By: Kipp Branch

GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services

Georgia got whipped in the Sugar Bowl by a Texas team that had something to prove and the Longhorns came out and took it to Georgia; winning the Sugar Bowl 28-21. The Dawgs ended the season with two straight losses, but great lessons come from a little adversity.

Georgia went into the Sugar Bowl over-confident and it showed throughout the contest. Jake Fromm probably had his worst game in a UGA uniform. D’Andre Swift could not hold on to the football. JJ Holloman had a bad case of the drops. Richard LeCounte tackled like a Pop Warner league defensive back.

The only player that played like he wanted to be in New Orleans was Brian Herrien. UGA only had 69 yards rushing against a Longhorn defense that had leaked all season like a West Texas oil well.

Texas beat UGA at its own game, which was being physical at the point of attack. Texas is on its way back to being a national power. Great job Texas you earned the Sugar Bowl trophy.

What can UGA learn from this effort?

Social Media is not the place to vent your frustrations about not being selected for the college football playoff. Going into this game against the Longhorns’ T should have stood for Texas and not Twitter.

Take care of your business on the field and not put it in the hands of a committee. UGA lost by 20 in Baton Rouge and blew a two-touchdown lead against Alabama in the second half.

Notre Dame looked bad against Clemson, but Georgia players after the way UGA looked against LSU had no business blowing up social media after Clemson beat the Irish 30-3.

I told my wife Saturday night that UGA was in trouble against Texas. Georgia was not a focused football team in New Orleans.

You need to limit your distractions. Deandre Baker you are a DGD, but when you made the decision not to play in the Sugar Bowl then you became a former player getting ready for the NFL draft.

Best of luck to you, I and the rest of Dawgnation will be supporting you in the future. BTW, you didn’t come to UGA as a first round draft pick. Georgia helped prepare you for the NFL. You are an all-time UGA great and a favorite of mine.

Touchy subject matter here I know, but you made the wrong decision and as a leader of the football team your decision spoke volumes about how much the Sugar Bowl really mattered to the younger kids in the program.

All of those years of Outback, Citrus, Liberty, Belk, Taxslayer/Gator, and any other insignificant bowls; then this team wasn’t ready or motivated to play in the damn SUGAR Bowl.

Really? The Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton are the historic bowl games guys. Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, current UGA head coach, Kirby Smart, Robert Edwards, Todd Gurley, Rodney Hampton, Garrison Hearst, and the list goes on, would have loved an opportunity to play in the Sugar Bowl.

Deandre you should have followed your heart and played in the game. We still love you though #18 and always will.

Justin Fields. UGA does not hand out starting jobs. You did not beat out Jake Fromm for the QB position.

You played in 11 games as a freshman. If you don’t want to be in Athens then take your talents to another university. There are plenty of kids that are hungry for your spot.

Competition is everywhere in life. Get used to it Justin and best of luck to you. I hope you stay.

Now that my rant is over that Sugar Bowl loss could be a blessing in disguise for UGA.

With 88 players who are freshman or sophomores this team will learn from this, and will be a huge coaching point for Coach Smart and the staff.

Georgia has more talent than anyone in the country and a great head coach and staff are in place.

Georgia is in transition from being a good program and on the cusp of being a great program. The lessons learned from the last month will help define that greatness just on the horizon.