ATHENS, Ga. --- Under the best of circumstances, Senior Days are wistful affairs.

Under the worst of circumstances -- watching Georgia Tech players dance off with enough Sanford Stadium hedge clippings to propagate a privet border around Atlanta certainly qualifies -- they can be downright melancholy.

Georgia football fans witnessed an era of dominance over its arch rival fade into the mist with a 45-42 defeat to Georgia Tech. They witnessed the birth of a brand of football brought by Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson that will bring plenty of future headaches to the clean, old-fashioned hate of the rivalry series.

They said goodbye to 20 seniors -- including star receiver Mohamed Massaquoi departing after a school record-tying three touchdown receptions and personal-best 180 yards.

But that wasn't the worst of it. What everybody suspects is that they saw the last of two of the most gifted athletes to ever don the red and black.

The Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford era might have come and gone with nothing of real long-lasting significance to show for it. Perhaps the most talented quarterback and second-best running back to ever play for Georgia might be cashing in their collegiate careers without even a single chance to play in a Southeastern Conference Championship Game.

And on a losing note in a turning-point match with Georgia Tech to boot.

"It's tough to lose anything you lose," said a deflated Stafford.

Neither Stafford nor Moreno would speculate on their future.

"I'm not going to go hypothetical with you," Stafford said.

"You never know what's going to happen," Moreno said. "I'm not even thinking about that. I'm just thinking about this bowl game when that time comes."

Stafford accepted his share of blame for Saturday's defeat, kicking himself for an interception that was returned for a touchdown on a day when he gave his first career 400-yard passing performance that showed off his cannon of an arm that the NFL scouts covet.

Moreno was his usual steady and aggressive self, compiling 168 total yards including a 32-yard fourth quarter touchdown run that kept the Bulldogs in the hunt.

But Georgia coach Mark Richt isn't under any delusions that a sour finish to their Sanford Stadium experience is enough to lure them away from lucrative professional futures to get a better taste in their mouths.

"I think for those guys it's going to be a hard decision," Richt said. "I know Matthew had some goals besides making it to the NFL. I'm sure Knowshon did too. These guys want to win championships. These guys want to play well enough to get in position to get some national awards, although that's not their primary objectives. They have good enough reasons to let it cross their minds (about staying)."

Then he added this lobbying note.

"I really would like to see Knowshon and Matthew play behind a veteran line," Richt said. "I think they would have a blast."

For Georgia's future in this new era rivalry with Georgia Tech, they may need that blast. Stafford and Moreno are the only things that kept this game interesting in a yin vs. yang sort of way.

All that high-octane talent was upstaged by a system Saturday. Of all the startling numbers that came out of this shootout, one line on the stat sheet stands out -- one completion, one interception, six attempts for 19 yards. Those were the passing stats of the WINNING quarterback, Josh Nesbitt.

Georgia Tech gave a taste of what's in store for years to come under the reign of retro-innovative coach Johnson. His triple-option offense left the Bulldogs watching the tail ends most of the afternoon of two young running backs who are very much likely to be back next season.

Redshirt freshman Roddy Jones and sophomore Jonathan Dwyer left road scars on the Bulldogs' defense to the tune of 358 of the Yellow Jackets' humbling 409 rushing yards.

Dwyer's 60-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half was a prelude for what was to come. Jones' 54-yard touchdown up the right sideline in the fourth quarter was the finishing touch.

Georgia's defense -- which has been riddled enough of late to cause rumblings about the future of coordinator Willie Martinez -- was grasping at air as it let a 16-point halftime lead become a 10-point deficit in less roughly 13 minutes.

"In the second half we lost our edge and our composure," said defensive lineman Corvey Irvin, a former Laney standout. "We thought they were going to lay down and give up. They got some fast guys on the edge, and you miss one tackle and they can take it to the house."

That is the secret to Johnson's success, and his team executes that philosophy every bit as well as stars like Stafford and Moreno apply their talents.

The difference is that athletes to make Johnson's system work well are a lot easier to come by than singular talents.

"I think it's going to be tough for everybody who plays them," said Richt of the young Yellow Jackets.

Johnson's team set the tone for the rivalry. They basked in stopping a seven-game losing streak by tearing off huge pieces of the famous hedges and carrying them with them like commemorative scalps.

The rivalry got a lot more interesting thanks to a new head coach that won't take a back seat to the state's flagship football program.

"For awhile we scored every time we had the ball except once in the second half," said Johnson after his team secured matching 9-3 records with Georgia. "I imagine it will be a fun game next year since we won."

Fun is not what Georgia was having. The Bulldogs season of such promise missed every threshold for success.

And this Senior Day may soon take an underclass toll that will be hard to take in a long off- season.