Since we’ve obviously got plenty of time with no Georgia sports likely until August, it’s the perfect opportunity to look back at the 10 most memorable Bulldog football games I’ve been fortunate enough to witness during my career.

Although I’m not sure of an exact number, since moving to Athens in October of 1996, I’ve seen Georgia play somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 times. In the grand scheme, I suppose that’s not a ton. There’s a good number of our subscribers who have seen more. Still, it is fun to look back, do a little reminiscing.

I hope everyone enjoys taking a little walk back down memory lane.

The reason this game makes my top 10 has absolutely nothing to do with what happened on the field.

It had everything to do with Colorado’s mascot, Ralphie, which made the 1,500-mile trip from Boulder for the game.

This was major news. Ralphie’s visit to Athens was the first time in 25 years Colorado’s mascot had made it out of state for a regular season road game, and trust me, this was the talk of the town.

However, not everyone was thrilled with the idea.

Former head coach Mark Richt wasn’t all that enthused and expressed concerns in his game-week press conference about the damage to the field.

The late Paul Oliver wasn’t impressed, either.

“We ain’t playing against a buffalo,” Oliver said. “We’re playing against a team.”

As for the game itself, the Bulldogs were almost buffaloed. Scoreless for three quarters, it took a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes - the second coming with 46 seconds left - for Georgia to beat Colorado 14-13.

The Bulldogs trailed 20-0 seven years ago at Grant Field before rallying back to beat the Yellow Jackets in double-overtime, thanks to a performance by Todd Gurley that I’ll never forget.

Georgia would need two touchdowns in overtime to beat the Yellow Jackets and Gurley was just the man for the job.

After Georgia Tech scored in the first overtime to go up by seven, three straight runs by Gurley tied the contest. On the ensuing series, it took Georgia just one play - a 25-yard run by Gurley -to put Georgia ahead before the defense stopped the Yellow Jackets at the 10-yard line to win.

Gurley scored four touchdowns that day (three rushing, one receiving) while rushing for 122 yards on 20 carries.

It’s actually funny that two more most memorable games took place in a season that saw the Bulldogs finish a pedestrian 8-5.

But what a game.

This matchup between Aaron Murray and former Bulldog quarterback Zach Mettenberger did not disappoint.

With 4:14 to play the Tigers took a 41-37 lead on an 8-yard run by Jeremy Hill before the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead on a 25-yard pass from Murray to Justin Scott Wesley with 1:47 left to play.

Mettenberger would have a chance to save the Tigers but Georgia’s defense would hold, giving the Bulldogs a huge victory over the No. 6 Tigers.

Murray completed 20 of 34 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns, with Mettenberger completing 23 of 37 for a career high 372 yards and three scores.

There is another game between these two that finished with the identical 26-23 score we’ll get into later, but for now, we’ll look back the last time Georgia made the trip to Tuscaloosa in 2007.

Back in the day, I’d always head down to the field with around five minutes to play, and this instance I’m glad that I did.

There, I was able to get a bird’s eye view of Matt Stafford’s overtime pass of 25 yards to Mike Henderson to give the Bulldogs what was a huge victory over the Crimson Tide, a win that helped lift Georgia to the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii.

This may or may not have been Jim Donnan’s biggest win during his career as Georgia’s coach, but there’s no doubt it was one of the more satisfying.

The win was the first by Georgia over the Gators since 1989, and featured a huge game by running back Robert Edwards, who tied a school record with four touchdowns while rushing for 124 yards.

Not only did the game itself stand out, but my everlasting memory, is a former colleague of mine stoically raising his fist in the air as Edwards raced by for his fourth and final score to clinch the game.

This game was memorable as the win clinched the SEC East for the Bulldogs and set the stage for Georgia’s first SEC championship since 1982.

What an ending.

Facing a fourth-and-15 at the Auburn 20 with 1:18 to play, quarterback David Greene lofted a pass to the left corner of the end zone for Michael Johnson, who out-jumped cornerback Horace Willis to give the Bulldogs the victory.

The celebration that followed the play was one I’ll never forget.

You knew the “Hobnail Boot” game had to be here, right?

The play itself was memorable, but what stood out to me was the crowd and how quickly the decibel level changed.

Say what you want about Neyland Stadium, but when it’s packed and folks are screaming, it’s as loud as it gets. Personally speaking, only LSU compares.

When Travis Stephens scored on a 62-yard screen pass with 44 seconds left, the ground under my feet was literally shaking.

The “earthquake” continued as Georgia took over at the Volunteer 41 with 39 seconds on the clock. David Greene would complete passes of 27 and 14 yards to Randy McMichael. But when Greene hit a wide-open Verron Haynes for the 6-yard, game-winning score you’ve never heard such a drop off in nose as you heard after that play.

Sorry to bring up bad memories, but how could anyone forget the 2018 National Championship?

Yes, Alabama won in overtime 26-23, but from the standpoint of excitement, controversy, drama, this game had it all.

As the final moments were winding down, a million thoughts were racing through my head. Talk about extremes.

One momentum I’m trying to come up with the right words to describe the joy felt by the Bulldogs winning their first national title since 1980, then all of a sudden doing a complete 360 and coming up with the right words to describe such a crushing defeat.

This one won’t soon be forgotten.

This game marked the first career start for Jake Fromm and the Bulldogs held on for a dramatic win, but this memory comes in at No. 2 for the simple fact we’re talking Notre Dame.

No shame here. This was a bucket list deal.

In the 32 years I’ve covered college football, this is the one and only time I’ve ever made the effort to go on the field before hand to take pictures and basically soak in my surroundings.

It was just cool as hell.

This wasn’t just a game, it was an event, and easily my top highlight covering the Georgia football team.

Like the trip to Notre Dame, never in my life did I ever envision getting the chance to cover the Rose Bowl. It lived up all my expectations.

The game itself was obviously tremendous.

Seeing Sony Michel’s 27-yard game-winning run in the second overtime to send the Bulldogs to Atlanta qualifies as one of my top all-time moments to personally see in sports. But it wasn’t just game.

The entire week in Los Angeles was amazing, the Rose Bowl committee the perfect hosts … quite simply, it was a week I’ll never forget. I suspect it will be hard to top.