Georgia Football: Dawgs Have New Life, Back in SEC Race

It's hard to believe, but the Georgia Bulldogs are in position to accomplish everything they set out for at the beginning of this season.

Yes, even after four straight losses—including three conference defeats—Georgia is tied for second place in the SEC East standings at 2-3 after two straight blowout victories over Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Just weeks ago fans were talking about Mark Richt's time in Athens slipping away, but today fans are talking about just how much this young team could actually achieve.

Sure, at best Georgia can only own a mediocre 8-4 regular season record. But, Georgia also is still alive in the race for Atlanta.

They have the potential to play in the SEC title game. They also could still achieve double-digit wins this year.

Now, I am putting a lot of "ifs" on the table. This is a best-case scenario that implies Georgia winning out in their final games.

But, all of a sudden, Georgia seems to be riding a lot of momentum. They are finally starting to look like a good football team.

Their biggest hurdles will come in the form of two tough SEC road games at Kentucky and Auburn. As I said in my preseason predictions, where I chose Georgia to lose just two games, I had a feeling the road game at Kentucky could be a very realistic trap game.

Georgia isn't exactly riding a one-loss record into Lexington, as I predicted, but the road game against a Kentucky team charged off a victory over South Carolina should be a true test to see how sound Georgia actually is.

Georgia's last three road games were losses, all of which were highlighted by fumbles and miscues. If the Dawgs can somehow go on the road and play the type of game they have the past two weeks they could very well gain their respect back from the rest of the conference.

And a win next Saturday night will set up an intense race for the SEC East crown, which right now is undoubtedly a three-horse affair.

South Carolina still seems to be the overwhelming favorite in the division because of their experience and talent level. Their offense is bigger, stronger and faster at every position. Marcus Lattimore clearly completes that team. If Lattimore can get over his ankle injury then South Carolina has a slight edge to win it all.

However the Gamecocks have four more SEC games, while Georgia and Florida have three. They have Tennessee and Arkansas at home before heading to the swamp to face the Gators. Their next game, on the road at Vanderbilt, shouldn't be a tough one for them.

For Georgia to win the East, South Carolina must lose at least two more conference games, which would put them at four SEC losses. The Gamecocks own the tiebreaker advantage over Georgia.

If that happens Georgia would need to win out to take a one-game lead in the standings at 5-3, preserving their SEC East crown. With Florida currently tied with Georgia, a Dawgs win in Jacksonville would give them a tiebreaker advantage over the Gators. 

The Dawgs have something to play for. This team may not have felt that way when losing to Colorado on the road, or even with their loss a week earlier in Starkville. Their two SEC losses to start the year definitely took a toll on the mentality of this team.

Yet all of a sudden the door has opened back up for Georgia. The Dawgs are coming off two flawless performances.

If they decide to be that 10-win team we all wanted them to be at the start of the year, believe it or not, they could in fact become a 10-win team.

Again, it's a long shot, but all of a sudden Mark Richt has to be feeling like he can take his job by the horns. The players have to feel like they have been reborn. 

Hopefully this article doesn't turn out to be one giant jinx.

One thing we know for sure is that Georgia found an identity in the past few weeks. ESPN broadcasters have been talking about how Florida is currently in an identity crisis. 

Aaron Murray has looked fantastic and mature beyond his years since the opening snap of the season. The running game is finally finding somewhat of a pulse. A.J. Green has completely opened up the passing game and guys like Tavarres King and Kris Durham are proving Georgia's receiving corps runs much deeper than No. 8.

And recently Georgia's defense has had a bit of mojo. 

With Florida sliding, the WLOCP could be a defining moment for the Georgia program. If Georgia wins the next two football games their season will be more than salvaged. If they win the next four, the season could very well be deemed a success.

It's a long shot, but it isn't over until the fat lady sings.