Has Aaron Murray Made Georgia Bulldogs Fans Believe Again?

As the final whistle blew on Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs celebrated a 43-0 shutout win over the Vanderbilt Commodores and a 3-4 record that somehow inspired confidence once more in their fans. 

The game capped off a festive Homecoming day that included the introduction of UGA VIII, plenty of cheers, and chants led by the former members of the Bulldogs' Redcoats marching band and cheerleading squad. 

If you had lived under a rock for the entire season and attended this game, there is no way you would have been able to tell just how much pain and anguish had plagued the Georgia faithful for the first half of the season. 

The student section was rocking, just as enthusiastic as ever, and the rest of Sanford Stadium supplied more than its fair share of noise. The atmosphere was just like it had always been in Athens. 

Remember that this Bulldogs team started off the year ranked by the AP in their preseason poll and then delivered a dominant performance to start the season, blowing the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Monroe out from between the hedges. 

But then the losses started to pile up, most of them in heartbreaking fashion. 

There was the letdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks, then the emotional roller coaster ride during the Arkansas Razorbacks. Back-to-back letdowns against Mississippi State and Colorado followed those and somehow the Bulldogs had a 1-4 record.

It seemed as though no one could hold onto the ball. Were opponents somehow coating the ball in grease before each snap? All indications pointed towards yes. 

Everyone started to call for Mark Richt to be fired. Surely it was his fault that this team was so drastically underperforming. 

But suddenly, against all logic, Georgia started to turn it around. 

The team, led by freshman quarterback Aaron Murray and stud wideout A.J. Green, was taking on the Tennessee Volunteers in Athens and no one was sure what to expect. Now here comes the embarrassing part. 

I'm a student at the University of Georgia and I'm a proud owner of season tickets to the football games. But for some reason, I couldn't really get myself motivated to go to the Tennessee game. 

I wasn't really prepared to go and watch us lose yet another disappointing game. In my mind, obviously devoid of logic at the time, the risk of suffering through a loss didn't outweigh the reward of seeing us beat a subpar Tennessee team. 

Then, as I watched from a couch safely back inside my apartment, Aaron Murray had a breakout game and tore the Volunteers apart en route to a 41-14 game. Suddenly there were, gasp, positives about the football team!

This last Saturday, I somehow dragged myself out of bed in time to make it to Sanford Stadium in time for the 12:21 start and didn't regret the decision for a minute. 

For the second straight week, the team looked great. 

And now, I want to believe. In fact, I have to believe. Sure, Tennessee and Vanderbilt aren't exactly on the same level as Auburn and Alabama, but they both succumbed to a seemingly superior Georgia team. 

Isn't that part of what makes sports so great? Isn't that part of being a fan? The ability to put the bad times behind you and focus on the good is vital to sports fans. It sometimes leads to heartbreak, but other times it doesn't. Those are the times that make teams worth rooting for. 

So in return for making me believe again, and I'm sure I'm not alone in having these feelings, I'd like to offer a sincere thank you to the members of the Georgia squad that have played so well and so passionately these last two weeks. 

The season is still young and the last couple of games have shown that there may still be some promise in this season.