Should Mark Richt Be on Hot Seat After Close Win over Rival Georgia Tech?

"Clean, old-fashioned hate" followed the script Georgia Bulldogs football has stuck to this November—a victory, but an ugly one.

The Bulldogs scraped by the rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a score of 13-7 on Saturday in Atlanta, giving them their fourth win in a row after dropping three of four contests in October. The last three wins, including Saturday's against the Yellow Jackets, have each been by a single possession.

A win by any means necessary is the ultimate goal of every rivalry game, especially one Georgia lost in stunning fashion last season. 

But this year's win over Georgia Tech won't do much to ease the frustrations of the Georgia fanbase. These aren't the same Yellow Jackets that won the Orange Bowl last season. This year's Tech team is now done for the season at 3-9.

Brett Davis/Associated Press

Does that mean Georgia head coach Mark Richt should stay on the so-called "hot seat" after another less-than-stellar victory over a lackluster team?

Not at all.

As Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee noted after the game, Georgia is now one win away from a 10-win campaign—matching the victory total from last season and reaching the mark the Bulldogs have accomplished in four of the last five years.

Firing a head coach after back-to-back 10-win seasons would somehow be more confusing than the ongoing saga with Les Miles down in LSU.

Consistency like that is hard to come by, especially in the SEC. Just ask Auburn or Florida.

The main issue with Georgia this year hasn't necessarily been the wins and losses, though. Take a look at the three losses.

Bulldogs were steamrolled by two teams that will most likely be playing in the SEC Championship Game next weekend. Tennessee's only loss since its comeback win over Georgia was a five-point loss against Alabama.

The Georgia faithful has been up in arms—and for good reason—about how the team looked in those losses and the narrow wins since then.

Saturday's game against Georgia Tech was no different, and a lot of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of one man.

No, it's not Richt. It's offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

John Amis/Associated Press

Georgia's offense has been an unholy mess for most of Schottenheimer's first season between the hedges.

While the Bulldogs broke the 400-yard mark in total offense for the first time since the loss to Tennessee, they could only put up 13 points on a subpar Georgia Tech defense. After a touchdown drive to open the game, Georgia only grabbed two more field goals.

It was enough to get the victory, but the Bulldogs had to pick off a pass on the last play of the game to preserve it.

Georgia's main problem against Georgia Tech on Saturday came on third downs. The Bulldogs only converted 4 of their 14 opportunities on those crucial downs.

Under Schottenheimer, Georgia hasn't converted more than half of its third downs in a single game since the beginning of the season.

Georgia Tech presented Georgia with several opportunities in the game, with two other turnovers and a turnover on downs. But the Bulldogs could only cash one of those in for points—a field goal early in the third quarter.

It was another toothless offensive performance for the Bulldogs, which has become the norm under Schottenheimer.

Opponent	Points	Yards	Yards per Play	3rd Down %
Missouri	9	298	3.87	47.37
Florida	3	223	3.98	16.67
Kentucky	27	390	5.49	38.46
Auburn	20	243	3.92	35.71
Georgia Southern	23	313	5.69	20.00
Georgia Tech	13	402	6.81	28.57

The offensive woes have played a huge role in Georgia's fall from preseason SEC East favorite this season, and Richt is ultimately responsible for them as the head coach who hired Schottenheimer.

But take a look at what the rest of Richt's staff has done this season. 

Second-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt's defense held an opponent to fewer than 300 yards and 20 points for the fourth straight game Saturday. The Bulldogs forced multiple turnovers inside their own territory and held the Yellow Jackets to 2-of-13 on third downs.

If it wasn't for the former Florida State assistant's defense, Georgia would be looking at a few more losses this season.

The road hasn't always been smooth, but Richt seemingly hit a home run with Pruitt. His unit settled down the stretch and led the way for several victories.

Richt, Pruitt and the rest of the staff have also assembled the nation's No. 4 recruiting class for 2016, according to 247Sports. That current crop of commitments includes 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason, who could be the answer to Georgia's issues under center sooner rather than later.

Brett Davis/Associated Press

Making a quick-fire move to fire Richt would jeopardize the strength of that already excellent crop of talent on its way to Athens.

But ending the Schottenheimer experiment—and holding onto the recruits he's helped Georgia get this year—would be the best move forward for Richt. In a better offensive system, the Bulldogs would be in great shape for 2016 and beyond.

Richt has received a lot of criticism this season in Athens, but most of his team's issues can be boiled down to one side of the ball.

Even still, Richt has his Georgia team approaching 10 wins yet again. Fans will want him to improve the quality of play and compete for a championship again, but wins and losses are ultimately how head coaches are judged. 

Georgia doesn't need to tear the entire house down when a renovation is all that it truly needs.

Game statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. Unless otherwise noted, other statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.