Miami - 676 miles from Athens, 662 miles from Atlanta - has never seemed so close.
If not now, when? If not this team, what group of Dawgs? There are parallels to the 1980 season beyond the mere catchy ledes that sports writers dream up to sell papers and make relatives proud, there are coincidences. In the chaos of nature that is college football, there is a connection, there is logic, there will be order. Then is about to become now, again.
Then, a true freshman running back named Hershel Walker, donning the number 34. Then, a bowl victory over Notre Dame. Then, a national championship.
Now, two true freshmen running backs named Gurley and Marshall - one wearing a number 3, the other number 4 - "Gurshel," people call them. Now, Notre Dame waiting in the bowl game, in the biggest game of all. Now, another national championship.
After all the waiting, finally, it seems, a national championship for Georgia, again.
Five more yards, and it's The End, down for good.
The National Championship - 32 years since - suddenly feels father away than ever.
You see, God, unlike men, does not play dice nor does He believe in coincidence.
So now we turn to reflect upon this season. Before the start, I laid out The Bad (8-4), The Likely (11-2, lose in the SEC Championship, and miss out on a BCS game), and The Dream (13-0, beating Alabama to win the SEC, earning a trip to Miami).
I'd like to give myself an A+, but I can't. You see, I said then that we could win it all because we matched up better against Bama than LSU. While we'll never know if I was right about that (the ole dreaded counter-factual), we do know one hard truth. As good as we matched up against Bama, it wasn't good enough.
As it was, I give myself a B+.
At the end of the day, the disappointing tinge of the end cannot darken the fact that this season was an overwhelming success. Aside from the obligatory loss to the Ole Ball Coach (less of a loss, more of a whoopin), the Dawgs played most of the season with a top 6 ranking, nearly all of it with dreams of Atlanta alive, and the last few games with Miami in their sights. In other words, they had their fate in their own hands, breaking dawn til waning dusk Sunday through Friday, for three hours under the bright lights of Saturday when boys are asked to be men and victory depends upon it. That's called pressure, brother.
We dealt with significant suspensions, with unfortunate injuries, and overcame the Carolina loss, if not immediately, but ultimately.
We beat Florida. A damn good Florida team.
We destroyed Auburn and Georgia Tech.
We played one helluva game against Alabama, a team that is not only better than us (if only by a hairsbreadth) but also the best team in the country. And we took them to the brink.
There will soon come a time to look ahead to the future. What the offense will be capable of, whether Murray goes pro or not. What the defense will look like when Jarvis, Tree, Big John, Rambo, and Commings do go to the next level, as they damn well deserve to. But that time is not now.
For now, it's time to get ready for Nebraska.
A 12 win season would be special. Richt had a 13 win season in his second fall in Athens, but he hasn't broken 11 wins since.
Go Dawgs!
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