BOULDER — The callers came fast and furious, with ample venom to poison the entire Georgia football team. To many Bulldogs fans, that fate would be only too kind.
They came Monday night on Georgia coach Mark Richt’s call-in radio show. If the first 0-2 Southeastern Conference mark in Richt’s 10 years at Georgia riled the locals, Saturday’s 24-12 drubbing at Mississippi State to make Richt 0-3 had them chewing through the phone lines.
“Coach,” one caller told Richt, “I’ve been watching Georgia football for 50 years, and I got to tell you, this program is out of control. Out of control off the field, out of control on the field.”
Another point-blank asked, “And how about getting rid of (offensive coordinator Mike) Bobo?”
You think Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is on a hot seat? In Georgia, Richt has never experienced an August afternoon as hot as his Hanes are right now. So call Saturday’s game at Folsom Field the Charcoal Bowl.
There are two differences: First, Richt has a proven track record. The Bulldogs’ 91-30 record under Richt is third-best in the SEC, behind only Louisiana State and Florida over the last 10 years. Second, Georgia fans have a lot shorter memories than Colorado’s.
“No doubt,” Richt said in his teleconference Sunday, “this is the toughest bit of adversity we’ve faced since I’ve been here.”
Coming off an 8-5 season that cost defensive coordinator Willie Martinez his job, Georgia has lost three straight games in the same season for the first time since 1990. Counting the regular-season ending loss to Kentucky, Georgia has lost four consecutive SEC games for the first time since 1993.
As Georgia continued its onfield problems Saturday night, so did its off-field problems. Early Sunday morning, freshman linebacker Demetre Baker was arrested on a DUI charge and kicked off the team. He was the 10th Bulldog to get arrested this year and the fourth shown the door.
“We’ve had rough issues off the field,” Richt said. “It’s a big distraction and sad for our young men and our program and university and our fans and everybody else.”
On the field, the offense has gone nowhere fast. Georgia (1-3), whose lone win is the season-opening 55-7 laugher over Louisiana-Lafayette, is 11th in the SEC in rushing (124.2 yards per game), 10th in scoring (24.2 points per game) and ninth in total offense (352.2 ypg).
Then again, Georgia is missing its star. Junior A.J. Green, a probable top-five draft pick this spring, was suspended for four games for selling last year’s Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000.
Yes, it’s just Hawkins’ luck to get Green, rested, antsy and angry, in his first game back. Through an injury-plagued 2009, Green did occasionally show rust, but this time it’s different.
“He’s missed games but wasn’t injured,” Richt said. “He practiced every day. A guy like A.J. maybe would’ve gone half-speed or didn’t jump into a drill. But one thing to his credit is he practiced probably harder these four weeks knowing he wasn’t going to play than he has his whole career.”
Under new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, formerly the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive line coach, Georgia is slightly better, giving up 307.3 yards per game instead of last year’s 339.4. However, it still couldn’t stop Mississippi State from a game-clinching 93-yard, 10-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Georgia hired a new athletic director,Greg McGarity, only four weeks ago, and it’s doubtful he would pull the trigger on Richt this fast, regardless of the uproar. Formerly the executive associate athletic director at Florida, McGarity knows Richt’s history.
“The good news is we know what success looks like,” Richt said. “We know what it takes to have success.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
