First impressions are not everything. In fact, they could be the farthest thing from the truth.

Less than two weeks ago, the excitement that followed Georgia’s season-opening win against Oklahoma State was palpable around the Bulldog Nation.

Players and coaches knew better, or at least that’s what they said.

Head coach Mark Richt repeatedly called the performance “solid,” and senior safety Kelin Johnson was quick to point out mistakes made.

Leave it to Steve “Darth Visor” Spurrier to impart some knowledge that few Bulldog fans want to admit.

“It wasn’t like they were some big, powerful team,” Spurrier said on his television show Sunday. “They’ve actually lost five in a row to Eastern Division opponents. Kentucky and Vandy beat ‘em last year.”

That’s right – the Georgia team that was ranked 11th in the Associated Press Poll last week hasn’t beaten a team in their own division since Sept. 9, 2006.

“We are still trying to gauge the maturity level of our squad. Some of our guys have been around and are mature, like (center) Fernando Velasco, we have one or two guys that have been through many wars like that. But 60 percent of our line doesn’t have that, they are learning as they go,” Richt said.

Fans saw the result of a learning process last season, as Georgia recovered late in the season to beat teams such as Auburn and Virginia Tech, but neither were SEC East teams.

With teams such as Kentucky and Vanderbilt improving on squads that beat Georgia last year, it’s hard to imagine the Bulldogs being a threat.

“We still need to get tougher. I wouldn’t say we are not a tough team but we do still need to get tougher,” Richt said.

The Bulldogs have the opportunity to make the rest of the season similar to their first impression, but they will have to take care of business in their own backyard.

- Phillip Kisubika is the First & Goal Editor.