With a twenty to twelve victory over the Tennessee Vols, Mark Richt notched his one hundredth victory as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldawgs. The first half was a grudge match, a fist fight, one of those moments in the kitchen when you and a loved one can't get the lid off the jar: the score was six to six, both teams having notched just a couple of field goals. It was one of those games that you talk through, sip beer through, find anyway to hide that you're nervous through.
But then the second half happened, and as David Ching of ESPN's DawgNation observes, it all happened on one play. The momentum shifted; Marlin Lane was down, upon review; and the Bulldawgs followed up by hitting a post route and seizing full control of a game--thanks to instant replay.
And with that sequence, you pretty much had the epitome of the Mark Richt era.
He's notched one hundred wins, that like last night's Tennessee game have been solid, if not always spectacular, and like his offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said last night, about the post play that led to fourteen point margin, "From that play right there, we were deciding what we wanted to do, and we wanted to take a shot. . . The post was there all night, and we hadn't hit one yet."
And Mark Richt's whole tenure has been just that: a taking of shots. Last night, until one of Murray's deep balls finally found the hands of a Georgia receiver, a win against Tennessee on the road felt just out of reach, a target that couldn't be found, or a lid that wouldn't budge, which is exactly what the Mark Richt era has been--always on the cusp of something. Every win--and every completed post pattern--renewing hope, and every loss heavily analyzed, as Martin Lane's knee and buttocks were, through instant replay, looking for some sign that we've all put our hope behind the right guy.
And, on night's like last night and the ninety-nine preceding it, we trust that we have. Go Dawgs!
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