Mark Richt's Biggest Challenges for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2015

With Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that Everett Golson visited the Georgia Bulldogs last week, the former Notre Dame quarterback knows that head coach Mark Richt’s team has a chance to do some big things in 2015.

With a strong running game, stable offensive line and improving defense, there’s a good chance the Bulldogs can win more than 10 games, which could mean a chance to win the SEC title and a shot at the College Football Playoff.

However, just like in any season, there will be some obstacles to navigate. But if the Bulldogs want to be a championship team, they will have to fight through challenges and be mentally tough.

Here are the biggest challenges for Richt’s Bulldogs in 2015.

Quarterback Play

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The offense scored over 500 points last season, and with the players it has coming back—including Nick Chubb and nearly all of the offensive linemen—it has a good chance at doing it again.

However, the one position that could be an area of concern is quarterback because Richt still has not decided on who will be the starter by opening weekend.

Brice Ramsey has the most experience, but like his counterparts Faton Bauta and Jacob Park, he did not separate himself from the rest of the pack during spring practice. Richt will have his decision made during fall camp, but whoever the starter is will have some growing pains due to the lack of experience.

That’s why the Bulldogs will have to rely heavily on the run game just like last season.

With Chubb, Sony Michel and A.J. Turman, that won’t be an issue, but there will be times when the quarterback will need to make plays downfield, which could be a big concern moving forward.

Injuries

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Injuries are a big challenge for any team to overcome, but because the Bulldogs have new starters at key positions, it could be a real challenge for them—especially if the starting quarterback or a receiver goes down.

One of the things that hurt the Bulldogs in 2013 was two receivers and running back Keith Marshall going down with season-ending injuries. Even Todd Gurley missed significant time with an ankle injury, and that was one of the reasons why the Bulldogs won only eight games that season.

The Bulldogs will be healthy on both sides of the ball coming into fall camp, but they will need to stay that way if they want to be a relevant team in December.

That is why Chubb did not work out as much as he could have during the spring. He will see a ton of carries this season, and the Bulldogs did not want to risk any injuries months before the season begins.

Stopping the Run

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Run defense was a big issue for the Bulldogs last season.

In the game against South Carolina, the Bulldogs allowed 176 yards on the ground. That's not a lot, but most of the yards came in the first half.

In the Florida game, the Bulldogs had no answers for Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones, as each had over 190 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

In the season finale against Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs allowed 399 yards rushing yards, which led to the Bulldogs' first lost to Tech since 2008.

The defense will need to improve in the run game, which is why newcomers on the defensive line Trent Thompson and Jonathan Ledbetter will need to be factors in the rotation. If those two can make an impact as expected, the linebackers will be able to be more efficient in the run game.

The SEC Schedule

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This will always be a challenge for the Bulldogs, but the reality is the SEC is never easy to get through.

The Bulldogs' schedule itself is not as hard as it has been in the past, but part of it has to do with them having a nonconference schedule that includes Louisiana-Monroe, Southern and Georgia Southern.

But facing teams like Tennessee on the road, Alabama at home, Auburn on the road and Florida in Jacksonville means the Bulldogs will have to be on top of their game consistently.

The Bulldogs won six SEC games last year with a similar schedule. They will need to win at least that many to be considered in the mix for the SEC title this season.