Dawn of the Dawg
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Georgia Football: How other coaches fared in their second year at Georgia

By Kyle Funderburk

Sep 10, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart walks through the Dawgwalk prior to the game against the Nicholls State Colonels at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart walks through the Dawgwalk prior to the game against the Nicholls State Colonels at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 28, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA;Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt celebrates after defeating the the West Virginia Mountaineers at Camping World Stadium. The Miami Hurricanes defeated West Virginia Mountaineers 31-14. the Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA;Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt celebrates after defeating the the West Virginia Mountaineers at Camping World Stadium. The Miami Hurricanes defeated West Virginia Mountaineers 31-14. the Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /

2002: Mark Richt, 13-1

The best record of the Mark Richt era actually came in his second season. Prior to the 2002 season, Georgia went through three-straight 8-4 seasons. before that Georgia went 9-3 in 1998 and 10-2 in 1997.

So Mark Richt was clearly brought in to fix a program that was going the wrong direction and he did that in a big way. David Greene took the next step to becoming a leader, Musa Smith stepped up to lead the run game and Terrence Edwards had the best season for a wide receiver in Georgia football history.

But the biggest boost came on defense with the emergence of David Pollack at defensive end joining linebackers Boss Bailey, cornerback Bruce Thornton and safety Sean Jones. The Bulldogs were good on offense, but they were nothing short of dominant on defense.

Georgia ended that season 13-1 and 7-1 in the SEC. They defeated Arkansas 30-3 in the SEC Championship Game before defeating Florida State 26-13 in the Sugar Bowl. 2002 ended a 20-year SEC Championship drought for Georgia.

A pair of heart-breakers to LSU and Florida kept Georgia from ending the 2003 regular season undefeated, but Georgia still finished in a three-way tie for first in the SEC East with Tennessee and Florida.

Georgia was ranked higher so they went on to play and lose to LSU again in the SEC Championship game. They defeated Purdue in overtime in the Capital One Bowl to end the 2003 season 11-3.

An upset loss to Tennessee ended a 17-game home win-streak and deflated Georgia’s national title hopes. They later lost to undefeated Auburn to end the regular season 9-2, but a win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl gave Georgia their third straight 10-win season.

With D.J. Shockley under center in 2005, the Bulldogs won their second SEC Championship game after finishing the regular season 10-2. They blew out LSU in Atlanta before losing to West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl to finish 11-3.

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