Breaking Down the 2009 Georgia Football Schedule: Weeks One Through Six

Spring practice is right around the corner. The G-Day game follows closely behind. However, I am in college football withdrawal and feel a need to get my fix for the week by taking a look at the Dawgs 2009 schedule and seeing how they stack up against their opponents.

This will be in two parts.

9/5/09 at Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are good. No doubt about it. Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter form one very potent offensive trio. They did lose a great blocker and pass-catcher in tight-end Brandon Pettigrew, but I don't expect that to slow them down too much on the offensive side of the ball. 

As far as their defense goes, well, that's another story. They don't put much pressure on the quarterback and gave up a lot of yards to their opponents last season, nearly 400 yards per game (ypg). Add to that a porous pass defense, that was ranked 110th nationally, and you have the makings of a possible upset early.

If Joe Cox and Company can go out and play with the poise and confidence that we have come to expect from a Mark Richt led team, then they could win this one.

9/12/09 vs South Carolina

This game is close every year. Georgia could be exponentially better than the Gamecocks, yet it would still be close. It is for that reason and that reason only that I figure the same will be true for this year.

However, Spurrier will have to fill some pretty big holes on his squad if he intends to keep things interesting. He lost four of his top six defensive backs, two to the NFL in corner Captain Munnerlyn and safety Emanuel Cook.

Further, it's Stephen Garcia's show now. He has no competition. If he can't get it done, it will be a very long year for Spurrier's Gamecocks.He has shown flashes of good play, but can't seem to get on the same page with the Ol' Ball Coach just yet. Assuming he does that this year, Spurrier still needs to protect his signal-caller. That offensive line gave up 39 sacks last season.

They also hope that they can find someone to run the ball a bit better than they did last year.

Either way, this is a home game for the Dawgs and I expect them to come ready to play and win. 

9/19/09 at Arkansas

The Razorbacks have to answer their quarterback questions first. Ryan Mallett appeared to be a lock for the starting position prior to his arrest earlier this week. His immaturity has left the door open for him to be benched in favor of either Tyler Wilson or Jim Youngblood. Both are young with little experience, but are no less talented.

Next there is that very young defense. Last season they gave up a lot of points and a lot of yards. So many, in fact, that they finished last in the SEC in total defense. However, I look for them to be improved this year.

Look for linebacker Jerry Franklin and defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard to make some noise for the Razorbacks defensively. Sheppard had 14.5 tackles for loss (TFL) last year and can be a handful for his opposing foe.

Offensively the Hogs have Michael Smith, but I don't think it would be a good idea to let him carry the load again this year. Petrino has brought in some reinforcements, but there is no telling how that will work out.

So many questions for the Hogs leaves the door open for Georgia to snatch this road game from the home team.

9/26/09 vs Arizona State

Rudy Carpenter is gone. The new kid on the block will be senior Danny Sullivan. However, he is no Rudy Carpenter and he will likely find that his path to being the Sun Devils starting quarterback will be met with some resistance by his counterparts.

Beyond that, Arizona State should be improved greatly on the offensive line as they return just about everybody.

The biggest question for ASU will be how they can replace the production of Michael Jones and Rudy Carpenter on offense. Beyond that, they should have a fairly respectable defense, even with the loss of Troy Nolan.

That said, I think Georgia has the better overall team here.

10/3/09 vs LSU

LSU has a new defensive coordinator in John Chavis and a quarterback controversy brewing too. Will it be Jordan Jefferson, the kid that led the attack and helped LSU win the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Georgia Tech last year? Or phenom Russell Shepard? The #1 athlete in the country according to Scouts Inc? A kid that many compare to Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor.

It's a question that needs to be answered early if the Tigers are going to positively build on last season's very impressive bowl win. If they can't answer that question, well, history could be doomed to repeat itself as QB rotations rarely, if ever work out. However, the decision by Brandon Lafell to stay should be a boost for the offense,

The Tigers lost some key players on the defensive line in Ricky Jean-Francois and Tyson Jackson. However, the LSU faithful will tell you that the Tigers reload on defense like nobody's business so rest assured, there are more guys where they came from.

Either way, by the time the Dawgs meet the Tigers for this game, we should know precisely who the LSU Tigers are.

10/10/09 at Tennessee

Tennessee will begin the Lane Kiffin era with it's own question of who will be king. Will is be the very average Jonathan Crompton or the equally unimpressive duo of Nick Stephens and B.J. Coleman? Kiffin would have us believe that it was the system that made Crompton so bad last year, we'll see if that's true once the season starts.

Making matters even more intriguing, Monte Kiffin will bring his "Tampa 2" to a defensive line that is, shall we say, less than stellar? There may be a quality player or two who can ably start for the Vols on that defensive line, but that is all. There is little depth to speak of so those Tennessee coaches better start putting on their flashlight helmets; they have to find some guys to fill-in the gaping holes in a hurry.

The offensive line is dismal. They have a couple talented guards but little else. Whoever they choose to play at the quarterback or running back position is in for a long year. 

The end to this story seems simple to me, a Georgia win. But, as any fan can tell you, we don't play these games on paper. Neyland Stadium is still Neyland Stadium; home field advantage can never be discounted when it comes to SEC football.

To Be Continued...