With the 2010 season teetering between "farce" and "disaster" -- hey, someone check Webster's to see if "farce-saster" is a word -- here's the rundown on the teams Georgia has yet to play.
TENNESSEE
Say this for Derek Dooley's bunch: They're not what you'd call "good," or even "talented," but they've been hanging in there for the full 60 minutes against their SEC opponents. And while last week's absurdist stage play of an ending against LSU would be enough to send even the strongest-willed teams into an emotional tailspin, can anyone make the case that Georgia isn't in the exact same situation right now?
Worry level: Steady. Maybe up a tick.
VANDERBILT
Hung in there with an experienced UConn team for a half before giving up the game's final 26 points and losing 40-21. Still not a great team by any measure, but still not one that Georgia fans can take for granted at this point.
Worry level: Steady.
KENTUCKY
Go ahead and throw out their dominating 3-0 start against Louisville, WKU and Akron, because it's been nothing but doom since the SEC slate kicked into action. The latest misery: a loss to an Ole Miss team that had been given up for dead just a couple weeks ago, in which the Rebels were up 42-20 at one point before letting their foot off the gas. There will be opportunities for Georgia's offense in this game (assuming the coaches can figure out how to take advantage of any of them).
Worry level: Down.
FLORIDA
Signs your season has flatlined: You can't even derive any sadistic pleasure out of seeing the Gators receive a 31-6 dismantling in Tuscaloosa. Clearly this year's Florida squad is rife with weaknesses, but Georgia has a long, long way to go before it can even talk about exploiting any of them. (On the other hand, their fans are now in full fire-the-offensive-coordinator-yesterday mode, so maybe we really are the same after all.)
Worry level: Down, but not enough to matter.
IDAHO STATE
Lost by five TDs to the same Portland State team that received a 69-0 napalming from Oregon a few week ago. The Bengals have yet to beat a fellow I-AA squad this season, much less a I-A. If all else fails -- and it very well could -- we've at least got a second win on the schedule!
Worry level: Nonexistent.
AUBURN
Blew Louisiana-Monroe off the field, 52-3, and without a single rushing yard from Cam Newton, no less. Of course, at this point Auburn could put Cam Newton on the field all by his lonesome against out starting defensive 11 and still probably be favored by 3.
Worry level: Up even more.
GEORGIA TECH
Trailing a mediocre Wake Forest team 17-6 to start the fourth quarter, Tech very nearly saw their season take a header into the same ditch Georgia's has fallen into, but Josh Nesbitt piled the team on his back and willed them to a win, outscoring the Demon Deacons 18-3 in the final period. It's clear that this team is only a shadow of last year's ACC-title-winning squad on both sides of the ball, but that comeback still took guts. And looking at the way Georgia's defense has been powerless to usher the far less competent offenses of Mississippi State and Colorado off the field on third down, there's little reason to think they'll be able to stop even a lower-calorie version of Tech's triple option.
Worry level: Up.