Where Mark Richt, Kirby Smart rank among the 2000s top college football coaches
Where Mark Richt, Kirby Smart rank among the 2000s top college football coaches
The Athletic released their top 25 coaches of the 21st century and the Georgia Bulldogs had two of their three coaches from the 21st century earn spots on the list. Georgia coaches have garnered 258 wins since 2000, the fifth most wins of any team in the nation behind Oklahoma, Boise State, Alabama and Ohio State.
That's not to mention the amount of drafted players Georgia has had in the 21st century. Both of Georgia's highly-ranked coaches (Mark Richt and Kirby Smart) have ushered in eras of impressive growth and domination.
Where Georgia Bulldogs coaches rank in The Athletic's top 25:
Record: 145-51
Richt was hired by the Georgia Bulldogs after six stellar seasons as Florida State's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He took a Georgia team struggling to meet expectations and while he never made a national championship with Georgia, he raised the expectations tremendously. In 2007, the Bulldogs finished as the No. 2 team in the country, and in 2012, they were only five yards and potentially one play away from winning the SEC and going to the national championship. It's a shame he only coached with Georgia for two years of the College Football Playoff era.
He also earned props for his time at Miami, coaching the Hurricanes to two top-20 finishes and the No. 2 ranking at one point in 2017.
"The only thing holding Richt's resume back was never winning the Big One," said Chris Vannini of the Athletic.
Accomplishments: Two SEC championships, eight top-10 finishes, four BCS/NY6 appearances, 18 bowl games
No. 4: Kirby Smart (2016-present)
Record: 109-19
It speaks to how good Kirby Smart is that the odds are in his favor to reach 100 wins in his tenure before reaching 20 losses. Kirby is the highest active coach on this list for good reason. In just eight years with Georgia, he transformed the team from perennial teases to championship contenders. He led Georgia to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, which is an unbelievable feat considering the history of Georgia Bulldogs football and Georgia sports in general.
His biggest flaw as a coach was usually failing to win against his old team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and his old coach, Nick Saban. However, Smart got the best of Saban in the 2021 national championship, officially cementing him as one of the best coaches of not just the 21st century, but all time.
Smart is ranked behind just Pete Carroll (No. 3), Urban Meyer (No. 2) and Nick Saban (No. 1).
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
All the FIFA Club World Cup permutations as final round of group games begin
The final set of group games at the FIFA Club World Cup get underway on Monday (June 23) and it's still all to play for across the tournament's first round. The top two teams in each of the eight groups will advance to the knockout stage, with the bottom two in each being eliminated. Here, The Athletic guides you through the state of play in each group and who needs to do what to reach the last 16. Teams level on points will be separated by their head-to-head records and then overall goal difference. Here is what the FIFA rulebook for the tournament says: If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the completion of the group stage, the following criteria, in the order below, shall be applied to determine the ranking: a) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned b) superior goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned If, after having applied criteria a) to c) above, teams still have an equal ranking, to determine their final rankings, criteria a) to c) above are applied to the matches between the remaining teams only. If no decision can be made through this procedure, criteria d) to f) below shall apply as follows to the two or more teams still equal on points: d) superior goal difference in all group matches e) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches f) highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained: — yellow card: minus 1 point — indirect red card (as a result of two yellow cards): minus 3 points — direct red card: minus 4 points — yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points Only one of the above deductions shall be applied to a player or team official in a single match. The team with the highest number of points shall be ranked highest. Advertisement g) finally, drawing of lots by FIFA How they stand: Results: Al Ahly 0-0 Inter Miami, Palmeiras 0-0 Porto, Palmeiras 2-0 Al Ahly, Inter Miami 2-1 Porto. Remaining fixtures: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras, Porto vs Al Ahly; both on June 23 (9pm ET; 2am on June 24 UK time). Palmeiras: The Brazilian club will advance to the knockout stage if they avoid defeat against Inter Miami. If they lose, they will still go through if Porto fail to win. If they do lose and Porto win, however, then whoever out of Palmeiras and the Portuguese side has the better overall goal difference in all group matches will advance. Inter Miami: Lionel Messi's side will advance to the knockout stage if they get at least a point against Palmeiras. If they lose, Inter Miami will still go through if Al Ahly fail to beat Porto. If Inter Miami do lose and Al Ahly win, then overall goal difference comes into play again. Porto: The Portuguese side must beat Al Ahly and hope Inter Miami win to have any chance. Porto would also need an overall superior goal difference to Palmeiras. Al Ahly: The team from Egypt must beat Porto and hope Palmeiras defeat Inter Miami. If these two results do materialise, then whoever out of Al Ahly and Inter Miami has the better goal difference from their three group games will advance. How they stand: Results: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Atletico Madrid, Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders, Seattle Sounders 1-3 Atletico, PSG 0-1 Botafogo. Remaining fixtures: Seattle Sounders vs Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo; both on June 23 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Botafogo: The club from Brazil will secure a place in the knockout stage if they avoid defeat against Atletico. If they lose to Diego Simeone's team, then they will still advance if PSG fail to beat Seattle Sounders. If they do lose to Atletico, and PSG win, then Botafogo need to have a better goal difference than Atletico from matches between Botafogo, Atletico and PSG to advance alongside PSG. Advertisement Paris Saint-Germain: If the European champions beat Seattle Sounders, they will advance. If PSG draw, they will go through if Atletico fail to beat Botafogo. If they lose, then they must hope that Atletico are defeated by Botafogo and then whoever advances in second place (behind Botafogo) will be determined by goal difference exclusively in matches between the other three sides. Atletico Madrid: Must avoid defeat. If they win, they will go through if PSG fail to beat Seattle Sounders. If PSG also win, then the two teams that advance out of Botafogo, Atletico and PSG will be determined by goal difference in their head-to-heads. If Atletico draw, they can only go through if PSG lose. Seattle Sounders: Must win and hope Atletico lose, then have the best goal difference in matches between themselves, Atletico and PSG. How they stand: Results: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City, Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica, Benfica 6-0 Auckland, Bayern 2-1 Boca. Remaining fixtures: Auckland vs Boca, Benfica vs Bayern; both on June 24 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Bayern Munich: The German champions have advanced to the last 16. Benfica: Will advance if they avoid losing to Bayern or if Boca Juniors fail to beat Auckland City. If Benfica lose and Boca win, then overall goal difference in all group matches will determine which of the two teams goes through. Boca Juniors: Must beat Auckland City and hope Bayern win, then rack up a superior overall goal difference to Benfica. Auckland City: The club from New Zealand have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC, Flamengo 2-0 Esperance Tunis, Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea, LAFC 0-1 Tunis. Remaining fixtures: LAFC vs Flamengo, Tunis vs Chelsea; both on June 24 (9pm ET; 2am on June 25 UK time). Flamengo: The Brazilian side have qualified for the last 16. Chelsea: Simple: avoid defeat against Tunis and the London club will go through. Lose, and Enzo Maresca's side will be eliminated. Advertisement Esperance Tunis: Anything other than a win against Chelsea will see them knocked out. Los Angeles FC: The side from California have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey 1-1 Inter, Inter 2-1 Urawa Reds, River 0-0 Monterrey. Remaining fixtures: Inter v River, Urawa Reds vs Monterrey; both on June 25 (9pm ET; 2am on June 26 UK time). River Plate: The Argentine club will go through if they beat Inter. If they draw, they will advance if Monterrey fail to beat Urawa Red Diamonds. If Monterrey do win, and River draw, the Argentinians will go through if they draw by a scoreline of 2-2 or higher. If it is 0-0 they will be eliminated and if it is 1-1 then whoever has the better overall goal difference in all group matches out of River and Monterrey will advance alongside Inter. If River lose they will be knocked out only if Monterrey win. Inter: Will go through if they avoid defeat against River. If they lose, they will still advance providing Monterrey fail to beat Urawa Reds. If Monterrey win, and Inter lose, then the Italian club will be eliminated. Monterrey: The Mexican side must beat Urawa Reds to have any chance of going through. If Monterrey do win and the game between Inter and River isn't a draw, then they will advance. If they pick up three points but the Inter-River match finishes level, then whichever of Monterrey and River Plate scored more goals in matches between themselves and Inter will advance alongside the Italian club. This means that if it is 0-0 in the Inter-River match, then Monterrey will advance. If it is 2-2 or higher, River Plate will go through. If it is 1-1, then whoever out of River and Monterrey has the higher overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Inter. Urawa Red Diamonds: The club from Japan have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns, Sundowns 3-4 Dortmund, Fluminense 4-2 Ulsan. Remaining fixtures: Dortmund vs Ulsan, Sundowns vs Fluminense; both on June 25 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Fluminense: Will go through if they avoid defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns. If they lose, they will be knocked out if Borussia Dortmund avoid defeat against Ulsan HD. If Dortmund also lose, then Fluminense will have to hope their overall goal difference in all group matches is better than Dortmund's. Advertisement Borussia Dortmund: Draw or win against Ulsan HD and the German side will advance. If they lose, they will still go through providing Sundowns don't beat Fluminense. If the South African side win, and Dortmund lose, then whoever has the better overall goal difference in all group matches between the German club and Fluminense will advance alongside the South African side. Mamelodi Sundowns: If they win they go through. Fail to pick up three points and they will be knocked out. Ulsan HD: The South Korean side have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Manchester City 2-0 Wydad AC, Al Ain 0-5 Juventus, Juventus 4-1 Wydad, City 6-0 Al Ain. Remaining fixtures: Juventus v Manchester City & Wydad AC v Al Ain; both on June 26 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Juventus: The Italian side have qualified for the last 16. Avoid defeat to City and they will finish top of the group. Manchester City: The English club have qualified for the last 16. Wydad AC: The Moroccan side have been eliminated. Al Ain: The club from the United Arab Emirates have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal, Pachuca 1-2 Red Bull Salzburg, Madrid 3-1 Pachuca, Salzburg 0-0 Al Hilal. Remaining fixtures: Al Hilal vs Pachuca, Salzburg vs Madrid; both on June 26 (9pm ET; 2am on June 27 UK time). Real Madrid: If the Spanish club avoid defeat, they will qualify for the knockout stage. If they lose, they will still go through if Al Hilal fail to win, but would be eliminated if the Saudi Arabian club beat Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg: Will go through if they beat Madrid. If they draw, they will advance if Al Hilal fail to win. If Al Hilal do win, and Salzburg draw, the Austrians will go through if they draw by a scoreline of 2-2 or higher. If it is 0-0, and Al Hilal win, they will be eliminated but if it is 1-1, whoever out of Salzburg and Al Hilal has the better overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. This means that if Al Hilal were to win by two goals or more, and Salzburg-Madrid finishes 1-1, then Salzburg will be eliminated. If the Saudi Arabian win by one goal, and Salzburg-Madrid finishes 1-1, then whoever out of Salzburg and Al Hilal has scored more goals in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. If Red Bull Salzburg lose they will be knocked out only if Al Hilal win. Advertisement Al Hilal: Must beat Pachuca to have any chance of going through. If Al Hilal win and the game between Salzburg and Madrid isn't a draw, then they will advance. If they pick up three points and Salzburg-Madrid finishes level, then whichever of Al Hilal and Salzburg scored more goals in matches between themselves and Madrid will advance alongside the Spanish club. This means that if it is 0-0 in the Salzburg-Madrid match, then Al Hilal will go through and if it is 2-2 or higher, Salzburg will advance. If it is 1-1, then whoever out of Al Hilal and Salzburg has the higher overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid, meaning a two-goal win would send the Saudi Arabian side through. A one-goal win for Al Hilal, in the event of Salzburg-Madrid being 1-1, would mean that whoever out of Al Hilal and Salzburg has scored more goals in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. Pachuca: The club from Mexico have been eliminated. Match 49: June 28, 12pm ET Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Match 50: June 28, 4pm ET Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Match 53: June 30, 3pm ET Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Match 54: June 30, 9pm ET Camping World Stadium, Orlando Match 51: June 29, 12pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 52: June 29, 4pm ET Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Match 55: July 1, 3pm ET Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Match 56: July 1, 9pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 58: July 4, 9pm ET Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Match 57: July 4, 3pm ET Camping World Stadium, Orlando Match 59: July 5, 12pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 60: July 5, 4pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 61: July 8, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 62: July 9, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 63: July 13, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Does Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed need to carry the 2025 offense?
Texas A&M's 2025 season will depend on starting quarterback Marcel Reed significantly improving as a pocket passer. Still, for those who have been paying attention this offseason, the Aggies return all five starting offensive linemen, while adding 14 players from the transfer portal, led by former North Carolina State wide receiver KC Concepcion. Still, look past our coverage at Aggies Wire and other dedicated Texas A&M sites. You'll find narratives disregarding the rest of the offensive strengths, especially the O-line and the loaded running back room led by senior star Le'Veon Moss, placing all the pressure on Reed's shoulders, which doesn't make sense in OC Collin Klein's system. On Sunday, Michael Bratton and Cousin Shane of That SEC Podcast predicted Texas A&M's 2025 record, stating that the "best case scenario" would be for the Aggies to finish 10-2 or 9-3, which would likely place them in the College Football Playoff conversation. This, of course, resulted in rival fan bases responding to the positive A&M take, including Texas fan @ShinerRyan on X, feeling Bratton's prediction was "quite optimistic": "That is quite optimistic. With likely losses at ND and Texas, there is no room for error. I just don't see it unless Reed becomes a stud at the QB position. I think if they hit 8-4, Elko has done a solid job and can build on that. 9-3 and you extend the man." This appears to be a reference to Texas A&M extending former head coach Jimbo Fisher after the 2020 season. However, I'm referring to this comment because of his emphatic stance that Marcel Reed needs to be essentially the best player on the field for the Aggies to have a chance. Bratton quickly responded, pointing out Texas A&M's strength in the trenches, and accurately noting that while Reed must imrpove as a passer, he doesn't need to be perfect given the Aggies' running back room and deep wide receiver rotations with the additions of Concepcion, Mario Craver, and 2025 five-star signee Jerome Myles. "I'm not sure why Marcel Reed has to carry Texas A&M given the Aggies bring back the SEC's most experienced O-Line and top 4 leading rushers A&M's defense has to get better — defense cost them Carolina, Auburn & Southern Cal games" Bratton is also correct in pointing out that Texas A&M's offense wasn't the primary reason for the 1-4 finish las season, as the secondary, which also should improve with Mike Elko calling defensive plays, and new defensive assistant Lyle Hemphill, who was brought in to fix several coverage issues that plagued the team down the stretch. Again, Reed must improve, but he was never the primary cause of the Aggies' skid, and has put in the work this offseason to work on his release, touch, and accuracy, which are essential for running Klein's passing attack that relies on hitting tight windows, thereby opening up the run game. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Notre Dame football's wildly successful week had social media buzzing
Notre Dame football is on another one of its recruiting heaters, as they added three more commitments to its 2026 class in offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh, cornerback Khary Adams and safety Joey O'Brien. The group now sits at nineteen verbals, and ranks as the No. 3 overall class in the 247Sports Team Composite behind just USC and Texas A&M, both opponents for the Irish this coming fall. Both Notre Dame and the Aggies have the same amount of committed players, while the Trojans have eleven more. It seems like this Irish class has much more staying power, as they'll look for the first top-5 finish since 2013. There was plenty of positive results for Notre Dame this weekend, and lets take a look at some of the top social media reactions to the Irish capturing the headlines. A very impressive class Marcus Freeman is laying a foundation for success for the Irish, and it looks like it could end up being a prolonged window of great football. It's not just recruiting, but the product on the field, however, the elite additions from the high school ranks don't hurt. Notre Dame has made Penn State's miserable It hasn't just been the semifinal win in the College Football Playoff that these two teams have battled, Notre Dame took running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and each of the three commits had the Nittany Lions as a finalist. It's a regional game, and right now, there aren't many teams in the Midwest or East coast that have the recruiting pull that Notre Dame does. It sure feels good to be on the other Seid(er) Image if Seider hadn't made the move, but that clearly isn't the case. While none of the three commits are going to be in his room, you have to believe that his contacts in the East paid dividends. Many of us are excited about what he can do as a coach, but he's already shown that he is one of the top recruiters on staff. Not done? With room for more, one of the most recent commits gives all of us hope that this run isn't over. The Irish still have more than a few top prospects that are still considering them, and you can't discount the potential to flip a few committed players. This could be viewed as one of the top Notre Dame classes in a very long time. DMM The slogan for Notre Dame's defensive backs coach says all we need to know. He landed two of the top secondary prospects in the class, and should have another elite unit on the field this fall. It doesn't look like the Irish will have any issues defending the pass as long as Mickens is coaching the unit. Historical? It's one thing to have a culmination of top prospects committed, it's entirely another to see mulitple of them commit on the same day. While we did know that there was potential for Adams and O'Brien to be a packaged deal, it doesn't always work out that way. It did in this case, and Notre Dame won't complain about it one bit. The architect Everything that transpired this weekend has to start at the top with Freeman, as his vision for the program has come true in just three short years. Many believed that you couldn't be an elite football team with the academic standards that Notre Dame has, but the head coach has proven that theory to be false. Malik Zaire knows who's behind this effort While Freeman and Mickens have already been highlighted for having their hands all over the recruiting success Notre Dame has had, former quarterback Zaire can see it too. It's pretty obvious that these two work very well together, as the Irish continue to add top-end talent to its already impressive secondary. No thanks Nobody wants to see Freeman leaving South Bend to the NFL, but when teams are hoping that is the case, it's a very good thing. It doesn't seem like he wants to move away from the program anytime soon, as his vision is finally coming to fruition. Freeman is building a monster, and I'm sure he wants to be around when it can't be stopped. Notre Dame is cooking It seems like these runs have become commonplace in the Freeman era, and Notre Dame is on another one at the moment. The Irish have elevated its recruiting efforts, and it's really starting to show after the deep run into the CFP. I don't think this is a coincidence, I think it's going to be the norm going forward.
