Field of Opportunity

I’ve been wrong before,
and I’ll be there again

I don’t have any answers,
my friend —

Just this pile of old questions
that my memory left me here.

In the field of opportunity,
it’s plowing time again.
– Neil Young

If you’ve read articles or books that I’ve written and published, you know that I’m not reticent about expressing my opinion.

For example, I didn’t hesitate to predict Mel Tucker would become Georgia’s defensive coordinator under Kirby Smart, because common sense dictated that Jeremy Pruitt should be retained, unless a better candidate was available.

However, as my late Dad used to say, even a blind squirrel can find an acorn once in a while. Or, more appropriately, I should heed the wisdom that Davin Bellamy imparted to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, and humble myself enough to admit that I was wrong.

It’s easy to brag about being right about Mel Tucker – who doesn’t like admitting when they are right? However, it’s also important to remind myself when I am wrong, and I was definitely wrong about UGA and Mark Richt needing to part company in order for this national championship game to become possible. My love and admiration for coach Richt had blinded me to the reasons why Georgia Bulldog football was not closing the talent gap with Alabama, and many blue chip recruits were leaving the state. Clearly, I was wrong. In spite of several articles here at my blog in which I adamantly insisted UGA had just committed an egregious mistake by parting company with Mark Richt, I now acknowledge that the time for change had come. In the early years of coach Richt’s tenure, UGA always seemed to catch one bad break per season. In spite of winning two SEC titles and twice finishing the season ranked as high as #3, the Bulldogs never competed for the national championship.

Of course, Mark Richt doesn’t deserve all of the blame for the program failing to take that next step during his tenure, because Greg McGarity controlled his budget. McGarity allowed schools like Florida and Alabama to gain a considerable competitive advantage over our program by being one of the very last schools to build an indoor practice facility. I remain committed to the thought that Georgia athletics will only maximize its true potential when the school parts ways with Greg McGarity.

Nevertheless, Coach Richt was responsible for hiring the people working for him. He was thought by his critics of being too loyal to his staff, which was probably true. After all, Willie Martinez kept his job as defensive coordinator for five years, despite the fact the Bulldogs had trailed Alabama by 31 points at halftime in Sanford Stadium, and lost to Florida 49-10 in Jacksonville during Martinez’s fourth year in that role. The problem wasn’t just that we lost, but how we lost.

Not only has Kirby Smart taken Georgia back to a level the program hasn’t achieved since the coaching days of Vince Dooley, he”s also recruiting at a level that is unprecedented for UGA football. And the change has benefited Mark Richt as well.

In two short years, Coach Richt has made Miami football relevant again, competing for conference championships and playing in a major bowl game on New Year’s Day. If anyone still has any doubt that the coaching change happened when it needed to happen, just look at the picture above, where Jake Fromm is wearing Alabama colors and shaking hands with Nick Saban. The quarterback who led Georgia to victory in the Rose Bowl would be on the other sideline in this championship game, if Kirby Smart hadn’t flipped him to UGA.

The Georgia Bulldogs have exceeded expectations for this season already, but as I’ve previously said, it’s time to be greedy.  As Neil Young has sung, in the field of opportunity, it’s plowing time again.

This opportunity for this particular football team will never come again.  Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Isaiah Wynn, Dominique Sanders, Lorenzo Carter, and Davin Bellamy, and the other seniors will play their final game as a Bulldog next Monday. The future for UGA football looks incredibly bright, but we should seize this opportunity now that this team has earned it.

At halftime, Georgia trailed Oklahoma by 14 points, and the Sooners also received the 2nd half kickoff. The coaches made the necessary adjustments at halftime, and if one word best described the effort of the team from the 3rd quarter through double overtime, it would be relentless. This team showed incredible character and never gave up.

Regardless of whether the analogy is chopping wood or plowing fields, whatever metaphor works best for the team — these Dawgs need to just have fun and play their best football…and in the words of Larry the Cable Guy, get ‘er done.

This field of opportunity has a name. It’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the very same field on which the SEC championship game was won.

Go Dawgs!

 

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