Georgia Football: 7 Things Holding the Bulldogs Back from a BCS Bid

The Bulldogs have been in this situation before.

After a season where they have met or exceeded expectations, many experts felt that the Bulldogs would take that next step.

But for various reasons, the Bulldogs don't meet the expectations and leave many fans scratching their heads.

For the 2012 Bulldogs, they have the talent to make another run at the SEC title as well as a BCS bid. But there are some things that could hold them back from reaching their goals, which will be things they will have to address during the offseason.

Here are seven obstacles holding the Bulldogs back from a BCS bid.

A Consistent Running Game

The Bulldogs have a handful of running backs, but the problem is they don't have a consistent running game because of injuries and suspensions.

The coaching staff hopes that  the addition of Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley will help the Bulldogs become a dangerous running team.

It's still Isaiah Crowell's job to lose, but if he has a bad spring or does not play in the spring game, the job will be up for grabs.

Regardless, Mark Richt and company need to get the running game going if they want to reach a BCS game this season.

Offensive Line Depth

With three starting offensive lineman gone, it's clear that the main focus for the Bulldogs during spring practice will be to find stability at that position.

Kenarious Gates and Chris Burnette are the two starters returning, but Dallas Lee, who started a few games last season before being injured, will be back as well.

Highly-recruited John Theus will have a shot at one of the tackle spots as well as Mark Beard. Reserve lineman David Andrews and Watts Danztler will also have a shot at starting jobs.

The offensive line has been an issue for the Bulldogs the last few years. If they are able to get it right this season, the Bulldogs should be able to reach their goals.

Youth on Offense

Georgia has a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but they are young and will have to learn to play together quickly if they want to go to a BCS bowl.

This is where Aaron Murray comes in. With the quarterback now in his junior year, he is the unquestioned leader of the offense. It will be his job to make sure everybody is in the right place and that the offense is on the same page.

They will have to iron things out when they take on Buffalo at the start of the season. After that, the offense will have to grow up because SEC play will start the following week when they face Missouri.

Depth in the Secondary

This could be a very serious issue.

As good as the defense is, as of now, there will be only eight scholarship defensive backs on the roster at the start of the season.

The Bulldogs have nine scholarship DBs on the roster, but Sanders Commings will be suspended for the first two games of the year following his arrest for domestic violence.

Also, Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders were dismissed for violating team rules and both players were expected to be major contributors this season.

Even if the Bulldogs sign more recruits and have wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell play cornerback, the depth at that position is thin and they can't afford any major injuries and suspensions this season.

Coaching

I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way because I think Mark Richt is a great coach that will get the Bulldogs back to a BCS game.

But there are times where the coaching is the reason the Bulldogs don't get to where they want to go.

If you take a look at the Boise State game or the Outback Bowl from last season, the coaches made or did not make decisions that would have changed the outcome of the game.

There are times the coaching staff don't take risks when they need to and they have the players play a little conservative at times. Even in the games they won, the players failed to put the petal to the metal giving the opponent a chance to make a comeback.

Special Teams

This is not always the case, but it was the case last year.

Special teams was a huge weakness for the Bulldogs and it cost the team a couple of wins.

Even Blair Walsh, who was Mr. Consistent during his first three years with the program, could not find his mark last season.

Part of the reason for the failures on special teams was the Bulldogs not having a coach focus just on special teams. The entire coaching staff all had a hand in special teams last season, which is something that they can't do again.

The Bulldogs need a special teams coach, especially with the team having a new kicker and punter this season.

The SEC West

This is the most obvious thing holding the Bulldogs back from a BCS bid because in order to go to a BCS game, the easiest way to get there is to win the conference.

Last year the Bulldogs were one win away from a BCS bowl, but the LSU Tigers took down the Bulldogs in convincing fashion. The Tigers went on to lose to division rival Alabama in the national title game.

It's clear the SEC West is the stronger conference and if the Bulldogs do win the SEC East, they have to find a way to defeat the SEC West winner, which could be Alabama, LSU or Arkansas, which is not an easy thing.

Can they do it this year? The talent is there, but they will have to gel quickly because one mistake could once again hold the Bulldogs back from reaching a BCS game for the fifth consecutive season.