KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Admit it. Georgia has a lot of us spoiled.

Perhaps, myself included.

I said this at the beginning of the year, and my feelings haven’t changed: The 2019 edition of the Georgia football team is the most athletically gifted squad of Bulldogs that these two eyes have witnessed in 20-plus years of covering the program.

However, let’s not confuse splendid athleticism with consistent play. The two don’t always go hand in hand, and we, fans and media alike, are left wanting and expecting more.

Herein lies the reason why.

Being that the team is so athletically talented, I think we all fall into the trap of expecting the team to play perfect football every time they take the field.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, and when huge underdogs like Tennessee go up 14-10 as the Vols did Saturday night, that’s more than enough to send good Christian Bulldog fans into a downright demonic frenzy.

Kirby Smart will tell you there’s plenty of areas his team still needs to improve, and he’s right.

What adds to the frustration is the Bulldogs last won a national championship in 1980. Folks are hungry, no, craving, for Georgia to win one more. They look at Alabama, they look at Clemson and feel the Bulldogs need to be perfect to accomplish that ultimate goal. Every play, every pass, every kick is scrutinized harder than it would be elsewhere. Would that play cost a game to Alabama? To Clemson? These are the questions many routinely ask themselves. That's fair.

Effort isn’t a problem, and although it’s not fair to expect any team to be perfect, ironing out the kinks will be crucial.

Sitting here today, I think Georgia is one of the country’s best teams. I feel confident in saying that.

For all the consternation and palm sweating, the Bulldogs still managed to cover yesterday’s 25-point spread—an impressive feat on the road.

While some may go a bit overboard with their fretting, there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the areas where the team needs to improve. Smart did last night in his postgame comments.

Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time for that to happen.

First, the good…

…Those screaming for James Coley to do a better job mixing up his plays should have come away from the contest relatively pleased.

The Bulldogs ran 41 times for 238 yards, while Jake Fromm attempted (gasp) 29 passes, completing 24 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. For math majors, that’s 526 total yards. Smart will take that any day.

…D’Andre Swift, Brian Herrien, and Zamir White are some tough jokers. Did you see how hard they ran last night? I’m not sure how many yards after contact we’re talking about, but this group of backs doesn’t have to take a backseat to anyone when it comes to effort.

…Rodrigo Blankenship added three more field goals, making him a perfect 11 of 11 this year.

…Nine different players caught passes from Fromm.

…With three sacks, Georgia has 15 for the year. The Bulldogs only had 24 all of last year.

…On the flip side, opponents have sacked Fromm just once in Georgia’s five games.

…It appears nose guard Jordan Davis isn’t hurt as much as first feared. UGASports sources said during the game that X-rays on Davis’ ankle were negative, something Smart seemed to confirm when he said after the game that the sprain wasn’t as serious as those suffered by other players earlier this year.

…Huge props to the second-team defense for stopping Tennessee’s offense at the end of the game, after the Vols had a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.

Now, the bad:

…Jake Camarda once against served as the Bulldogs’ punter, but one has to think Smart’s not going to allow many more 18-yarders like the one we saw in the second quarter.

…The Bulldogs miss cornerback Tyson Campbell. Tennessee went after DJ Daniel and hit some big plays, including a 73-yarder to Marquez Callaway, who beat both Daniel and safety Richard LeCounte with a double move to complete the score.

…Tackling in the secondary as a whole must improve. Smart stated as much after the game. Callaway and Jauan Jennings are two big, talented receivers, but their yards after contact was an issue Saturday night.

…For the fourth time (at least by my count), Georgia failed to convert a 4th-and-1 play. Considering how good Georgia’s offensive line was projected to be, those kinds of short-yardage failures are happening a bit too often.

Like many of you, I felt the way the game started was perplexing, although there was never a time when I felt that Georgia was in danger of losing, even with the score 14-10. Not sure why.

Maybe the feeling will be different once November rolls around, but right now, at least in my opinion, the Bulldogs are setting themselves up for a November to remember.

The next two weeks against South Carolina and Kentucky figure to be easy pickings before the highly-anticipated meeting with Florida in Jacksonville. Then the Dawgs face Missouri, Auburn, and Texas A&M—games where Georgia will need to be at its best to make it through that part of the schedule unscathed.

I didn't mention Georgia Tech. But do I really need to?