Music City Meltdown

This is one of those mornings that you hope you wake up and realize it was all a dream.

It was less than a month ago that Georgia walked off the field after defeating LSU between the hedges in what was supposed to be a huge win for Georgia’s title hopes. I can’t remember a team’s reality changing so dramatically and so quickly.

Georgia lost to Vanderbilt in Nashville yesterday.

The offense was vanilla. The defense was average at best. The special teams were disgraceful. The officiating was questionable. There are plenty of things to be upset about when it comes to yesterday’s game, but just listen to these words, written by me about 30 seconds ago:

Georgia lost to Vanderbilt.

Last week I felt the need to explain, in detail the why behind Georgia’s loss to Missouri and what would have to change in order to avoid the season falling apart completely. We will examine the why, but at the end of the day the “what” is all you need to know. We are Georgia, they are Vanderbilt, and we should never lose to Vanderbilt.

I don’t understand the rule about targeting. I thought I did until yesterday, but now I am just confused. Watching the game, I thought it was a terrible call on Ray Drew. While the officials were reviewing the play, I was just upset that Vanderbilt’s drive would continue because of the 15 yard penalty. I was livid when they upheld the decision and kicked Drew out of the game. I didn’t think he hit him in the head at all, and the only reason he knocked him over was because Vandy’s quarterback is the size of an 8^th grader. Obviously, the call in the fourth quarter was not only terrible, but also costly for Georgia. I wouldn’t say the fourth quarter call cost Georgia the game, because Georgia should have never been in that position to start with, but it would be accurate to say that the missed call allowed Vanderbilt to capitalize on the opportunity that Georgia provided them.

I’m not the first person to point this out, but the rule and the way it is reviewed is ridiculous. If it is a penalty then the player should be ejected and the penalty yardage assessed. However, if the review reveals that the play was clean, the player should not only stay in the game, but the penalty should be wiped away completely. Yesterday, Georgia was assessed a 15 yard penalty because Ramik Wilson hit a Vanderbilt receiver too hard. It was a clean play, but it was a violent play in a violent game and apparently that is now against the rules.

The Georgia defense is terrible, and if Josh Harvey-Clemons misses any significant time, it’s only going to get worse. Todd Grantham has to go, and if Mark Richt is unwilling to make that decision, then his job needs to be assessed as well. I can say with all honesty that if no changes are made on the Georgia coaching staff, I have no hope for any kind of significant success next season. This year is already a lost season, but there is no reason that we can’t fix the problems and be right back in the middle of the title hunt next year.

Georgia also needs to figure out what is going on with the special teams. Most people believe that Georgia needs a special teams coach, and maybe that is the solution. I honestly don’t care what we have to do to fix the special teams’ problem, I just want them fixed. There is no reason that a school like Georgia should have so many problems executing a punt and catching a punt. Again, this is an issue that should be obvious enough that it demands a solution. Coach Richt has said that he believes we just need to keep improving. Well, we are not improving. In fact, we have turned punting into one of the most exciting parts of the game, and that is disgraceful.

Georgia has the week off, which means that there is no chance we will lose next Saturday. Glass half full.

I feel like Georgia will have a good chance to beat Florida in two weeks, but I don’t have much confidence for the rest of the season. If I had to guess now, even with Gurley back, Georgia will lose two more games and turn this season, which began with such high hopes, into a complete failure.