What do Georgia and Southern Cal have in common?
I know, I know. Thirteen years of cranking out as much elite talent as any national program with nothing more to show for it than a couple of SEC titles? Damn.
But I’ll say this, too – blame coaching for it, if you like, but there’s got to be some part of that track record that can just be chalked up to being snakebit. You’d think at some point Georgia’s due for a couple of good breaks.
Get The Picture 
Have all of those teams, except UGA, been investigate by the NCAA during the same time span?
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This stat encapsulates all my frustrations and expectations of Georgia Football. While I am behind Mark Richt, I can certainly understand why many fans and followers have been displeased with him over the years.
We have no excuses left, time to elevate the program once again.
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I think the timing of our talent has played a big role too. Seems we are always loaded on one side of the ball or the other, we never get that year where it all comes together on both sides. FSU doesn’t show up on either of those lists, but they’ve had one year now where things worked out to where they had the best defense in the country, and a Heisman winning QB with a heckuva WR corp and solid RB’s on offense. We haven’t had what felt like a complete team since ’05 (possibly ’07). And yeah, I do think Richt’s prior roster management tactics have played a role in that. I like that he is being more aggressive now in the number of players we sign. I don’t want to be extreme over signers, but sure didn’t like being extreme under signers either.
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Lot o’ truth, dat. Like someone posted a day or so ago, we rarely if ever have fielded a complete team — loaded on both sides of the ball. Agree, too, that more aggressive signing numbers are long overdue. Hopefully, that will make a difference.
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I agree on the roster management, but think the side of that other than the numbers was the biggest problem. Richt is proven on the X’s and O’s, especially on the offensive side (to the best of my knowledge – that is not my forte’). UGA’s setbacks have been largely due to his underdeveloped leadership/management skills. When he got here, he just copied what he knew – Bobby Bowden. He had good coaches around him, BVG in particular, to accomplish his goals, but he learned from a leader that consistently had the most talent, in every position, of any team in the conference. Complacency with the soft skills (behavior, demeanor, etc) could be tolerated and still win. He didn’t have to manage the motivational aspects as a top priority. Apparently, the only thing he learned about desire is punish them if they don’t have it.
The team only got fired up when something caused it outside the meeting rooms. Every year, since he has been here, we have come out flat to at least one game we should have been ready for, the exception being ’05 when Shock got hurt for the FU game, until WVA. Even if we came out ready and got a big lead, we started taking a knee and fell into complacency during the game, ie UT (04?). That is a result of the Leadership, not the roster.
In the last few years, he has worked on and improved his leadership skills. One must have ability and desire to excel. He is finally discovering that desire is a big piece of that pie – it is actually the biggest, he seems to be getting that now. He has come a long way since 2009 in learning that he actually needs to lead that whole process and not just coach the team. He is getting rid of the actively disengaged team members, and celebrating the engaged. When he stops this shotgun, or one-size-fits-all discipline system, he’ll reach another milestone. It is one thing to say you want to win, it is another to lead in that direction. It seems Pruitt learned that somewhere along the way and is slipping some of that in the system on the defensive side of the ball. But, all I am reading is the media and blogosphere.
I hope he keeps things going in the direction he started a few years ago and maybe all that talent will pay off. Sorry for the rant, but I feel better now.
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Yep I agree with everything you said too. The one thing you have to give Richt credit for though is willingness to change. I won’t lie, it would be nice to have a coach who is viewed as more of a trendsetter. Richt isn’t particularly innovative, but once he sees what is working elsewhere, he eventually implements it. Sometimes it feels like he’s turning the Titanic, but he does eventually make the change.
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Good posts by all.
~~~
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I agree. It’s a rare trait and it took a while to come to him, but he is willing to change. Kudos.
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Good posts Rev and Hank. One more thing, though. CMR (or maybe it’s Bobo, you can’t really tell because they are so hush-hush about it) has this maddening tendency, when right on the cusp of winning, to make a bonehead decision that costs our team the game. That is the real reason why he hasn’t won a NC or even played for one. That’s got to stop.
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I really want to believe this. I really do. As much as like Richt, I’ve slowly faded to the side of the fence that thinks UGAs lack of national greatness is due to his lack of greatness as a coach. I think he’s a fantastic coach, but he’s a step behind the great ones. Now, there are only so many great college coaches, and many of them leave for the pros after but a handful of years, but this is where I am as a UGA fan right now. Our best hope is to contend for an SEC title. While I want to think 2012 should be the way it is, when you look back at Richt’s tenure, the 12-2, 13-1 years are the anomaly. 9-3, 10-2, 8-4 is where we often live.
My only hope is we can be this year’s AUB. A team not expected to contend for a title getting several breaks and taking advantage of them. In order to do that Gurley must stay healthy as he’s a true game-changing talent. Problem is, I haven’t seen him stay healthy yet.
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Ummm, #3 was healthy in all of 2012 and played like it throughout the season. If he and Marshall had the Bama ’12 offensive line, there would have never been a reason to throw the football.
What does Richt lack in greatness? Yes, the regular season is 12 games now, but any season where you’re 10-2 or better is darn good in my book. He’s the most successful coach in the 122-year tradition of the program. 5 SEC title game appearances in his 13 years tell me he’s better than fantastic with 2 big wins, 2 big losses, and 1 heartbreaking loss. He didn’t have a chance to back into a national title game appearance like Saban did in ’11, Miles did in ’07, or Spurrier did in ’96. He came up against 2 unbeatens in ’02. DJ Shockley gets hurt in ’05, but UGA would have been locked out due to USC & Texas even going unbeaten. He was 5 yards away 2 years ago in a game where we were big underdogs. Where would we have ended up this year without all of the injuries? Who knows?
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UGA has the same problems—with shocking consistency—every year. OL is average. Roster management is abysmal. That’s where Richt separates himself. Some of it is institutional as UGA requires it’s HC to live in a different world than others, but the OL being what it is isn’t. That’s on the head coach. 5, 2, 4, 7, 5, 3, 2, 4…too many damn losses for a team with as much talent as they have or as much talent as they have access to within the state. And as someone who’s been a strong Richt defender, at a certain point the head coach has to be held accountable, no?
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Those are very fair points. I know you’ve traditionally been a Richt defender. I gave him a pass this year due to the injuries. I didn’t like the loss to Nebraska, but in the whole view, it didn’t make much of difference. I look at two championship game appearances in the last 3 years, when in all honesty, he was almost to the point of going down with the ship in 2011 and the 3 straight over UF. He built back up a lot of capital with me that had been spent from 2008-10.
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It’s too bad that the AJC didn’t uncover that factoid. They’d use it as further evidence of the “genius” of Coach Fish Fry.
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“Snakebit” will be the best descriptor as confirmed (perhaps some unintentionally) by the previous posts.
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Our best hope is to contend for an SEC title.
This has become my best hope. Throughout the BCS era, only occationally have the two best teams played for the title, IMO. I don’t believe the playoff system will change that outcome very much. Too much “politics” involved and too many things beyond anyones control to get to the national title game. If UGA routinely contends and occasionally plays for the conference title, I will be satisfied. Play hard, play smart and leave it all on the field and let the chips fall where they will.
Lowered expectations are not a bad thing. My life will not be altered one way or the other if we don’t win a national championship again in my lifetime.
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Maybe so but if we win one that would certainly put a little bounce in your step. 😉
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Good Lord, sniffer! That attitude is…pathetic. Beaten before the season begins.
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Hardly, Mayor. 10-2 has us in the mix for the East and may get us to Atlanta. That’s my upside. 8-4 is a possibilty and gets us to the Peach, maybe. I don’t see a championship season (conference or national) in ’14. Do you?
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Actually, yeah I do. If the Dawgs win the first 2 games they likely are undefeated going into Columbia, MO. Win that and they are probably undefeated when they play FU. Win that game and UGA is undefeated and playing Auburn in Athens where winning means they win the SEC East.Tech never beats the Dawgs so they would be undefeated going into the SECCG. I don’t know who the opponent would be, likely Bama, but Georgia almost beat Bama in 2012 (should have, actually) so I like our chances. If the SEC West winner is Auburn, we have beaten Auburn 6 out of the last 8 games and it took the biggest fluke/bonehead play in history for the Aubies to win last year. If the opponent is LSU, Georgia beat them last year. In short, I like our chances against any of the 3 top teams in the West. If the Dawgs win the SECCG they are in the playoff. Depending on who else is in that playoff (likely FSU or Clemson from the ACC, Oklahoma from the Big-12, Oregon, USC or Stanford from the PAC-12 and/or tOSU from the B1G, I like the Dawgs’ chances against any of them one-on-one. The whole thing depends on winning the first 2 games, though–lose both and things could get ugly.
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I like your season breakdown but I think you would admit that’s a lot of “ifs”. IMO, this is not the season for great expectations.
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Let’s see what happens in the first 2 games–then speculate.
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The OL issue is exceedingly frustrating. I think both the 2003 and 2012 teams were a better OL away from NC caliber.
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Over the next 6 yrs we will be lucky to crack the top 20.
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