Georgia Bulldogs Football Outlook
The University of Georgia Looks for a College Football Title in 2008
Have the Georgia Bulldogs taken the last major step up and seated themselves among the elite of the college football world? As a matter of fact they have, and the USC’s and Ohio State’s had better make room for UGA and company at the grown-up table, and while your at it get ready to face a potentially dominant Georgia team come bowl season. Here are five reasons why the Georgia Bulldogs should compete for the crystal pigskin come January 2009:
Georgia Offense
Quarterback- Georgia finds themselves in a somewhat different position this summer heading into next season with a quarterback that is generating national hype as the “real deal”. David Greene and D.J. Shockley were very successful but Matthew Stafford is getting tagged with adjectives that are borderline “kiss of death” (such as “can’t miss"). Regardless he’s a returning starter with plenty of experience who played well last year, got some huge wins and is virtually guaranteed to improve upon his 2,500 plus yards passing from last year (see…”kiss of death”). An impressive arsenal of weapons surrounding him doesn’t hurt either.
Skill Positions- Historically Georgia has fielded some decent receivers and very strong running backs, but this year they are fully-loaded offensively. Knowshon Moreno averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns on the ground last year, and Georgia still has a beast in Mohamed Massaquoi at receiver. In addition to the established veterans are some youngsters with breakout potential at running back and receiver, such as Tavarres King, Caleb King and Richard Samuel.
Offensive Line- Make no mistake, football games are won and lost up front on the line of scrimmage. Great skill position players are worthless if there’s nowhere to run and the quarterback’s staring up at the sky through his earhole 2 seconds after every snap. Georgia returns 3 starters up front, all sophomores. They’ll need a little work, but Georgia should still be able to field a strong, talented line.
Style of Offense- As variations of the Spread offense spread like a California wildfire, defenses are scrambling to adapt. West Virginia has switched to a 3-3-5 base defense, which basically leaves 5 defensive backs on the field in the base set. In order to adapt to the speed and lateral movement of these spread offenses, defenses are forced to get smaller, lighter and faster. Georgia is one of the few teams that still lines up with punishing fullbacks and tight ends on offense, and rams the ball right up the middle. As SEC opponents change to stop Florida, LSU, and the newly spread out Auburn and Tennessee offenses, Georgia will keep mauling people up front opening gaping holes and the passing game. The smaller and thinner the defenses get, the easier it will be for Georgia to push them around.
Georgia Defense
Defense- Nine returning starters from an 11-2 team last year. The best part of the Georgia defense is the blend of athleticism and physicality. In this day and age one opponent may run a spread offense, which requires a defense that can play thin and move quickly from sideline to sideline, and the next may be a team that pounds the ball forward with a power running attack. Georgia’s defense has the flexibility to play the spread and the I-formation both well, which is essential to making a run deep into the Bowl Season where you never know what type of offense may await you.
Georgia’s poised to have a breakthrough year, but the big obstacle is without question the schedule. No matter how strong they are, playing through the SEC is downright punishing. Georgia goes to South Carolina and Arizona State, home for Alabama and Tennessee, then to LSU, Florida in Jacksonville, then at Kentucky, at Auburn, and Georgia Tech for the cherry on top. Oh, and if they’re still in the hunt, it’s the SEC Title Game. THEN the bowl game. Even if the ‘dawgs stay healthy that is an outright brutal stretch to have to survive with one loss or less.
All-in-all it’s an exciting time for Bulldog fans. The team looks stronger than ever, potentially even a pre-season number one. They have the quarterback, the offense, the defense, and the coaching. Can they survive Tim Tebow once again and make a run at the title? Only time will tell, but Bulldog fans should keep a little room on the credit card come Christmas time just in case a bowl game road trip becomes a necessity.
