Sugar Bowl Bound! Dawgs Dominate

"[Atlanta] is our home away from home."
-- Sean Bailey
It wasn't that long ago that all of this seemed out of reach. On Dec. 4, 2000, Georgia president Mike Adams announced the firing of head coach Jim Donnan.

Almost five years to the day later, the entire Southeastern Conference looks different.

Five years ago, Georgia was coming off a three game losing streak to Tech (losses which were later vacated). Five years ago, UGA had only beaten the Vols once in 12 years. Five years ago, the Dawgs hadn't seen the inside of the Georgia Dome for an event not involving Peaches. Five years ago, we were 19 very long years removed from our last SEC Championship.

Things weren't exactly at Gamecock levels bleak, but it was a time of tremendous uncertainty. There were rumors swirling that our university president was trying to interview guys like Terry Donahue and Dennis Erickson. Our Athletic Director was interviewing guys like Ray Sherman, and both men were spending far too much time with Chan Gailey.

But bullets were dodged, and Georgia made its best hire since the mid-1960s when it announced Mark Richt as Head Coach. Since hiring Richt, we now lead the SEC in overall and SEC wins since 2001. We have beaten Georgia Tech five in a row. We have beaten the Vols four of the past five, and most importantly we have celebrated 2 SEC Championships.

Unreal.


[Photo: Tim Jennings celebrates *another* SEC Championship]

The most amazing part of all of this...every year except 2002 the Dawgs have been labeled as being in a rebuilding year pre-season. We keep losing players to the NFL by the truckload, but we keep finding a way to reload and achieve great things.

52-12. That's Richt's record since he arrived at Georgia. It's the second best five year run in Georgia history, and the best period not involving the greatest college football player of the 20th Century.

And not to get ahead of ourselves, but things look excellent for the future. Florida and LSU have both downgraded head coaches versus Spurrier and Saban. The Vols are coming off their worst season in 25 years, and Bama is still digging out from under probation (where will they be once Brodie leaves?). And we are continuing to recruit at terrific levels.

Georgia and Auburn are the two SEC schools best positioned for the next 5-10 years. Who could have predicted this for us five years ago?

I couldn't be more thrilled. Kudos to the coaches and players. I love college football. I love Georgia. And I love winning. It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog.

For some similar thoughts about the future of Georgia Football, check out Kyle on Football. As he says to well, "The 80s are Over."

For a recap of the game, check out I'm a Realist.


Photo from SI.com.

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