Fire Mark Richt?

17 losses to the Florida Gators in the last 20 years are not sitting too well in Bulldog land. The natives are getting restless. There is a website up at www.firemarkricht.net you can check out for some laughter. The puppy dogs are mad and they want to take it out on their coach. But do they have a right to be? Well, not really.

Mark Richt has a record of 2-7 against the Gators. That sounds bad until you stop and consider that the Dawgs were 1-11 in the 12 years before Richt got there. You have to figure at his current rate of success he should probably win one more by year 12. That would be a 3-9 mark. That’s three times better than the previous 12 years. Unfortunately they measure him up there against the previous two decades. In the 70s and 80s, the Dawgs were 15-5 vs. UF. However, this was your daddy’s UF. That was a whole different animal. Since 1990, the Gators have built an elite football program. It has stood the departure of great head coaches, great quarterbacks, countless NFL stars, etc. The Gators are now a juggernaut. That’s not Mark Richt’s fault.

Richt has a record of 86-26 as UGA’s head ball coach. How many schools would LOVE to have a record like that? I’m thinking about half the schools in the SEC would. Let’s not forget, just two years ago, UGA finished at # 2 in the final polls. You would think that would buy the guy a little more than two years. The Dawgs lost in this year’s draft, three underclassmen who are all starting in the NFL out of their backfield. Their QB went #1 over all. The tailback went #9. You don’t just replace talent like that. There’s going to be a drop off. That’s not Richt’s fault either.

Georgia’s problem is their fan base has an over inflated opinion of itself. They think they’re Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, or USC. In actuality, they are Clemson. They’re a good program that once in a blue moon if all the stars align can win a National Title. They have two National Titles in school history. One was in 1942. That one came about because UGA had the South’s only ROTC program. Most of the football team was in ROTC. So when WWII broke out, everybody else’s players were either drafted or enlisted, while UGA’s stayed in school. So they played that year with scholarship players against walk-ons and freshmen. Their other title came 38 years later. They had an extremely talented RB you may have heard of, Herschel Walker. 29 years later, and the Dawgs best finish was the #2 in ’07. And now they want to fire the coach who gave them that season?

Sometimes you have to know your place in the world. Kentucky fans aren’t upset because Brooks can’t beat us. I don’t even hear too much grumbling from South Carolina about Spurrier. And those people might have a beef. If UGA fires Richt, who do they think will come in there and beat Meyer? Pete Carroll? Bob Stoops? Those guys aren’t interested in Georgia. Georgia’s a nice program, but they are not Oklahoma. They’ll end up with another Donnan or another Richt. And in a few years they’ll be screaming that they need to get rid of this guy. Why? Because he can’t beat Florida.

I was a WLOCP Virgin

That’s right… I was a WLOCP (World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party) Virgin.  I wanted to save myself for a special occasion and found no better opportunity than in a year where the Florida Gators have the shot to go Wire to Wire and Tim Tebow had a possibility of setting a SEC rushing record against the team that currently held the record.  What better time to pop my proverbial cherry.

If there’s one thing I learned is that next year it’s definitely worth getting a hotel and going up Friday night and not returning until Sunday.  Me being unexperienced with the WLOCP, I chose to go early Saturday morning with a friend.  Unfortunately we didn’t get on the road until 10 AM picking up some last minute tailgating supplies.  While waiting for my friend, I chose to start the party early and had a couple drinks while I sat on my couch waiting.

As we neared the stadium the aroma of tailgating fluttered past as we strolled down the street screaming Go Gators out the window to every Gator and Bulldog fan.  One thing that I must say is that Georgia knows how to make ‘em right.  The girls from GA were just ridiculous and they definitely won the battle of hot girls.  The Georgia guys in an effort to make fun of Florida fans wore cut off jean shorts because we apparently wear “jorts” in Florida.  However, because they were acting normal it just led me to believe it was their normal attire.

We were lucky enough to snag a spot in a lot right off East Bay street less than 1/4 mile from the stadium.  As soon as we parked, the grill and beers were out.  We arrived right at 12 with just enough time to get going.  It wasn’t more the 2 hours before I was done with my first 12 pack and we began going from tailgate to tailgate.  At this time my phone decides to no longer want to hold a charge and I’ve lost my buddy.  Luckily I thought ahead and gave him his ticket already.  After going around to a few other tailgates, I decide in my drunken stupor that it would probably be best to go ahead and sit down and get hydrated.

My tickets were in enemy territory on the 30 yard line or so.  Unfortunately the Georgia side is directly in the sun and boy was it beating down today.  After paying $6 for my souvenir cup or Mountain Dew, I still was dehydrated from the sun and beer drinking but forced to deal with it as kickoff was on its way.

Almost immediately after the game started a fight between 2 bulldogs almost broke out.  To diverge attention, my buddy and I stood up and screamed “HOW BOUT THEM GATORS, WE LOVE US SOME GATORS”.  The crowd’s attention went from the 2 bulldogs about to fight to us and the tension ceased. Drinking 2 mixed drinks, 14 beers or so and sitting in the hot set me up for an embarrassing moment nearing half time… I passed out with a minute to go in the 2nd quarter and woke up on the kickoff of the 3rd quarter.

We left after the Spikes INT for a TD which was the last score of the game and began our journey back.  I was no longer a WLOCP virgin and I didn’t cry myself to sleep or regret my choice at all.  While I definitely learned next year a hotel is a must to truly get the experience needed, it was an enjoyable time and can’t wait to do it again next year.

Florida Georgia Recap

Yesterday I had the luxury of attending the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail party (oops are we not supposed to call it that anymore?).  Going into the week, there were questions about the offense and whether we could put up points like we used to.  What most folks don’t realize is that our defense was a major reason that we put up so many points last year. Would we see the Florida Gators of old?  Would we see the Tim Tebow of past years?  These questions on the minds of many as we went in for the chance to clinch the East with a South Carolina loss.

The Florida Gators opened the game strong driving right down the field with a deep pass to Riley Cooper to draw first blood and go up 7 – 0.  The defense holds Georgia on their first opening drive and Florida came back down the field quickly again with another deep pass to Riley Cooper for a touchdown making it 14 – 0 and had most people thinking blowout at this point.

Georgia in a must score drive did in fact get points on the next drive.  Florida determined to keep them out of the endzone caught some help with Georgia pushing themselves back with penalties.  Nonetheless, the Georgia kicker nails a 50 yarder to make the score 14 – 3.

Florida looked to score 3 straight drives but the Georgia defense had other plans that didn’t involve this and put up their first stop against the Florida offense and drove down the field for a touchdown.  We had ourselves a ballgame…. for a minute.  Florida would answer the field goal with a field goal of their own extending the lead to 17 – 10.

A Florida defensive turnover put Tim Tebow and company in great scoring position nearing the end of the first half.  With a Tebow run up the middle it looked as if the play was done but then Tebow just comes bursting out of the pile and runs with no one in sight giving Florida a 24 – 10 lead and also gave Tim Tebow the SEC rushing record breaking Herschel Walker’s record of 49 TD’s.  Tim would end up with one more rushing TD on the next Gator score (resulting from 1 of the 4 interceptions of the day) bringing his total rushing TD’s to 51 and the score to 31 – 10.

I know the Dawg fans are saying “Herschel did it in 3″.  Well ok, but Tim’s a QB and he wasn’t the starter his first year either so stop the nonsense.

Georgia not going out with a fight did come down the field and score making it 31 – 17.  Florida had issues with tackling again this week.  The running backs from Georgia were consistently getting yards after first contact which is unacceptable.  We must make these tackles.  Also, they were able to eat up the middle of the field when they passed the ball.

Florida would answer the touchdown with a field goal from Sturgis putting the game at 34 – 17.  With Georiga on it’s last hope to come back, Brandon Spikes would soon put the nail in the coffin with an INT for a TD and the game would stay at the 41 – 17 score as a final result.

Florida’s win clinched the SEC East for them and now will await to see if Alabama or LSU will join them.

Georgia Week

I know we are all a little frustrated about the way the Gators have played recently. I’m sure the players and coaches are too. But let’s take a step back for a minute. Because THIS week is the biggest of the year. It’s Georgia Week. No year is a bad year when we beat Georgia. No year is a good year when we don’t. This is the Super Bowl! Brandon Siler is on video saying that “I played in the game before the Super Bowl. It don’t get bigger than this.” It doesn’t. What happened up to this point is out the window. Georgia’s heartbreaker vs. LSU? Gone. They’re fiasco in Knoxville? Doesn’t matter. The Gators stumbling vs. Arkansas and Mississippi State? Forget it. Water under the bridge. This week is a season-maker. UGA wins it and Mark Richt is instantly off the hot seat. Florida wins, and the seat is now boiling. It’s that big.

For all you Chicken Littles out there screaming about the Gators red zone troubles and Tebow not being Tebow, etc. lets also use this week to stop and look around. Why are we so upset anyway? We’re 7-0. We are on the verge of clinching the East. Things are looking great. The problem is we are spoiled. We are used to the last couple of years and the 12 years of Spurrier and we think that’s how it should be. But let me take you back. It’s 2006. We are struggling to score points. We are struggling to put people away. We beat UGA 21-14. We beat Vandy  25-19. We beat South Carolina 17-16. And we beat FSU 21-14. That team went on to win the BCS.

They did it with defense. Sound familiar? Now let’s size up the competition for a minute. Texas has struggled mightily at times. In fact if Sam Bradford stays upright for four quarters, they lose. USC just gave up 36 points at home to Oregon State. They also gave up a ton to Notre Dame. Alabama, everybody’s sweetheart now, went four quarters at home against a .500 Tennessee and failed to score a touchdown.  The truth of the matter is, our offense is really pretty good. We just need to eliminate turnovers. Without a fumble at the two, we score 30 on UT. Bama managed 12. Without multiple fumbles against Arkansas, we would have been in the high 30s. Without an interception at the end of the first half last week, we are well on our way to a 30+ point night. We are a threat to score every time we take the field. Rarely do we go three and out. When this offense stops shooting itself in the foot, look out.