GAME 5

FAIL

34 - 31

 Part of me wants to go the full Lewis Gizzard circa 1985 and just go with " Frankly, I don't want to talk about it ". But this one deserves to be aired out.

Not sure what time we got home to start watching, but there was plenty of day light left. Out play started at two, the game at 3:30. It was not finished when we started watching. Things were going aces! Up 17 till almost the half when they got a quick 7, but we were looking great. We were back from our ass whooping at the Grove last week. We all let ourselves re-write the last 4 weeks. We had not been plodding freshmen playing Nicholls State, we had not been embarrassed by Ole Miss... We had the Ga Dome in our sites once again. We were back! 

The Vols have been down at every game they have won this season, so this was no surprise. We got a little sloppy there at the end, and got behind. Here we go again, we never win big games, we gave it out best shot, just not our year.. let us pray.

But this is the new Kirby Smart Bulldawgs and our amazing true Freshman drove the team down the field with some rocket passes, scoring with less than 10 seconds on the clock! THE HOBNAIL BOOT WAS BACK! We broke their noses again... WE RULE. Well, we ruled with 4 seconds left on the clock, but really what could happen.

There was some sort of unhappy kerfuffle and we got penalized a bit one.. giving them great field presence, but sill only four seconds....

" Oh somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright, the band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light, and somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout....."

Neil and I were literally still jumping up and down, WE WON! 3, 2, 1. The Tennessee Vols have a really really tall receiver . Crash and burn. Hail Mary's never work. This one did. 

Instant classic, Doug Flutie , the Sanford Band and the damed AU runback of a few years ago. Tennessee Scored. The balloon popped.. and I was hours behind the rest of the Bulldawg nation that had already gone though this.

Biggest heart break ever inside Sanford? I am thinking so. The must need of the win, the intense beauty of the day, the fact that we were in charge most all of the game. Tail between out legs, we all limped to watch the Clempsons beat the surging Louisville Cardinals. 

The more things change. But here is the take away, we were in this ball game, fully engaged. Made some stupid mistakes, but we will get better. It took a miracle hail mary for the #9 undefeated team in the country to head back up to the hills with a W from the classic city. We were in this one, and a whole lot of big or close games under Richt it did not feel like we were in. 

I am seeing a bright future... just would have been nice for it to have started yesterday.