Misery Loves Company

My college football season began to unravel before I could even begin to enjoy it.

After a feel good opening win at home over an obviously over-matched opponent, my beloved Dawgs went on the road and promptly changed my expectations for 2010.

No AJ Green. A fumble into the end zone, and a fired up South Carolina team all added up to a tough SEC loss.

More misery would follow in the coming weeks.

A great comeback would fall short at home against Arkansas. The Bulldogs from Mississippi State slapped the “good” Dawgs with a cow bell. A trip to Boulder would provide our first AJ Green highlights of the year, along with another heartbreaking loss.

While I certainly did not expect the Dawgs to run rough shod over anyone this season, I did expect them to be competitive.

There was plenty of fault to go around for this lousy start.

Turnovers, lack of execution, questionable play calling, stupid mistakes (on and off the field) and did I say, No AJ? The Dawgs were 1-4, and 0-3 in the SEC. Mark Richt looked miserable, and the Dawg Nation was restless to say the least.

These last two weeks have helped to ease the pain just a little. Anytime the Dawgs beat the Volunteers it’s time for a celebration. Vanderbilt came to town for Homecoming; and they were dispatched quickly in the form of a decisive shutout.

Two wins by a combined total score of 84-14 felt pretty “dawg” gone good.

I’m sure you are thinking at this point that being 3-4 is not really anything to get excited about. You would be right of course. But when you have to endure a little misery there is nothing like a little company to raise your spirits.

Welcome aboard the misery train South Carolina and Florida fans!!

In some ways, the misery that these two fan bases are feeling today might even be a little worse than what the Dawg nation has experienced. We have been allowed to grow into our misery.

We didn’t get thrust into it like Gamecock fans did, when the “evil genius” that is the “old ball coach” thought it would be a good idea to go for the score with eleven seconds on the clock, no timeouts left and Stephen Garcia at quarterback.

I remember hearing Spurrier say that it would be interesting to see how his "team handles success" after their win over then number one, Alabama. He can look square in the mirror for that answer. I never thought Spurrier would pull out a chapter from the Les Miles classic, “How to manage the last minute of a football game.” But that was a classic blunder.

The great one outsmarted himself, and literally threw the win right out the window. Headphones and visor to the ground… look of utter disbelief on the face.

The Gators and Urban are reeling as well. Its one thing to lose to Mississippi State at their place like the Dawgs did, but for them to come to the “swamp” and stun the legend that is Urban is shocking to say the least. For just a minute, I thought he might cry on camera.

The Gators have struggled this year as well. Injuries, missed snaps, bad exchanges and murder threats have left the Urbans out of the top 25 for the first time in 57 years (sarcasm intended), or something like that.

Tim Tebow is now donning his cape for the Denver Broncos and despite assurances from the coach, the fan base and Timmy T himself, John Brantley is not going to be “better than Tebow.”

Misery times three. Three losses in a row that is. Suddenly Urban Meyer looks miserable as the game clock winds down each week. Sound familiar?

So in a season where many thought someone other than the Gators might win the East, many are now speculating that a 4-4 record might just win it the SEC "Least" division. South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt still have a shot at the crown.

Who will win it?

The next couple of weeks should tell the tale.