Really?

I had a post typed up on Sunday morning.  Driving back from Jacksonville, there was a lot of stuff that I could say about the game.  About the absolute futility that Georgia played with, the play-calling, the bad decisions.  I thought better of it.

You see, I don't like to make rash decisions.  Logically, things can be 

thought out very well, even in bleak situations.  It just takes about 36 hours to process.  And I'm glad that I didn't post the incredibly negative blog that I churned out on the drive home.  One, because it appears that Adam pretty much had that standpoint covered.  Two, Pesci likely would have to be put on suicide watch.  And three, because in the end, the Bulldogs are going to be just fine.

Some of you know this, but I grew up a Georgia Tech fan.  And that has weathered a lot of my natural expectations of football games.  Starting out a preseason top five team and finishing the season unranked?  Losing to Duke by 40 points?  Not being able to remember the last time we beat our rival?  That is the kind of stuff that should have fans talking the way I hear Georgia fans talking right now.

"But they're Georgia Tech," I hear you saying to yourself.  "They don't have the national prestige that we do."  And I understand that, I really do.  Which is why I point to you

 the two nationally prominent SEC teams who started out in the top 15 this year and are now probably not going to be bowl-eligible.  Compare that to this year, which is undoubtedly the Bulldogs most disappointing season in ten years, and you realize that it's not the end of the world.

Adam's post hit the nail on the head when he said that Georgia fans are awesome at anointing themselves the preseason number one.  I'm guilty of it as well, even having experienced it from the other side.  We're not the number one team right now.  It's possible that we could have been at the beginning of the year, but injuries made it impossible to live up to the expectations.  So the Bulldogs will likely finish 11-2, with a finish in the top 10 in the BCS and a likely Capital One Bowl victory over the Golden Gophers.  Re-read that last sentence, and let me reiterate that this is probably the most disappointing season the Bulldogs have had in so long.

I've heard a lot of ludicrous statements this season.  Starting from Penn State fans asserting that "Georgia has been exposed as 'not a good football team'" to justify why they should be ranked over Alabama.  That's fine, Big Ten fans aren't known for their logic.  But it's continued on to hearing Georgia fans grow increasingly desperate.  In the past 24 hours, I've heard how "I don't feel good about Kentucky next weekend," how "we're going to lose to Georgia Tech," that "South Carolina is going to kick our ass next year" and "we don't stand a chance against Florida next year either."  And quite frankly, I'm disgusted.

You see, Saturday's game was embarrassing.  I spent $200 for my ticket, psyched myself up for the game, and then walked five 

miles back to my hotel through a Gator motorcade, enduring plenty of taunting.  And every step I took, every chomp that I witnessed, I grew more infuriated.  However, I realize in retrospect that there was absolutely no way that Georgia was going to win that game.

I'm not going to come out and say that the referees were the reason the Georgia lost the game.  As much of a difference as momentum can make, Georgia was punched in the teeth to the tune of near 40 points, and I can't attribute that to bad calls.  That being said, the referees were AWFUL.  I saw Penn Wagers before the game started, and I felt bad from that point on.  I'm sure that he felt that Georgia made a spectacle of his crew last year, and he wasn't going to allow that to happen this year.  I don't know if he was consciously giving calls to Florida, subconsciously making sure that the Bulldogs didn't get a benefit of a doubt, or if it was sheer incomptence, but Penn Wagers missed a lot of calls.  Enough that Mark Richt would have a case if he submitted a formal complaint to the SEC.  Which he won't.

In addition to the referees, I'm sure you all saw Stafford limping after the first series.  He was getting pounded every play, and was able to get little-to-no pressure off of his back leg.  When Florida stacked the box to take Knowshon out of the game, the game depended on Stafford's ability to make the big throw.  Without the support his back leg would normally give him, this obviously was not happening, as was painfully evident on the interception to the 1 yard line.

The Georgia defense is getting a lot of criticism.  This is good and bad.  The good news is because Willie Martinez is squirming on the hot seat right now.  I think everyone who reads this blog knows how I feel about that.  The bad part, however, is that Georgia's defense really did not play that bad.  It's pretty easy to allow 50 points when half of your opponent's drives start in their red zone.  Especially when you're playing a team like Florida.

Mike Bobo is also suddenly on the hot seat right now.  I don't know how I feel about that.  Yes, play calling inside the 20 has been extraordinarily suspect this season.  But I'm more concerned with Georgia completely abandoning the run against Florida the same way they did against Alabama.  You can't blame Bobo for Stafford throwing the ball behind Tripp Chandler or for him missing a wide open Massaquoi a number of times.  And for those of you who that find other things to blame for him, I implore that you recall the play-calling that was present when Mark Richt was calling the plays.  I recall a number of games where the only offense was Andy Bailey missing field goals.

Saturday afternoon was embarrassing.  Georgia is no longer going to win the SEC, and Florida fans mocked us.  I'm as disappointed as all of you, because I want

ed a national title for my senior year of college.  But guess what?  Knowshon and Stafford are probably not leaving school early after this debacle.  A.J. Green will still be here.  Jeff Owens a

nd Trinton Sturdivant will be back.  We lose more this year than we did last year, with MoMass and Ellerbe likely being drafted, but we're still keeping most of our core.  We're not going to turn into a Miami or a Florida State, falling into irrelevance.  So please, Georgia fans, keep your heads high.  There are at least four more games this season, and if they're not as loud and exciting as the previous nine, then we're going to appear every bit the fair-weather fans that we've been labeled.  And that will mark the end of the season more than any embarrassing loss.