The Tennessee and Georgia game has rolled around again. How these two teams did not play yearly prior to 1992 is beyond me. There may not be any two teams in the conference who need to play one another each year more than these two teams. When its UGA week UT fans have a since of confidence and I think UGA fans also share. For Tennessee fans it is usually “well here is our chance to get our first conference win and a win against a good opponent”. For UGA fans it is “well this is a winnable game for us”. Do you remember when this game was the 3:30 CBS game? Now it is nestled away in the ESPN night game under the shadows of the game(s) of the week. These two teams are meant for one another and the winner each year has an advantage to sneak up in eastern division or at a minimum win the better bowl. However this year there may be more on the line than the division or a bowl. It could mean the future of these two coaches.
Who needs this win the most? For most SEC fans I think the quick answer would be Mark Richt, but is that the case? To get an idea of what is on the line we should go back to October 10th 2009. The Georgia Bulldogs came to the hallowed stadium that Neyland built after suffering a loss the week before to #4 LSU in a heartbreaker. Tennessee was led by first year coach Lane Kiffin who said, “as long as I am at Tennessee we will never lose to Georgia”. Prior to this game Georgia was 75-24 under Richt, but they would lose to Tennessee and it was embarrassing. UGA came out flat and they looked beaten down. CLK gloated in the victory and Georgia fans left the stadium wondering what just happened. Richt said after the game “I don’t think there is any game that felt more empty than that day”. Since that game UGA is 14-12 and are coming off the worst year in the Mark Richt era finishing 6-7.
The night before that game Derek Dooley was coaching Louisiana Tech in the Friday night game of the week on ESPN. La Tech would lose to Nevada 37-14 in front of 11, 700 fans. The strange thing is there is no comparison of these two guys in their accomplishments, but are either one of them in better shape?
Look at Mark Richt’s resume:
· He is fourth among active coaches with a winning percentage of .738
· He led UGA to a 13-1 record and finished 3rd in the nation in his 2nd year as HC. That same year Georgia one their first SEC title in 20 years. · He won his 2nd SEC title in 2005
· He has had six seasons in ten years where they won at least 10 games
· He is 11-5 on the road against ranked teams
· He is 84-6 when his team leads after the 3rd qtr
· He is 5-1 in the month of January and 7-3 in Bowls overall
Now let’s look at Derek Dooley’s resume:· He is 26-28 as a Head Coach
· He has taken his teams to 2 bowl games (Independence and the Music City) where he is 1-1
· He has never beaten a team that won more than 8 games
· His best finish in a conference standing he Tied for 2nd in the WAC
Even though Richt has served UGA well the natives are beginning to get restless. One unmentioned reason may be due to the fact the Richt is only 2-8 verses rival Florida and UGA is 3-18 against Florida since 1990. However would UGA fire a coach who brought them 2 SEC titles after a 20-year drought? Well the Red Sox just said good-bye to Terry Francona the manager who led them to two World Series titles after and 86-year drought. Saturday’s game against Tennessee is big for Richt if he wants to stay in town. The Naysayers are circling the program now just waiting to put the Hob-Nail in his boot. A win over Tennessee would give them a push in the right direction and chance to finish out in the mix for the eastern division.
Derek Dooley has yet to beat anybody that matters. Last year UT went to Georgia ironically after a heart breaking loss to LSU and they looked flat. UGA beat UT 41-14 and the game was never in doubt. Since Dooley arrived at Tennessee he has had to climb up from the heap of adversity. From NCAA investigations, players transferring and dropping out, and playing catch up in recruiting. Since Dooley was hired 45 UT players have left the program. However if Tennessee is going to rebuild and be a team of relevance again there is no bigger game and State for Tennessee to win against than Georgia. During Phillip Fulmer’s 10-year run 1993-2003 it was Georgia players who made Tennessee great. Who could forget Jamal Lewis, Deion Grant, Fred White, and Cosey Coleman? Of course we have seen the best Safety in college football in years come out of Georgia in one Eric Berry. Fulmer had Rodney Garner pipeline those Georgia boys to Knoxville and it showed every October and UGA was an automatic win prior to Richt.
So who needs this win the most? I guess that is up for debate, but here is my take. One day UGA will say good-bye to Mark Richt. Beating Tennessee is important, but he has done that. Georgia Tech has not been enough for him either. You see I think the only thing Richt can do is finish a strong season record and if he wants to add time to his tenure he has to beat Florida. However if Dooley is going to get this off the ground it is now. Losing to Georgia will not cost him his job at the end of the year, but if they don’t start winning some games that matter and are in hot recruiting areas then his days are numbered. If Richt loses this game his job will be in question now and if Dooley loses this game his job may be in question soon. To be honest I can easily see a scenario where both of these guys are out of work the same time. Nevertheless this is a big game and a must win! Hopefully for the Rocky Top Nation Dooley begins a long winning streak against the state below us!
Go Vols
RR
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