A different meaning of the Georgia-Auburn game

For a long time, especially as a result of calling the Peach State home, the Auburn game was usually circles on the calendar. When you live in and around Auburn fans and other supporters, it’s hard not to get your blood going for The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

Georgia and Auburn is like two siblings going against one another. The thing about siblings is, you don’t always have to like them. That’s the case with the Bulldogs and the Wartiglesmen.

But for me, the Auburn game means a lot more, and something different.

It all started back two years ago, really in the final minutes of the game.

On the late-game pass thrown by an Auburn quarterback that Georgia had the audacity to dismiss for stealing from his own teammates (I refuse to refer to the fluke play by name), when the ball was deflected in the air, I just knew…maybe from the perpetual heartache of being a Georgia fan, that it would not end well. And course, it didn’t.

Now, like everyone else, I was devastated. Our dog, a 45-pound pit mix, was probably also nervous from all the yelling at the TV from the late-game turning of events.

So, of course, a few minutes go by. And then, Mrs. Lugnut Dawg decides that something is needed to make me feel better. At that moment, she tells me that we’re expecting our first child. All I know is that if Georgia would have won and our daughter would have been born a boy, his name would have most likely been Aaron!

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Flash forward to 2014.

On the Friday morning before the game, I was primed and ready to go, already making plans for what time to head to Athens on Saturday for not only the Auburn game, but Todd Gurley’s return. That all changed around 2 p.m.

While at work, I got the call that few want to receive. It was one informing me that our daughter’s trip to see her pediatrician was much more serious, and that the next stop was a trip straight to the ER of the local Children’s Hospital.

21 or so days later, she was out of the hospital and has improved in multiple areas since then.

The funny thing is, when telling Georgia fans about the initial trip to the hospital, usually say, ‘well, it was the weekend of the Auburn game…”

In a way, our daughter has been defined by the Auburn game.

Either way, she’ll be decked out this Saturday from our home in red and black cheering on the Dawgs with us!

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

And we still don’t know

On Saturday, before everything hit the bed, myself and few of my other tailgating comrades in arms were mushing over so many aspects of what we thought may or may not happen on the field at a sloshy Sanford Stadium.

One comment that was said still sticks out…”we don’t know how good we are.”

Honestly, I’m still not sure how good…or bad this team is.

This team isn’t as good as it looked against South Carolina. As we’ve seen, bad teams make other teams look great, and Spurrier’s bunch are a very bad football team that may not win four games. One concern that I had Saturday was, ‘what if Lambert looked good because USC’s defense is that bad?’ That turned out to be right, in a way.

At the same time, this team isn’t as bad as it looked on Saturday. A very motivated Alabama team had something to do with that. Bama came out of the corner swinging desperate punches like its life depending on it, and it showed. Why Georgia didn’t show that desperation? That’s another post for another time. Alabama found some holes in Georgia’s defense and exposed them (vulnerability to covering the tight end finally caught up), and Lambert’s first look at a top of the line defense exposed how to easily rattle him.

Still, there is something to be said about how much field position and Georgia having to go away from its running game turned things on Saturday.

It’s a broken record, and I tire of saying it, but despite the loss, all things are still in reach for this team. Is Georgia as good as it looked against USC? No. But it’s not as bad as it looked on Saturday as well.

Lugnut Dawg

Jacksonvilling, A Georgia Tradition

38-20.

The winning team with more than 400 rushing yards.

The losing team’s fans taking to social media to rip the losing coach to shreds, some calling for his firing.

On paper, and if you asked anyone outside the Georgia fan base the past week, they’ve have surmised that it would have been Georgia with the 38 points and gaudy rushing yards, and Florida with the loss and possibly placing the red tag in Will Muschamp’s locker.

Then again, none of those fans know that us Georgia fans know all too well. There’s a little thing called Jacksonville, and for whatever reason, Georgia’s more underwhelming performances happen at Everbank Field. It may not be a true neutral site, but that can’t be an excuse to let down after let down. Go back in Mark Richt’s tenure and better Georgia teams have either struggled to beat, or lose to inferior Florida teams.

But Saturday? It took it to another level. In terms of losses under Mark Richt, it, to me is among the top three most shameful, in the same breath as the 2006 Sugar Bowl and 2008 against Georgia Tech.

It’s unconscionable that a team that rolls over Mizzou and Arkansas, on the road, to be blunt, just seemed uninterested in being there on Saturday. More baffling? This team’s worst performances this year have come off open dates. I mean, if this coaching staff has problems keeping players sharp, why the heck not scrimmage someone like Buford High on open weekends?

The officials Saturday? They were bad, as usual. Was Gurley missed? Yes, but it wouldn’t have meant much with the way Georgia was beaten up front.

But it’s funny, in a way. Saturday may have been the final laugh for Georgia toward the Muschamp era at Florida. Instead, it is one that Florida fans will always remember, and remind Georgia fans with infamy – very similar to Georgia’s 1985 win over top-ranked Florida. And, depending on what happens the rest of the year, could be the turning point for Richt’s turnaround during the past three seasons. Sure, it’s post-game gut reactions, but all I know is a lot of Richt apologists last night appeared to be tired of defending Richt, and may be finally resolving that maybe their loyalty needs to be reevaluated.

At the end of the day, the problem is this. Georgia fans are asking themselves why this team has put together another underwhelming showing in a game it had no business losing going in. And it happens season after season.

Saturday was a chance to continue moving this program forward. Instead, it took multiple steps back, and it may need a win over Auburn in two weeks to get back on track.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg

Style points or not, it’s all about the wins from now on

– To quote the noted orator from Faber College, “nothing is over until we decide it is!”

In the midst of the fog of despair of the loss to USC-East, one thought, though tough to swallow, is that the pursuit of the SEC East was still within this team’s control. It gets old having that mindset for the Georgia program, but that is the reality with the way the schedule sets up.

All of a sudden, the game next month at Mizzou is very, very large. Funny thing is, it was one of the biggest worries of the season going in – back to back road trips to Fayetteville and Mizzou won’t be easy.

The bottom line is this – it doesn’t matter how you win in this league as long as you win. From here on out, it’s win out and you head to Atlanta. The wins still count the same amount, regardless of how hideous they look.

That’s how I look at the Tennessee win. Was it a bland victory in some ways? Yes. Georgia won in spite of a punchless passing attack and the good fortune of Tennessee catching fumblitis in its own end zone.

But it’s still a win. I’m sure USC would gladly take an ugly win over Mizzou instead of a loss on Saturday.

From here on out, it is all about getting a win – no matter how they come.

Go Dawgs!

Lugnut Dawg