Pivotal Week 2 date could decide SEC East
USC at GEORGIA BULLDOGS on 9/10
Coach: Mark Richt (96-34 in 10 seasons at UGA)
Last Season: 6-7 (3-5 SEC), lost to Central Florida in Liberty Bowl
Last Meeting with USC: 2010 (USC 17-6)
All-Time Series with USC: Georgia leads 46-15-2
Georgia finished 6-7 last season, its first sub-.500 record since 1996.
That's not acceptable in most any college town, least of all Athens. And if it happens again, Mark Richt, the Bulldogs' coach of 10 seasons, will likely be out of a job before he gets to Year 12.
So, no one would blame Richt if he had front-loaded UGA's schedule with patsies to ensure a fast start and a solid finish. However, he chose a different route. Knowing SEC East-favorite South Carolina was penciled in as his second game, Richt went out and made perennial midmajor powerhouse Boise State his first in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Georgia Dome on Sept. 3.
It's risky; especially since an easy-to-see-happening 0-2 start could mean a pink slip for Richt. But Richt said the ambitious early schedule it was necessary to kick-start the program, and it has done so.
"It has energized the program in a big way," said Richt last month at SEC Media Days. "I think that everybody understands what it's going to take prepare-wise. I think everybody has been willing to pay the prize."
Offense: The Bulldogs think they have found their Marcus Lattimore. His name is Isaiah Crowell.
The Columbus, Ga., native is seen as the savior of the Bulldog Nation and the next great Georgia tailback. While Crowell will likely be UGA's opening day starter, Richt has gone out of his way to relax the high expectations being thrust upon the true freshman.
"We don't really expect a freshman to come and carry our program," Richt said. "We expect him to come in and compete. We expect him to learn what to do. If they have the talent base, they're mature enough to be prepared to play, we'll play them."
UGA is set under center with redshirt sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray, who was named to the preseason first-team All-SEC squad. The Tampa, Fla., native is expected to have a huge season after starting all 13 games and throwing for the second-most yards by a freshman quarterback in SEC history last fall.
"I'm glad he's on my team," said UGA center Ben Jones at Media Days. "He's always in the weight room, working out, watching film. He's definitely the best prepared out of any quarterback in the SEC. You can see his leadership role grow. Just having his presence in the huddle has been a blessing."
Murray will no longer have A.J. Green to throw to, but UGA's receiver cupboard is not bare. Junior wideouts Tavarres King and Marlon Brown bring experience, while tight end Orson Charles, a high school teammate of Murray's, joins him on the preseason SEC first-team. Charles has also earned preseason All-America honors from several outlets.
Four of the five projected starters on the offensive line, including Jones, who Richt calls the "best center in America," are upperclassmen.
Defense: Safety Bacarri Rambo and cornerbacks Brandon Boykin and Branden Smith lead a veteran, athletic and playmaking defensive secondary. They will be relied upon to make plays in second-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's 3-4 scheme, which was ineffective at times last fall.
"The past is the past," said Boykin at Media Days. "What happened last year, nobody is really proud of. We can really change that this year. This a new year."
Nose tackle Kwame Geathers had a very good spring, earning defensive Most Valuable Player honors. He'll be relied upon to key the defensive front and help allow flow for linebackers such as Cornelius Washington and Christian Robinson, both juniors, to make plays.
Special teams: Georgia is in the best shape of anyone in the nation in this department. Kicker Blair Walsh and punter Drew Butler are considered the best in the nation at their positions and are both preseason first-team All-Americans. Boykin will likely continue to see time on the return teams.
Schedule analysis: After the first two games, Georgia's schedule actually is quite favorable. Like South Carolina, the Bulldogs skip both Alabama and LSU this fall. In fact, the argument could be made that UGA's schedule is more favorable than the Gamecocks', considering the 'Dogs also don't play Arkansas.
UGA only plays three true road games this season (at Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt) and will be favored in all three. It also should be favored to defeat Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 29 in the World's Largest Cocktail Party for the first time in four seasons. Last, UGA finishes the season with four straight home games. If it can weather the first two weeks, Georgia is set up for a big season.
The final word: "Greater days are coming. The best is yet to come." — Richt
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