Mark Richt: The Hot Seat Gets Hotter for Georgia Football Coach

Mark Richt started the season on the coaching hot seat and Boise State threw fuel on the fire Saturday night. To say the least, the season opener for the Georgia Bulldogs did not go exactly as planned. To put it plainly, the Dawgs just got flat-out beat, outplayed and outcoached by the Broncos and Chris Peterson.

First, let's give credit where credit is due. Boise State looked great.

The Broncos dominated both lines of scrimmage for almost the entire game. Aaron Murray was continuously harassed and sacked six times. Georgia’s defensive line could hardly get any pressure on Kellen Moore and recorded zero sacks.

With time in the pocket, Moore just dissected UGA’s 3-4 defense. Moore found holes in Georgia’s zone coverage basically at will. Georgia’s rushing attack was virtually nonexistent. Subtract Brandon Boykin’s 80-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Bulldogs only managed 57 yards on the ground. Without a real run threat, Boise State keyed in on Murray and gave him fits all night.

Fact is, Boise State was obviously the better team on Saturday night.

The question becomes, what is going on in Athens that UGA cannot seem to get talent to gel into a productive football team?

UGA has been hyped all offseason with talk of “The Georgia Way” and Richt’s old mantra, “Finish the Drill.” This was supposed to be a new culture of UGA football with a new attitude. Well, that hype is out the window now. Georgia looked like the same team from the past two seasons that just couldn't seem to play up to potential.

So who is to blame? Obviously, there is some responsibility that lays with the players, especially with mistakes like poor tackling and dropped passes. That said, ultimately the coaching has to be held accountable, and that starts and ends with Richt.

Richt is not quite done yet, but time is running out and fast. Georgia has a week to right the ship before South Carolina comes to Athens with a head full of steam. Unless Richt and company can come up with some answers and adjustments now, it could be another long Saturday for the Bulldogs next week. There is little chance of a victory if UGA plays South Carolina the way they did Boise State.

The way the Bulldogs looked last night, even with a relatively easy SEC schedule, they may struggle to get to eight wins. Without vast improvement, Georgia could easily be looking at losses to South Carolina, Mississippi State and Florida. An 8-4 regular season is not exactly the turnaround the UGA fanbase was looking for this season and may cost Richt his job, even with a bowl win.

The only thing that may save Richt’s job would be to at least win the SEC East. That journey starts with the first conference game next week when South Carolina comes to Athens. The Bulldog’s season and Richt’s job could ultimately be riding on this game.

A win against South Carolina would restore some much-needed confidence for UGA’s players and fans. Georgia would have inside track to the SEC East Title.

On the other hand, a loss next week would be crushing for the Bulldogs. Not only would UGA have to run the table in the SEC for the rest of the season, they would have to be hoping for two South Carolina losses in the SEC just to have a shot at going to Atlanta.

Even worse is the question of whether UGA can bounce back psychologically and be competitive after such a hyped offseason and then a subsequent 0-2 start. Personally, I think Richt should be able to finish out the year and be reevaluated, but if Georgia loses to South Carolina, there is certainly going to be no shortage of UGA supporters calling for his head.

Obviously, Richt is a great coach. He continues to recruit well for the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost the ability to get players ready to go and perform on Saturdays and that may well be his undoing at Georgia.

At the very least, Coach Richt is going to have one more chance to prove himself, but the Bulldogs best come ready to play Saturday against South Carolina. There is little doubt Steve Spurrier is going to have the Gamecocks’ ears pinned back and ready to drive one more nail in the coffin of Richt’s job and the Bulldogs' season.