A Dawgs loss will NOT dilute the 2011 turnaround.

I have heard many Dawg fans say this past week that they "don't care if we lose to LSU this weekend".

While I do not completely agree with their sentiment, I do understand what they are trying to say.

I ALWAYS care if UGA wins or loses. A UGA win, whether it be against Coastal Carolina or LSU, makes me sleep easier at night. A UGA a loss, whether it be against Colorado or Bama, sends a dagger straight into the pit of my stomach which continues to stab for days, if not weeks.

But please recall what so many of us, myself included, said during this past summer. Raise your hand if you also declared that "As long as the Dawgs are in the hunt for, or make it to Atlanta in December, I will be happy." Well here we are, preparing for our second leg of the "Dome to Dome" mantra which was coined by our players during summer camp.

Jarvis Jones is a HUGE upgrade on our defense.

So will you be disappointed if the Dawgs come up short this Saturday? I certainly will. However, I foresee being able to take a potential loss with an unusually positive attitude. I may even possess the abilities, which are foreign to me, to be able to watch the night games after our Dawgs come up short during the afternoon. I've never been able to do that, no matter who is playing.

Just look where we were this time last year. A 6-6 record, with the humiliating and super-frustrating loss to Auburn still stinging. Not even our annual whipping of the Nerds made us feel better after that game. Our entire fanbase pretending to get pumped up about being sent to Memphis for New Year's. The media had about peaked on its 5-alarm fire they set under Mark Richt's seat. The team completely embarrassed by the amount of arrests that had recently taken place...... All while two other teams prepared for the spotlight in the Dome, while we bickered on any blog/message board we could get on. A looooong offseason was ahead of us, and we knew it.

You think we'd see this image ever again last December?

Now look where we are today. 10 wins in a row after losing to two very respectable opponents earlier in the season. A defense that has us as giddy as we have been since the train tracks gang cheered for Erk Russel on our sidelines. A record season by Aaron Murray, which makes us feel VERY good about the next two seasons. For the first time since 1981, we beat Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, and the Nerds (and beating rivals is FUN). ESPN is actually giving us positive press throughout the day. We have (though injury prone) a running back which we see a bright future in. A seemingly resurrected Mark Richt, with the media discussing a likely contract extension...... Good days seem ahead in Athens!!

So this weekend, to many Dawg fans, is indeed just icing on a cake we weren't fully expecting to get to eat this season. While a loss will certainly hurt the hearts which beat for Saturdays in the fall in the great state of Georgia, there is simply too much optimism around this program to let us spiral back to those dark days of bickering amongst one another. It should not be hard to tip our hats to the respectable #1 team in the nation, and ask them to represent the SEC well in the BCS National Championship game.

While I certainly am not hoping for or expecting a loss this weekend, I can honestly say that win or lose, we will have done it respectably. And that is exponentially more than we could say this time last year.

HUNKER DOWN ONE MORE TIME, DAWGS!!!!

BEAT LSU!!!