Should Mark Richt be on list of next College Football Coach to win a title?
Getting to the National Championship Game and being within one play in overtime of winning in certainly gives Smart a lot of cred. Teams often come from the middle of the pack to one of the best teams in the country from year to the next. Schlabach’s take on Smart was:
"“My money would be on Georgia’s Kirby Smart (21). He got the Bulldogs really close last year, before losing to Alabama 26-23 in overtime in the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. I think Smart is Saban’s biggest threat because he knows the Alabama program so well. He’s following the same blueprint as Saban, and Georgia is so fertile when it comes to recruiting (22). The Bulldogs are spending money on facilities, and Smart has everything he needs in terms of resources.”"
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Georgia was 10-3 their final year under Richt, 8-5 in Smart’s first season in 2016 and 13-2 last year. Saban barely kept his streak alive of never losing to a former assistant with the win in the National Championship over Georgia.
Schlabach was skeptical about Miami’s chances. Like much of the Hurricanes fanbase questioned the Hurricanes fall at the end of last season and the inconsistent play of quarterback Malik Rosier.
"Schlabach: Miami’s Mark Richt is already the dean of FBS head coaches in the Sunshine State (12). That didn’t take long! I loved the Turnover Chain last year, but is The U really back (13)? The Hurricanes won a lot of close games in 2017, but that three-game losing streak at the end looked all too familiar. Quarterback Malik Rosier is going to have to play a lot better if Miami is going to unseat Clemson in the ACC (14).”"
Richt got close with Georgia. The Bulldogs played in five SEC Championship games. That’s six conference titles games in 17 years as Head Coach. Detractors will say that he is only 2-4 in those championship games. If there had been playoffs in 2002 and 2007 instead of the BCS title game Georgia would have made it under Richt.
Next: Miami football Mark Richt best Power 5 Coach in Florida
They were close on a few other occasions. The future is bright at Miami. This is the most stable the program has been since the end of the Larry Coker era in the mid-2000s. The Hurricanes will begin the 2018 season in the top 10 for the first time since 2005.