I live about 45 minutes from UGA and god do i hate those S.O.B.’s. Why do they think they have a shot to win the National Title? Richt hasn’t gotten them there before, so why should this year be any different? Sure they have talent but just becuase they had a good year last year doesn’t really mean shit!........sorry for my rant.

Though i hate both teams equally, i have to root for UF. That way i don’t have to listen to Dawg fans bragging all year!

I just never grown to like the Gators. I don’t know why, maybe it’s that LSU-like attitude of “always being a college football power” even though they were never one before Spurrier got there. When Zook was there, they almost lost all of their respect before Meyer got there. Go Dawgs!

in a red rout.

The better argument with Richt, I think, is not that he hasn’t gotten his Dawgs to the title game yet, but that he really hasn’t even gotten them close to the title game.

In 2002, UGA finished up 11-1 on the regular season, but had it not been for what was essentially a fouth down Hail Mary heave against Auburn, they wouldn’t have even made it to Atlanta that year. Moreover, it should be noted that the team with the most Pythagorean Wins that year in the conference was actually Alabama, and it would have been very interesting to see a rematch in Atlanta with a healthy Watts. Instead, they got the cakewalk and played a 9-5 Arkansas team in the SECCG, and then faced a very overrated 9-5 FSU team in the Sugar Bowl (and a team that had a WR, Anquan Boldin, playing quarterback). I’m not impressed.

Everybody thought 2004 would be the year, but it never happened. Even after winning a ton of close games, they choked against Tennessee, and then were embarrassed by Auburn. It was a huge down year for their division - Tennessee had true freshmen quarterbacks, Zook was on his last leg at Florida, and Granny was on his way out in Columbia - and with all of the hype Richt (remember Verne Lundquist’s hard-on for Greene and Pollack?) couldn’t even get the Dawgs to Atlanta.

2005 was a surprising good year, but nevertheless they still lost to Florida and Auburn, and were never in serious title contention. Ultimately they showed up wholly unprepared for the Sugar Bowl and were waxed early on by WVU, and ultimately ended up on the losing end after a major rally late.

2007 was essentially the same thing. They choked against two teams they should have beaten easily - an overachieving Tennessee team and a 6-6 South Carolina team - and needed squeaker wins over 6-6 Alabama and 5-7 Vanderbilt. They ended up highly ranked and in the Sugar Bowl, but nevertheless didn’t win their own division and were never in serious national title contention.

Again, I don’t think the best argument is that Richt has never won it, but that he hasn’t even gotten them particularly close to playing in the title game period.

He has collectively the 2nd fewest years as head coach in the SEC.

Huh?

Richt has been at UGA since 2001, and only Tommy Tuberville and Phil Fulmer have longer tenures with their current schools. Even if you add up Spurrier and Nutt’s cumulative years as an SEC coach, that still means he has more years as an SEC coach than the seven other coaches. Going into the 2008 season…

Coach Tenure

Richt 7 years
Saban 6 years
Johnson 6 years
Brooks 5 years
Croom 4 years
Meyer 3 years
Miles 3 years
Petrino 0 years

First, I can certainly appreciate the tendency (intentional or not) to be more critical of a given program due to negative feelings about its fans. It can’t be easy being a Bama fan living in Bulldog territory, especially in recent years, given the relative successes of the two programs. (Imagine, if you will, the pain of being a Georgia Tech fan over the last generation or two when you have no territory that isn’t Bulldog territory.)

Second, I think perspective plays a big part in the sentiments expressed by Bammer (and likely held by lots of Bama fans). Without sinking into a Plainsian analysis of the numbers, the Tide has lots of national titles and an ungodly number of SEC championships. For anyone near my age (42) or older, the ‘70s weren’t so long ago as to be ancient history, and you don’t have to be that old to remember ‘92. Your patience must be severely tested as you watch your program get picked apart by sanctions and head-coaching challenges. To be in that position over the past several years and watch another SEC program (UGA) win lots and lots of games and get top-rated recruiting classes, of course it’s tempting to say, “If we were in that position, we’d dominate.” But I’m not so sure.

Since Richt arrived, no one has dominated the conference (at least not in the way we once knew “domination” a la Bama in the ‘60s and ‘70s or Florida in the ‘90s). Since 2001, four different teams have won SEC championships: LSU (3), UGA (2), Auburn (1), and Florida (1). Since Richt arrived, UGA is third in SEC winning percentage and second in the SEC in over-all winning percentage (7th nationally) (and, just for kicks, second in the nation in away games with only four losses in seven years on opponents’ home fields).

Anyway, for me, winning the MNC is not the most important measuring stick for a coach or a program. Winning the SEC is the most important thing, and Richt’s done that twice in his seven years. After that, it’s beating Tech (7-0; A+), Auburn (4-3; over .500, which is not a shocker, given the over-all series record), and Florida (2-5; needs much improvement to get back to the two-thirds winning percentage pre-Spurrier).

I expect UGA to do well in 2008. Given the circumstances (schedule, caliber of competition), two or even three losses would still be “doing well” in my book. Two or fewer losses would be exceptional. Four losses would be disappointing. Regardless of the season’s outcome, however, I can’t imagine being dissatisfied with Richt. He’s the man to keep us within a reasonable shot of the SEC title year in and year out.