‘cause the Tennessee Vols are singin’ the blues.

Pinch me. Never in my wildest dreams could I envision the run that we are in the midst of.

1. I love this. Every week, with all the injuries we have and continue to have on the offensive side of the ball, a dude at a skill position steps up. The question is from week-to-week, who will it be? Yesterday, it was Dillon Bell turn, who played in the slot for Ladd McConkey. Ladd was unavailable due to one of three reasons I gleaned from various post-game sources: His ankle was still hurting, his back flared up again, or he was battling some sort of illness. Regardless, it was Bell’s turn to shine and he did with a bullet!

Kneeland Stadium was rocking. For 11 ephemeral seconds, the crowd believed. Sales of orange-and white checkerboard overalls (and onesies) spiked. Lulu and Junior shared a dip. Cousins kissed; some may have even proposed. All was right in their world. Alas, for the home faithful that literally was their moment in the sun. Dolly Parton couldn’t even save ‘em.

If giving up a first drive (or, in this case, a first play) touchdown is the price for victory which legitimately seems to be Georgia’s modus operandi, I guess go ahead and sign me up. I’d prefer this not to be, but I’m beginning to wonder how I might feel if we force Tech to actually punt on their first possession next Saturday night. It’s a conundrum.

3. In perusing the official stats, the thing that stood out was time of possession. Georgia was a ball control monster, winning this battle 40:58 to 19:02. Tennessee’s fast paced offense only guaranteed they’d go 3-and-out a lot quicker than your average offense, thus ensuring their defense has to play more. I like this strategy. The Dawgs outgained the Vols 472 to 277. Their long touchdown accounted for 57% of their entire day’s rushing output. If you remove the running game from Tennessee’s offense, you’ll win just as Mizzou did last week when the Vols only gained 83 yards against The Tigers. Tennessee only gained 55 more yards on the ground after that maddening first play.