A Couple of Views

Here's the view from the hotel:

Here's the view from the game:

Here's the view from a confused fan:

How can you win with that many turnovers? How many times can I complain like an old lady that the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs collapse on the absolute verge of success? How many "woulda coulda shoulda" games can we play in?

Couple of random notes:

-the Georgia/Florida game is a great rivalry
-the tailgating at the Georgia/Florida game pales in comparison to any ol' Saturday in Athens
-Jacksonville, Florida is a visually interesting city with a cool layout. The river. The beach. Great concept. Somehow it manages to have no perceptible soul to the average visitor. But hey....thanks a lot for Limp Bizkit.
-The Omni is a decent hotel unless you get the "upgraded" room that I got...meaning absolutely NOT the room I prepaid for a few months ago but rather a smoking room that smells like a witch's taint and has one less bed than the printed confirmation would lead you to believe. I would rather lick a cigar stained ash tray than return to that hotel.
-The Landing is great on Friday afternoon...only. It blows goat from then on...

Alright...I'll finish on positive notes:

-We almost won, even though we didn't play a great game
-Red and Black still kicks the shit out of any team colors anywhere
-we've got great fans, a great band, and a great program...the team is pretty good...it needs to get great to match the rest
-Mark Richt is not on the hot seat. He's been frustrating for a year and a half. Everyone relax. Great coaches have ups and downs like everyone. If we suck ALL YEAR next year...then we can talk.
-Murray had a decent game with a couple bad mistakes. He's a first year starter. It's OK. Everyone relax. It's a big game. A couple of the INT's were tipped. Not the end of the world.
-A fall college football game is and always will be the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
-I'm OK with calling this year the year of Murray's development. Let the kid go wild. Start dialing up crazy plays. Turn him loose. To hell with it. Break all the eggs now.

Go Dogs.

p.s. - We WILL spoil Auburn's season. You heard it here on Oct. 31st.

Final score: Fla 4, GA 1

Thank you for standing up sir. Now we know who the real Slim Shady is.

It ain't the one who went 3-0 the last 3 weeks

It aint' the one who had a +8 turnover margin in those games (9-1)

It ain't the one who averaged 182 yds on 40 rushing attempts...

Nope.

It's the one we saw yesterday. Dropping wide-open passes, missing wide open receivers, playing well at times - especially the 4th qtr - but showing very little in the way of consistency.
Throwing 3 picks & losing a fumble.

Rushing for 126 yds on only 34 attempts.

Great game? One for the ages? Sorry you media cheesedicks but this fan vehemently disagrees.
Just because a team shows some grit & comes back from an 11 pt deficit in the 4th qtr to send it to OT - that does not make it an "instant classic".

Did you stop & think to yourseleves that if UGA had thrown 1 less pick, or fallen on even 1 of those Fla fumbles that Larry, Moe or Curly could have recovered (hell, even Shemp could have come up with 1 of those balls), that this game is in the bag, & that 11 pt deficit never exists?

Here's some good news. We had only 2 penalties the entire game...that has to be a 1st.
Bad news? One of them was a horseshit late hit call in the 1st qtr that led to a score.

In virtually all of the games in this rivalry, despite records, momentum, talent, etc. the team that runs more & for more yds wins the game.
It really is that simple.

So Coach Richt, on the slim (shady) chance that you read or even hear about this blog, next time tell your star receiver to go pound sand when he whines & pouts about not getting the ball. Tell him to wait until the next game when he'll have 12 receptions for 150 yds & 3 TD's.

But in this game, he's a decoy, a blocker & maybe a guy who gets a couple screens thrown his way. Period.

Next time coach, just run the damn ball.

Florida

Headed down to Jacksonville on Friday. Omni. Landing. Tailgate. Game. Victory celebration. In that order.

Is it foolish for me to have hope? Am I silly for thinking we have a chance here? I think not. I think we have a real shot to really pound a despised rival. If we don't...oh well then. I just like our chances and I like how our team is developing this year.

Again...win out and wait for SC to self destruct. It would make for an interesting home stretch of the season.

In lieu of actual meaningful analysis I leave you with this telling image...It says it all really.

Next week? Slim Shady vs Fla

ok, so maybe this is a bad idea.
invoking Eminem before the Fla game...don't know if it's ever been done, but damn it - here goes!

In Georgia's last 3 games, here are some important things to note re: rushing yds, rushing attempts & turnovers:

UGA vs Tenn
* Rush yds - UGA 136, TN 9
* Rush attempts - UGA 36, TN 26
* Turnovers - UGA 0, TN 3
- GA wins 41-14

UGA vs Vandy
* Rush yds - UGA 232, Vandy 58 (hey it's better than 9!!)
* Rush attempts: UGA 45, Vandy 27
* Turnovers - UGA 0, Vandy 2
- GA wins 43-0

UGA vs Kentucky
* Rush yds - UGA 177, KY 70
* Rush attempts - UGA 39, KY 31
* Turnovers - UGA 1, KY 4
- GA wins 44-31

So, can anyone find Waldo here?

Last 3:
UGA avgs 182 rush yds, & the opponents avg 46. UGA avgs 40 attempts, opponents avg 28. UGA has 1 turnover, & forces 9.

By this time next week, someone's 3 game streak will end, & if the UGA of the last 21 days shows up, it will not be ours.
If not - more of the same misery in JAX.

The Gators haven't lost 4 in a row since 1999. That may not seem like a lot, but 11 yrs ago, Blake Lively was only 12. Now she's, well she's Blake Lively.

So, which is it fellas?
Won't the real Slim Shady please show up, please show up, please show up?

Kentucky Game

Late to the live blog. Oh my god! Absolutely nobody on this earth cares or noticed. Perfect. Woo WOO!

Any-freakin-how....

Dogs up 14-3. We've given up huge third down conversions...but...we've gotten huge turnovers and we returned a kickoff.

Blair Walsh missed yet another field goal. I'm really OK with that...as long as it isn't in the clutch.

UGA 14 UK 3

fourth down for UK. here goes a big stand for the D. and....?...stopped? wow. It's close. Ugh..Freakin refs with a great spot. Oops!!! Didn't get it. Ha!

The yellow line lies!! Bulldogs get the ball.

Dogs slug it out. They push and shove for a first down. Ealey seems to want to be the guy.

END OF FIRST QUARTER
UGA 14 UK 3

Ealey runs for 9 more. Dogs in the red zone.

Murray swings it out to Green. Down to the 2. Ealey tripped up at the 2.

2nd and Goal for the Dogs. Ealey walks in.

I could've handed off to my fat aunt Sally for a TD there. Nice!

UGA 21 UK 3

Good D by the Dogs. We force the punt. We get the ball.

Murray moving the chains. Dogs up 21-3 ball on our own 41. Randall Cobb jogs to the locker room. He's an absolute beast for the Wildcats. I hate to see a guy like that headed to the locker room. I may despise my opponent but I don't wish ill on their players.

Murray scrambles and falls short of the 1st down. Time to punt. Sorry to be excited about a punt but, dude. Butler flips the field for us yet again. Wildcats ball inside their own ten. That matters. Sorry, the punter matters. And we have the best in the country. Another Butler. Go Dogs.

Cats from the 2. Stuffed. 2nd down and 8 from their own 2.
Fumble. Dogs ball. Go Dogs.

I'm not the Offensive Coordinator but I say, "I wide right hand off to my fat aunt Sally".

Argh...lame throw to Green. 2nd and Goal.
Ugh. Lame handoff to Ealey. 3rd and Goal.
Pitch to Ealey. Third TD. Suck it, Wildcats. Just Suck IT!!

UGA 28 UK 3

Ok...so we sputtered and stammered on defense...Eventually we gave up a big TD pass. That is not OK. I know we're winning but that is a big problem for us. We keep doing this. It doesn't matter at this very moment. But it sure as hell could matter later.

UGA 28 UK 10

1:00 left in the 2nd Quarter. Don't forget that UK had a huge comeback against us last year. Just a reminder.

Let's not lose our focus.

HALFTIME. UGA 28 UK 10
THIRD QUARTER

Dogs will get the kickoff to start the 2nd Half.

Programming note: Telemundo: Tigre contra Pumas
CNBC: Suze Ormond
Fox: 2 and a Half Men

Dogs running it to start the 2nd half. Ealey looks good so far. Go Dogs.

We swing it out to Green. 34 yard pick up. Wow. Pass to Wooten. Down to the 2 yard line.

Hand off to Ealey. 4th Touchdown. Holy Shit. Suck it, Cats. Sidenote: Blair Walsh just missed an extra point. This kid is solid gold. Why he is missing kicks lately is beyond anyone's guess. Argh. Come on kid...wake up. You have a chance to be one of the all time greats at UGA.

UGA 34 UK 10

Kentucky drives. We get an INT in the end zone. wow. Dogs looking good.

Our efforts sputter out. Punt by Butler. Cats take over on their own 34.

Cats moving the ball. This is a good test for the Defense. We stopped them on 3rd down and guess what? We had a freakin penalty that kept their drive alive. SHOCKING!

I know...it's really crazy that a Georgia team would kick itself in the nuts. But we did. Kentucky now has the ball deep in our territory as a direct result of our own friggin stupid play.

So...Ball on the 21. Nothing.
3rd and 1 from the 22. Standby. Let's see if we just give it to them again.

Jesus Christ. We didn't exactly just give it to them but they threw it into the end zone and some asshole stopped and grabbed it for a TD. That's what happens when you let the other team hang around. They pull a rabbit out of the hat.

UGA 34 UK 17 (assuming they hit the extra point)
START OF THE 4th QUARTER

Completed pass to Green. Dogs at the UK 11.

Ealey to the 1yard line. Another hand off to Ealey. 5th TD of the night. He just tied the record for TD's in a game. Go Dogs.

UGA 41 UK 17

Not sure what happened other than the Cats got the ball....had a bunch of big plays and ran the ball down the field against us for a TD.

UGA 41 UK 25

For the record. It's a 2 possession game for UK. We seem to be comfortable with dicking around and letting Kentucky do good things. We need to fall out of love with that idea. Time to step on their throat.

Dogs ball on the 20. Ealey got dropped. Ugh.
2nd Down. Here we go...and...Ealey picks up 7 or 8. Not so bad. Murray converts the QB sneak.

Ealey is over 100yards for the day. Ealey picks up another 7. 2nd and 3.

Chapas stopped for nothing. 3rd and 3.

Ealey gets the first but goes down hard. He is grabbing his knee.He went down awkwardly.

Thomas comes in to the game. Thomas gets a good 6 or 7. Nice run. Wow. Now he sticks his head into the pile and pounds out a first down. Run. The. Damn. Ball. Go Dogs.

Damn it. Ealey is down again. I hope it's only a cramp. At least he isn't being arrested.

Dogs have 3rd and goal. Ugh. Thomas got stuffed. Time to kick.

And the kick is good.

UGA 44 UK 25

Go Dogs.

2 minutes left and we seem to be getting sloppy. We just had a roughing penalty and then gave up an 8 yard run. UK may get another score. That sucks. We're kicking the shit out of them. Don't let them score and make it appear closer.

ARGH!! We let them throw a TD pass.

Now it's UGA 44 UK 31

Here comes the onside kick. We should have stopped those bastards.

It will surprise no one on this green earth that Kentucky recovered the kick. Why we can't close...I'll never know.

Dogs get the win.

Just For Fun

Sitting here looking at the standings and looking at the rest of our season I let my mind wander a little. Just a thought...if South Carolina loses twice and we take care of bidness against Kentucky, Florida, and Auburn, we could find ourselves in Atlanta playing for the SEC.

Now...I understand that a simple plan doesn't mean it's an easy one.

Simple plan: Climb that mountain.
Easy plan: Take a helicopter to the top of the mountain
Simple and Easy: Sit right freakin here and drink beer while watching someone do it on TV.

Which is about my level of involvement in the aforementioned "Win the SEC" scenario I've so irresponsibly laid out.

Look...you have to have goals. Mine is to not break something the next time a potentially game winning drive stalls at the four with a fumble. The Bulldogs should huddle up, look at the schedule and rededicate themselves to winning the SEC.

I'm sure they don't even need to RE-dedicate themselves. It has probably always been the goal. I'm just saying that the first "dedication" didn't seem to light the fire we hoped to see.

As a fan I like to see us still in the mix. I wish we didn't have to cheer for so many other teams to hopefully lose...but isn't that just being the fan of an SEC team?

Vandy Game

A little late getting started here. The rundown so far:

Most importantly: We welcome UGA VIII.

We called all three of our timeouts within the first 5 minutes of the 1st Quarter.

Murray looks pretty good. He missed Green once and Green dropped a pass.

We've gotten a couple bad breaks. Points taken off the board on a play called back....then we pinned them inside the 5 on a punt and committed a dumb penalty to put them out to the 20. Nothing earth shattering.

Run game just scored in 2 plays. Nice!

UGA 10 Vandy 0

Overall, we look good. Just no tempo to the game yet. Lots of hiccups with timeouts, flags, reviews and such. Oh well....we're up and it looks like we came to play today.

Bad snap over the Vandy QB's head! Ball goes into the end zone..we recover.

For the 2nd time today the crowd goes apeshit on a defensive touchdown and instead...the call is overturned...taking points off the board. Ugh...they rule it a safety instead. We can't seem to celebrate without having an interruption...be it a flag..a review...whatever.

Whenever we do something good, I don't even bother clapping...I look for the flag...for the "hold everything"...it's now happened twice today.

Ok...done bitching about that. It's points. We get the ball.

Murray looks good scrambling. 11 yards. END OF QUARTER

2nd QUARTER - UGA 12 Vandy 0

Ok..back to bitching...some goon for Vandy just fully speared into Murray pure helmet on helmet contact, leading with his freakin head. NO call. As they showed slow motion helmet to helmet, Murrays head snaps back and the stupid announcer goes, "hmmm...I'm not so sure that couldn't have possibly been a potential helmet to helmet shot..." Oh really? Potentially? We're watching slow motion proof, dingleberry.

Next play...Vandy guy drapes all over Green NO flag.

We punt. We finally get a freakin call. We've got Vandy trapped inside their own ten.

Ok...we've got the ball back at their 40 due to good field position, bad Vandy punt. Go Dogs. We need points that don't get called back.

Nice run for Ealey. Of course that means he gets up limping. Perfect. Holy smokes man. No good play or break goes unpunished. Carlton Thomas looks good on the next run. First down.

Ealey back in...Chapas gets first and goal. Drive looks good. Let's stick it in the end zone.

Nice! Kris Durham. TD.

UGA 19 Vandy 0 - UGA VIII = already napping. Good boy.

I know it's Vandy, but our defensive looks pretty good today. We've given up a couple big pass plays but overall I'm pleased with the intensity and tackling.

Good play developing. We're moving the chains. Ealey looking really good today.

Ok...I am SO freakin sick of this review or not review, catch or no catch bullshit. AJ Green just made an amazing catch. They ruled it no catch. They showed the replay. He freakin caught it. It makes me nuts that they didn't even bother to review it. On top of that, these assbag announcers are sitting there making these excuses for it not being a catch. Any putz could tell you it was a catch or at least worth reviewing. Good God, man. So now we have to settle for a field goal. Piss off. I'm so tired of catch (or no catch) calls being so damn arbitrary....and it always seems to take points OFF the board for us. We're up to 21 points so far just today.

Anyhow...to hell with it.

UGA 22 Vandy 0 - HALFTIME

Wow...Kris Durham snatches the ball out of triple coverage for a 22yard 3rd down conversion. Bad idea for Murray to throw it. Great play to come down with it.

Geez...AJ Green just grabbed one and took it straight to the damn house. 50 something yards. Man oh man I am gonna miss this dude. Think we could get a miracle and he stays next year? nah...me neither. It'd sure be nice though.

UGA 29 Vandy 0

Yet another good long sustained sensible drive that leads to a TD.

I know it's Vandy...but if we weren't romping...you'd be saying, "it's VANDY!! we should be romping!"

In short...this is the UGA team we have been waiting for. It's a complete effort for the 2nd week in a row. I love to see us playing at our level instead of lowering to the competition...which we've done several times in the last few years. SEE ALSO: Kentucky game last year.

UGA 36 Vandy 0

Interception. Georgia marches down and scores again.

UGA 43 Vandy 0

3 and out for Vandy. Long day for the Commodores.

Here come the Dogs again. Let's see if Richt pulls the starters for the 4th Quarter. It would be the smart thing. Yep...Hutson Mason is in. NICE!! I like this kid.

Mason leads a nice little drive. Walsh with a rare FG miss. Glad that wasn't for the game.

Not much going on now. Still hoping for a shutout. We have 40+ two games in a row. Defense looks great when they don't get burned for huge plays. Good job getting off the field today too.

Stopped the 'Dores on 4th down. Should be a matter of a couple runs and a punt for a complete game and impressive shut out. Go Dogs!

Another impressive win. A shutout for the defense. A Tennessee sweep for the Dogs this year. Always nice.

Dogs looked pretty damned good today. Gotta say. Pretty freakin good. I am hopeful for the rest of the season.

FINAL
UGA 43, Vandy - Goose Egg

Good Dog/Bad Dog

Bad Dog: Caleb King. Does that make him UGA 11? 11 arrests. That's enough to field one side of a football team. Top notch work.

Good Dog: UGA VIII.

Best mascot in sports. A new one makes his debut on Saturday in Athens. A Thank You to Russ for filling in. Not that he realizes he filled in...he's a freakin' dog, afterall. Oh well, I'm being stupid. I'm writing a blog to thank a dog. Ok, time to stop.

Go Dogs. UGA VIII is on duty.

Rocky Bottom

It's usually bad form to celebrate the misfortunes of others. In this case...I'd even say it's bad form to celebrate the misfortune of a team that wears orange. There is not one team in the ranks of college football that wears orange that I would pity.

I will say this instead. I am really thrilled at the incredibly fortunate turn of events that allowed the Bulldogs to put together a complete and utter ass whooping on an SEC opponent today.

I hope the Tennessee faithful care about their team enough to be as miserable as they should be. That damned "Rocky Top" is the bane of my existence. I hate it on a level I cannot describe. Watching them play that song with such glee while we are down justifies my smug, contemptuous satisfaction today that the Volunteers laid an utter and complete turd sucking performance in the middle of the field and wallowed in it. Meanwhile...the Dogs righted the ship. We're still in the storm but we've aimed our bow at blue skies.

Suck it Volunteer fans...Just suck it. I am so happy that it's your turn to cry.

I have broken my rule. I am man enough to admit it. I am happy that you are shaking your head in disgust.

Oh...and by the way. Bama goes down today. Sorry Tide. You can suck it too.

Tennessee Game

I've literally been afraid to start my semi-live ranting today.

We just scored another nice TD to go up 34-7 on Tennessee. It almost makes me nervous to jinx it by blogging.

Overall...Dogs look good today, Vols look like stir fried donkey turds.

8 minutes left in the 3rd...as I write, Tenn just completed 58 yard pass.

I think I'm done for today. I'll write what I hope is a victory summary soon.

I Love The Dogs

Seriously...

No sarcasm here. I truly love the Dogs. We are 1-4 and I am still thrilled that it's football season. I've already let go of the dream. I've already let go of the what-ifs. I've already let go of salvaging the season. Now it's just Bulldogs football. It's the colors. It's a fall Saturday. It's Athens. It's the best time of the year.

I can still grill and drink beers.
The weather is still great.
The Red and Black combination is still the best.
The "G" still makes me happy.
I am making a pledge to enjoy the games ahead...I sure know I haven't enjoyed much thus far.

I have figured out what drives me crazy about the Dogs...now it's time to remember and celebrate what makes me a fan in the first place.

Go Dogs.

No TV coverage? No problem.

Evening folks.

So the Dogs just flubbed another game. Stumbled & fumbled their way to another loss to another inferior opponent.
The stomach is too turned to watch - reading Emerson's rantings & "watching" on ESPN.com (at this point, UGA ain't even good enough to warrant a blip on the ESPN3 radar. Nope - can't even see it on the old computer. Relegated to viewing the award winning graphics created by the geeks in Bristol).

Living outside of SEC viewing territory is usually annoying as all hell, but today it was a blessing. All the furniture is still intact, the dog still has all 4 limbs attached, & my knuckles ain't bleeding.
And I got to see some great games - Dartmouth & Penn went to OT in a real a nail biter/barn-burner. Edge of my seat.

But it's not all bad, as I was able to watch both Ga Tech & Alabama, & was extremely impressed by both teams - for very different reasons.
* GT - not much of a showing on the ground for a Paul Johnson team, but they were down 2 scores in the 4th qtr & pulled off a 3 pt win. Showed tons of grit, never lost focus or confidence & showed how to get it done despite playing poorly against a very mediocre team.
* Bama - wow. You just don't do that to Florida. Especially Urban Meyer's Fla team. Bama pounded them like a screen door in a hurricane. Yeah the Gators did have some stupid turnovers, & "held" the Ingram/Richardson beast in check for much of the 2nd half. But good grief. Even Bama's 3rd string RB looked like a Heisman candidate. They are the epitome of a true SEC team & exactly what I dream about when I fall asleep on the couch reading The Economist.
They play defense - really well
They run the ball - really, really well.
They force turnovers - often.
(are you reading this Mark?)

It does not seem possible nor plausible that anyone will be able to put together 4 qtrs good enough to beat the Tide.
I just don't see it.

Coach Richt - take note. Have your staff make a few dozen copies of each Bama game & give them to all your coaches. Make them watch them - every day. The whole season. They should watch as much Bama film as they do on the upcoming opponent.

That is an SEC football team, & that is what the Dogs need to strive for. Nothing less.

Colorado Game

Almost time for kickoff. Colorado is not really that good this year...but neither are we so who knows?

For what it's worth...running that stupid Buffalo is kinda cool.

1st Quarter

We kicked off. Touchback.

Lot's of empty seats in Boulder. Probably a great town for other stuff...but a bit of a shit town for college football, yeah? Can't fill a stadium in college football?

Nice...we just gave up a huge gain on a freakin' QB sneak. We've given up a TD on the opening drive THREE GAMES IN A ROW.

COLORADO 7 UGA 0

PROGRAMMING NOTE: "Good Burger" just cranked up on ABC Family.

2nd and Goal for Colorado: Touchdown. Flag on the play. Nevermind. It's on us. Everyone celebrate in Boulder. FOUR GAMES IN A ROW....we give up a TD on the first drive.

I switched to "Good Burger". Somebody call me if we do something good...

Good drive for the Dogs so far. We're in the red zone already. Bring it.

Oh well...we sputtered out. Time for a field goal.

COLORADO 7 UGA 3

...wow..."Good Burger" is under appreciated comedy gold. Aw man...wiping the tears. Hey...are the Dogs on TV yet?

Oh great...one of our guys just went down and blew out a knee. If it's not an arrest, it's an injury. Mark Richt has been given the shittiest hand in college football this year.

Just heard that CMR is one of 7 coaches to go 90 games or more without losing 3 in a row. We've now lost 3 in a row...working on 4. Argh. Go Dogs.

3 and out for Colorado. If I'm a cynic, I'm worried that we'll rough the kicker or fumble the kick. Neither happened.

Dogs have the ball. 1st Quarter still.

Hmm...3 and out for the Dogs. Time for a punt. We've got field position, at least.

Nevermind...Colorado has crossed midfield.

SECOND QUARTER - COLORADO 7 UGA 3

Colorado has the ball on our 45. 1st and 10. Let's go D.

3rd down for Colorado. HUGE PLAY...down to the 1. Wow. We suck.

We had them at a third down. They got a big play. Then an easy TD. Who are we? Are we the Dogs?

Hold up. Play under review. Is it a TD?

I'm such a cynic. I KNOW it's not a TD...but i KNOW they'll give it to him. Standby...

Yep...told ya. They gave it to him...even though the announcers totally agreed that it was most certainly NOT a TD. God bless America...

COLORADO 14 UGA 3

End around to AJ Green. Nice run for 30+ yards.

Caleb King just bulldozed and shoved his way for 20 yards. First and goal for the Dogs.

Now 3rd and goal. Big point in the game here.

Are you kidding me? If you thought AJ Green didn't matter, then watch this play and tell me he's irrelevant. The booth is reviewing this. If they say it's not a TD then I will lose all faith in football. Go Dogs.

...and by the way...best catch in college football this year goes to AJ Green.

COLORADO 14 UGA 10

So we dominate Colorado and force them 3 and out but miraculously they call roughing the passer on a busted play on 3rd down. Good God almighty...I'm tired of penalties that keep drives alive. It may seem small but it's not. Also...Colorado just got away with a HUGE hold. UGH!!! Akeem Dent is now injured...could a series of unfortunate events bone us harder? Holy smokes.

We had them OUT and punting from their goal line. NOPE!! Penalty called on us. Penalty NOT called on them. Injury to a major player. Colorado just marches on down the field unaware of their magic pixie dust.

I know I am a cynical homer for the Dogs but how can you watch these games and not conclude that we are really hexed at times. Big third down again. They throw a prayer and the crowd and Buffs can't believe that we didn't get flagged. PISS OFF!

Wow. 44 yard return and NO FLAGS! We have good field position and the zebras didn't hurt us.

UM...huge play to AJ Green for a TD. No flags. Suck it

UGA 17 COLORADO 14

OK...so I missed a big group of plays. We drove and threw an INT int the end zone. Then..they threw a pick to us.

Now..We have the ball with a minute and change trying to score before the half.

Nice play call. We complete a 3rd and 10 to Aron White for a first down.

Less than :30 left in the half. Bubble screen to Green. Nothing doing. Time for a FG.

Snap. Hold. Miss. First miss of the year for the Dogs.

So...we miss the opportunity for a TD and miss the opportunity for a FG. That's 10 points boofed in a couple minutes. If you don't believe that we do this as a habit then read my blog. We always find a way to drive to the cusp. The cusp of greatness is where we do our bed shitting. Unreal. I love the Dogs but that's the solid truth comin' at you. We blow it at the moment of greatness.

HALFTIME
UGA 17 COLORADO 14

We'll get the kickoff. Let's see what happens. We've really let them hang around, to be honest.

Here we go...

3rd QUARTER

Blown up at the 15. Ugh.

Busted play. Murray scrambles. Steps out of bounds 1 yard short of the first.

Long pass to Green. He's covered. No matter. He hauls it in. May have gotten away with a bit of offensive pushing. Dogs in the red zone. Nice run by Thomas. Chapas for a first and goal. Time to score, boys. Can't whiff on three drives.

Verge of success...here goes...

Holding on CU. 1st and Goal from the 2 for the Dogs. Standby for the update...

All signs would point to awesome for UGA. Will we convert? These are the situations that kill me as a Dogs fan. Jesus...Go Dogs.

And....

1st down - No gain.
2nd Down - Touchdown. NOPE. Flag. Illegal shift.
2nd Down again - Murray runs for nothing.
3rd and Goal - Touchdown!
...and...
No Flags! It actually counts.

Sidenote: AJ Green is laying on the sidelines in pain with trainers around him. Sweet. Always some bitter salt with the sugar.

UGA 24 COLORADO 14

Vance Cuff just delivered the hit of the year for the Dogs. Lit that bastard up. Nice!

So a big play for Colorado. 68 yards. Flag on the play. Nevermind. It's on us. Are you surprised? I'm not. Wow. 1st and goal for them again, suddenly.

Huge play: 3rd and Goal for Colorado. They're down 10. Let's see what we've got.

We had the QB sacked at the 12. He scrambles for a TD. There's your answer. We've got nothing. Oh...and they tricked us for a 2pt conversion. We're only up 2 and they've got the huge swing of emotion and momentum. Jesus Christ it's hard to be a Bulldog this year. It truly is...

UGA 24 COLORADO 22

I am going to predict a fumble on the kickoff or a really stupid play on our part. Will it be an onside kick? Will it be a holding call? Will it be a stupid play that traps us at the one? Who knows? I'm just saying we'll do something monumentally stupid here.

And...my prediction...? Wrong. Decent return to the 30 or so. Go Dogs.

Two bad runs and a sack. AJ Green on the sidelines. Time to punt. Crowd goes crazy. Trouble for the Dogs, folks.

Oh look, we got burned big time for a huge play and the other team is in the red zone on us again. Shocking.

Ok. Big 3rd Down. We stop them here and we're in business. Hmmm...big play for a catch at the one. They rule it as no catch.

So...every single time I've ever seen a catch like this ruled on...it's been called "no catch". Ha ha! No catch. Piss off. Personally...I think it was a catch. However, if it was ruled as such, it would run counter to all the calls I've seen lately.

No matter. Colorado hits a field goal after a huge stop...and...FLAG!!!

So...now Colorado gets a MIRACLE call that puts them in a first down situation from the 10. Nevermind going ahead by a field goal...they get a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

COLORADO 29 UGA 24

I am officially a pessimistic realist.

I absolutely cannot stand it. I cannot believe it. Every time the Dogs get something good, it's negated. Including the fact that AJ Green is currently sitting in the locker room with some mystery injury. Including the fact that crazy plays keep going against them. ALL YEAR LONG!!!

Ok...it's now 3rd and long. All momentum is lost. Green is out and we're losing. Here goes. Time out UGA because we were gonna get a delay flag.

Here goes again. 0-3 Colorado suddenly looks like Alabama. Awesome.

Sacked. Perfect. Go Dogs. So we're punting from our own end zone.

Colorado has the lead. The momentum. The ball. Field Position. Luck. And home field.

2 minutes and change left in the 3rd.

COLORADO 29 UGA 24

3rd and 7. Can we stop them?

Yes. Nice job. Time for Colorado to punt. Can we get a break? Can we actually drive the ball without penalty or turnover?

Let's see....

So far. So good. First down. Good running plays. Nice toss to Orson Charles. Dogs on the move. End of the 3rd.

FOURTH QUARTER
COLORADO 29 UGA 24

AJ Green...STILL in the locker room. Really? We haven't been punished enough? Seriously? THIS is the time for bad luck? Wow. Injuries. Penalties. Arrests. It's always one or more of these. ALWAYS.

Ok...my old lady rant paid off. Here comes Green. We're back in the red zone. Nice run by Caleb King. First and Goal.

2nd and Goal - incomplete to Green. He got mugged. no flag. awesome.
3rd and Goal - batted down. and...flag on us. Time for FG.
4th and Goal - FG is good.

COLORADO 29 UGA 27

Can I say it enough times? Can I? EVERY SINGLE TIME that we are on the verge of something good we screw it up. GOD BLESS it. Every time. Sputter out. Flag. Interception. Missed field goal. Turnover. Alien invasion. Menstruation. Something.

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Sabado Gigante on Univision. Bull Riding on Versus. Hannah Montana Forever (Double Dose) on Disney.

CU fumble. No worries. They not only recover...but it's good for a first down! WOOO!!!! YES!!

Huge sack. They threw a flag on us but waived it off. Miracle. Jesus.

Ok...huge play coming up. 3rd down and 13 for Colorado at their own 28.

We tie him up. Huge coverage sack...nevermind...their QB scrambles. Missed tackle. HUGE COMPLETION FOR A FIRST!!

We suck. We cannot get off the field. This is the most frustrating UGA team I've ever watched. Colorado has burned at least 5 minutes. Clock still ticks. 4th Down.

Colorado goes for it and gets it. Wow. They are gonna run the clock from over 12 minutes down to about 3 minutes or so and score. Jesus.

Another 3rd down. Can we make them kick? It's close. Let's see. No way. He's short. Stand by for the refs to screw us...and..

YEP!!! They screwed us. No way in hell he got that.

Tick Tock. Down to 5 minutes. They're at our 25.

Big hit by Boykin. Run play gets nothing. Tick Tock.

3rd and long. Can we stop them? Yes. We finally stopped them. I'm surprised there is no flag against us. Dowtin crushed the QB. Still time for us to screw up on fourth down. No worries.

SITUATION UPDATE: COLORADO 29 UGA 27
4 minutes left. 4th down for COLORADO at our 30 something. Kick or punt? Or...go for it?

They are kicking a FG....here goes....no good. Suck it!!

SITUATION UPDATE ON THE SITUATION UPDATE:

Our ball on our own 35. 3:42 on the clock. Just need a FG to win.

I want to be an optimistic, awesome, positive, fun UGA fan...but I'm not. I'm a realist and a bit of a bastard. I want us to win so badly but I am afraid (based on performance) that we'll mess it up.

Here we go:

1st Down - Complete to T. King. 10 yards.
1st Down - Complete to C. King 4 yards.
2nd - Complete to Chapas. First Down.
1st Down - Caleb king run. first down.

GAME NOTE: I had Bison stew for dinner. Total coincidence. My wife brought Ted's Montana Grill home for dinner.

So back to the Dogs.

Situational Update to the pessimistic fat bastard update to the angry dogs blogger ranting update:

We are close enough to kick and win. There's just over a minute to go. We should run 2 or three times, kick and win. Let's see if we can get out of our own way and actually succeed. Here goes:

1st Down. 1:59 left. Ball on CU 25.

We fumble. They recover.

Colorado runs it out to the 44. Missed tackles. The crowd goes wild. We call our last timeout.

Colorado will snap two more times and win.

Can I say this more? Can I be more clear? We fail at the critical moment. It is unreal. It is not possible. It is out of control.

FINAL
COLORADO 29 UGA 27

By the way...Colorado fans stormed the field. Really? You just beat a 1-3 team....boosting your record to 1-3. Great win boys.

Adversity

Today we are as bad as we have been in 17 years. Today we stare into the intimidating eyes of adversity. There is nothing fun about it. And there are only two choices. Blink and give in, or take a deep breath and decide to keep staring until the confidence to take a step forward arrives. That step may be small. It may be clunky. But forward is the only direction to move when faced with adversity. It defines teams. It defines character. It sets the tempo for change. Everyone knows how they react when things are going well. How do we act when we face adversity?

Well, I can't quantify it via the metric system but I'd safely assess that the size and weight of our current adversity quotient is hovering somewhere between a lot and a shitload.

Go Dogs. Move forward.

And for those of you calling for Richt's job, please find another team to cheer for immediately. Critique and comment? Yes. Call for his job? Suck it. Not this year. Not next.