Excel
All-American
So earlier today, while Tennessee was beating Georgia, I posted a status belittling Mark Richt saying how he always underachieves. Someone (I forget who) said he was a great coach, Georgia went on to win and I, being both embarrassed and depressed by Tennessee's failure, deleted the status and decided to see if I my opinion of Richt is in anyway founded so here's some of what I looked at:
- 2001: Began Season unranked. Important Wins: #6 UT, #21 GT. Important Losses: #21 USC at home, #6 UF, #24 Auburn, BC. Bowl Game: Music City, Loss v. Boston College. Record 8-4 (5-3) 4/East, Finished #22
- 2002: Began Season #12. Important Wins: #22 Bama, #10 UT, #22 Arky, #16 FSU. Important Losses: #22 UF. Bowl Game: Sugar, Win vs. #16 FSU. Record 13-1 (7-1) 1/East, SEC Champs. Finished #3. Recruiting: #3 Nationally
- 2003: Began Season #9. Important Wins: #25 USC, #13 UT, #12 Purdue. Important Losses: #11 LSU, #23 UF, #3 LSU. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. #12 Purdue. Record 11-3 (6-2), 1/East. Finished #7. Recruiting: #6 Nationally
- 2004: Began Season #4. Important Wins: #13 LSU, #16 UW. Important Losses: #3 Auburn, #17 UT at home. Bowl Game: Outback, Win vs. #16 UW. Record 10-2 (6-2). 2/East. Finished #7. Recruiting: #9 Nationally
- 2005: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #18 BSU, #20 GT, #3 LSU. Important Losses: #16 UF, #15 Auburn at home, #11 WVU. Bowl Game: Sugar, Loss vs. #11 WU. Record 10-3 (6-2), 1/East, SEC Champs. Finished #10. Recruiting: #10 Nationally
- 2006: Began Season #15. Important Wins: #5 Auburn, #16 GT, #14 VT. Important Losses: #13 UT at home, Vandy at home, #9 UF, UK. Bowl Game: Chik-fil-A, Win vs. #14 VT. Record 9-4 (4-4) 4/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #4 Nationally
- 2007: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #16 Alabama, #9 UF, #18 Auburn, #22 UK, #10 Hawaii.. Important Losses: USC at home, UT. Bowl Game: Sugar, Win vs. #10 Hawaii. Record 11-2 (6-2) 2/East. Finished #2. Recruiting: #9 Nationally
- 2008: Began Season #1. Important Wins: #22 Vandy, #11 LSU, #19 Michigan State. Important Losses: #8 Alabama at home, #5 UF, #18 GT at home. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. #19 Michigan State. Record 10-3 (6-2) 2/East. Finished #13. Recruiting: #7 Nationally
- 2009: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #7 GT. Important Losses: #9 Ok St, #4 LSU at home, UT, #1 UF, UK at home. Bowl Game: Independence, Win vs. TAMU. Record 8-5 (4-4) 2/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #6 Nationally
- 2010: Began Season #23. Important Wins: None. Important Losses: #24 USC, #12 Arkansas at home, Miss State, Colorado, UF, #2 Auburn, #25 UCF. Bowl Game: Liberty, Loss vs. UCF. Record 6-7 (3-5) 3/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #15 Nationally
- 2011: Began Season #19. Important Wins: #20 Auburn, #25 GT. Important Losses: #5 BSU, #12 USC at home, #1 LSU, #12 Michigan State. Bowl Game: Outback, Loss vs. Michigan State. Record 10-4 (7-1) 1/East. Finished #18. Recruiting: #5 Nationally
- 2012: Began Season #6. Important Wins: #3 UF, #23 Nebraska. Important Losses: #6 USC, #2 Alabama. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. Nebraska. Record 12-2 (7-1) 1/East. Finished #5. Recruiting: #12 Nationally
Record vs. ranked opponents:
Top 25: 30-30
Top 15: 13-21
Top 10: 8-14
Top 5: 3-9
Record vs. rivals: 40-23
UF: 4-8
GT:11-1
UT:8-4
AU:8-4
USC: 7-5
CU: 2-1
Average pre-season rank: 11
Average post-season rank: 14
Overall Record: 158-40
Overall Home: 63-13
Overall Away: 41-11
Overall Neutral: 14-16
Conference Record: 69-32
Conference Home: 30-12
Conference Away: 33-9
Conference Neutral: 6-11
There are also some intangibles here, or maybe they're tangible but just difficult for me to articulate: its the issue of when and how Richt losses his games. It always seems to be at the worst times, usually in the middle of a season stymieing his chances for a big run. If that didn't already have a name (Clemsoning) it'd probably be named after Richt.
Also, in the time Richt has been at Georgia, every other SEC Big Six school, except for UT, has won a National Championship and Fulmer won with the Vols just before Richt was hired.
He's the top dog at Georgia, the third most profitable team in the country, pretty much the only school of note in the fourth best state for recruiting in the nation, in the second most populous state in the South and Mark Richt has done all of what? He's won one Sugar Bowl against a bad ACC school with Jim Donnan's players and won another against a WAC team after failing to even win the SEC East.
In conclusion, I think Mark Richt is probably a decent coach but looking at his entire body of work I still think he's underachieving in how he regularly fails to take UGA where it could be, then again Georgia alumni get the success that they pay for I guess and the ongoing Tennessee coaching shakeup (now in its fifth year!) is making everyone in the Big Six think twice before firing a decent, but not great, HC. I think that he surrounds himself with great staff, a hallmark of a good leader, and that he seems to be a "good" person in his off the field life but he's no coaching genius like Saban or Meyer which is what Georgia deserves. He's just a guy who's benefited from institutional inertia and the unfortunate downturns of rivals.
What do you think Huskerboard?
I know many of you must have an opinion on Richt, being a Nebraskan and all.
- 2001: Began Season unranked. Important Wins: #6 UT, #21 GT. Important Losses: #21 USC at home, #6 UF, #24 Auburn, BC. Bowl Game: Music City, Loss v. Boston College. Record 8-4 (5-3) 4/East, Finished #22
- 2002: Began Season #12. Important Wins: #22 Bama, #10 UT, #22 Arky, #16 FSU. Important Losses: #22 UF. Bowl Game: Sugar, Win vs. #16 FSU. Record 13-1 (7-1) 1/East, SEC Champs. Finished #3. Recruiting: #3 Nationally
- 2003: Began Season #9. Important Wins: #25 USC, #13 UT, #12 Purdue. Important Losses: #11 LSU, #23 UF, #3 LSU. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. #12 Purdue. Record 11-3 (6-2), 1/East. Finished #7. Recruiting: #6 Nationally
- 2004: Began Season #4. Important Wins: #13 LSU, #16 UW. Important Losses: #3 Auburn, #17 UT at home. Bowl Game: Outback, Win vs. #16 UW. Record 10-2 (6-2). 2/East. Finished #7. Recruiting: #9 Nationally
- 2005: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #18 BSU, #20 GT, #3 LSU. Important Losses: #16 UF, #15 Auburn at home, #11 WVU. Bowl Game: Sugar, Loss vs. #11 WU. Record 10-3 (6-2), 1/East, SEC Champs. Finished #10. Recruiting: #10 Nationally
- 2006: Began Season #15. Important Wins: #5 Auburn, #16 GT, #14 VT. Important Losses: #13 UT at home, Vandy at home, #9 UF, UK. Bowl Game: Chik-fil-A, Win vs. #14 VT. Record 9-4 (4-4) 4/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #4 Nationally
- 2007: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #16 Alabama, #9 UF, #18 Auburn, #22 UK, #10 Hawaii.. Important Losses: USC at home, UT. Bowl Game: Sugar, Win vs. #10 Hawaii. Record 11-2 (6-2) 2/East. Finished #2. Recruiting: #9 Nationally
- 2008: Began Season #1. Important Wins: #22 Vandy, #11 LSU, #19 Michigan State. Important Losses: #8 Alabama at home, #5 UF, #18 GT at home. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. #19 Michigan State. Record 10-3 (6-2) 2/East. Finished #13. Recruiting: #7 Nationally
- 2009: Began Season #13. Important Wins: #7 GT. Important Losses: #9 Ok St, #4 LSU at home, UT, #1 UF, UK at home. Bowl Game: Independence, Win vs. TAMU. Record 8-5 (4-4) 2/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #6 Nationally
- 2010: Began Season #23. Important Wins: None. Important Losses: #24 USC, #12 Arkansas at home, Miss State, Colorado, UF, #2 Auburn, #25 UCF. Bowl Game: Liberty, Loss vs. UCF. Record 6-7 (3-5) 3/East. Finished Unranked. Recruiting: #15 Nationally
- 2011: Began Season #19. Important Wins: #20 Auburn, #25 GT. Important Losses: #5 BSU, #12 USC at home, #1 LSU, #12 Michigan State. Bowl Game: Outback, Loss vs. Michigan State. Record 10-4 (7-1) 1/East. Finished #18. Recruiting: #5 Nationally
- 2012: Began Season #6. Important Wins: #3 UF, #23 Nebraska. Important Losses: #6 USC, #2 Alabama. Bowl Game: Cap 1, Win vs. Nebraska. Record 12-2 (7-1) 1/East. Finished #5. Recruiting: #12 Nationally
Record vs. ranked opponents:
Top 25: 30-30
Top 15: 13-21
Top 10: 8-14
Top 5: 3-9
Record vs. rivals: 40-23
UF: 4-8
GT:11-1
UT:8-4
AU:8-4
USC: 7-5
CU: 2-1
Average pre-season rank: 11
Average post-season rank: 14
Overall Record: 158-40
Overall Home: 63-13
Overall Away: 41-11
Overall Neutral: 14-16
Conference Record: 69-32
Conference Home: 30-12
Conference Away: 33-9
Conference Neutral: 6-11
There are also some intangibles here, or maybe they're tangible but just difficult for me to articulate: its the issue of when and how Richt losses his games. It always seems to be at the worst times, usually in the middle of a season stymieing his chances for a big run. If that didn't already have a name (Clemsoning) it'd probably be named after Richt.
Also, in the time Richt has been at Georgia, every other SEC Big Six school, except for UT, has won a National Championship and Fulmer won with the Vols just before Richt was hired.
He's the top dog at Georgia, the third most profitable team in the country, pretty much the only school of note in the fourth best state for recruiting in the nation, in the second most populous state in the South and Mark Richt has done all of what? He's won one Sugar Bowl against a bad ACC school with Jim Donnan's players and won another against a WAC team after failing to even win the SEC East.
In conclusion, I think Mark Richt is probably a decent coach but looking at his entire body of work I still think he's underachieving in how he regularly fails to take UGA where it could be, then again Georgia alumni get the success that they pay for I guess and the ongoing Tennessee coaching shakeup (now in its fifth year!) is making everyone in the Big Six think twice before firing a decent, but not great, HC. I think that he surrounds himself with great staff, a hallmark of a good leader, and that he seems to be a "good" person in his off the field life but he's no coaching genius like Saban or Meyer which is what Georgia deserves. He's just a guy who's benefited from institutional inertia and the unfortunate downturns of rivals.
What do you think Huskerboard?
I know many of you must have an opinion on Richt, being a Nebraskan and all.
Last edited by a moderator:
