Published: November 22, 2009 10:25 pm      

Adam Krohn: How can things get any worse for UGA?

How bad of a season has it been for the Georgia Bulldogs? Well, they lost to Kentucky at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, marking the first time the Wildcats have won in Athens since 1977. I could stop writing here and that would sum the season up just fine. But while that simple sentence may be all Georgia fans need in order to know how bad a year it’s been for their Bulldogs, it won’t fill up enough column space (unless I use a ridiculously large font). So I must continue.

And it gets worse for the Bulldogs.

Though it was expected they’d lose to conference rivals Florida and LSU, the Bulldogs took it a step further and lost to low-teir East division rivals Tennessee and Kentucky. The loss to the Wildcats leaves Georgia with a 4-4 conference record, which assures them a third place finish in the SEC East, led by Florida (8-0). Tennessee and Kentucky — both have 3-4 conference records — play next week and the winner will leapfrog Georgia for second place in the standings because both teams own the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs. Ouch.

Still, it gets worse for the Bulldogs.

Next week comes a date against state rivals Georgia Tech in Atlanta. While the unranked Bulldogs are looking for win No. 7 and a shot at a better bowl game, the No. 7-ranked Yellow Jackets have already clinched a spot in the ACC title game and are looking for their first BCS bowl.

Despite Georgia’s offense being led by quarterback Joe Cox — the anti-Mr. Clutch — and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, the Bulldogs should put up points against a Jackets defense that has allowed 23.5 points a game, which ranks 53rd in the country among FBS schools. But on the flip-side, the Georgia defense — which ranks 75th in points allowed — run by coordinator Willie Martinez will give up more than enough points to keep the Bulldogs a safe distance from Georgia Tech and offensive mastermind Paul Johnson. The Yellow Jackets rank 12th in total offense with 449.64 yards per game.

When putting these numbers together, it’s easy for anyone who isn’t delusional to see that Georgia Tech will win easily. That stinging (pun intended) loss will put Georgia’s overall record at 6-6 to end the regular season.

Still, it gets worse for the Bulldogs.

Because Georgia managed to barely squeak by South Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona State and Auburn while bullying up on Vanderbilt (0-8 in the conference) and Tennessee Tech (a Division I-AA school), the Bulldogs — with six wins — are bowl eligible. Granted, not all six-win teams get a bowl game, but Georgia plays in a top-tier conference, so the Bulldogs are in. That means they have to play another game using Cox and Dumb & Dumber (Bobo and Martinez), along with other underachievers. That means Georgia is in prime position to lose again and — for the first time since 1996 — finish the season with a losing record.

And check this out. When the Bulldogs finished 5-6 in ‘96 under the great Jim Donnan, they also lost to Kentucky. The Wildcats won 24-17 in Lexington, Ky., and would you like to guess who the quarterback for Georgia was? OK, I just caught my breath from laughing so hard. It was Mike Bobo.

Doesn’t that little tidbit of information make it appear as though, after all those 9-, 10, and 11-win seasons without a national title, Georgia has come full-circle in return to mediocrity?

According to ESPN.com’s latest weekly bowl projections, Georgia will play UConn in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. In other “bowl games named after pizza” news, Temple is projected to play Middle Tennessee State in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Say it with me Georgia fans: Good bye BCS, hello mediocrity.

Adam Krohn is a sports writer for The Daily Citizen. You can write him at adamkrohn@daltoncitizen.com or follow him on Twitter @adamkrohn.