[su_spacer size=”20″] Bye weeks give players time to relax, clear their minds, and heal their bodies. It also gives coaches a chance to drop football into neutral for a moment and focus on other aspects of their jobs. But for fans, believe it or not, bye weeks can be great emotional roller coasters. Makes no sense, does it? Players and coaches have to take an entirely different view of a football season than that of fans. Teams must approach each game in a vacuum. Nothing else matters except the next step. Teams cannot dwell on the past, and they cannot project the possibilities of the future. For football teams to be successful, they must focus on the here and now. Well, after the “Marvel in Michigan” and now the most recent “Godsend at Grant Field”, plus some other weekend results, Georgia Bulldog fans jumped aboard the “Great American Scream Machine” and found their collective stomachs tied up in knots. Because, hey…that’s what fans are supposed to do.
[su_spacer size=”40″] From the beginning of this season until now, how did the bye week affect the perception of Mark Richt and his 2015 Bulldog squad? UGA fans were taking time all over social media to “connect the dots” so to speak. Playing the “what if” game has become all too familiar and painful for the Dawg Nation over the last handful of seasons. So, from a purely fan perspective, let us review, dissect, and decipher what we think we know at this point; because if we’ve learned anything so far this season, it is we know that we know nothing. So here it goes.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia has an awful resume. If you look just beyond the 5 – 2 record the Dawgs are sporting, you will find some disturbing facts. If this Bulldog squad were a prizefighter, they would be accused of merely beating “tomato cans”. The teams Georgia has beaten have a combined win/loss record of 15 – 21. The only team Georgia has defeated with a winning record is Southern University, an FCS team. Further, the Dawgs have played five (5) SEC contests. The three victories they have scored on SEC opponents have been against the bottom feeders of the East, who have a combined record of 10 – 12.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Most fans will agree that Alabama is the measuring stick for the SEC, and in many previous seasons, all of college football. As much as Georgia would like to find itself in the conversation as being one of the better teams in the FBS, the facts this season just don’t support that. After four consecutive victories, Georgia had a chance to prove they belonged by inviting the Crimson Tide into Athens. Alabama dispatched the Dawgs with a whimper as they rolled over Georgia 38 – 10 between the hedges. Alabama used a relatively inexperienced quarterback, a young receiving corps, and a stout defense to stifle Georgia all game long.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Now, had Georgia reached the bye week with just the loss to the Tide, perception may not be as bleak as “Twitter feeds” made it out to be this weekend. But there are additional mitigating factors and fans love to extrapolate values based on results of contests that do involve and sometimes don’t involve their team. In the past several weeks, Georgia fans have seen the Dawgs blow a 21-pt. lead to Tennessee in Knoxville, barely squeak by a Missouri team with an excellent defense and awful offense, saw the Gators give an undefeated LSU team all they wanted in a loss in Death Valley, and saw Tennessee give Alabama a real run for their money in Tuscaloosa using a very young offensive line. So, Georgia fans are asking themselves based on what they have seen so far, what is this Bulldog team?
[su_spacer size=”40″] We know miracles happen! Michigan State had a 0.02% chance to beat Michigan with less than 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech may have shocked the world with a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown with no time left on the clock to stop a 5-game losing skid and send Florida State packing from the ranks of the unbeaten. But is there any reason at all for fans to believe in a Georgia “miracle” in Jacksonville? The Dawgs’ play this season, when compared to what we have seen from the “Swamp Lizards”, would suggest a resounding “NO”! But that’s the funny thing about football. It doesn’t matter what the fans think. It doesn’t matter what is written. It doesn’t matter what is said. Belief has to come from within, and games are not played on paper. The Bulldogs are truly standing at a crossroads. With all that has gone wrong and all the things that appear to be against them, the SEC East is still within Georgia’s grasp. Fans are watching and hoping. Will Georgia players and coaches show a maturation and growth that should have come from this season’s adversity or will they continue a perceived slide into mediocrity? We will know the answer to that in about a week. One thing is for sure. As long as there is college football, the possibility of miracles will never cease. And there are “NO BONES ‘BOUT THAT.”
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