Georgia Bulldogs Football: Has Mark Richt Stopped Expecting "Perfection" from His Team—Self?

This post may seem odd given the fact that the Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a 55-7 drubbing of the Idaho State Bengals. After all, a win is a win, Georgia did what they were expected to do by pounding an inferior opponent.

However, before we go talking about what Georgia has to do to beat Auburn, something that many fans (on both sides) don't feel the Bulldogs are capable of doing this weekend, we should answer the simple question of whether or not coach Richt has stopped expecting perfection from his players?

There was a time when anything less was unacceptable to him.

As a young man of 40 years, coming from an environment (Florida State) where winning meant everything, coach Richt didn't like to settle for average seasons. He wanted national championships, division titles, and Top 25 finishes—every year.

That's what he preached and that's what he felt his team could do if they executed perfectly each and every week.

Are those standards still present now?

Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we? The time and place, July 2001, Birmingham, AL—SEC Media Days. Coach Richt was in his first season as the Georgia Bulldogs head coach and he chose Curt McGill, Georgia's starting center, as one of the team's representatives.

McGill, green to the nuances of handling such a large media contingency, was open and honest about the differences between his former coach, Jim Donnan, and the new guy—Mark Richt.

The most interesting parts reveal some startling similarities between the Jim Donnan of 2000 and the
perception some now hold of Mark Richt:

"In the past, you'd get to know how a coach was going to be and how far you had to go for him,'' McGill said... I felt guys rested on their laurels a little bit thinking, 'I played a lot last year, I won't have to push myself hard because I'll be guaranteed a spot next year.' With new coaches, that all changed."

He said Richt expects more out of his players than Donnan ever did.

Hmm...where have we seen that sense of entitlement before? It's definitely reared it's ugly head several times in the last few years (refusal to sit Bryan Evans, redshirting Knowshon Moreno, keeping Aaron Murray on the bench in light of Joe Cox's struggles, etc.).

At some point, coach Richt seemed more intent on giving the veterans their time to shine—regardless to better alternatives—rather than rolling the dice on the guy who was performing at a higher level.

Another interesting tidbit from the interview was in regards to how important it was that the team be accountable on every play. Coach Richt expected "perfection" and he required hard work and concentration from every man on the football field:

The example McGill used was running "perfect plays" that they must now run every day in practice.
   "We do them over and do them over until we get them right, which is a big key,'' McGill said. "I felt like last year if something went wrong our concentration would slip and the other team would take advantage of it. These new coaches saw that on film and are drilling that in our heads."
   McGill said the attitude has changed from being self-centered to a team concept. He said he saw it take place with the off-season mat drills, which he called "the toughest thing I've ever done in my life.
   "If one person messes up, the whole group goes back, and then you kind of get on each other,'' McGill said. "You say, 'You can't slack off or we're going to do it again.' I guess that carries over to the game [emphasis added]. If they get a penalty or mess up a play, that hurts everybody. That's the whole idea."

Imagine that, a team where accountability and responsibility are part of the team mentality.

Has Mark Richt's philosophy changed or has everyone else in the SEC gotten that much better?

Perhaps it's both and the effect of that transition is a team that struggles to make it to bowl contention and a coach whom some feel has lost his winning touch over the last three-years.

Either way, at present, this is still a team that is searching for answers about who they are and who they can be.

Their next chance to show the world what they are made of comes this Saturday against the Auburn Tigers. And, despite what many believe, they have the talent, the coaching, and the ability to win this game—they just need a little more perfection.

Bobby Bowden Wanted One More Year, FSU Didn't (VIDEO)

Bobby Bowden talks, briefly, about the situation the FSU administration put him in at the end of the 2009 season. Apparently he made it clear that he wanted one more year, but the university was ready to move on—much to his disappointment.

Bowden doesn't bash FSU and says he will still keep up with the team this season—from a distance. The former coach won't be at a loss for places to watch a game in 2010 as Mark Richt (Georgia), Urban Meyer (Florida), and Joe Paterno (Penn State) have all invited him to come and watch games at their respective universities.

He also discusses his new book, Called to Coach, written by Mark Schlabach (a former Georgia grad and current ESPN college football analyst).

Bowden appears to be handling all of his free time fairly well but it will be odd not seeing him walk
the sidelines in Tallahassee this season. He is truly one of the best there ever was in college football.

James Wilder Picks FSU, But Georgia Still Has A Shot With Isaiah Crowell

Count me among the skeptical who didn't read too much into the report that James Wilder Jr., the freakishly talented LB/RB from Plant High School, was on his way to play for the University of Georgia in 2011.

For the last several weeks, the message boards and chatter surrounding this young man from Tampa was that he was much more likely to end up in Tallahassee than Athens.

Sure, he had the ties (former Plant alumni Aaron Murray and Orson Charles are currently on the team) and plenty reason (Georgia's use of the big back intrigued him) to offer his commitment to Georgia, but it wasn't meant to be—life goes on. 

Still, it speaks well of the staff that they were able to make a run at him—even if they missed out.

So, now the attention has to be focused on RB recruit, Isaiah Crowell. He is the guy that the Bulldogs have coveted from day one and he has to be the guy that Georgia hopes to see signing on the dotted line come next February. Crowell is one of the must-have prospects for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2011 and everyone who follows the program closely knows it.

The decision of Wilder to go to FSU might have been slightly disappointing but the bright side has to be that Wilder's decision to go elsewhere should make Georgia that much more attractive to Crowell, a true talent at the running back position and an in-state kid, who has already made it clear that Georgia is on his mind—right along with Alabama.

No word yet on when Crowell will make up his mind, but as of now, the Under-Armour Game which will be held on January 29, 2011 in Mobil, AL, seems to be the likely place for his decision.

Either way, this is one prospect that Georgia would like to make sure is in the fold come signing day and, at least for the moment, there is still a reason to believe that's possible.