Well folks, with just under a month until Georgia’s first game, it’s time once again for me to demonstrate that I am anointed to speak prophetic truth to this generation by busting out the bulldog tooth and predicting the scores of all of Georgia’s games.
But first, it’s time for a little accountability. Imagine that.
Last year, as Georgia’s season turned ugly, I made some rather harsh criticisms of Coach Richt and his handling of the program. Let’s take a look at these and see how they have been addressed since then.
Willie Martinez’ defense’s inability to perform in big games: This remains a question mark, but exceptionally solid efforts in the last 3 games of the 2006 season have definitely given us something to think about. Wait and see how this plays out over the upcoming season.
Offensive line recruiting, or lack thereof: This is still a problem, as our offensive line lacks depth and experience going into the season. Two junior college transfers recruited during the offseason should help the situation, but we’ll have to wait and see how they pan out.
Former offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Neil Callaway has left to take the head coaching job at UAB. Replacing him at offensive line coach is former LSU assistant Stacy Searle. This is expected to bring a huge improvement in the play of the offensive line.
Coaching inexperience: Toward the end of the 2006 season, Mark Richt turned over all of the offensive playcalling responsibilities to then-quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo, who is now the offensive coordinator. Hopefully this will bring significant improvement in the quality of the offensive playcalling, as well as reducing the number of mistakes resulting from poor clock/sideline management. Indications from the last 3 games of 2006 have been very promising.
Matthew Stafford’s development: At Auburn, it was as if the light went on inside Stafford’s head. Compare his performance prior to that game and his performance since then, and it is a tale of two different quarterbacks. If the Matthew Stafford that we saw in the last 3 games of 2006 shows up at the start of 2007, then Georgia’s prospects this year are very bright.
All right. Now, out with the bulldog tooth and on with the predictions!
Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State is a strong season-opening opponent for Georgia. They have a lot of weapons on offense that Georgia must be prepared to deal with right from the giddy-up. But Oklahoma State has a long row to hoe. They are opening their season in the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium, some hundreds of miles from their home, against a big-name conference opponent. Their coach, though he has won more games than he has lost, is not exactly known for winning big games against big-time opponents.
Prediction: Georgia 35, Oklahoma State 30.
South Carolina: South Carolina is picked by many as a dark-horse contender for the SEC East title. But with road games at LSU and Georgia to open their conference schedule, they’d better watch out. If they’re not careful, they could be looking at 0-2 in SEC play.
Prediction: Georgia 17, South Carolina 12.
Western Carolina: The last time Georgia played the Catamounts (What’s a catamount?) was in 1991. Georgia was not very kind to them then, rolling to an easy 48-0 win. I don’t see any reason to expect anything different this time around.
Prediction: Georgia 34, Western Carolina 0.
Alabama: Alabama fired Mike Shula at the end of November 2006. After a tumultous monthlong search during which everyone from Rich Rodriguez to Avril Lavigne was linked to the job, Nick Saban finally accepted the position in January. And the whole state of Alabama got super-crunk with excitement as visions of SEC championships and national championships danced through the heads of the Alabama faithful.
Sorry to break it to you, people, but I think you have forgotten one thing. Nick Saban was 8-4 in his first year at LSU. And most national analysts believe that 8-4 is about right for his first year at Alabama. One of those four losses will be to Georgia.
Prediction: Georgia 28, Alabama 26.
Ole Miss: Considering all the trouble that Ole Miss went through to get Brent Schaeffer last season, they certainly expected more of him than he delivered. In light of this, he is now the backup and former walk-on Seth Adams is now the starting quarterback.
With a 7-16 record over the last two years, Ed Orgeron has to be feeling the heat right about now to produce some tangible results. They should show some improvement this year, but probably not enough to win in Athens.
Prediction: Georgia 21, Ole Miss 10.
Tennessee: Those Tennessee cornerbacks need to stop playing around with toy guns. Somebody might get hurt.
Prediction: Georgia 24, Tennessee 21.
Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt appears by all indications to be a team on the rise this year. But will they be strong enough to make it two in a row over Georgia? I don’t think so.
Prediction: Georgia 28, Vanderbilt 17.
Florida: Man, please.
Until I see hard evidence that Georgia is actually capable of winning in Jacksonville on a somewhat consistent basis (and I mean more than just once every time Elvis returns from the dead), I refuse to believe it.
Prediction: Florida 28, Georgia 16.
Troy State: Man, please.
Prediction: Georgia 35, Troy State 12.
Auburn: Despite losing 12 starters this season, Auburn stands to be a dark-horse contender for the SEC West title. Given the visiting-field advantage that exists in this series, I have to go with Auburn.
Prediction: Auburn 35, Georgia 31.
Kentucky: After an 8-5 finish last year and a huge win over Clemson in the Music City Bowl, Kentucky must now prove it wasn’t a fluke. They’re going to have some difficult going in Athens, though.
Prediction: Georgia 49, Kentucky 24.
Georgia Tech: In Georgia Tech’s first season in four years without Reggie Ball as quarterback, they may actually have a chance against Georgia.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 23, Georgia 21.
