A spoonful of sugar is not enough to hide the bitterness of that beat down in Oxford. We can rationalize all we want, thrusting our excuses in front of us to shield our egos from the brutal truth – the Dawgs got their butts kicked. Ole Miss shook off Georgia’s early interception and score, then went to work on both sides of the ball, methodically one-upping the Bulldogs, seemingly, at every turn.

Lane Kiffin brought his Rebels to Athens one year ago, where the Dawgs tattooed them 52-17. Yes, the Bulldogs roster is different. The Georgia offense was especially hard hit by the NFL Draft, with stars Brock Bowers, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Ladd McConkey moving to the pro ranks, losses felt keenly in the game against Ole Miss. But Ole Miss also had postseason turnover. Kiffin, however, took a different approach to roster recovery.

If we look hard enough, we will find many excuses for the humbling loss in Oxford, but the elephant in the room is Lane Kiffin’s ability to strengthen his roster through the portal. Did you hear any of these names called during the broadcast? All 11 are portal acquisitions – Jaxson Dart, Tre Harris, Antwane Wells Jr., Henry Parrish Jr., Ulysses Bentley IV, Caden Prieskorn, Walter Nolen, JJ Pegues, Princely Umanmielen, Chris Paul, and Trey Amos. Kiffin has shown that he can contend for the conference championship by flipping traditional roster building on its head and grabbing achievers from around the country through payroll expansion.

The game has changed.

The impact of the transfer portal on today’s college football is undeniable. There are now two valid recruiting streams: the traditional high school approach and transfer portal recruiting. Like many others, Coach Smart prefers the valid approach of developing and supplementing his roster with the occasional transfer. The knee-jerk reaction after this loss is to declare that portal recruiting is superior to mining high schools, and it is undeniable that good portal choices produce results more quickly than filling a positional need through recruiting and developing.

Can we expect big changes in how UGA does business after the Ole Miss loss? In a word, no. Coaches don’t rip up the designs they have been teaching since spring practice with three games left in the season. Georgia’s issues don’t have an easy fix sitting quietly on the bench waiting for his Stetson Bennett moment.

What’s left for Georgia to change this season’s trajectory after the struggles in Oxford? As Kirby often says, “We’ve got to play better.”