After the way the 2015 season has gone, I didn't think it was possible for the UGA coaches to outcoach anyone. I didn't account for the Georgia Southern staff.

After trying and failing to find anyone to accompany ("I'll be out of town" and "I'd rather spend time with my girlfriend" were common excuses), the only reason I went to this game alone was to see the seniors introduced and see Que officially named Uga X. I got to the stadium 17 minutes before kickoff, and I was too late. I should have just turned around and gone back home.

I suppose if you judge by the final score, it must have been a pretty good game. Some of the crowd seemed to enjoy it, especially the apparently 50,000 Georgia Southern fans in attendance. (The picture above was taken at the start of the 4th quarter when the fans turned on the lights on their cell phones in place of the usual "four finger" signal.) I did not. Greyson Lambert was his typically terrible self, and Georgia Southern only lost because... honestly, I'm not sure why.

Tied 17-17, the GaSo coach kicked a late punt in an obvious attempt to reach overtime. I guess he'd heard that his team was a 13-point underdog, and maybe he had placed money on his team covering the spread. His kicker had easily scored a field goal from the UGA 31 to take a lead in the 4th quarter, but after reaching the UGA 16 in overtime, he went for it with a "wildcat" run up the middle that was doomed to fail.

Why not kick to extend overtime? Typically, the answer is because underdog coaches feel they have to take a chance on the win rather than lose a protracted battle against a deeper team. However, that strategy only applies if you're playing catch-up (say, going for a two-point conversion as opposed to kicking). Maybe the GaSo players were out of gas. Maybe their kicker had broken his ankle. In overtime, if you can take a lead on your opponent, you should. Georgia Southern didn't and lost. All UGA had to do was kick a field goal on their first overtime play, and they would have won. The fact that they ran up the middle for a touchdown doesn't excuse the Georgia Southern decision. Bad strategy is bad strategy.

If only we could get the Georgia Southern coaches jobs at Florida.

So now Georgia has 8 wins on the season, and I couldn't care less. "There's always next year" they say. Here's to 2016.

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Only one week after his season-ending knee injury, and boy, do the Georgia Bulldogs miss Nick Chubb already. It's time to stop pretending this 2015 football team is remotely good.

Missouri 6, UGA 9. Nothing but field goals. Quite frankly, UGA didn't really deserve this, as their game-winning kick came only after the officials gifted the team with a truly mystifying pass interference call on a play that Plastic Man couldn't have cought. Greyson Lambert's 3rd-down pass was characteristically awful, and I have to assume that the officials assumed that a pass 5 yards out of bounds was as on-target as he could make it. Maybe they just wanted this terrible game over so we could all get home before dawn.

I probably should have expected this sort of game. UGA was missing Chubb, and Missouri suspended its starting quarterback two weeks ago. Add in the terrible games UGA played back-to-back in the past two weeks against Alabama and Tennessee, and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that NONE of the season ticket holders beside or in front of me came to the game. You know it's sad when the regular fans don't care to show up for a homecoming night game against the reigning SEC East Champions.

Anyway. I hope the team enjoys this ugly victory. UGA heads to Florida in two weeks, and 9 points won't win anything in Jacksonville.

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UGA crushed South Carolina. Then Alabama lost to Mississippi. Vegas declared No. 13 Alabama an underdog against the No. 8 Bulldogs. All UGA had to do was show up and play.

They didn't.

Final score: Alabama 38, UGA 10. It wasn't ever really that close.

In all the UGA games I've ever watched, never have I seen the team collapse like they did today in the steady rain. After clawing to a 3-3 tie, it was like they ran out of fight at the start of the 2nd quarter. Alabama proceeded to score a rushing touchdown, block a punt for a touchdown, pass for a touchdown, and come back from halftime to intercept the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. All UGA did was stare at their own navels. The only reason the score wasn't worse was because Nick Saban didn't need it to be.

UGA did nothing right. Defensive backs were out of position on every play. Quarterback Greyson Lambert couldn't decide who to throw to and froze up. Relief quarterback Brice Ramsey couldn't manage to throw to his own team. But the worst of it all was Coach Richt and his coaching staff:

• Calling a majority of passes and not runs even before the game was out of hand. (The Bulldog's two scoring drives were the only two possessions in the game when UGA called more runs than passes. That was not a coincidence. Maybe I was too hard on Mike Bobo all these years; Bobo is gone but UGA is still up to its same old sour tricks.)
• Continuing to get special teams wrong. (Time outs to ice your own field goal kickers? Punt protection formations that block no one? Sigh.)
• Worst of all, completely failing to prepare their kids for yet another big game. (Of everyone in the stadium before kickoff, no one seemed more confident in a UGA victory than the UGA players. That swagger sure disappeared in a hurry once they went down by one touchdown!)

Let this be known as the game that finally destroyed my faith in Mark Richt. I mean, I still like the guy. I think he's good for the University and its student athletes. I certainly don't want him to be fired. (Some things, like academic performance and ethics, are more important than wins and SEC Championships.) LSU in 2011? Alabama in 2012? Vanderbilt in 2013? Florida in 2014? Alabama in 2015? I just need to accept that we're never going to win any "big games" while he's the head football coach.

I admit that I didn't go to last week's game. I was sick with a cold and didn't want to endure the rain just to see UGA beat up on an inferior opponent like Southern University. I regret that decision now. If I want to see UGA win, those are the only games I should go to. Inferior opponents are the only ones we can beat.

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A full house showed up for this evening game. We were hoping for a win. I doubt any of us were expecting a blow out. Final score: South Carolina 20, UGA 52.

Losing to South Carolina last year derailed our season, so it was especially delicious taking the wood to Steve Spurrier's 2015 team. That they appeared light on talent was the usual problem for USC. That they were also undisciplined was less common for a Spurrier team. Is this year an aberration, or is Spurrier losing his touch? I guess we'll find out when we meet in 2016.

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We left the season-opening University Louisiana Monroe/UGA football game with 9:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. But so did everyone else. The game was called after its second lightning delay with Georgia ahead, 14-51.

The first lightning delay was called at 8:35 remaining in the third (ULM 14, UGA 35), and the game wouldn't restart for another hour. Friend Randy and I took shelter in the stadium concourse while it rained. It was hard to tell how long it might last. Even in the middle of the heaviest downpour, Randy's WeatherBug® app insisted that there was a 0% chance of rain in Athens, GA.

The second delay was called completely unexpectedly during a period of sunny skies. The few of us left in the stadium watched as the two head coaches met on the 20-yard line. It was obvious to all of us what they must be talking about. Sure enough, they soon announced that the game was called. UGA win!

I've been a season ticket holder for over a decade, and this was the first time I've seen either a lightning delay or a called game. Just when you think you've seen everything....

(P.S. Today's game was also the unofficial debut of Uga X-elect, Que. I didn't know this before I arrived at the game, but when I saw that the mascot had no brown spot on his rump, I knew it wasn't Russ. I hope that the rest of Que's tenure produces many more games just as memorable.)

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Some games are a lot of fun. Others are excruciating. This was one of the latter. Long runs, fake kicks, fumbles for touchdowns, overtime: it would have been a great game to watch if I'd been cheering for anyone other than Georgia.

UGA was clearly deflated by Missouri's successful bid to win the SEC East yesterday, and played like nothing mattered anymore, even in a contest against in-state rival Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs looked like world beaters on the opening drive, making me think that we hadn't looked that good on an opening drive since we played Florida. I'm thinking about opening up a side business reading tea leaves.

Yes, the Dawgs fumbled twice on goal line situations, leaving 14 points on the board in what would become a 30-24 loss, but I cannot let the squib kick pass without comment. When Georgia scored to pull 3 points ahead with 18 seconds remaining, everyone in the stands celebrated. All we had to do was kick deep, then keep Tech's nigh-unstoppable offense from reaching field goal position. Then, to our horror, Coach Richt called that squib kick leaving Tech only 20 yards from a tying field goal. Sometimes, conventional wisdom is wrong. But more often, coaches try to overthink football. At least Richt had the good sense to fall on his sword afterwards:

"Not a good decision there. ... I should've let him kick it deep and go cover the thing and see what happened from there."

Sure, that's easy to say after it goes wrong, but why would you consider a squib at all in that situation, coach?

You can see in the picture below that the scoreboard operator was so disappointed in the outcome, the screen was turned off within seconds of the game's dismal final play. And while I'm on the topic of the scoreboard, let me make a footnote on this season's newest crowd diversion: the karaoke cam. A different song was used each week, from "Livin' on a Prayer," to "Build Me Up Buttercup," the most popular being "Friends in Low Places." The least popular, based on crowd interaction, was today's "Bye Bye Bye," a fitting song given how our season ended.

Oh, what a season it might have been if not for that inexplicable loss at Florida, or the loss of Gurley, or that fateful squib kick.... As the saying goes, "there's always next year."

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Today UGA hosted Charleston Southern University. I only went to this game for one reason: I couldn't find anyone to take the tickets. I almost didn't go, but I finally decided that someone had to go to the game to cheer on the Bulldogs. And today, that someone was me.

Despite the final score being the expected blowout (55-9, UGA), I still had a good time. The most fun I have at games are when I'm least expecting to. Life constantly reminds me that keeping my expectations low is the key to being satisfied.

It's worth mentioning that UGA pulled out all the stops in a belated halftime salute to Veterans Day, including visits from Medal of Honor recipient General James Livingston, an assembly of Purple Heart recipients, and "God Bless the U.S.A." singer Lee Greenwood. (Aaron Murray also made a surprise appearance, though I don't think that had anything to do with the day's theme.) Once that show was over, we went home.

(Postscript: Mom spent most of the ride to and from Athens arguing with Sirius XM customer service about a malfunction of the Sirius Traffic app. Google arrived to save the day just before she lost her temper. Thanks Google!)

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Last year, Auburn won on a prayer. Even that wasn't enough this year as UGA crushed the Tigers 34-7.

If it wasn't the coldest UGA game I've attended, it was close. And being a night game, the drunks were out in full force. (A UGA fan head-butted an Auburn fan 3 rows in front of us, and the dudes behind me insisted on yelling "faggot" at Gus Malzahn and the officials every 30 seconds. Not pleasant.) What made it tolerable was the Bulldogs' impressive on-field performance. Auburn was unstoppable on their opening drive, then never scored again.

We were all super excited to have Todd Gurley back. The poor kid came back from his month of NCAA-forced vacation only to tear his ACL. Should Missouri lose one of their final two games, Gurley will be unavailable for another shot at the SEC Championship. He'll probably never play ball for Georgia again. It's a disappointing end to a great collegiate career, and it makes taking a payment for his autograph seem like the right decision.

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Remember last year when Vanderbilt ended UGA's season with that last minute comeback in Nashville? Revenge accomplished.

I cannot tell a lie: we left in the 3rd quarter when Vanderbilt, down by 24 points, punted on 4th and 1. If Vanderbilt was willing to give up on the game, I didn't see any need to stick around for the 17-44 final.

No more home games until November, when Auburn comes to town. If the Tiger's 7-41 romp over LSU today was any indication, that's going to be a pretty good game.

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Well, that was closer than it should have been. Tennessee 32, UGA 35. Early in the 4th quarter, I marveled that the UGA defense had held an SEC opponent to 17 points. Then the Bulldogs reverted to form.

There were plenty of celebrities at the game. Peyton Manning was reportedly present, and several PGA golfers and actress Chloë Grace Moretz were introduced to the crowd. However, the guest of honor was Vince Dooley, who took over as head coach 50 seasons ago. Vince looked good and pleased to be back on the field. At halftime, the band spelled his name, and he mugged for the cameras with his family, friends, and former players.

I've never met Dooley myself, but I did know a student who in 2002 decided to walk into his office as Athletic Director to meet him. He got as far as Dooley's secretary who told him that Mr. Dooley was far too busy to meet anyone who didn't have an appointment. However, before the student could leave the office, Dooley stepped out of his office and signed the student's hat on the spot. Dooley didn't have to do that, and I think it says a lot about why Georgians like the man.

To honor Dooley, the Bulldogs won by the skin on their canine teeth, surviving a game of terrible play by quarterback Hutson Mason (I begin to worry that he's not very good: a qb who only looks at one receiver from snap to throw will not win many games) and some bizarrely self-imposed wounds. For example, UGA sent 13 men on the field for a punt return in the 4th quarter. Coaches noticed the overage and removed one man. Tweet! Illegal participation. The 5-yard penalty didn't give Tennessee a first down, so they lined up to kick again. This time, Georgia over compensated, sending only 10 men out on the field. Ouch.

It wasn't just Georgia making boneheaded decisions. The weather forecast called for overcast skies, so naturally I chose to forego my sun hat for the game. Two words: sun burn. Sigh.

But we won in the end, and that's what counts. Bring on Vanderbilt!

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