I've been in something of a funk lately, where not much really satisfies me and nothing is fun. So I wasn't particularly eager to attend today's UGA game versus Kentucky in Athens, despite it being a night game, and especially with so many Cassandras predicting that this would be Georgia's first loss of the season.

Which is why I was surprised that I did have fun, in no small part perhaps because for the first time all year, UGA played on a championship level. Final score: No. 20 Kentucky 13, No. 1 UGA 51.

The forecast for the game was the coolest weather of the season so far. I was going to take a handwarmer with me, but my game companion, my mother, talked me out of it. I assure you, she did not hear the end of it.

After cold hands (and nose and ears: the wind chill was unrelenting), the biggest problem I had was a sinus headache that grew worse each quarter. But not even that was enough to sap my enjoyment of the game, thanks in large part to the enthusiastic crowd, which was uncommonly convivial, probably because of the need to stick together for warmth. Seriously, though, there seemed to be fewer drunk and/or obnoxious fans than usual. Perhaps they had all passed out prior to the 7PM kickoff, but if the cold weather was responsible, I could handle more of that every game!

Note to Mom: from now on, if the forecast calls for 60° or under, handwarmers are mandatory.

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The forecast was 57° and rain. I asked Mom, and she declined to attend. I asked seven more people, and they all had better things to do. I went alone. I should have listened to what they were trying to tell me.

As forecast, the game was very cold, and very wet. So wet, in fact, that the Athletic Department decided not to allow any bands on the field, which made for a very unusual pre-game with no band welcoming the players onto the field and an equally odd Homecoming halftime, where the homecoming court was seen only on the video board in still photographs (taken on a sunnier day).

The football was as bad as the weather. There were 10 punts in the first half alone. (Six of those drives were 3-and-outs.) Georgia's strategy appeared to be "wait until Kentucky makes a mistake." It did work eventually when Kentucky badly shanked a punt and allowed Georgia to score on the following play. Congratulations, Georgia, but don't expect that plan to work in two weeks against Florida.

I was not prepared for the amount of rain. I lasted only slightly longer than Kentucky did. I left in the fourth quarter after Georgia finally shut the door, making a goal line stand to break Kentucky's spirit. I paused on my way back to the car to take one last look back just as Georgia scored their third touchdown. Final score: Kentucky 0, UGA 21.

Like I said, cold and wet.

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Another year in the books!

Today's Kentucky/UGA football game was the last home game for outgoing seniors Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, who combined for 238 yards and 5 touchdowns on the way to a 42-13 win.

(It wasn't really as close as the lopsided score indicates. By the end of the game, Kentucky players were gassed, and Georgia's second line of running backs kept gashing them. UGA had 381 rushing yards overall on the day.)

The win doesn't exactly make up for last week's collapse at Auburn, but it does inspire confidence going forward to Georgia Tech and the SEC Championship. Go Dawgs!

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We probably should have seen it coming. After the injury-plagued season the Bulldogs have had in 2013, it shouldn't surprise anyone to see Senior quarterback Aaron Murray be carried off the field of his final home game with a knee injury.

Otherwise, the game was all Georgia. Kentucky never put up anything amounting to a fight in this 56-10 rout. The biggest obstacle for the Dawgs was the cold. Boy was it cold!

The fans turned out despite the cold (and wind) to say goodbye to the departing seniors, including Aaron Murray. Poor kid. Friend Brian insisted on blaming Murray's knee injury on his decision not to slide on a play near the end of the first half with the score already out of reach. I prefer to blame a conditioning staff who have seen a disproportional number of kids in their care leave games with knee injuries this season. I'm no doctor, but when I see the top 6 offensive skill players miss playing time on the season with knee injuries, it seems to me that you're doing something wrong, guys.

(In fairness, there was a rule change this year that penalizes players for hitting helmets. I've heard that this has caused players to start tackling much lower, endangering knees. Maybe Georgia coaches have just been slow to adjust to this new style of defensive play. In any case, I expect better next year.)

Perhaps I should add that I overheard many fans lamenting the fact that UGA didn't wear black jerseys for the game. I didn't hear this rumor until the broadcasters discussed it on the pregame radio show. Who knows who started it. I'm glad the team wore their regular red jerseys. I don't think you should celebrate four years of hard teamwork by wearing someone else's jerseys.

With the 2013 home schedule in the books, I'd like to go on record as saying that this was probably the most talented Georgia team I've ever seen. If we hadn't been hit so badly by injuries, if the defense had managed to give up just one fewer touchdown per game, if the special teams hadn't played like retarded teams.... Oh, well. It was an exciting season anyway, with the game against LSU standing out as among the best I've ever seen in person.

Here's hoping that today's game won't be the last time we see Murray behind center for the Bulldogs. He'll be hard to replace.

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Only 2 more days until Halloween, so let me hurry up and post the rest of my Jack O'Lantern Spectacular jack o'lanterns! Keep in mind that these pictures represent the best of my pictures, but only a small sampling of all the pumpkin art there was to see.

Many pumpkins, like this Irish Setter, utilized black paint for added contrast.

Bright lights can turn pumpkins into organic Lite-Brites.

Some carvings were more elaborate than others.

White paint and deep carvings make for a shiny, shiny pumpkin.

The Greek section had a pumpkins designed to look like urns, gods, and mythological creatures.

Not every design was horrific.

My art school roots are showing: The Great Wave off Kanagawa was probably my personal favorite.

This amazing Chinese dragon had a tail made of scores of small pumpkins that wound between and around several large trees. It was a fantastic work that was the highlight of the exhibit. Definitely something you're unlikely to see in your neighborhood this or any year.

(If you missed it, there were more pumpkins in yesterday's post.)

[UPDATE: I should have mentioned that this year marks the 20th anniversary of my First Place finish in the 1993 Emory University Pumpkin Carving Contest. I only entered because my dormmates bragged that they could carve better pumpkins that I could. As I proved, they could not.

I thought that pumpkin was pretty good, but it didn't hold a candle to most of anything I saw in Louisville. The state of the art of pumpkin carving has come a long way in 2 decades!

(For the record, the prize was $100 to spend at the University Bookstore, and I still have the $60 sweatshirt I bought with it.)]

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I've told you that Mom and I went to Nashville, but I still haven't told you why. The real reason for our road trip wasn't to see the Vanderbilt game. No, Nashville was a mere detour from our real objective: the Jack O'Lantern Spectacular in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Spectacular is 5,000 pumpkins arranged along a nature trail. That's a lot of jack o'lanterns. There is no way I can really convey the experience of walking a nature trail at night lit only by jack o'lanterns all around you. "Spectacular" is an appropriate word. Most impressively, So far as I could tell, none of them were duplicated.

Some stood out, even among thousands of similar carvings.

One of the carvers must have a thing for star-shaped eyes.

This skull looked like something I might try.

There were several of these "splatter" designs, my favorite of the styles I saw repeated.

To me, this looks more like a pictogram than a face.

Lest I fool you into thinking that all the jack o'lanterns were the traditional kind you might find in your own neighborhood, you need to know that scattered among the more mundane carvings were a smattering of true pumpkin-carving works of art.

I'll showcase a few more of these later this week.

In any event, know that it was worth the trip to Louisville for the experience.

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Another season of home games is in the books, and it ended pretty much the way it began: with Mike Bobo doing his best to keep Georgia out of the end zone. Fortunately for UGA, Kentucky wasn't even in the same weight class as they allowed the Bulldogs to win 19-10. Now isn't the time to revert to form, Bobo. If my brother and I can predict your every play from 3 stories up in the stands, Georgia Tech and LSU aren't going to have any problem shutting you down.

Despite the terrible offensive play (8 total turnovers?), Trey and I had a lot of fun. There was plenty to complain about both on the field (horrible officiating) and in the stands (McDonald's advertisements), and that kept us plenty entertained throughout. I am already looking forward to home games next year, where I hope to see many more post-game celebrations.

As I mentioned above, only Georgia Tech is left between UGA and LSU in the SEC Championship game. I don't think there were really a lot of people out there in week 3 who thought UGA would end the season playing for the SEC title. As Trey pointed out leaving the game, Steve Spurrier is probably furious, having fate steal the SEC East from his star-crossed South Carolina Gamecocks [after losing his star quarterback and running back mid-season]. If Steve Spurrier can't get it done, how do you think you'll fare next year in the meat grinder of the SEC, Missouri?

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I'm sure that Uga VII would be pleased to know that we played football in his absence the same as we played it in his presence. That is, terribly.

Kentucky beat Georgia in Athens for the first time since 1977. (My brother wasn't even born at the time.) Georgia turned the ball over 4 times, solidifying our lock on the 119th ranking (out of 120) in the country for turnover margin on the season. Joe Cox threw two interceptions, including the final turnover in the game at 1:44 remaining as the Dawgs began a final drive for the tying points. On the upside, Uga VII thankfully didn't live to see it.

And so ends another home season of Georgia football. Sure it was exciting, but it wasn't very satisfying.

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