G-Day recap

Georgia held its annual G-Day spring football game on Saturday. In short, it was a showcase of players who may have been overlooked by the well-documented 'Dream Team' recruiting class.Here are my recaps of the game and other notes.

Dawgs are at a crossroads

The talk of the hot seat that Mark Richt wasn't on this summer has re-appeared awful early this season.

Saturday's loss to Arkansas made Georgia 0-2 in the SEC for the first time since 1993 when Ray Goff was at the helm. What's worse for Dawg Nation is Georgia has lost four of its last five games at home against top 25 teams.

2010 - Arkansas

2009 - LSU

2008 - Alabama, Georgia Tech (beat Vanderbilt)

Two of the glaring stats from the Arkansas loss were supposed to be the keys to this season: an experienced offensive line and an improved pass rush. But Georgia surrendered six sacks and only had one.

What we take away from this loss is Georgia isn't a team that will give its fans reason to have confidence. Opponents won't be intimidated to come in between the hedges. The experienced offensive line is a question mark again. Cordy Glenn struggled at tackle and oft-injured Trinton Sturdivant appeared hobbled again.

Georgia can't even find solace in looking around its own division. Although Florida struggled to start the season, it closed out Tennessee awfully well. Vanderbilt handled what's now a sub-par Ole Miss team. And of course South Carolina looks to be primed for at least second in the division. The one unknown is Kentucky, and that game's on the road.

So you want to get rid of Richt? That hot seat can't be dismissed anymore, right? (Has he replaced Les Miles as the SEC coach most likely to be fired?) But who do you bring in? Georgia grads Will Muschamp (Texas) or Kirby Smart (Alabama), two of the hottest defensive coordinators in the country? Or try to lure one of the hot head coaching names, Chris Petersen of Boise State or Gary Patterson of TCU? The point is if you replace Richt, his successor might not be any better than him.

The quandary for new AD Greg McGarity comes in the second half of the season. How many of the given rivals must Georgia beat for Richt to stick around? Florida? Georgia Tech? Auburn? Is it simply to be bowl-eligible? If I were McGarity, Richt would need eight wins. If that includes a bowl win, that's fine.

How will that happen? Richt's already used his patented fourth quarter team meeting at midfield. There can't be many more of those for a successful season. A.J. Green's return obviously will bolster the offense, but the offense hasn't been the biggest problem. Yes, the offensive line struggled midway through the Arkansas game. And Aaron Murray held the ball too long at times, which contributed to a couple of the six sacks.

It's the leadership that doesn't seem to be prevalent. Clint Boling is the only obvious leader that can be seen from the stands. Richt could call all the in-game meetings, or proclaim to the media how big a game is, but until several leaders establish themselves, the Dawgs could be in for another seven- or eight-win season.

Take Richt and Spurrier off the hot seat

It's becoming more and more popular to put Steve Spurrier and Mark Richt on the hot seat. But if you look at each school's football history, that doesn't make much sense.

A common and easy misconception is the history of both programs, South Carolina and Georgia, which makes it idiotic to think either program would get rid of either head coach anytime soon. Both coaches, especially Spurrier, have a better chance of leaving on their own terms.

Spurrier has coached the Gamecocks to the most successful 5-year run of any USC coach (35 wins). While his critics say he's just cashing checks in Columbia, he's been a consistent 7-5 coach and maintained a level of enthusiasm despite lackluster quarterback play and a sub-par offensive line.

(If his teams only played on Thursday nights, he might be the winningest coach ever.)

What’s more, Spurrier scored one of the biggest recruiting signings of this class by inking RB Marcus Lattimore from Duncan, S.C. And he’s kept other blue chip in-state recruits Stephon Gilmore and Alshon Jeffery in state, which means he hasn’t let the recruiting trail go stale.

Richt’s problem is he’s struggled against arch-rival Florida, and got blown out by Alabama two years ago when the Dawgs began the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason. On the other hand, Richt is 8-1 against Georgia Tech.

Last season, there was more heat on his coordinators than Richt. And shortly after the season, he overhauled his defensive staff, most notably firing coordinator Willie Martinez. That typically buys a coach two seasons.

Richt is in this position because of lopsided losses Alabama and Florida. In 2008, when the Dawgs began the year ranked No. 1, the season was derailed by the Alabama loss at home, which included a 31-0 halftime score. The Florida series lately has been marked by “The Gator Stomp,” a rare UGA win, and blowouts the last two seasons when the Gators put up more than 40 points in each game.

Despite not winning a national championship in 30 years, Dawg fans are getting restless by watching Florida, Alabama and LSU win BCS titles.

Because Richt has been near-perfect against Tech, and solid in bowl games (7-2), all he needs to quiet the critics is a win over Florida or an SEC East championship. That should be enough to satisfy the most rabid Dawg fans.

I wonder how many Dawg fans realize that Richt has a better winning percentage (90-27, .769) than even the legendary Vince Dooley (201-77, .715).

Spurrier bought some time at the beginning of his South Carolina tenure by criticize the recruiting efforts of former coach Lou Holtz. It helped his case that several players were kicked off the team following arrests before Spurrier’s first season. He’s averaged a 7-5 season, which is pedestrian for the power conference heavyweights, but given the Gamecocks’ history, it’s difficult to expect more. The problem is, Spurrier’s critics get caught up comparing him to his Florida teams. The Gamecocks simply can’t recruit to that level.

Compare him to just the previous three USC coaches and he’s better than every one of them. In fact, he’s the only one with at least a .500 record (35-28).

The bottom line is fans need to realize what they have with these two coaches, and remember that they’re each among the best coaches in school history. Don’t be a prisoner of a 3- or 4-year period.