Just a couple months ago, torches were being lit and trees cut down in preparation for what was thought to be a lynch mob for Mark Richt‘s job.
Well, eight consecutive wins have cooled those tempers.
But Georgia still won’t address whether or not they will renegotiate Richt’s contract which ends in two years.
“We don’t talk about anything like that during the season,” athletic director Greg McGarity said. “Our full focus is on our players and our opponent, and right now that is Kentucky. We’ll deal with all that after the season.”
If Georgia can beat Kentucky this Saturday -- did we really just say “if”? -- they’ll head back to the SEC championship game for the first time since 2007. It’ll be a trip Richt needs badly with no SEC titles since 2005. There’s no denying the turnaround Richt’s been able to orchestrate after an 0-2 start; there’s also no denying how down the SEC East has been this season. Only South Carolina, to whom the Bulldogs lost earlier this season, has a winning record in the East.
In fact, as far as SEC schedules go, Georgia’s was on the lighter side. UGA’s 45-7 blowout over Auburn was the team’s first SEC win this year against a team that currently has a record of over .500.
No LSU. No Bama. No Arkansas.
The Bulldogs have been trending down in the past few seasons in the win column, so it would help Richt a lot to get back to Atlanta to take some of that pressure off of him. The question will be whether he can keep it off.
