a punch in the gut.....

Yep, that's what it felt like Saturday night. The game was close, still within reach for us. Then we forgot how to cover a punt, and Georgia returned it for a touchdown. Game over. Just like an unexpected punch in the stomach that leaves you both stunned and sick at the same time. Sure, there was alot of time left on the clock, but there was no way we were going to come back. When your lone scoring drive up to that point was for 1 foot, chances are you're not going to be able to come back.

Even at halftime, Chris and I said that to have played as poorly as we did and be down just 10 to nothing, we still had a shot. Then it was 13-0, and we still felt OK. When Wade intercepted Shockley, Neyland stadium went nuts. Clausen scored and we were within reach. But the punt return sealed our doom. The bottom line was that every time we did something well, we committed a penalty. We just didn't play well enough to win.

It was a tough loss, no doubt. I know the locker room had to be a depressing place after the game. Our prayers go out to Jason Allen, that he would be able to recover from the hip injury.

The trip home was going to be long enough after the loss. After we'd been in traffic for about 15 minutes, the bride called to tell me about a plane that had attempted to land and crashed onto I-40. Both lanes were shut down. The normal 3-hour trip took about 4 1/2 hours.

But the company was great all day long. Meg and I got to spend alot of time together, and being with Chris and Landon is always alot of fun. The highlight of Meg's day was getting to touch Eric Ainge's hand. She said he was even cuter up close. If only he were as good at QB as he is cute.....