I'm baaaack! Did you miss me?

Okay. So I took a week off after the loss to Florida. Big deal. Who didn't know that the Dawgs would go to Jacksonville and lose the game, right? Why write about it or even care very much about it. This season is what it is and no amount of wringing hands or gnashing of teeth will change it, at this point.

I'm not going to lie to you; I watched the entire Florida game. This gave me the chance to really look at the team with more scrutiny and more objectivity than I had before. I knew going in that the Dawgs were going to lose the game. That was pretty much a given. The team had not played up to its potential all year. The closest they came was against a terrible Vanderbilt team, but even that "easy" win left me with a lot of questions.

Going into the Florida game, especially after seeing the team come out on black pants and black helmets, I knew the coaching staff had all but given up. Thankfully the team didn't and actually played a pretty good game. The exception being Joe Cox who completely lost his head in that game. The 2nd half would reveal that the wheels had, indeed come off the wagon and when they put Logan Gray in an impossible situation where he predictably laid the proverbial egg it was clear that not only did the wagon not have wheels, it had lost a couple of its drivers as well. Good teams don't need to resort to gimmicks (the uniforms) or tricks (Logan Gray in at an awful time of the game). So it just confirmed what I had already decided midway through the Tennessee game - this is just not a very good team.

So in comes Tennessee Tech. A team who had actually inquired about me when I was playing high school football back in Macon, Georgia. I was going to a small private school (our graduating class had 50 people in it) so me being a 6' 00", 225 lb. offensive and defensive tackle was not that strange. I held my own back then. Enough so that even only having played one year in a league where kids typically grow up in that league I garnered honorable mention for all-state honors. Tennessee Tech was one of 3 schools who gave me a look, only to decide that I was too small to be a lineman and too slow to be a linebacker. But enough about me...

Anyway, Tennessee Tech came to town for UGA's homecoming. It was expected that the team would perform well against a much-inferior opponent from a lesser football conference and division. The Dawgs did not disappoint and dismantled the Golden Eagles, just as they should have. The game was as much about boosting confidence, as anything else. In the years pre-Damon Evans, the team would typically schedule a couple of lesser teams to allow UGA to get their feet wet and find a groove. They were not allowed that luxury this year. In those same pre-Damon years, the fans got tired of hearing about the weak out of conference schedule so they put pressure on the Athletics Dept. to schedule tougher games, which they have done. I guess the fans should be careful what they wish for, huh? The team performed well, except for those dadgum, ever-present penalties and UGA coasted to an easy win.

This week, the Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles come to town with a revamped offense and a pretty good defense. I'll have more on the game as the week progresses, but suffice it to say that when a team UGA plays uses an offense that is a departure from the norm, under Willie Martinez, UGA struggles. I can remember times when I would wonder if Willie had even taken the time to review any film or do any game study on the opposition the week before a game. In a year where his fate is uncertain, why should we believe he would do anything differently than what he has done in the past?

More to follow...