There are worse things than being outplayed for a couple of quarters.

Just ask Florida, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas, etc.

Some observations from a sunburnt Saturday:

• If anything, the team came out flatter against Ole Miss than it did against South Carolina. I don’t know what the issue is, but all this talk about competition isn’t having the desired effect when they step on the field, at least at Sanford against SEC competition. The flip side of the coin is knowing that Georgia was still able to put away an opponent like that without bringing its “A” game.
• There is no excuse for a Georgia defense giving up 175 yards of offense in the first quarter to a team than runs an offense that’s even more vanilla than Georgia’s. Had Adams not fumbled the snap on the Georgia one, there’s no telling where the game goes from there.
• I was a little surprised at how poorly the Dawg offensive line played out of the gate, considering that Mississippi’s defensive line had shown very little on the season. I was much more surprised at how ineffective Georgia’s defensive line was for much of the game, especially on UM’s long drive to open the third quarter that tied the game at 17.
• While the offensive line had its share of blocking woes, the wide receivers as a group continue to impress with their downfield blocking. I saw guys like Moore, Wilson, Bailey and, of course, Massaquoi throw key blocks on plays throughout the game.
• Maybe it’s impatience on my part, but it looks like Stafford is just treading water right now in developing his game. Yesterday, he locked onto receivers a couple of times that I noticed and forced throws instead of finding the open man and getting the ball there. Then again, on plays like the TD to Massaquoi, he’s got that amazing ability to improvise and make a big play happen. I just want to see more consistency.
• I keep saying it, but you can’t help but be impressed with Massaquoi’s play this season. He’s not the deep threat that Bailey is, but in terms of the total package of route running, consistency catching the ball and blocking, he’s Georgia’s most complete receiver.
• There’s something really annoying about wasting a perfectly executed onside kick.
• To say that Thomas Brown is a remarkable player may not be doing him justice. If anything, he’s a better runner than he was before the injury. To date, he and Moreno are the team MVPs.
• All grumbling aside, this is the classic game where a month later nobody is going to remember much about it, other than the margin of victory (hey, Florida only beat Mississippi by six!). Sometimes it’s not so bad not to have a game televised.

I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in the pop culture reference story of the day. I walked to the game with my eighteen year old freshman daughter who explained to me how she had just learned a popular dance called “Superman” from a YouTube instructional video. During the second half the strains of a rap song began playing over the Sanford PA system and my daughter excitedly announced that was the song that she learned the dance to. I then notice that Dannell Ellerbe is (on the field!) subtly busting a couple of steps to the music. Next, the topper: up on the big screen, we’re treated to Brown and Moreno (and it looked like Lumpkin jumped in late) showing their moves. All in all, pretty funny stuff – although it’s a good thing they were winning at the time.

For your further entertainment, here’s how to “Crank That”: