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Miami Football: Mark Richt has uncharacteristic blowup at Orange Bowl

ByShannon Sickmon|
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers shakes hands with head coach Mark Richt of the Miami Hurricanes after the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers shakes hands with head coach Mark Richt of the Miami Hurricanes after the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

Miami football fell to Wisconsin in an exciting Orange Bowl. The game was fun to watch, but Miami coach Mark Richt wasn’t too happy about it.

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I like Mark Richt.  I really do– despite his unfortunate gig as  the head coach of Miami. He has always been one of the coolest heads in college football, and has always had something positive to say about his opponents.  So to see him lose it during a game was just odd.

Apparently I’m not the only one to think that.

During his tenure at Georgia, the man was unflappable, even in the face of some pretty heated game play.  (I mean, it’s the SEC.  Game play can always get heated.)  Yesterday’s freakout at the Orange Bowl was not only uncharacteristic, it also was weird that Richt was allowed to stay in the game.

I don’t know if this means that Richt is more emotionally invested in the Hurricanes, but it certainly is bizarre behavior from one of the most gentlemanly coaches in college football. His temper tantrum got the team a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but that was the extent of it.  It also led to a Wisconsin touchdown just before the half and allowed the Badgers to take the lead, 24-14.

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I’m not sure why Richt didn’t get ejected like running back Benny Snell of Kentucky did at the Music City Bowl on Friday. Maybe it’s because it was surreal to see Mark Richt get so heated, or maybe it’s because he did seem to have a legitimate point. Maybe the ref felt guilty, or maybe the officials like Mark Richt as much as I do.

Benny Snell was unhappy about the inconsistency, that’s for sure.

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Of course, Mark Richt being who he is,  apologized graciously immediately after the game.  Not for getting angry, mind you, but for his language. You can tell that Richt was a Bobby Bowden protegee. Bowden was so averse to cursing on the field that his characteristic phrase, “Dadgumit”, has done down in the annals of college football legend.

I will say that it was refreshing to see Coach Richt getting so worked up–it proves how much he cares.

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