Georgia Preview 2018: Expect SEC East dominance

The Georgia Bulldogs will absolutely dominate the SEC East. We know this because the SEC East is a mixture of bad teams (Vanderbilt, Tennessee), teams with new coaches (Florida, Tennessee), teams that have an offense that is still trying to find itself (South Carolina), and a high-scoring team that plays no ‘D’ (Missouri). Georgia’s offense has found itself, is a good team, has the same coach, and plays ‘D’.

The only problem for Georgia is how its SEC West schedule measures up – the Dawgs will definitely be playing Auburn (home) and LSU (road), and possibly Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

Anyway, here’s your 2018 preview….

OFFENSE

Let’s be quite brazen about this: No running back unit is going to recover immediately when they lose two 1,200+ rushing stars in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Yes, D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien are potential stars (and froshes Zamir White and James Cook could add to the mix too), but it’s still going to be an adjustment for them. We expect some big numbers, but it will be interesting to see how they stack up against the two teams from Alabama, who have solid, solid defensive fronts.

Quarterbacks-wise, there will be a lot of chatter about a potential battle between Jake Fromm and Justin Fields, but let’s be honest, Kirby Smart wants an AJ McCarron-type QB who’s quiet and gets his job done, and that’s Fromm to a ‘T’ (or is ‘G’?). Fields will be an exciting option if Fromm’s treading water or they want a speedy option for some spread play, but really, it’s Fromm all the way.

Receiving Fromm’s throws will be to Terry Godwin, who many are still hoping reaching his potential. Right now, he really hasn’t.  Riley Ridley is going to be one of the X-Factors. He caught for 82 yards in the National Championship Game, and many think he could be an even better prospect than his brother, Calvin. 6-5 redshirt freshman Matt Landers will be quite a target, too. Oh, and transfer Demetris Robinson will load that receiving corps even more, giving Kirby Smart even more options from the air.

The Dawgs are going to miss Jeb Blazevich at TE, but Isaac Nauta and Charlie Woerner – as well as four-star recruits Luke Ford and John Fitzpatrick – should more than replace him.

DEFENSE

Like the missing of Michel and Chubb, an arrogant Georgia fan would probably tell you that they won’t miss Roquan Smith by the end of the season. And they may well be right. But at the start of the year- and definitely during the South Carolina game in a hostile environment – they will do. Smith was the best defensive player in college football last year.

If he can stay away from weed, Natrez Patrick will be a key to the Georgia ‘D’ with Monte Rice, Tea Crowder and Juwan Taylor expected to pick up the load as well. D’Andre Walker and Walter Grant will also be expected to fill in linebacker roles after the losses of Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter to the pros.

In the secondary, CB Deandre Baker – perhaps the best player of the unit – is back, and S JR Reed will also prove to be hard to throw on.

THE SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 Austin Peay
Sept. 8 at South Carolina
Sept. 15 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 22 at Missouri
Sept. 29 Tennessee
Oct. 6 Vanderbilt
Oct. 13 at LSU
Oct. 20 OPEN DATE
Oct. 27 vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 3 at Kentucky
Nov. 10 Auburn
Nov. 17 UMass
Nov. 24 Georgia Tech

It’s going to be an easy 1-0 when Georgia drops 60 on Austin Peay, but the South Carolina game will come down to the wire, with the Dawgs winning. Georgia will decimate MTSU, run over Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, before beating LSU in a close one in a humid afternoon in Tiger Stadium. They’ll comfortably beat Florida at the Cocktail Party before clinching the SEC West by beating Kentucky on the road. The Auburn game will be one of the games of the season, with the Dawgs gaining revenge for the debacle at Jordan-Hare, before closing out with back-to-back wins of UMass and Georgia Tech. 

The problem for the Dawgs play-off wise is that if they don’t show up in the SEC Championship Game against (we think) Alabam, and Auburn and LSU have awful seasons where they are unranked, they will be deemed to have played absolutely no-one, and a play-off spot could well be out of their reach, especially if Ohio State, Washington, Oklahoma, Clemson and Alabama all run their respective tables. 

PREDICTION: 12-0. SEC EAST WINNERS