The only other noticeable weakness from the 2007 squad was that it lacked reliable offensive skill players outside of Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. This year, the offense will feature a plethora of playmakers with the emergence of sophomore running back Emmanuel Moody and redshirt freshman slotback Chris Rainey. Rainey, in particular, is a player to watch, as he has been clocked at 4.24 in the 40-yard dash and may be the fastest player in all of college football. In the end, the health of Tim Tebow will ultimately determine how well this team performs. As long as Tebow remains intact, Urban Meyer’s Gators have the talent to win a national championship in January 2009.
2. Georgia Bulldogs (11-2, 6-2 in SEC East)
The Georgia Bulldogs enter the 2008 season with the most momentum out of any team in the country. After a hot finish to last year in which the ‘Dawgs won their last seven games including a blowout of then-unbeaten Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, Georgia is the frontrunner to play for the 2009 BCS Championship. They will have to get through a tough schedule first.
In addition to home games against Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, Georgia will have to travel to LSU, Auburn, South Carolina and Arizona State. Georgia also has a November 1st date in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party against Florida in Jacksonville. If the Bulldogs can get out of the regular season schedule with one or two losses, the team will be in excellent shape to play in the BCS in January.
Georgia has some of the best young talent in the country, including 2007 SEC Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, Knowshon Moreno, sophomore offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, freshman receiver A.J. Green and junior quarterback Matthew Stafford. While much of the spotlight will be on Moreno—who has been compared to former Bulldog great Herschel Walker as well as Carnell “Cadillac” Williams—the onus will be on the performance of Stafford, an extremely talented yet inconsistent passer for the ‘Dawgs. If Stafford can hit his targets a little more accurately (he had a 55% completion percentage last year), Georgia’s offensive attack will be hard to stop.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2, 7-1 in Big Ten, 2007 Big Ten Champions)
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