. . . but some of the sting is taken out of a pair of losses in a rebuilding year by the memory of the 57 wins in five and a half years that preceded them.

Perhaps Georgia and Tennessee could play for a trophy, which would now be in the Volunteers' possession after spending five of the previous six years in Athens.

When ordering buckets to hide their shame at losing to Vanderbilt at home, perhaps the Bulldogs could order extras for the Volunteers, who also lost to Vanderbilt at home last year, and for the Gators, who would have lost to Vanderbilt at home last year, had it not been for a blown officiating call.

Somehow, we will learn to live with the stigma of losing a close one to a conference opponent that has been playing everyone competitively, including the top three teams in the Eastern Division, for the last two and a half years. Perhaps the memory of the 11 consecutive victories over the Commodores that came before it will be a comfort.

Finally, for whatever it's worth, "genius" is spelled G-E-N-I-U-S.

Thanks for the comment and the concern, even if the former was off-topic and the latter was misplaced.

I have added DeLoss Dodds's e-mail to the posting, which should make it easier for everyone to contact both A.D.s.

I appreciate the support and the assistance. I'm a realist, so I know what an uphill battle the Bulldogs would have against the Longhorns next year (although I am hopeful that, by the time of the return game a couple or three years down the road, Georgia will be back at a level closer to that now occupied by Texas), but who wouldn't want to see two of the great athletic programs in the country squaring off in a game like this?

. . . which is why I changed my tune as soon as I was made aware that Texas was still an option.

. . . you're right about the bye week, which has been pushed later in the year by the addition of the 12th regular season game, but one of the reasons Damon Evans is looking to schedule a game for September 1 is that, next year, we have an open date before Florida and our A.D. (for obvious reasons) doesn't want to schedule a game that weekend.

Get 'em out of the way and be done with 'em, I say.

We have real rivals to contend with at the end of the year.

If we want to end the season against an A.C.C. rival, I say let's get Clemson back on the schedule.

I know some folks feel differently about the Yellow Jackets, but, since I've been alive on the planet for 37 years and I've seen Georgia beat Georgia Tech 27 times, I have a hard time getting really worked up about the Ramblin' Wreck.

. . . I'm afraid I don't know what it is.

For what it's worth, though, I don't give family, Georgia fans, or civil visitors (all of which you qualify as) a hard time for the odd typographical error.

I only deduct points for spelling when a rival fan is insulting my intelligence and running down my team . . . which, for all its faults, still has an achievement or two to its credit. (For instance, the 'Dawgs have been known to win a bowl game or two in overtime, so we've got that going for us. Also, our head coach isn't named after something you pick up at Lowe's when you're looking to do a little gardening.)

We're looking forward to seeing y'all on Sunday.