Georgia has its swagger back. It might have taken 25 years, but it is finally back. Since the Florida game, the Bulldogs have played with an intensity that would put a Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” reunion tour to shame.

In defining moments last year, Georgia couldn’t “finish the drill,” as head coach Mark Richt says. The Bulldogs seemed to walk away at key times, much like Ricky Bobby’s dad did every time things began to go right.

There was the Vanderbilt meltdown, the Florida shouldabeen and the Kentucky sleepwalk. While the Bulldogs finished strong after those debacles, those were the games that stuck out like Britney Spears being seen reading “Hello, My Name Is Mommy: The Dysfunctional Girl’s Guide to Having, Loving (and Hopefully Not Screwing Up) a Baby” by Sheri Lynch. Yes, it’s a real book.

The confidence Georgia needed finally arrived this year in Jacksonville. Down 17-14, Georgia knew exactly what it needed to do and that was to keep attacking. Last year, the Bulldogs would have crumbled and played a tight pressure cooker. This year’s squad stayed calm, stuck to the game plan and came out on top.

Down 20-17 in the third quarter against Auburn, the Bulldogs didn’t panic either. Georgia played like it still had complete control.

The reason is simple. Richt has unhooked the chain he had his players by. While media outlets hint that the usually conservative Richt must be on crack (for the record, he’s not), it is evident that Richt indeed has made changes to loosen up the attitude of his team.

Last year, the Bulldogs were tense and played tight in big moments. Beginning in this year’s Florida contest, the Bulldogs have played like the opposition’s big brother. The team has come out and beat up three opposing defenses for 42, 44 and 45 points.

Senior running back Jason Johnson said it all changed when Richt decided it was time to simply let his players play the game.

“I read somewhere that Coach Richt said he wanted us to go back to playing old school, like we were in high school and when we were little – just having fun,” Johnson said. “When he actually allowed us to go out there since Florida, to just go out there and have fun. I mean, we made some mistakes and the one penalty he told us to get we went overboard. But, I mean, it just allowed us to renew our faith in how good we are.”

As long as Georgia continues to play like it has the last three weeks, there is a good reason to think it won’t lose another game this season. Even if Tennessee slips up in the next two weeks, there is still a good reason to think Georgia won’t lose any more (that includes LSU in Atlanta).

To realize this, all you need to do is combine this newfound swagger with the most balanced offense since the 1992 team (Eric Zeier, Garrison Hearst and Andre Hastings), add in a coach who has turned 180 degrees in order to get his players to believe in themselves and sprinkle in this coach’s belief in each individual player.

And now I’m beginning to believe as well.

- Jason Butt is a sportswriter for The Red & Black.