An all too familiar feeling...

The morning after is always the worst. I know this because I have felt it, just like all Georgia fans have, too many times now.

This morning is when the reality sets in, and the full feeling of regret manifests itself. During the game, you can just be angry. You can yell at the television. You can explain how what you are seeing makes no sense whatsoever. Today, there is no one to yell at. Today we are left alone, with our thoughts.

Yesterday’s loss was inexcusable. There was no aspect of the team that played well. Offensively, Georgia started out great, but eventually we saw the downside of the injuries that Georgia has sustained. I am not criticizing Nick Chubb, but he is limited in what he can do, and the better defenses are going to be able to at least neutralize one aspect of your offense. Georgia, without another legitimate running back, is going to be good on the ground, but not good enough to win big games.

Georgia’s passing attack was what it has been all season. Anyone that criticizes Hutson Mason after yesterday’s game is just being lazy. Mason was not the problem yesterday. He made a couple of good throws and he made a few questionable decisions. His receivers didn’t help him at all. There were a couple of drops and the offensive line didn’t play nearly as well as they have for the majority of the season.

The biggest disappointment, in a day that was overwhelmingly disappointing, was the complete and total failure of Georgia’s defense to stop a one-dimensional offense. After trending up for the majority of the season, the defense is absolutely no where now. There is no reason to think that Auburn won’t put a thousand points on Georgia if the Dawgs can't stop simple run plays. Nothing Florida was doing yesterday was fancy, and many times, there was a player at the point of attack that had an opportunity to make a play, and time and time again, Georgia failed to make plays. Pruitt has to be held accountable for not being able to coach up his players to stop what Florida was doing, but at the end of the day; the players have to get it done.

The next step is looking at the rest of the season.  Just like the loss to South Carolina, this loss will feel worse and worse as Georgia progresses. This will most likely be a stark wakeup call for this team, and I would expect a great performance against Kentucky next weekend. Then Auburn will come calling and Gurley will be back. Georgia needs a Missouri loss to be back in the driver’s seat in the SEC East, so there will be some scoreboard watching over the next few weeks.

The playoff and the national title, which were a long shot, are now out of reach in any realistic scenario. Anarchy could reign, like it did in 2007, and Georgia could find their way back into the discussion, but there are about 10 things that would have to happen just right for that to happen.

I think it is time to start thinking about next year. No matter what happens, Georgia will have a new quarterback next season. Hutson Mason is a senior, and it is time for Georgia to consider moving on to Brice Ramsey. Ramsey seems to have a live arm, and the only way for him to get better is going to be playing in big games now. Mason isn’t winning games by himself, so what would Georgia lose by trying to give a few series a game to Ramsey?

The rest of the season should just be about improving. We need to get Sony Michel back on the field. I want to see what it looks like with just Michel and Chubb leading things in the backfield. I want to see more inclusion of Isaiah McKenzie in the offense. Early in the season, there were dynamic plays each week using McKenzie as a decoy and sometimes running him on the Jet-sweep. We also need to see the defense have a strong finish. I think Pruitt is a great coach and it would be silly to think that he has been able to already get his players working in his system without flaws, so we need to make sure that things are heading in the right direction going into bowl practice.

Earlier in the week, I said that losing to Florida would be the worst loss for the Dawgs since the early ‘80s. I think we will remember this game right along with the loss to South Carolina in 2012, the Bama Blackout in 2008, the loss to Tennessee in Knoxville in 2007, the loss to Florida in 2005, the home loss to Tennessee in 2004, and the loss to another bad Florida team in 2002. Each and every one of those games make me shake my head when I think about them, and after I finally get over the sick feeling in my stomach, I’ll be shaking my head about yesterday’s game for years to come.

Try to enjoy the rest of the weekend, and try not to think about football for a few days. We will turn the page to Kentucky on Wednesday, but let’s just get away from it all for a few days. 

A Cocktail PARTY for the Dawgs

As we approach another Cocktail Party this afternoon in Jacksonville, the two teams on the field are heading in very different directions.

Georgia is ranked 11^th by the college football playoff committee, but their path to the Final Four maybe the easiest in the conference. The SEC East is all but locked up, and a win in Atlanta would almost assure the Dawgs of a spot in the first playoff in college football history.

Meanwhile, Florida is heading into a time of transition. Will Muschamp is going to be fired at the end of the season, and everyone knows it. The Gators have been terrible the past two seasons. Florida has become an also-ran in the SEC, a conference that it dominated for the better part of two decades. It is hard to believe that the Gators have fallen as far as they have, but the reality of their situation has been put on full display this season. An embarrassing loss to Alabama. A triple overtime win over Kentucky. An ugly loss at home to Missouri. A game given away to rival LSU. At 3-3 on the season, the Gators will have to beat either Georgia, Florida State, or South Carolina to get to a bowl game. 

This is not Florida football.

I am a son of the 1990’s and 2000’s so you will have to forgive me if I’m not as confident as I should be that Georgia is going to win today in Jacksonville. I grew up on being disappointed in Jacksonville. As I said earlier this week, there have been too many times when Georgia had a better team than Florida, but managed to lose the game. Missed field goals, dropped passes, turnovers, and questionable coaching decisions have contributed to my lack of confidence.

On paper, this should not be a game. Georgia is head and shoulders better than Florida. Even without Todd Gurley, Georgia is one of the best rushing teams in the nation. Georgia’s offense is at the top of the SEC in scoring, and Hutson Mason looked like a legitimate threat at quarterback against Arkansas, something that would take this offense from very good to great.

Florida’s defense is the strength of their team, but even that is relative. In their five SEC games this season, Florida has allowed an average of 30.6 points per game. Nationally, the Gators are ranked 59^th in points allowed. While Florida has a strong secondary, they lack a dominant pass rusher, and even the best corners can’t stay with receivers forever.

Defensively, it feels like Georgia has turned a corner. A road shut out against Missouri and a dominant first half against Arkansas has senior Ramik Wilson saying this week that the defense as a whole is having fun and they can still get better.

By far, the worst unit on the field this afternoon will be the Florida offense. If you exclude a 65-0 win over Eastern Michigan in the opening game of the season, Florida is just averaging 21.4 points per game. That average would rank them 107^th out of 124 teams in college football. Almost worse than the lack of scoring is the fact that Florida has turned the ball over 16 times this season in only 6 games. Florida is hoping that starting freshman quarterback Treon Harris will be the jumpstart this offense needs. But then again, you are starting a freshman in your biggest rivalry game of the season.

All of the little details make me nervous. Maybe a new quarterback that can run a little bit will get the Florida offense going. The bye week for Florida has given them time to make some adjustments. Florida isn’t going anywhere this season, but they could absolutely ruin Georgia’s season today. 

Maybe Florida comes out today, with their coach under fire, and plays out of their minds in an attempt to help him keep his job.

All of those thoughts give me pause, but this thought is the one that I haven’t been able to shake all week:

Is it really possible for Georgia to lose their best player for 1/3 of the season, win all of the games that player misses, get the player back for the biggest game of the season (Auburn on November 15^th), and win the SEC title? It just doesn’t seem like something that would happen. At some point, you would think it would catch up to Georgia.

Losing this game today would be the worst loss for Georgia in almost three decades, and winning this game for Florida isn’t going to change the fact that there is major change coming to their program.

Following my head rather than my nerves, I know Georgia is going to win today. The Dawgs are just too good, and Florida simply isn’t good enough. The question is how do the Dawgs win? Is it like last season? 23-20 in a game that was never that close or will be like Georgia’s last two games, a dominant performance where the game was put away by half time.

I think it is going to be the latter. I think Georgia is going to put a beating on Florida, and I don’t think they are going to let up in the second half. Style points matter with the new playoff committee, and Georgia will raise some eyebrows today.

Chubb is going to have a big day, Isaiah McKenzie is going to take one to the house, and Mason will continue to make progress, but the star of the day is going to be the defense. I think Georgia’s defense will score today, and I think they are going to be dominant against an offense that lacks big play ability or confidence.

Enjoy this one Georgia fans, because Florida won’t be down for long.

Dawgs 48    Florida 10