Harold Raines, Barney Franks and Chris Dodd for causing the housing collapse, resulting in more lost wealth for this country than any time in history and the cause for our current unemployment mess.
Ray_Goff
September 19th, 2010
10:31 am
Smiling…….
Katherine
September 19th, 2010
10:33 am
On the positive side, Richt’s tan looked great. And I love those cool shades he wears.
Let’s drop all this absurd talk about firing Richt, shall we. He really needs to have a lifetime contract with a million dollar raise each year.
And our players are not thugs. They’re all good boys who sometimes make stupid choices.
Mark Richt forever!!!
SK
September 19th, 2010
10:33 am
I like Mark Richt. But considering the kind of pay check he cashes, affability isn’t an option. Like it or not, the best college football coaches are polarizing figures who demand the respect and fear of their players and staff. I agree with Bradley–there isn’t a whole lot of shame in the two losses thus far. We were beaten by better teams. But if it takes a train wreck of a season to shake things up at Georgia, so be it. I’d prefer one really bad season to ten mediocre ones.
Willie_Martinez.........
September 19th, 2010
10:33 am
So who’s fault was it for last year?
John
September 19th, 2010
10:34 am
Georgia is now solidly entrenched as second-tier team in the SEC. Of that there’s little doubt. That’s how far the program has declined.
Really and truly, their losses to both South Carolina and Arkansas are as it should be. If you go by who’s the better team “on paper”, both the ‘Cocks and the Hogs should have won. So I can go to sleep tonight with full confidence, that when I rise tomorrow, my cat and dog won’t start breeding and Democrats and Republicans will still hate each other. The natural order has been sustained.
When was the last time the Dawgs were supposed to lose to both South Carolina and Arkansas in the same year?
I guess one question is: can anybody currently in Athens coach SEC-quality football? If the answer is “no” then it’s time to get coaches who can. Easier said than done for sure.
Or get used to being the predator in half your SEC games and the prey in the other half. Being in the middle of the food chain sucks.
Ray_Goff
September 19th, 2010
10:35 am
I am available at 1-800-BAD-DAWG
Ojama
September 19th, 2010
10:36 am
News flash: 86% of UGA coaches and players voted for Obama.
And just how did that work out for you?
Loran, whatdayagot?
September 19th, 2010
10:36 am
It feels strange for Vanderbilt to be 1-1 and Georgia 0-2
in SEC conference games.
We paid for what?
September 19th, 2010
10:36 am
Mark Richt is making $8,400 EVERY DAY. The joke is on us.
tim
September 19th, 2010
10:37 am
Dan Mullen worked the puppies silly while he was the O coordinator at FL……..and the Sat he’ll work you silly, again. He’s an innovative, chance taking coach who like nothing better than beating the puppies…can you say 1 and 3…better yet 0 and 3 in the SEC…bottom feeders
Phil Fulmer
September 19th, 2010
10:38 am
I’ve never understood how anyone – even an alumnus – could support and take pride in UGA’s football team. When you look at their history for the past forty years, how can anyone ignore Jan Kemp and the “remedial studies” scam, the Jim Harrick fiasco, the DUIs in the athletic office, the DUIs and other arrests of players, the #1 party school tag (i.e., the most drunk students), the suspensions and outright dismissals, the Fulmer Cup, and on and on?
As disgraceful and humiliating as it is, I don’t see many alums and fans demanding an end to this sordid activity. It sets UGA apart as the kind of school most people abhor, and it’s become an embarrassment to the whole state of Georgia.
Will it never end? Apparently not while Mark Richt is at UGA. Richt is perhaps the biggest hypocrite in the United States. But even with all the cheating and lawlessness that he ignores, he still can’t win the SEC.
So you’re paying him to be BCS champions, but he can’t even win his SEC division. So why do you pay him millions of dollars a year?
Just asking.
Gator Mike
September 19th, 2010
10:38 am
Yes, the Gators won, but they were very sloppy at times in the UT Game. The DAWGS lost, but I do not believe they are as bad as DAWG Fans are saying. Your guys were in the game at the end, but Mallet got lucky to break the tie. Had it gone into overtime, I bet the DAWGS would have won. ARKY had some luck.
Both UF and UGA are playing an inordinate number of young and inexperienced players. As they gain experience, both teams will improve. I still believe the Cocktail Party Game will be a good game and a toss up at the end. UF will not be good offensively until the center snapping issues (Pouncey) and timing are solved.
The season is young. I still fear the DAWGS. They are not a bad team, and Richt is a good coach.
The Gators have a wealth of talent, and if they quit playing “stupid” on offense, they will be good. For the record, I firmly believe that Mike Bobo is more imaginative as an Offensive Coordinator than Adazzio at UF. Of course, that is my opinion. Like all of us, I am not an expert or insider. Let’s let the kids play the games. We can all be “couch analysts” in December.
Good luck to all.
Go Gators!
Dawgs Lack Intelligence
September 19th, 2010
10:39 am
It ain’t the coaches fault, the coaches do have a good game plan, it is the quality of the players we have recruited lately.
When you win the Fulmer Cup and are something like second ALL TIME, that shows you the quality of the players. We lack intelligence to execute what the coaches have laid out.
If we would have won yesterday, nobody would be on Bobo, nobody would be on Richt. It is the player’s fault. Trust me when I say, Murray and Ealey are no rocket scientists and our defense will fall for any trick in the book.
If there is a problem coach it is the big woman we hired…. Grantham. Grantham and his defense have turned us into a predictable defense. We are aggresive, but bite on anything like a dumb dog and get burned for the big play.
We have problems ahead in Athens….. the players need to get the freaking stuff right.
SEC FAN
September 19th, 2010
10:39 am
First of all, I lived in Mississippi for 5 years. Starkville is not an easy place to play. If UGA had a good team, Starkville would be difficult. This year they don’t have a good team. Also the coaching has been deplorable. I would put UGA’s chances of winning about 40% at best. If they do lose, then I see loses to Fl, Auburn & Tech and also a very possible loss to KY. The season will not end pretty. Then I will be very interested to see what the fan base says about Richtafter that. If I were a UGA fan, I would want Richt to be fired this year. Why waste another year? The trend is obvious.
1980
September 19th, 2010
10:40 am
Georgia Football……………bwahahahahaha!
Sports Headlines
September 19th, 2010
10:41 am
At least the news is not all bad. UGA has a lock on the Fulmer/Richt Cup.
And red panties, don’t forget those.
TampaGator
September 19th, 2010
10:41 am
Bottom line….Georgia played two teams with equal or better talent and simply got outcoached and outplayed in both games. If they continure to lose close games….Richt will stay…..but there will be additional assistant coaching changes in Athens. The important alumni will demand that or Richt’s head if he doesn’t make some sweeping changes. They are getting “outcoached” right now and things could get really dicy in Dawgland if they lose to MSU next week.
P.S. Bobo is conservative……but he looks creative next to Florida’s OC. Our guy only knows 4 plays to call. Sweep left. Sweep right. Dive middle. Dump pass of two yards…..and always…always….call a run up the middle on 2nd and more than 10 yards. And the key….wait until there is only 10 seconds left on the play clock to give Brantley one of those 4 predicable plays so there is no time for him to evaluate the defense or call an audible. He is horrible.
David
September 19th, 2010
10:42 am
It doesn’t really matter what happens in Starkville on Saturday. Georgia has become irrelevant and there is nothing about the current situation that suggests this status will change in the forseeable future.
In 2007 Georgia went to Tuscaloosa in Saban’s first year and won the game on Stafford’s first pass in overtime. Arguably, the programs were relatively even at that point. Then the next year, in perhaps the biggest game in Athens in 25 years Georgia got humiliated. Not just beaten; humiliated. Clearly the team was not prepared for that game. Unfortunately that theme has become a recurring theme (Tennessee 2007, Alabama & Florida 2008, Tennessee & Florida 2009, etc.) for Georgia under Mark Richt. If one assumes that Georgia has talent then the only logical explanation for the abject failure to win a meaningful game in the SEC, is coaching. We all know where Alabama and Florida are as programs today. Each program has been made into a national power in half the time that Mark Richt has been in Athens. Both are relevant to discussions about the SEC Championship as well as the National Championship. Georgia has not been, and is not today, relevant in any discussion. So it really doesn’t matter what happens in Starkville or Nashville or Auburn or Shreveport for that matter.
I am a third generation UGA graduate and I have been going to Georgia games since 1964 so I’ve experienced a lot over the years, some good, some not so good. Right now there is really nothing about Georgia that gives me a reason to think that anything will change. I don’t expect Georgia to win the SEC every year or beat Florida every year. I also don’t expect Georgia to embarrass itself in meaningful games. It all comes back to coaching and clearly, Richt has lost whatever edge he had when he came to Georgia. I like him as a person and I think he is a fine man, but as long as he is the head football coach Georgia will be a second tier SEC program. I’m not even suggesting that he be terminated; I’m simply stating that Georgia fans need to be realistic about this program under this coach. It is not now, nor will it be, relevant as long as Richt is at Georgia.
HitaSingle
September 19th, 2010
10:42 am
I am not making excuses, but you people are unbelievable. Half of you wouldn’t know the difference in a zone or man coverage. Nobody likes to lose, but all this fire the coach stuff is a joke. There are alot of things I would like to see, like more fire on the sidelines (like Van Gorder was) and also recruit better quality kids. Recruit talent and don’t worry if they are 4 star or 5 star recruits. I watch other teams with alot bigger and stronger talent at running backs, defensive fronts, and fast receivers. I still believe in Richt and until we get franchise type players we are going to be average. Look how many balls we came close to intercepting and all could have been returned to the house. We need guys that make the plays and we haven’t had them. Is this coaching or poor recruiting?
Bitter
September 19th, 2010
10:43 am
Enter your comments here
bamaguy
September 19th, 2010
10:43 am
One thought regarding discipline. How can a coach tell his players with a straight face that they have to play by the NCAA rules when he previously told them to break the rules by celebrating in the end zone? Those players may not currently be on the team, but the current ones all know about it.
Cecil34
September 19th, 2010
10:43 am
Richt’s early successes were with Donnan’s players.
Now that the SEC has become more competitive on the coaching side of things, Richt is being exposed as a below average coach that he his, and a poor recruiter.
Not to mention a poor leader. No fire, no heart, really just a coaching mercenary who wanted to use the UGA job as a stepping stone to FLA St or somewhere else.
The house of cards is collapsing.Time for McGarrity to get his short list together….
dawg gone
September 19th, 2010
10:44 am
the point was..”the coach can only do so much with what u have to do it with”. I’m a UGA fan and I don’t care what color the coach are players are and my political views has nothing to do with football. So get a life. Racist where do u get that, but it always comes up. I know alot on thugs that are White, Black, and Etc.
Hattie
September 19th, 2010
10:45 am
Mississippi State 31
Georgia 17
Beatdown #3 for the dawgturds.
Ron Roberts
September 19th, 2010
10:45 am
A lot of “message board crazies” here, at least; good for the AJC.com sales department.
Bitter CMR
September 19th, 2010
10:47 am
lissen mutt fans “THIS AINT ALABAMA” we here at uga aint all about winning, chruch first then community service weight lifting 2 times a week then school work then football practice twice a week then that stupid gameday!!! who relly cares about the outcome yaaaaaww
dw7782
September 19th, 2010
10:47 am
bobo has to go, he is a dumba$$, i see us losing to ut, uf, ky, tech, au, and it will be close with msu, and vandy.
Big L
September 19th, 2010
10:47 am
I’m a fan of the talk show host Colin Cowherd. He claimed a source, supposedly very reliable, that says Richt has this year to straiten. Why do you think Muschamp and Smart turned down jobs? Especially Muschamp, he didn’t want the Tennessee job. Kinda forboding , huh.
Mo
September 19th, 2010
10:49 am
“Trust me when I say, Murray and Ealey are no rocket scientists and our defense will fall for any trick in the book.”
An excellent assessment.