Not since the Auburn game in 1999 has Georgia been so completely overwhelmed and taken out of a game by halftime.

Many people expected somewhat of a shootout. We knew Tennessee could score and thought they might put up some points.  What was completely surprising was Georgia’s inability to do nearly anything on offense in the first half.  The first series had a run stuffed and then two poorly-thrown shots down the field, and it didn’t get much better.  Against one of the SEC’s statistically worst defenses, even first downs were rare causes for celebration.

It was the Georgia defense that looked like one of the SEC’s shakiest units.  Tackling was woeful enough to bring new life to a struggling Tennessee running game, and the powerful Tennessee passing game was left to just efficiently fill in chunks of yards as needed.

Special teams and the intangibles we all thought might determine the outcome never had a chance to enter the equation. 

Now to add injury to insult, Thomas Brown is out for at least four weeks with a broken collarbone.

What now?

A loss to Tennessee that was disturbing in its own way last season turned out to be just the beginning.  The Dawgs went even lower losing three of their next four and just survived against Mississippi State. 

Vandy awaits again, and as crazy as it might sound, the Dawgs have to go to Nashville with a sense of urgency.  This week and the off week ahead is their chance to regroup as Tennessee did and sort out what they can this year. 

Vandy is now a “must win.”  I think I’m going to be sick.

I wrote a few weeks ago that the New York Times has recently opened up its archives after years behind a paywall.  One of the more popular applications to come of this opening of a rich historical trove is to look for the first mention of everyone and everything from Hitler to Britney Spears.

So naturally, I wondered about a few items close to our own heart.

First mention of the University of Georgia:  April 2, 1852

In an article featuring a couple of spiritual mediums in hot water, it is mentioned that

The University of Georgia has 175 students, of whom 151 are in actual attendance.  There are two literary societies connected with the University – the Phi Kappa and the Demosthenian.

There’s at least one member of the Dawgosphere who will be very happy to see his society mentioned in this historic news clipping.

You can see some of the other early articles related to the University.

First mention of the “University of Georgia” and “football”: August 18, 1897

The first mention of UGA football has very little to do with Georgia’s program.  Cornell has found a coach, and he’s Glenn “Pop” Warner.  The article notes,

In previous years the team has been coached by old Yale and Harvard players.  Warner has already turned out winning teams for the University of Georgia and the University of Iowa.  He will endeavor at Cornell to develop a distinct style of play.

Warner was 7-4 in two seasons at Georgia, and he gave the University its first undefeated season with a 4-0 mark in 1896.

The second article mentioning Georgia football deals with the 1897 fatal injury to Richard Vonalbade (“Von”) Gammon in a game against Virginia.  Gammon died of the head injury the next day, and the state of Georgia was set to ban the game of football at state schools.  A letter from Gammon’s mother convinced the governor not to sign the ban.  Her letter read, in part,

It would be the greatest favor to the family of Von Gammon if your influence could prevent his death being used for an argument detrimental to the athletic cause and its advancement at the university. His love for his college and his interest in all manly sports, without which he deemed the highest type of manhood impossible, is well known by his classmates and friends, and it would be inexpressibly said to have the cause he held so dear injured by his sacrifice. Grant me the right to request that my boy’s death should not be used to defeat the most cherished object of his life.

1892 Pandora – “History of Athletics”

The Anti-Orange Page has a feature from the 1892 Pandora yearbook looking back at some of the first football and baseball games.  Lots of great tidbits in there:

• “The next thing is a new gymnasium. It was mentioned some time ago, but not much has been heard of it lately. Let those in authority take advantage of the opportunity and keep up the enthusiasm by their substantial aid.”  Even in 1892, facilities for athletics were an issue.
• “But after all, they (Auburn) refused outright to play us baseball, fearing the team here, about which so much has been written and said.”  The South’s oldest rivalry indeed.  Even in 1892, an article’s not complete without calling Auburn a bunch of cowards.
• “It was not until the fall of 1890, that there was awakened among the students the proper spirit of enthusiasm. At this time Dr. Charles Herty came to the University as Instructor in Chemistry, and the whole success of our Association is due entirely to him.”  Herty was, of course, Georgia’s first football coach.

My favorite line though is this remark about the uselessness of mascots after a 10-0 loss to Auburn:

About a month later we tackled Auburn, proving without doubt that there is no virtue in mascottes, for Robert and his goat availed us naught.

The University of Georgia has come around just a little bit on the subject of mascots.

It’s obvious to the point of annoyance to say that special teams and turnovers can affect the outcome of a football game. No kidding. Still, no Georgia series this decade has turned on those elements of the game more than the Tennessee series. A quick look at Georgia’s three recent wins in Knoxville shows how a single return or turnover has completely reversed the direction of a game:

• Damien Gary’s punt return touchdown in 2001 brought the Dawgs up off the mat after early struggles and set up a close second half (and of course the wild finish).
• Tennessee was driving to take a halftime lead in 2003 before Sean Jones changed everything with his fumble return. Georgia scored four touchdowns in little more than a quarter and won 41-14.
• The Vols had an interception return of their own to get back into the game in 2005, but Thomas Flowers got momentum back on Georgia’s side with his punt return.

Special teams and defense have even had extraordinary impacts in the Athens meetings. Boss Bailey’s field goal block in 2002 was the stuff of legends. Last season’s game was particularly wild. Kick returns, blocked punts, and turnovers dominated the second half.

Vol fans seem almost resigned that the special teams touchdown will make yet another appearance. When faced with a weakness, you have to ask whether or not you can exploit it. A team might rank 11th in the conference in run defense, but that stat does nothing for you if you can’t run the ball.

In the case of kickoff returns, Vol fans can probably sleep easy. Though Thomas Brown took one back against Tennessee last year, this year’s kickoff returns have been more or less impotent. The Dawgs are dragging the bottom of the SEC at around 20 yards per return. If anything, Tennessee has a better chance of breaking a kickoff return on the Dawgs.

Punt returns seem more promising. Mikey Henderson has had several decent returns of 10+ yards and has come thisclose to breaking a few of them. It will be interesting to see if Tennessee punts away from Henderson as the game goes on.

Turnovers were the tale in 2003 and 2006. Jones’ fumble recovery touched off a series of Tennessee turnovers that led to Georgia’s 41-point total. It was Georgia’s turn to be generous with the ball last year – the Dawgs started a disastrous trend of early second half turnovers that would haunt them for a month. Georgia had only one series in the entire game that didn’t end in a score or a turnover. The scores were mostly in the first half, and the turnovers did them in in the second half.

Expecting a game-changing turnover from Georgia might be asking a bit much. The Dawgs have tallied just four takeaways in five games. If there’s a promising sign, it’s that Georgia had a multiple-takeaway game last week for the first time this season, and even better news was that the Dawgs converted each of those turnovers against Ole Miss into touchdowns.

Will Tennessee feast on Georgia turnovers again? The Dawgs have been stingy to this point with only four giveaways – as many as they had in the second half of last year’s Tennessee game alone. It should be noted though that half of Georgia’s turnovers this season came in Georgia’s only other road game to date, and Alabama was able to convert both of those Stafford miscues into important scoring drives.

As much as I hate the trite "turnovers and special teams" analysis, it’s been the story of this series lately. With each team capable of winning the game, Georgia’s ability to value possession and get a big play from special teams or defense once again could turn the game in their favor.

Quinton over at the Georgia Sports Blog looks at the waning intimidation factor at Neyland Stadium and concludes,

"A great team makes the venue, not the other way around."

I generally agree with that statement. A fired-up home underdog with the crowd behind them can be a dangerous thing, but that’s not something on which to hang your hat consistently. A great crowd (venue) can occasionally inspire an ordinary team to great things, but the effect (and often the crowd enthusiasm itself) is temporary. Of course a top-notch team doesn’t as a rule mean you’ll have a great venue. Boston College is relatively anonymous in a town that’s obsessed with pro sports.

When you get the convergence of a good team in a football-mad part of the world, the results can be impressive. It’s why places like Nebraska or LSU or Florida or Michigan have, at times, been pits of despair for opponents.

Naturally, this topic gets a Bulldog fan thinking about Sanford Stadium. No one questions the passion of Georgia fans. Yet when folks speak of Sanford Stadium, they speak of the setting, the Hedges, the tradition, but usually not of a particularly intimidating place to play. Why is that?

As Quinton notes, having a good team matters. Georgia has had some good runs, but they’ve also had some pretty ordinary stretches. Even football-crazy fans will moderate during a rough patch. Some might also blame that favorite whipping boy: the wine-and-cheese alumni.

In Georgia’s case, the schedule also has a lot to do with it. I’m not going to turn this into a strength of scheduling discussion, but it should be noted that I think, as a rule, our schedule is often plenty tough enough, thanks. The downside of my preferred scheduling approach is that there just haven’t been that many marquee games to come through Athens.

Clemson in 1991 was the last Top 10 nonconference opponent to play Between the Hedges. The Georgia Tech game has rarely had significance outside of the state. The Florida game is often huge but is played in Jacksonville. LSU has visited Athens just three times since 1991, and Alabama has visited just twice over the same time. That pretty much leaves either Tennessee or Auburn (depending on the year) as a potential marquee home opponent, and Georgia has a losing record in Athens against both of those programs over the past two decades.

In short, Bulldog fans in Sanford Stadium are likely to see 1) opponents of moderate to low quality or 2) a loss. Regardless of the quality of the Georgia program, that’s not exactly the formula for a frenzied home environment. Think about this – from 1992 through 1999, what was the most significant win at Sanford Stadium? What are some of the truly significant wins of the past decade or two at Sanford Stadium? I don’t mean nice wins like Oklahoma State or beating Alabama in 2003. I mean really big head-turning wins.

• Ga. Tech 2006. A comeback win over an ACC division winner. Not exactly nationally significant, but it meant a lot to the Bulldog Nation.
• Boise State 2005. I hesitate to mention this as a "big" win, but it was a symbolic clash of traditional power vs. the brash upstart, and it resonated nationally.
• LSU 2004. A landmark win over the defending SEC champion. Big in every sense of the word.
• Tennessee 2000. The streak ends.
• Clemson 1991. Simply electrifying.

That’s as far back as I go. Is that it? There are plenty of other memorable wins – Texas Tech in 1996, Auburn in 2003, South Carolina 1995, and so on – but let’s not confuse those with the kind of titanic wins we’re talking about here.

It hasn’t helped that some of the losses have been absolutely deflating. Consider Ole Miss 1996, Auburn 1997, Tennessee 2004, and even South Carolina 2007. The Dawgs follow up a nice, often significant, win by laying an egg at home. You can’t build home field momentum that way.

Mark Richt has elevated many aspects of the Georgia program, and performance at home is one of them. He noted early on the correlation between perfect home records and conference titles, and the Dawgs didn’t lost a game at home in 2002 or 2003. That edge has slipped somewhat recently, and near-misses against teams like Colorado and Mississippi State almost felt like losses. Two of the three remaining home games have the chance to be pretty significant with the SEC race potentially still up for grabs. Wins in those games could play a big part in rebuilding some of the Sanford Stadium edge that eroded in 2006.

Xavier Avery of Cedar Grove has committed, giving the Dawgs 21 verbal pledges. Given that a school may have a maximum of 25 in a recruiting class, there are four spots remaining and four months in which to fill them. (Of course in reality scholarship math is much more of a black art than that, so the Dawgs might sign more than 25.)

It goes without saying that several of those remaining spots are being held for some of Georgia’s top targets still on the board, and many won’t announce until Signing Day. After this recent flurry of activity, it might be a quiet few months on the recruiting front.

Four months to go, and the recruiting class is nearly wrapped up. Less than a decade ago, the Dawgs were only getting their first commitments around September.

Back to Avery – he plays the nebulous “athlete” position, and it’s not certain yet on which side of the ball he’ll play. He also wants to play baseball at Georgia, and Coach Richt doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. He’s an outstanding student with offers from Georgia, Alabama, LSU, North Carolina, Stanford and Florida.

The baseball angle is interesting because it’s also central to the recruitment of WR/DB Sanders Commings of Augusta. Commings is deciding between Georgia and South Carolina.

A look around the college football landscape after five weeks:

It was, to say the least, an interesting weekend for college football. I won’t go so far as to say "good" or even "entertaining" in many cases. Alabama – FSU was just painful to watch. I’m sorry to have missed out on some of the few watchable games like Cal-Oregon.

Saturday, at least in Athens, was why we live for football in the South. Perfect weather, perfect setting, and (for us, anyway) a perfect outcome. To some, college football heaven is a sports bar with televisions as far as the eye can see. That’s fine for the NFL. College football is all about the immersion – the campus, the outdoors, the partisanship, and the tailgate. I have sympathy, not admiration, for those who hunker down in a bar to watch 111 games each week.

What to think of Auburn? The loss to Mississippi State is still glaring. Beating Kansas State looks a lot better now, and they played South Florida even. Now the win over Florida changes things a little. I was glad to see them beat Florida, but there was also this uneasiness that reminded me of way too many Georgia-Auburn games at Sanford Stadium. Is all of their road magic used up now?

Hey, didn’t you used to be Kirk Ferentz?

A common theme after this weekend’s carnage is to point to the results through five weeks as evidence that polls shouldn’t be release before (five, six, seven) weeks. My question remains the same as it was the first time I discussed this issue: how much would a poll released for the first time today vary from the current polls?

I know this sounds crazy given all of the Florida and Tebow hype since the season started, but I think many people are underrating Florida’s chances at LSU. Key to the game is LSU’s offense. It didn’t really set the world on fire against South Carolina and Tulane. Playmakers abound, but questions on the offensive line and an unsettled quarterback position keep me from enthusiastically jumping on the Tiger bandwagon. South Carolina showed that points, though not many, can be scored against LSU’s ridiculously good defense. Florida’s offensive system was able to put up points on a good LSU defense last year. A critical LSU turnover last year really changed that game, and this year’s meeting might turn on something similar.

Seeing teams like South Florida, Kentucky, and to some extent Wisconsin ranked so high at this early point in the season doesn’t really bother me. All are deserving of recognition for their seasons to date, but I don’t think any has the staying power to be a factor in the national (or even conference) title picture. Things will begin to sort themselves out in a few weeks. Kentucky has just one SEC game under its belt and will soon run its conference gauntlet. Seeing them atop the SEC East is just a temporary novelty. South Florida feasted on Auburn and West Virginia turnovers, and it’s hard to expect that kind of turnover margin to be there every week.

Ohio State deserves a bit more credit than they get for a win at Washington, but that’s been their only test so far. The Big Ten isn’t easy to read (or watch) this year, and the story might be which team just gets by from week to week. Penn State isn’t much of a factor after two losses. If Wisconsin and/or Illinois (!) stumble, are we looking at Michigan and Ohio State once again?

The way the conferences are setting up, we are looking at some potential BCS bowl matchups that are pretty ugly on paper. Then again, people thought that Georgia and Oklahoma would have an easy time with West Virginia and Boise State.

Washington has been a good story this year, but they are still 2-3. They get props for the tough schedule, the win over Boise, and playing Ohio State and SoCal close. But the program badly needs a win, and they have a bye week to get ready for Arizona State.

Cal has proven enough to say that a loss to Southern Cal, even if it is their only loss of the season, would leave them a good bit empty. They are in the position Texas faced circa 2004.

Finally, Ching points out that Georgia is the only SEC East team to beat Auburn since 2002. Impressive indeed. At the same time, Auburn is the only SEC West team to beat Georgia since 2003. Including the postseason, Mark Richt has just five losses in 6+ seasons to SEC West schools. Richt is currently 18-5 against the West. Coincidently, Richt has the same winning percentage (.783) in all games to date.

A year ago, I (and many others) left Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford thoroughly dissatisfied. The Dawgs had just escaped with a 14-9 win over a struggling Ole Miss team, the lingering quarterback question was no closer to being settled, and it looked as if Georgia couldn’t get a punt off to save their lives. The Dawgs won, but those of us looking for a strong bounceback win after the Colorado near-miss were left wanting.

Other than Georgia’s futility on offense, the one thing that stood out a year ago was the running of BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The Ole Miss tailback ran for 135 yards. The team had 193 rushing yards. Fortunately, Georgia was able to keep those yards from turning into points.

Jumping ahead to Saturday’s win over Ole Miss in Athens, the outcome was a bit different, but the Ole Miss running game was effective again. Green-Ellis and Hall combined for 152 yards. If there was going to be a game where Georgia’s undersized defensive line was a liability, this was it. The Rebels’ giant offensive line averages 6’5" and 321 lbs, and Green-Ellis is the type of power back who can run through tackles. No Georgia defensive lineman tallied more than two tackles.

The difference this year was the improvement in the Rebels’ passing game. Last year in Oxford Brent Schaeffer was 6-of-15 for 87 yards. This year they threw it 35 times for 228 yards. They attempted more passes than rushes. Seth Adams proved he could hit the deep pass against Florida, and it didn’t take long for him to go long against the Dawgs. After that first touchdown, the Dawg defense played not to give up the big play. The result was a couple of excruciatingly long drives but only 10 points the rest of the way.

The word of the day on both sides of the ball was "gash". Ole Miss ripped off moderate runs with regularity, and they looked damn near unstoppable in the first half. With two good tailbacks and plenty of time to pass, the Dawg defense were on their heels for much of the game. Three defensive plays might have saved Georgia’s season:

• Seth Adams’ fumble on the goal line. The Dawgs hadn’t done much to stop Ole Miss’s first two drives until this fumble prevented a 14-0 Rebel lead. C.J. Byrd recovered the loose ball, and Georgia drove the length of the field for the equalizer.
• Quintin Banks third-down stop. After Georgia’s first score, a long kickoff return gave Ole Miss the ball in Georgia territory with a good chance to answer. The Rebels faced a 3rd-and-3 from the Georgia 39 and again gave the ball to Green-Ellis. Reserve safety Quintin Banks was bringing pressure from the right, met Green-Ellis in the backfield, and gave the Dawgs their first big stop of the day. The subsequent punt went for a touchback, and Georgia drove 80 yards for the score that would put them on top until the third quarter.
• Corey Irvin’s 3rd quarter stuff. Georgia gave the ball back after failing to capitalize on a successful onside kick. Still down just 7 points, Ole Miss had dodged a bullet and had new life towards the end of the third quarter. Facing 3rd-and-3 again, Ole Miss handed it to Green-Ellis. This time defensive tackle Corey Irvin fought through the line and stopped Green-Ellis for no gain. The Rebels shanked the punt, and Thomas Brown scored two plays later to finally open up some breathing room.

It’s hard to claim that a 28-point win could turn on three defensive plays, but when you consider what those three stops cost Ole Miss and that Georgia scored after each of them, there you go.

The big question of course is what all of that means for next weekend’s big game at Tennessee. The Vols passed at will last year with Georgia doing little to pressure the quarterback. Recording zero sacks against Ole Miss isn’t a good omen. Georgia will either have to get more from the defensive front or take more risks in their pressure.

Thoughts during the long walk to downtown:

• What a difference a year makes. Last year in Oxford Thomas Brown had 4 carries for 10 yards. Now he’s SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
• Clint Boling certainly has a lot to learn as a true freshman, but it’s fun watching him get out in space ahead of a run. With that kind of speed, you can tell he was a tight end in a former life. The speed of the offensive line overall has taken a nice step forward this year.
• For all of the concern earlier in the year about a scatter-brained approach to the receiver rotation, a small group of players seem to be emerging. Though players like Moore, Wilson, Durham, and Goodman are getting plays and catches, the position is really crystallizing around Massaquoi, Bailey, and Henderson. They’re proving to be a solid set of upperclassmen.
• Stafford had to have winced watching some of the open receivers on film. I don’t know if they broke open after he had already checked down to secondary receivers, but opportunities for several big plays through the air were missed.
• The injury to Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry in the second quarter was huge. His disruption in the Bulldog backfield was a factor in the first half. Most, though not all, of Georgia’s running success came after he left the game.
• I hate to harp on it again, but the UAB highlights during the pregame Battle Hymn have to go. By the time we have another home game in a month, let’s give Henderson’s catch at Bama the place it deserves on that film.
• I was glad to see the defense not allow a point after the Rebels’ opening second half drive. After getting pushed around for much of the game, the defense made a difference in the late third and fourth quarters and helped to close the door.

Georgia’s October 13th game at Vanderbilt will kick off at 6:00 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local) and will be televised by ESPN2.

This game is personal. There will be payback.