You could call it the ultimate indignation, but you would be behind the curve. Georgia fans have been doing that for the better part of two days. The message board began lighting up just after the rankings came out. The Dawgs, according to their rabid followers, were getting the shaft again.

Yes, they looked anemic in Columbia, and, yes, the talented Georgia defense gave up more turf than Neville Chamberlain. But the Bulldogs did, as the cheerleaders kept chanting, “Beat those Cocks.” And, on Sunday, they dropped another spot on the polls, becoming the first pre-season No. 1 team in 28 years to fall to No 3 without losing a single game.

“We don’t look at polls,” Mark Richt said. “It’s silly to pay any attention this early in the year. If we go out and take care of business, the polls will take care of themselves. They’re going to go up and down. That’s the nature of polls.”

Spoken like a politician who just saw his lead evaporate.

Unfortunately, fans do look at the polls. And Georgia fans, prone to paranoia and sensitive to slights, both real and imagined, are fuming.

“Oklahoma! Who have they played? Cincinnati? They couldn’t beat our cheerleading squad!” wrote DawgBone on one of many fan blogs.

Hyperbole is expected on fan sites – that is why they exist, after all – but what is surprising is the irrational vitriol many Dawg fans continue to hurl at South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.

“Spurrier is Satan,” one entry read.

“They looked terrible doing it, but, small consolation, at least we beat the SOB,” wrote another.

Even with a win, Georgia fans couldn’t stop hating on the Ole Ball Coach. Somehow, in their minds, falling from 2nd to 3rd in the national polls was Spurrier’s fault. Georgia was supposed to win big in Columbia. For many, it wasn’t enough just to beat the 62-year-old visor-throwing coach, Bulldog Nation wanted to rip out his still-beating heart and cook it over an open flame. Just Google “I Hate Spurrier With a Hot, Hot Hate” and you will be flooded with Georgia sites calling the former Heisman trophy winner the spawn of Satan (one of the few printable descriptions to be found).

Not even a “W” cooled the fires. “Spurrier has never won an SEC title at South Carolina and he never will,” wrote Fla-Dawg after Saturday’s victory. Another, Hunker-Down wrote, “We don't have to be fair. This is Steve F'ng Spurrier we are talking about. A more vile human has never drawn breath.”

“I’ve known Steve for a long time -- he’s a good friend of mine -- but his problem is that he can’t help but shoot off at the mouth,” said longtime Georgia sideline announcer Loran Smith.

Some of Spurrier’s more lingering quips include:

•    “No, not with the people they have. No."
-- 2000, when asked if he thought Georgia could beat his Florida team.

•    “It wasn’t like they were some big powerful team. They’ve actually lost five in a row to Eastern Division opponents. Kentucky and Vandy beat them last year.” 
-- 2007, on his post-game television show after beating Georgia 

•    “I hope they’re my Georgia.”
– 2002, when asked at a Washington Redskins' press conference if he thought the Dallas Cowboys would be like his Florida State. 

•    "They can call us anything they want. At least they can't call us losers."
-- 2001 after his last game against Georgia as coach of the Florida Gators

“I think a lot of what he says and does goes back to when he was playing quarterback at Florida,” Smith said. “He won the Heisman trophy, but he never won a conference championship, because we kept getting in the way. A lot of people think he’s never forgotten that.”

A lot of people will also never forget the things Spurrier has said since. Former Georgia coach Ray Goff wanted to get Spurrier alone for 30 minutes; the implication being only one man would come out intact. And why not? When asked one year at Florida what sort of opponent Georgia was going to be, Spurrier said, “Is Ray Goff still their coach?”

Last year the soft-spoken and always affable Hershel Walker told Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Terrence Moore, “If (Spurrier’s) got that much guts, why don’t he step into the ring with me? How much guts do you have? Step into the ring with me.”

Spurrier didn’t offer an immediate comment, but he later told a local reporter, he thought he could take Walker in the ring.

Other schools have had their share of Spurrier moments. When FSU players ran afoul of NCAA rules by accepting deep discounts for shoes, Spurrier called them ‘Free Shoes University.’ And even going back to his days at Duke, Spurrier made enemies with this taunts and jibes as his Blue Devils were winning their only ACC football title. But his best and longest lasting material has been reserved for Georgia.

At 3-0 and brimming with talent, Georgia still has a legitimate shot at a national title. As Smith said, “We’re a team with a lot of potential, but we haven’t fully shown it yet. But, heck, as long as we keep winning, we’ll be the No. 1 team in the country at the end of the year. I don’t think, with the strength of our schedule, anybody could assume we’re going to win every game, but if we do, we’ll be No. 1. If USC wins, they’ll be there too. It would be great to meet them in the Rose Bowl. That would be some game.”

That dream is a long way off for the Bulldog nation. Heck, most aren’t even talking about the Arizona State game next Saturday. For a few more days at least, the focus is still on Spurrier, the man every good Georgia fan loves to continue to hate.