It took until November, but Georgia finally had a relatively stress-free victory, 35-21 over UL Lafayette — a game that wasn't as close as the final score would suggest. (The Dogs led 35-7 with nine minutes to go.)
It was a good tune up, and hopefully adds a little momentum into this week's game against Georgia Tech.
But let's hit a few talking points first.
1) Some people will never be happy.
First, I love the way the black jerseys look, and I don't think there's anything wrong with wearing them and asking the fans to do the same.
What I don't get are the fans who get so grumpy about it.
Black is one of our colors. Every other athletic team at the university wears it. Get over yourself.
Not only that, there was a guy sitting near me Saturday who found something to complain about on every. Single. Play.
Nick Chubb's long run that set up Isaac Nauta's touchdown catch? The guy was mad that Chubb didn't score on the play.
A dip-and-duck run through traffic for Sony Michel that netted eight yards on first down? He was mad we ran it up the middle. And gained eight yards.
I just don't get it. Some people seem happiest when they're miserable.
2) Cosmetology.
Somebody just flipping through scores on their iPhone or seeing them tick across ESPN's "Bottom Line" might think this game was a little too close for comfort.
It wasn't, but it certainly allowed Kirby Smart to go into full Nick Saban mode, and be mad in the post-game press conference.
The Bulldogs did have some hiccups (two turnovers in Ragin' Cajun territory), but built a 35-7 lead nonetheless, thanks to strong efforts from the starting offense/defense/special teams.
What Smart was so angry about was the backup defense getting shredded on two long touchdown drives inside the final five minutes of the game that forced Georgia to recover an onside kick to be 100 percent sure (instead of 99 percent) of a victory.
I get it. Coaches never want their team to become complacent, and maybe this will give Coach Grumpy Pants something to harp on this week to keep the team focused for Tech.
But let's be realistic.
This game didn't come down to the wire, like we've been accustomed to.
3) The freshmen.
This applies more to the season as a whole than just this past week's game, but this freshmen class is insanely good.
If they continue to develop (and stay out of trouble), the future looks extremely bright in Athens. Here's just a handful of names who have not only played this year, but excelled.
(This list does include redshirt freshmen.)
QB Eason, WR Riley Ridley, TE Nauta, K Rodrigo Blankenship, RB Brian Herrien, TE Charlie Woerner, DT Tyler Clark and DL Julian Rochester.
This doesn't even account for highly touted guys like OL Ben Cleveland and Pat Allen, DB/KR Mecole Hardman and RB Elijah Holyfield who could see increased roles next year.
My point being: there's a fantastic core group of players to build around. There are reasons to believe sunny skies are on the horizon.
