SEC Sports Blog

The best team in the country from top to bottom may be the Georgia Bulldogs, and at the end of the year last year (with all do respect to LSU) USC and Georgia were the hottest and best two teams in country. Georgia had won seven straight to finish the season, after getting their feelings hurt last year at Tennessee in game that they did not even seem to show up for. The Bulldogs also lost to South Carolina 16-12 in a game in which their offense just could never get the big play in the passing game.

The Bulldogs return 17 starters which include Matthew Stafford who will be a seasoned junior and completed almost 56% of his passes while throwing for over 2500 yards in 2007. The receiving corp needs a breakout year from Mohamed Massaquoi and one more receiver to step up like Kris Durham or one of their two wide outs that are freshman that maybe counted on from this great incoming class. The running will be fine with the best running back in the country Knowshon Moreno in the backfield. He just may have been the second best runner in the SEC behind Darren McFadden last year. He had 1396 rushing yards and 253 receiving yards and runs through tackles like Adrian Peterson did when he ran for Oklahoma. Will all of that back on offense and 6 of the top 7 tacklers back on defense along with 28.5 sacks which include 7 of there top defense lineman from a year ago, and a much more experienced  linebackers and seven of their top defense backs returning the defense will be at a championship level. All that said their schedule the toughest in the country for a team trying to win a national championship may be too much for the bulldogs to handle.

The season starts off with Georgia Southern which will not be this year’s Appalachian State and maybe the only that is over now. Things get a little tougher with Central Michigan coming to Athens. The Chippewas have a talented team that will win the MAC. Quarterback Dan LeFevour is a very good player and a couple of thousand yard rushers in their backfield with him. That said the game is in Athens, no MAC school has the speed or Talent to prepare them for Georgia, and the Bulldogs will win in a blow out, maybe the last of the season.

With back to back road games to an improved South Carolina and last year’s surprise team Arizona State, with Alabama in the back of this three game stretch everybody will find out how tough UGA is going to be. South Carolina is may actually finish higher than fourth in the east this year, and are always tougher at home and they did beat Georgia last year in Athens and will play Georgia tough. This game is important to Georgia, and South Carolina will have already played and SEC team along with NC State so they will be ready for the Bulldogs, and will have a couple of days head start on Georgia because they play on the Thursday night game the week before the Georgia game. Arizona State will not catch teams off guard this year, but this game will be a measuring stick for Arizona State and is in Tempe and will their fourth straight home game. The next week Alabama comes to town with revenge on their minds after Georgia beat the Crimson Tide in OT, Alabama should be better with a good recruiting class coming in and one more year under Saban. If Georgia can come out of this three game stretch they may have a chance to go all the way.

Take a week to get ready for a Tennessee, a team that beat Georgia in a game they trailed 35 points by half. Georgia will want his game more than any other on their schedule. I look for Georgia to repay Tennessee in this one. Then Vanderbilt comes to Athens and plays Georgia tough losing by only a field goal last year and winning the last time they came to Athens. Look for Georgia to restore the dominance in this series this year. As long as they are not looking ahead to the next two games.

LSU and Georgia should were the best teams in the SEC last year, and with LSU coming off a lost to Arkansas before the Championship game last year and a playing with a backup quarterback I still think UGA would taken LSU to the woodshed, but that was last year and this maybe a night game in Baton Rouge and a game that LSU will need to win to stay in the SEC West race. This will be a typical SEC battle, with Florida looming the next week it is a must win.
Florida and Georgia may both be undefeated coming into this game and match up as two teams in the top five. Georgia won by 12 last year in a game where Tebow -15 yards rushing and was forced to beat Georgia in the air. This game will live up to the hype, and the hype should be great. This maybe the best two teams in the country and the winner should have the road to the SEC Championship game paved. This game is flowered by two roads games to Kentucky, who should be down this year and Auburn a game that will loom large for both teams and could be a preview of the SEC Championship game. Auburn will have a different Offense and will return 16 starters 9 of which on offense with a quarterback that is will suited for the spread offense and will be coming off their easy part of the schedule and will be looking forward to playing Georgia after last year game in which Georgia won 45-20. Then Georgia ends the regular season  with instate rival Georgia Tech who will have new coach Paul Johnson roaming the sideline and trying to break Georgia’s seven game win streak against them.

Georgia has the one if not the most talented teams in the country, to go with one of the best’s coaches in the country, Georgia is good shape for a schedule like this, and if they can get off to a fast start, Athens maybe celebrating in early January.
By C.J. Watson
DFN Sports Guest Writer