Georgia 27, Kentucky 34
Well, so much for Senior Day.
There have been a lot of disappointments this season, but I don’t think any have been as farcical as last night’s Georgia v. Kentucky fiasco.
The coaching staff at UGA, from Mark Richt on down, has some real work to do if they are going to stay on board in Athens. Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez has to go. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo needs to go, as well. And, although I have tried to have faith in head coach Mark Richt throughout this horrible season, the question is looming: Is Mark Richt on his way out in Athens?
I don’t think it necessarily has to be the end of the road for Coach Richt. I do, however, think he is going to have to make some real changes and show some real progress in 2010. Another season or two of this type of poor coaching and resulting embarrassing play, and top recruits are going to be looking elsewhere, anywhere, other than Athens; maybe some of them already are.
There is real talent on the current UGA roster, but Coach Richt and his staff have wasted it this season. This team is entirely undisciplined, and game after game they continue to make the same mistakes, because there are no consequences for poor, unfocused play and, more than that, there is simply no guidance from the coaching staff to teach these players how to play without making these same mistakes again and again.
At the center of this ongoing comedy of errors is the starting QB position. We all know it: Joe Cox was rewarded for staying at UGA for five years with the quarterback position. Some will cite "loyalty" in this case, and it sounds nice. But, as this season has proven, giving positions out of a sense of loyalty to a player who made the mistake of hanging around too long is a mistake for everyone. Maybe "loyalty" is the key to how positions are handed out in backyard pick-up leagues, but that is not how the key leadership position for a Southeastern Conference team should be selected. This is not a popularity contest. This is SEC football. Mark Richt should know better.
Next Saturday, Georgia faces in-state rival Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The game will be broadcast by ABC, and is scheduled to kickoff at 8:00 p.m. (EST).
Comments
Kentucky is a good team and much better than most give them credit for. They did beat Auburn and Vandy on the road, and play close to South Carolina and Alabama prior to the Georiga game. With that said, I do agree with the article to an extent. It seems UGA has too much talent to just go 6-4. Unless something changes, they won't be beating GT.
Yes, Bryzon, I agree about Kentucky ... they've been on a roll and have, as you said, beaten and stayed with their SEC competition ... but, Georgia was in control at the half and should have remained so through the end ... in my opinion, coaching--or lack thereof--put that one into the loss column ... this team has the talent, they simply do not have the discipline to put it into and focus upon an entire game ... no execution skills whatsoever ... poor decision making, at best ... I have to admit, I dread GT this Saturday ....
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