Georgia is one of a few teams coming off of crushing losses as they head into Week 6.

The Bulldogs’ defeat at the hands of the Crimson Tide wasn’t just disappointing. It was embarrassing. All week, Georgia fans were eagerly awaiting Nick Chubb to storm the field as he has so far this season. They seemingly forgot to worry about Alabama’s premier defense, which reduced both Georgia quarterbacks to playing like amateurs.

But there are still silver linings for the Bulldogs. One of them comes in the form of Tennessee, the opponent they are traveling to this Saturday and a team that also suffered a heartbreaking loss last week. Hopes were just as high for Butch Jones’ squad as Mark Richt’s, but Jones’ talented roster has been showing its youth. The roster also lost one of its talented members recently this week, with the dismissal of WR Pig Howard.

So Saturday will be the clash of the deflated egos. The second silver lining for the Bulldogs comes with knowing that the Volunteers’ egos are much worse off their their own. Having blown three leads now, Tennessee looks like it’s forgotten how to win.

If Georgia does win its game this coming Saturday, it could reveal a third silver lining. And this one is not as much a lining as a full glimmering road to the SEC East title. After Tennessee, Georgia only plays four more conference teams. And every single one of them looks manageable.

Georgia plays Missouri at home the week after Tennessee. Missouri is a team which is last in the SEC in rushing offense and 10th in passing offense. Georgia will also play Kentucky, a team that is more of a threat this year but has proven over and over they are unable to close a game. Auburn is the last conference team Georgia will face during the season, and while that may have been the most intimidating team on the schedule during the preseason, Auburn’s play so far has broadcast to the entire nation what its weaknesses are and its one-dimensionality. Georgia just needs to make sure its rush defense is solid, and they’ll be good to go.

The only real trap game left is Florida, a surprising thought. This game is important every year because it is one of the SEC’s biggest rivalries, but this year it could also spell out the road to the division title. Georgia will have to be careful, more careful than they were with Alabama. But Georgia also needs to realize that its destiny for the season still rests in its hands. Richt and Bulldogs fans need not be shut out of the SEC championship game again.

And that fact is not silver. It’s golden.