I’m going to offer a handful of observations, after which I personally would prefer never to speak of this again:

• As I alluded to in the early comment thread, I felt worse and worse about this game the closer we got to kickoff. The more I thought about the bye week, and the Florida Gators’ desperation, and the return to health of a few Floridians who were at less than 100 per cent during the Sunshine State Saurians’ losing streak, the more worried I became.
• Related to that point, how lucky can one team in a given rivalry get? We never catch these guys when they have key guys out, the way Mississippi State caught them; they invariably catch us at the most inopportune times (i.e., during the one game D.J. Shockley was injured in 2005). For crying out loud, Florida benefited from its own false start penalties, which erased positive Georgia plays on more than one occasion in a game in which the Orange and Blue were penalized nine times to the Bulldogs’ two. The ludicrous extent to which random chance favors the Gators would be comical, if it weren’t so gut-wrenching.
• The Georgia Bulldogs wore their silver britches, but they also brought their silver platters, on which they offered up this game to the Orange and Blue. Three first-half turnovers became 14 Florida points, and a Trey Burton fumble that should’ve been fallen on inside the Gators’ 15 yard line instead was returned to the Floridians possession when a Bulldog defender foolishly attempted a scoop and score; thus, a play that ought to have produced a Georgia drive beginning in the opponent’s red zone instead extended an Orange and Blue touchdown march. At worst, the Red and Black should have held a 10-0 halftime lead. The Bulldogs gave the Gators everything they got in the first half.
• We’ve all been waiting for Aaron Murray to have a game in which he looked like a redshirt freshman, and now the other shoe has dropped. Despite an atrocious start, though, the Georgia quarterback came back to post a respectable stat line (18 of 37 for 313 yards). He threw three touchdown passes and turned the ball over four times (three interceptions and a fumble); had his touchdowns and his turnovers been even, we’d have won the game.
• It really was as close as the final score indicated. Florida led by one in first downs (23-22) and by eleven yards in total offense (450-439). Had Georgia held the ball for 38 more seconds, the two teams’ time of possession would have been identical.
• While this loss feels a lot like the Arkansas game, there is one critical difference: questionable coaching doomed the ‘Dawgs against the Razorbacks, but the Georgia staff generally coached a good game this time. The game plan and the in-game adjustments generally were good, aside from our continued inability to defend the wheel route. By the way, for everyone who was worried about “third and Grantham” after last week, the Bulldogs converted eight of 15 third downs while limiting Florida to four of 14 on third down and stopping the Gators short on their one fourth-down try. After allowing 21 first-half points in spite of a key defensive stop to start the game, Georgia held Florida to ten points in the final 30 minutes of regulation play.
• How much does that bye week matter? Healthy returning players and a retooled offense made a world of difference for the Gators. The folks who say we should move the Georgia-Florida game are right, but the change should be a chronological one, not a geographic one. The Bulldogs are 8-14 all-time against the Gators in October and 39-26-2 against them in November. We don’t need the game to be nearer; we need it to be later.
• We still can’t get over the hump, but, even in defeat, the ‘Dawgs at least reversed the trend of the last two games, which were disasters. As lopsided as the series recently has been in the record book, the fact remains that, between 1990 and 1998, seven of nine meetings were decided by margins of at least 20 points, but six of the last nine have been settled by a touchdown or less.
• I am proud of this team for fighting through the adversity. Down 21-7 at the half and knowing Florida would get the ball to start the third quarter, this Georgia team fought where the two previous Bulldog squads folded. The defense came up with a big stop to start the second half, after which the offense drove 65 yards and kicked a field goal. The defense forced a three-and-out, then the offense answered with a touchdown. The heart shown by the Bulldogs makes the loss hurt worse, but, when the sun rises tomorrow (and it will), it will make the future appear more bright. I’m disappointed to a degree I lack the vocabulary adequately to describe, but I’m not sorry for believing in this team.
• Chris Rainey caught two passes for nine yards, returned six kickoffs for 148 yards, and ran the ball 16 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. Prior to today’s game, Rainey also was arrested after texting “time to die” to a woman, was dismissed from the team, agreed to a deferral to a misdemeanor charge, and was reinstated to the team following the Gators’ three-game losing streak. Given the fates met by Michael Lemon, Montez Robinson, Zach Mettenberger, and Demetre Baker in Athens, I don’t think there’s any doubt that, had Rainey been a Bulldog, Mark Richt would have dismissed him from the team, and he would have stayed dismissed from the team. I watched today’s game with my seven-year-old son, and I was able to look him in the eye afterward and feel comfortable with having taught him to cheer for Mark Richt’s team. While I would have been happier with the result, I wouldn’t have been able to have looked him in the eye and felt comfortable with having taught him to cheer for Urban Meyer’s team.

Go ‘Dawgs!

We all wanted to see this game one day from Washaun Ealey.

In last week’s game against Kentucky, Ealey rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries and a school record five touchdowns.

It was a game that was needed from him, because he did not have a great start to the season, as he was making costly mistakes and not running with the same aggression like he has in the last two games.

Now, the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators and in order for Georgia to come away with a win, Ealey has to play at a high level.

He does not have to put up the same numbers as he did last week, but the Bulldogs have to run the ball effectively in order to control the clock to keep the Florida offense off the field.

One thing Georgia has to watch during the game is Ealey’s knee, as he suffered a MCL sprain last week against Kentucky and there’s a chance he won’t start the game Saturday due to his limitations during practice.

However, Ealey has said that he will be ready to go because it’s only a bone bruise. If he doesn’t get the start, then the Bulldogs will have to go with Caleb King, who is coming back from a two-game suspension.

Both backs will be needed in order for the Bulldogs to win the game against the Gators, but Ealey is a running back that can break a run for an 80-yard score because of his speed.

That can be crucial in a game like this, because over the last 20 years in the Georgia-Florida series, Florida has had a swagger and thrived on big plays. If Ealey can make a big play, such as a big touchdown run, that would give Georgia a lot of momentum and they would steal the swagger that Florida has gained.

Florida doesn’t allow a lot of points, as the defense averages 18 points allowed per game, but they do give up a lot of rushing yards with 131 yards, which ranks eighth in the conference. That is going to be key, because for the majority of the season, Georgia has struggled to run the ball and it’s only been the last three games they have been able to run effectively on a consistent basis.

They have to get Ealey going early, and that way, Aaron Murray can work the play action pass to A.J. Green. If that works, the Bulldogs will be in control of the ballgame.

The most important thing for Georgia is everyone has to do their part in order to beat a team like Florida. Murray has to have a big game, Green has to make plays and the defense has to play like it’s their last game of the season.

But, the wild card for Georgia has to be Ealey. He is coming off one of the best performances for a running back in Athens, and what better way to top that than with a strong performance against a team that has frustrated the Bulldogs the last 20 years?

Read more Georgia Bulldogs Football news on BleacherReport.com

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Anybody who saw Cam Newton juke, jive and accelerate on what is quickly becoming his season-defining play last week against LSU knows why he is atop our latest Heisman standings. Newton bull-rushed up the middle like a cannon, kept his balance when a would-be tackler swatted for his ankles, avoided several other tacklers and turned on the turbo jets for the final 20 yards of his incredible 49-yard touchdown run in a 24-17 win. Newton has proved to be the best player in the country on a consistent basis, not only because he is averaging 305 yards of total offense a game, but because he is leading his team to wins in close games with his arms and his legs. Auburn has five wins this season by eight points or less, and the difference maker has been Newton. If that is not enough to win a trophy as the “most outstanding” player in the country, then what is?

As if the college football season wasn’t crazy enough already, it’s about to get crazier.

We have seen Michigan start off 5-0 with a potential Heisman quarterback fall in two straight games, Texas starting off 3-2 and then beat No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln, Auburn put up 65 against Arkansas, and the first BCS rankings have Oklahoma No. 1.

But I think the most exciting thing to watch for the remainder of this season will be the race for the SEC Title game.

The SEC West has undefeated teams such as Auburn and LSU, and then there is that Alabama team who is pretty good as well. Then the SEC East has turned into the sloppy division that has suddenly become wide open with South Carolina on top but then Florida and Georgia sitting in their backseat.

It really is going to be fun to watch, but who will make it to the Georgia Dome to play for an SEC Title and a BCS bid?

The Georgia Bulldogs claimed their first road win of the season in Lexington on Saturday night, confirming the correctness of the feel good stat of the week in a wild game in which the Kentucky Wildcats never truly threatened to claw their way back into the contest yet never really went away, either. In the end, Kentucky turnovers and Washaun Ealey touchdowns were the difference in a shootout.

It is with great pride, therefore, that I am able to update the Mark Richt Victory Watch. This evening, Mark Richt carded his 94th career triumph to pull within 107 wins of tying Vince Dooley for the school record.

After spending 125 games strolling the sideline for the Red and Black, Mark Richt sports a 94-31 record and a .752 winning percentage. This puts him well ahead of the only two of his 24 predecessors to have coached that many games as the Bulldogs’ skipper.

Wally Butts, the second-winningest coach in Georgia history and one of the namesakes of the athletic department headquarters building in Athens, had an 85-33-7 record and a .708 winning percentage after 125 games. Vince Dooley, the winningest coach in Georgia history and the namesake of the athletic complex in Athens, had an 81-39-5 record and a .668 winning percentage at the same point.

Go ‘Dawgs!