re: SI article: "The Alabamafication of Georgia Football"

quote:

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It means Georgia didn't change coaches—as most schools do—to win six or seven more games per season. The Bulldogs jettisoned Mark Richt and hired Smart to win two or three more games per year. Richt won 145 games in 15 seasons at Georgia. He didn't run the program into the ground. In his final campaign, his team went 10–3. These stats are not intended to suggest Georgia shouldn't have made a change, though. Richt, despite having possibly the biggest recruiting advantage in college football, hadn't won the SEC in 10 years and didn't seem to be getting the Bulldogs closer to a national title. Since SEC and national championships are comparatively reasonable expectations at Georgia, athletic director Greg McGarity made the change.

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This is the most telling part of the story. Had Georgia won the UTk and Florida games we would have met Bama in Atlanta for a shot at the SEC and NC.
Improving from 5-7 to 10-2 would be much easier than from 10-2 to 11-1 or 12-0. Will the fans and AD give Smart the time to do that? More importantly, CAN he do it?
I hope he can.