Georgia must recover its identity after being intimidated by LSU's Death Valley



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The Georgia effort stole despair from the beginning.

On the Bulldogs' second possession, a 190-pound kick kicker, who seems to have run the 40-yard throw between 5 seconds and the sundial, was mistaken for the wrong time.

Who knew that part of Georgia's destiny would rest on that of Rodrigo Blankenship feet? Predictably, his first career post resulted in a breakaway. The showdown with LSU has deteriorated from there.

Georgia lost by 20 to Baton Rouge Saturday, ending up losing his identity too. Quarterback Jake Fromm was already playing behind two freshmen in the offensive line. His replacement, Justin Fields, arrived too late and not often enough.

Meanwhile, the legend that is becoming LSU's Joe Burrow could have just as easily posed for the statue as they'll carve it someday.

Surprised, disappointed and disappointed as a big disappointment at this point, the worst was on their way to Tiger Stadium. The Bulldogs had to admit that they had been victims of intimidation.

They were spanked and sent back to a deafening crowd rushing into the field. A Georgian program that prides itself on physics must understand how to hit people before winning matches again.

It was not supposed to be like that. From the moment Tua Tagovailoa launched this miracle pass against the Bulldogs, nine months ago in Atlanta, it felt like Kirby Smart and Georgia was just starting.

Given the quality of the reconstruction efforts in Florida and Tennessee, the gain from this division is expected to be a mere formality in 2018.

Now, the SEC East is wide open.

These are seven words that you have not read this season until now. Admits it. It's not just that Florida is back among the living two weeks before the cocktail. Or that Kentucky is also more than a factor in the division. (Do not forget the transitive property of these developments: the Wildcats beat Florida, which beat LSU.)

It is that Georgia has downplayed expectations. Seven games in the season, he has not yet defeated a currently ranked team. LSU came to play. Georgia is looking for who it is.

Was it the team that had no problem with, well, someone in the first six weeks or the group that gave up three quarters of a quarter to Burrow, including two for touchdowns

As we have said, from the beginning, the Dawgs acted as though they had never seen Death Valley before. In fact, they did not do it. The teams had not played at LSU since 2008.

But Smart's teams do not usually melt so easily. The implications are clear. Oh, so quietly, the SEC's chances of getting two in the college football game for a second year in a row have taken a huge hit.

The team you saw losing 36-16 on Saturday should probably beat No. 1 Alabama for this to happen. To get there, Georgia should first win the SEC East before even thinking about the tide.

At the moment, which self-respecting committee member would want to reward Georgia with a playoff spot after what they watched on Saturday?

That does not take into account the possibility that Florida is the SEC's best-ranked team on Sunday after their victory over Vanderbilt.

All this can change, of course. Auburn was reconquered last season by defeating No. 2 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in November to qualify for the SEC championship game.

LSU beat No. 2 on Saturday. Alabama No. 1 will visit Tiger Stadium in three weeks.

Maybe it's time to draw our attention to what should be this epic cocktail in two weeks. Georgia and Florida both bid farewell to what they see as a losing-league-city game for the East Division.

But what was once a formality could well be the end of the playoffs, hopes of the SEC and division in Georgia.

It was not supposed to be like that: in the middle of the season, the Bulldogs were not only desperate at Tigre Stadium, are desperate.

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