Florida in Jax: Big for UGA, it’s even bigger for Mark Richt
"Did you know my darn strong football team is 6-1?" (AP photo)
The surest sign that Mark Richt is miffed: He cites numbers. He did it back in 2006, when Georgia was 5-0 but coming off shaky victories over Colorado and Ole Miss. (Those Bulldogs would lose four of their next five games, FYI.) He did it at the end of the 2008 season, which began with Georgia ranked No. 1 but wound down with Richt trying to make 10-3 sound like a major achievement. He did it again Saturday night.
Responding to a question (mine, actually) about the possibility that the halting performance against Kentucky had been a function of focusing more on the Florida-South Carolina score than the opponent at hand, he stopped in mid-answer. “Know what?” he said, his voice rising. “I’m happy with the victory. We’re 6-1. That’s not bad.”
Know what? He’s right. Georgia is 6-1, and 6-1 isn’t at all bad. (It’s good enough for 10th place in the BCS standings.) But now comes Florida, and this game will do more than define the Bulldogs’ season — it will shape the remainder of Mark Richt’s tenure at Georgia.
Richt has been in place since January 2001. He has — here we cite numbers for him — taken Georgia to two conference championships and four SEC title games. He has presided over seven 10-or-more-win seasons and seen his team finish in the Associated Press top 10 five times. Twice the Bulldogs under Richt have come close (in 2002 and 2007) to playing for the BCS title.
That said, his greatest successes came early, and not since 2007 — Richt’s seventh season — have the Bulldogs given their fans reason to believe the long-sought national championship is within reach. Thus have significant achievements come to be taken with a grain of salt. Winning the SEC East in 2011 was nice, but how nice is a season that features losses to the four best teams on the schedule? Being ranked No. 10 in the BCS is not nothing, but 17 days ago the Bulldogs were ranked No. 5 in the land, and not much good has happened since.
The question for Georgia and Richt is no longer about winning mere games; it’s about winning games of consequence, the games this program has ceased to win. South Carolina has become such a game, and the Bulldogs were embarrassed in Columbia on Oct. 6. Florida is another such game, though technically Georgia beat the Gators last season. But now the repellant reptiles are roaring again, and the Bulldogs under Richt still haven’t whipped a first-rate Florida team. (Richt’s three victories in Jacksonville have come against Gators who would finish 7-5, 9-4 and 7-6.)
If Georgia loses Saturday, it won’t repeat as SEC East champs. Given that the Bulldogs were picked to win the division in preseason, that would be a major disappointment. It would make last year’s return to prominence seem an aberration, not the new normal. Even worse, it would fuel the loaded question: If the 2012 Bulldogs, who came equipped with a bunny schedule and a seasoned quarterback and what seemed a mighty defense, couldn’t play for a conference or a national title, what Georgia team will?
Mark Richt is 52, which is considerably younger than Nick Saban or Les Miles, but a 10-2 season that doesn’t yield at least a division title would not play well among the noisier precincts of his constituency. That doesn’t mean Richt would get fired: There’s no way those in power would move to dislodge a coach who’s again winning 10 games a year. Still, the quality of life for Richt’s remaining seasons as Georgia’s coach would surely be lessened. The emphasis wouldn’t be on the many games Georgia has won but on the magnitude of the games it hasn’t. (No victory over a Top 10 team since 2009, et cetera.)
That the Bulldogs looked awful against South Carolina and awfully unimpressive against Kentucky could benefit the cause. Richt’s biggest victory over Florida — the Gator Stomp of 2007 — came when Georgia wasn’t expected to do anything except its usual Jacksonville flop. Now Florida, picked No. 3 in the SEC East, is ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings. Now this is considered Florida’s game to win.
But make no mistake: This is a game these Bulldogs and their coach need in the worst way. There have been breakthrough victories for Richt over the past 11 1/2 years — Tennessee in 2001, Auburn in 2002, Auburn again when Georgia had lost those four of five in 2006, Florida in 2007, maybe Georgia Tech in 2009 — but none lately. If Georgia wins, Mark Richt won’t need to invoke the record to remind us how good his program is. The record will again speak for itself.
Further reading: If you missed today’s Heat Check, it can be found here. (Georgia is mentioned.)
By Mark Bradley
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608 comments Add your comment
Fred is Smoking Crack
October 22nd, 2012
5:10 pm
So Cal,
If we woudl have ponied up about $200k we could have had him!
eddy
October 22nd, 2012
5:11 pm
what amazes me is that the O line seems to have no pride…..get their butts pushed around and backwards in each game. They may be big but they are weak…weak in muscle, heart and soul. The defense is just as bad..4th and 27 and the opponent runs the ball (everyone in the stadium including the Ga defense knows they are going to be conservative and run the ball) and makes a first down. The defensive coordinator is worthless and needs to go. I’ll just close my eyes and watch another game when the score gets too lopsided in the first quarter!!! Such promise…Facing the Giants for sure on Saturday. Hope the ending is the same as the movie.
SoCal Dawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:12 pm
We could of had him before FL got him.
1eyedJack
October 22nd, 2012
5:13 pm
It’s good to read the AJC once in a while and get the opinions of all of these out-of-work coaches and athletics directors. Without this knowledge and wisdom I wouldn’t know what to think about the Georgia Bulldogs.
This is what I do know. Georgia is 6-1 and they will tee it up in Jacksonville Saturday. I’ll be sitting in my recliner watching. Afterwards I will still consider myself a Bulldog, no matter the outcome.
Georgia by a field goal, dinked off the left upright and through.
Under The Bleachers
October 22nd, 2012
5:14 pm
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:03 pm
Has UGA had a player like Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell, Tim Tebow, Trent Richardson, or Cam Newton since Herschel? We’ve had several guys on the next tier down but not superstar quality offensive players who can take over game after game.
Only a few teams have won a MNC with just solid overall team play. Most champions have featured a Heisman caliber player (i.e. someone finishing in the Top 5 in voting if not out right winning it). UGA features too many future NFL talents and not enough great college players these days. We need guys who peak in college, not the NFL!
————————————————————————————-
Darth,
Does the Coach and Staff have the responsibility to get the players to “PEAK” at the right level while in College? I think that is a direct correlation in what happens the first day a new signee reports to summer workouts, spring practice, and fall camp.
Ted M
October 22nd, 2012
5:14 pm
Good column, Mark.
But I think you went a little easy on CMR.
VinceVanGo
October 22nd, 2012
5:18 pm
Here’s a Win Win situation for Georgia fans. Georgia goes 10-2 this year which allows Richt to go out on a positive note. He retires to missionary work with no pay out from UGA. Georgia hires Kirby Smart and McGarity gives him the option of retaining or replacing all coaches. K. Smart keeps Grantham & Bobo for one year but they are on notice to perform or else. He keeps them in order to allow for a smoothe transition and to keep as many recruits as possible. Richt does missionary work for a year or two and then looks for a mid size college to coach or A.D. at. Everybody lives happy ever after. No I haven’t been smoking anything, but’s it’s a great daydream.
Under The Bleachers
October 22nd, 2012
5:18 pm
As a business man I look at things this way. If my company is making 5 million a year, doing very well in our field, our employees are doing a good job and not creating problems, our work is done well with pride and workmanship, then I am very happy. HOWEVER, if all those things are happening above, but I know we can make 7 million without a great deal of extra work, but the managers, directors and engineers are not pushing for a better annual result then I will look at all means and ways to make that improvement.
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:18 pm
SoCal Dawg,
I hear ya man. Richt seems more focused on developing pro-style QBs these days. Since we’re not going to build a stout OL maybe we need to return to dual-threat QBs. Murray was one but they told him to stop running!
Bob
October 22nd, 2012
5:23 pm
Mark Richt, Adam Murray, and Jeff George…great stats. But, stats are for losers! Please, let’s win a big game for a change. Just my opinion, and I think we can do a lot better with $3M a year.
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:23 pm
Under The Bleachers
October 22nd, 2012
5:14 pm
Darth,
Does the Coach and Staff have the responsibility to get the players to “PEAK” at the right level while in College? I think that is a direct correlation in what happens the first day a new signee reports to summer workouts, spring practice, and fall camp.
__________________________________________________
No, not for the type of player I’m talking about. I don’t think Mack Brown and staff had much to do with what made Vince Young special in college. Same goes for Urban Meyer with Tebow or Chizik (and Meyer) with Newton. Those guys were just special and would have been special for any coach.
1eyedJack
October 22nd, 2012
5:24 pm
Murray is not a dual-threat QB. He did what all young QBs do when they feel pressure and that is take off.
Flat Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
October 22nd, 2012
5:27 pm
Bill King this morning called UGA’s team a team that pillow fights with an Energy Vampire as its coach
DawgNole
October 22nd, 2012
5:30 pm
phil
October 22nd, 2012
2:49 pm
Right, Mike S…..
Do you have cat liter for a brain?
___________________
Now phil, it’s cat LITTER. If you can’t spell your insults correctly, you’re fired!
Under The Bleachers
October 22nd, 2012
5:30 pm
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:23 pm
Under The Bleachers
October 22nd, 2012
5:14 pm
Darth,
Does the Coach and Staff have the responsibility to get the players to “PEAK” at the right level while in College? I think that is a direct correlation in what happens the first day a new signee reports to summer workouts, spring practice, and fall camp.
__________________________________________________
No, not for the type of player I’m talking about. I don’t think Mack Brown and staff had much to do with what made Vince Young special in college. Same goes for Urban Meyer with Tebow or Chizik (and Meyer) with Newton. Those guys were just special and would have been special for any coach.
————————————————————————————————-
Yeah, I agree with that, but those players a 1 in a 1000. Finding that player takes a great deal of luck and some really hard work early in the players High School career.
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:31 pm
1eyedJack,
Give Murray some credit. He wasn’t running like a chicken with his head chopped off. He has athletic ability and has enjoyed some good runs in his career. Richt/Bobo are obviously grooming him for a shot at the NFL but there’s nothing wrong with him pulling it down and running like Aaron Rogers!
Dawgsgone
October 22nd, 2012
5:31 pm
No offensive line, special teams with clueless player back to receive punts, kick offs to the 15 yard line and AVERAGE returns of 15-25 yards on top of the short kick, pats that are always an adventure, pitiful tackling, no pressure on qb, db’s who are looking and pointing at each other after long gain or td, so predictable play calling my wife has it figured out and she hates football, and a coach who seems to think everything is either funny or says “its o.k. boys” its just a game. As much as I love the Dawgs, I can’t stand to watch any more of this non sense. Saturday’s beat down will happen whether I watch or not so I think I’ll just wait and read about it Sunday.
Mark Richt
October 22nd, 2012
5:33 pm
Before I came here y’all weren’t even beating Tech, Auburn and Tennessee.
Show a little respect
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:35 pm
Murray has more passing yds and touchdowns than Florida and South Carolina QB’s combined. That is a little impressive wouldn’t you say?
DarthDawg
October 22nd, 2012
5:35 pm
But no, Murray is not Michael Vick. I do think he can do what Connor Shaw and Jeff Driskel do for their teams. The only difference is that Murray doesn’t have to run as much and that makes him potentially more dangerous.
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:37 pm
Everybody is bashing Dawgs about schedule but has anyone looked at the Bama and Mississippi State Rough road….LOL
Gerhart76
October 22nd, 2012
5:39 pm
The trouble is when you change coaches you don’t know that you’re going to get better.
See: Old Miss – David Cutcliffe, UT – B. Fulmer, UMiami – Coker
I am not a UGA fan (NC State Alum – Is O’Brien better than Amato?), but it seems to me UGA needs to establish an identity on both offense and defense.
On offense: Are we going to be smash-mouth tail-back U run the ball (Herschel et al) or are we going to be finesse throw the ball around.
On defense: are we going to be junk yard dawgs or read and react?
St Johns River
October 22nd, 2012
5:39 pm
This isn’t fantasy football – you don’t get any points just for throwing for a bunch of yards. FL beat LSU 14-6 and USCe 44-11. Whether they score a bunch off of turnovers, special teams and defense, or just stuff you in a defensive battle, who cares? The one with the most points on the board at the end wins.
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:40 pm
Dawdsgone…..great don’t watch, don’t come back though when we win. Just stay under the porch.
Tampa Gator
October 22nd, 2012
5:41 pm
Fred
October 22nd, 2012
4:42 pm
If UGA’s so bad
And Florida’s so great
why is Florida favored
by just 3 points?
Because Florida and Georgia are both very talented teams…..but…according to most Georgia fans posting on here…..the #10 BCS team is not as well coached as the #2 BCS team.
Fred
October 22nd, 2012
5:42 pm
I would look for Mitchell to drive Florida nuts.
Gurley too.
Tavarres King too.
LYNCH COULD BE THE SECRET WEAPON IN THIS GAME AS HE WILL BE A MISMATCH ALL GAME LONG.
Marshall will be open on wheel routes all day long.
Murray’s legs too. Murray will be able to pick up a first down with his legs all day long, especially in the first half, as Florida waits until halftime to adjust their gameplan.
Gonna be a long day for Florida, trying to stop the UGA hurry up, gonna be very, very tired by the 3rd quarter, going to be falling down throwing up tired by the 4th qrtrtr
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:42 pm
Whiners get to stay under the porch
DawgNole
October 22nd, 2012
5:43 pm
Dawg Gone
October 22nd, 2012
2:57 pm
I heard this morning Petrino was spotted in an Atlanta hotel this morning. Wonder who was interviewing him.
_____________________
Probably hookin’ up with his latest galfriend.
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:43 pm
Do you think Tennessee fans would like to have Georgia fan problems this season??
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:45 pm
DawgNote…..they were just co workers…hanging out
Bob
October 22nd, 2012
5:45 pm
Some of you kool-aide drinkers ask “who can we get that will do better than Richt?” How ’bout Charley Strong? Or how much coaching talent does it take to have wins agaist all the bottom feeders, and lose to top 25 teams…with superior talent? Unfortunately, we have become the Braves of NCAA football…time to change the culture. Past time!
ECDog
October 22nd, 2012
5:47 pm
There is no way UGA loses this game unless florida gets some cheap turnovers. If UGA wisn the turnover battle, UGA wins it. I think it might be somewhat close at the end, as Florida tries to come back from 10 down, but they will come up short, like they did last year. Florida just has no offense.
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
5:50 pm
Florida total offense first half against south Carolina 29 yards. How lucky can you get.
DawgNole
October 22nd, 2012
5:50 pm
Big Crimson 75
October 22nd, 2012
3:12 pm
Who was that dog fan on here the other day demolishing the English language??
Apparently that’s what it takes to get a post thru.
____________________
I always have problems with the filters on Bradley’s columns–and on Bill King’s. AJC is supposed to be a big-city newspaper, but it sure seems to have a small-town IT department.
JC
October 22nd, 2012
5:51 pm
@ Fred
Flash back to the year 2008… UGA is undefeated and I believe ranked #1 in the country going into the 5th game of the season against Saban led Alabama. UGA is loaded with NFL talent including the top 12 picks of the NFL draft. Saturday night in Athens and one of the most electric atmospheres I can remember. Richt has called for a blackout to try and motivate his team and the fans…
Well I think you know the rest of the story… Heres the real kicker Fred, similar situations happened in 2007 at UT, 2011 in the SEC champioship game, WVU sugar bowl, etc, etc.. When have you ever seen a Saban coached team not be competitive in big games..
Take another drag on the doobie and lets hear you spin this one
Dawggie
October 22nd, 2012
5:54 pm
When your defense sets you up with a short field for three of your possessions in a half, and you convert each time, you won’t have a ton of offensive yards that half. In the third half, I think UF had 135 yards against Carolina. In the fourth quarter, it was garbage time. Not saying that FL tore it up on offense, but stats can be deceiving.
JC
October 22nd, 2012
5:54 pm
Fred, what happened in 2008 when Saban came to town for our blackout?
Erk's gone andso is our defense
October 22nd, 2012
5:59 pm
One word for Saturday: COMPETE…bottom line, make plays and play 4 qtrs, If we get blown out Saturday, CMR needs to go and I have a coach who wins BIG games in mind: Tommy Tuberville
AirForce1
October 22nd, 2012
6:00 pm
JC…So true…on all points
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
6:00 pm
It was more like South Carolina said….here would you like the ball a little closer?
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
October 22nd, 2012
6:01 pm
Oy. I knew not to read this article but I did anyway. There’s no purpose to articles like this except to complain, though I guess that’s a sports writer’s job any time of year.
What do you want Georgia to do? Fire Richt? I’m sorry, but that’d be a HUUUUGE mistake. Look at Tennessee since they got rid of Fulmer. That’s what awaits UGA if they run Richt out right now.
Besides, if the idiots on these boards got their wish and got Richt fired this year, you do realize that there are around 4 other teams in the conference that’ll ALSO be looking for new head coaches? How dumb a move would that be?
Also, who would we get to replace him? Seriously, the only person that I think could do as well as Richt is Chris Peterson at Boise. Even then, I think that might be a stretch. And no, I don’t want Kirby Smart back: he burned his bridge when he didn’t grab the DC job a couple years back (not that I wanted him THEN, either).
Also, what makes me sick is that everyone’s given this game to Florida, and if the fans (and local sports writers) have given up on the team, why should they even try?
Also, Mark, what the devil are you trying to intimate here:
“Florida is another such game, though technically Georgia beat the Gators last season.”
“Technically” isn’t needed here, and it’s clear that you put that term there to try and diminish that win, which we NEEDED to get to the SECCG. WE FLAT-OUT BEAT FLORIDA LAST YEAR. No qualifiers necessary.
Go Dawgs!
Defense wins Championships
October 22nd, 2012
6:02 pm
My Head Coach Mark Richt is Christian. As such, he is persecuted and used to it. Coach Richt l pray for you and wish for you to give Kathryn a big victory kiss Saturday everning. Go Dawgs. Our Team, Our Time, No Regrets. Just do it guys. Play hard. Show me a Championship worth Dawg Team.
JB
October 22nd, 2012
6:02 pm
I am sick of making Fulmer at Tenn as a reason to keep Richt. Please. We are not Tenn. This state is loaded with D1 talent EVERY year. We need a new face of the program. The body languish alone during the game is reason for me. Anybody watch Sprurrier during our game with them….AND THEY WERE WINNING.
Smitty
October 22nd, 2012
6:02 pm
What is Alabama vs Georgia record under Richt? anybody know?
1980
October 22nd, 2012
6:05 pm
a long time ago. way before i was born—did they wear leather helmets back then with no facemask?
Mike Lewis in Gray, GA
October 22nd, 2012
6:06 pm
I’m tired of being a Mark Richt apologist…I don’t know specifically where our problems lie but I do know this. We have had a minimum Top 10 recruiting class for, well forever it seems, but we can’t win championships (national or SEC) or beat Top ranked teams…we have been EMBARASSED more times in the past 5 years than I can ever recall since my days there from 72-75. No team in the country should EVER has us down 28-0 at half time anywhere or at anytime.
Mark Richt is a good man…a good Christian man…probably a great family man and he has done some very good things for UGA but it is TIME to get a GREAT football coach, one who can win with the talent we get year in and year out. We’re like the NY Yankees, as far as our talent base and their payroll…we get the best but don’t win! George Steinbrenner wouldn’t take losing and neither should we! God Bless you Mark Richt but it is time to make a change!
Bulldog Born & Bred
October 22nd, 2012
6:07 pm
please get Kirby Smart before someone else does
CDAWG
October 22nd, 2012
6:08 pm
Someone said earlier that Florida wasn’t all that ofter having beat USC, LSU and A&M, are you kidding me? A&M should be ranked much higher than where they are. Florida is playing inspired football and could very well beat Bama!
Oh, and someone else said that Richt, Bobo and Grantham don’t actually run the plays the players do. It’s up to the coaches to come up with the game plan. Sometimes a player might should be in zone and not man-to-man, that is the coach’s fault. Our D is broken and I would love for us to beat Fl but it ain’t happening and it’s not because we don’t have the right personnel, we don’t have the right coaching!
JB
October 22nd, 2012
6:09 pm
You can add up all the short comings of our program the last five years, and there are many, and all you end up with is Richt is a great guy. And sadly, that’s good enough for a lot of Georgia fans. And that’s sad. He was hired, hopefully, to win Championships. And we had a 5 point lead against the worst Kentucky team in years with the game still in doubt with 4 minutes to go. If not THIS team with THIS schedule, then WHEN? And a coachless Arkansas team with a divided locker room ran them out of the Stadium, just say’n
JB
October 22nd, 2012
6:12 pm
At what point Saturday does Mark start staring at the sky with that emotionless look on his face.???