Georgia 59, Kentucky 17: Wherein We Can't Win For Losing.

The Georgia Bulldogs conquered the Kentucky Wildcats by a lopsided score of 59-17 in Athens this evening. That should make us all very happy. But as with everything else in this star-crossed season it's just not that simple.

Murray, already limping, left the game for good a few moments before halftime after torquing his knee during a hit by Wildcat defensive lineman Za'Darius Smith. At this time all we know is that he went to St. Mary's Hospital in Athens for an MRI. That's not good at all, and is often an indication that doctors suspect ligament damage. If that's the case, then it's further proof that a voodoo priestess put a hex on a doll of a Georgia football player who the voodoo gods couldn't identify. So this season they've simply chosen to smite everyone on the whole damned team. Sterling Bailey by the way, who has shown real promise this season, was in a walking boot after the game. Yeah. What more can you say?

On the bright side, the young defense created turnovers. They played (with a couple of boneheaded exceptions) smart football. They got off the field on third down, gave up a miserly 3 first downs in the first half, and only 10 points before a junk time touchdown. All this despite the offense putting them in a couple of tight spots.

And Hutson Mason looked capable of quarterbacking the Bulldogs. He was accurate. He handled the rush. He looked like a guy who's been running the Bulldog offense for four years, which he has been doing mentally, albeit not on the field in live game action. It's a little early to crown him an All-SEC contender. But the early returns are promising. At a minimum it's clear he can do a good bit more than just turn and hand it off to Todd Gurley.

Arthur Lynch reeled in two touchdowns, Faton Bauta showed some real wheels in limited action, and Brendan Douglas continued to run people the heck over. J.J. Green looked explosive, and even walk-on tight end Hugh Williams got in on the action. Todd Gurley churned out 167 all-purpose yards, and could have had 300 if the coaches had sanctioned it. As it is, the 'Dawgs exploded for 602 yards of offense, a gracious plenty.

To review, it was a good night, except for the part which was really, really bad. In this season I can't imagine how any of us could have expected much else. Until later....

Go Dawgs!!!