I've gone back and forth on the board over the years defending Richt, then trashing him, and I went back and forth for a while.
I will admit my bias is from the perspective that I have as a Gator fan.....but.....I saw Georgia get the snot kicked out of them by Florida two consecutive seasons where Florida struggled to beat most teams.
Florida has played 27 games the last 2 seasons and 17% of its rushing offense during that time period came in its two meetings with Georgia.
Georgia did last season, what they famously have done on numerous occasions. There were 4 games on the schedule that mattered. They got hammered by Alabama. They got hammered by Tennessee (damn the score). They got hammered by Florida. They snuck by a bad Auburn team.
They have done this in a lot of seasons. They win 9, 10 games against teams where they have an overwhelming advantage (often by a hair) and get the snot kicked out of them in the games that matter.
The amount of times a Richt team went out and got drilled are numerous. 2007 Tennessee. 2008 Florida and Alabama. 2009 Florida and Tennessee. 2011 SEC Title game. 2012 South Carolina. etc, etc, etc.
Year after year, there is a game or a set of games where Georgia doesn't even compete. They get blown out.
I don't know what Kirby Smart will be or become as a coach. My guess is that in the short term he will give the team something it lacked, particularly toughness, and it will help them win ball games next season.
My gut tells me there is a hell of a lot more talent on that team than has shown itself and that a lot of the talent that is there can play at a much higher level. I also have heard from numerous people that this freshman QB, Eason, is the REAL deal and I'm not expecting him to play like a freshman.
I also think their schedule is extremely friendly.
Been wrong before.