University of Georgia FB: Power Ranking The Toughest Games

And here we go.

The Georgia Bulldogs are almost ready to start their journey towards the ultimate destination atop the SEC. 

Beginning with a home game against Louisiana-Lafayette and ending with a home game against Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs face the always-tough SEC and some fairly difficult non-conference games.

Flip through the following slides to see who the Dawgs' toughest opponents will be in this 2010 season.

As always, feel free to leave comments when you agree or disagree.

Idaho State Bengals, November 6th, Home

After going 1-10 last season with their lone win coming against Portland State in the final week, the Bengals hope to improve drastically.

They return 13 starters for the 2010 season and are led by quarterback Russell Hill.

As a team outside of the FBS, Idaho State doesn't stand much of a realistic chance against the already heavily favored Georgia Bulldogs in any stadium or at any point during the season.

Now, add in the fact that the game is going to be played in Athens and it's in between the Florida game and the Auburn game.

The Bulldogs will be inspired to play great football in this tune-up-for-Auburn game and will leave the remains of the Bengals in the famed hedges on Sanford Stadium.

Vanderbilt Commodores, October 16th, Home

This game may have been later on in the slideshow if Paul Johnson, the former Commodores Head Coach, had not stepped down immediately before they opened camp. 

Now, the team has been thrown into shambles and this year has almost certainly become a rebuilding year.

The Commodores are not without some impressive pieces though.

Sophomore running back Warren Norman (pictured to the left) was voted the SEC Freshman of the Year last season after his 1,941 total yards broke Herschel Walker's record for all-purpose yards. 

While most of the yards (1050 to go along with three touchdowns) came in the returning game, the speedster is still a player to watch out for.

However, the rest of the team, with the exception of special teams, is far less solid.

The defensive line is porous. The quarterback situation is unsettled. John Cole, the top returning receiver had just 36 catches last season.

The defense will miss cornerback Myron Lewis, but Chris Marve will look to lead the team from the linebacker position. Marve was good enough to earn second team All-SEC honors last year and looks to build upon that campaign. 

But all in all, the game is more important to the Dawgs and it's played in Athens. 

Georgia should win this one quite easily. 

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, September 4th, Home

In the opening game of the 2010 campaign the Bulldogs, eager to prove themselves as true SEC contenders, will take on the Ragin' Cajuns in Athens.

After going 6-6 last season in the Sun Belt Conference, Louisiana-Lafayette returns 14 starters and hopes to improve. 

If quarterback Chris Masson and tight end Ledarius Green form a potent duo as expected, the team could compete in the Sun Belt, but not in the SEC. 

The blitzing, turnover-producing defense could possibly give redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray trouble in his first game, but the SEC offense should overwhelm the smaller and slower defense. 

Expect a fairly low scoring game in this season-opener but for Georgia to come out on top by a good margin. 

Colorado Buffaloes, October 2nd, Away

This is the season that Dan Hawkins hopes to finally pull a Boise State with Colorado. After rebuilding the Boise State program, Hawkins moved on to Colorado to try to repeat his success.

Last season, that didn't work as the Buffaloes finished 3-9 and failed to reach a bowl game. 

The quarterback position is uncertain. Hawkins' son Cody Hawkins and junior Tyler Hansen are fighting for playing time and the right to throw the pigskin to standout senior wide receiver Scotty McKnight. 

Despite the disappointment in prized recruit Darnell Scott's departure, the running game should be solid and bolstered by the return of Rodney Stewart. Last season, the Colorado running back ran for 809 yards and 9 touchdowns and hopes to do even better this season. 

If linebacker Jon Major performs up to expectations then the defense should be a middle-of-the-pack squad. It's still young and experienced but it is talented.

This will be a game that UGA shouldn't just overlook, but the Buffaloes shouldn't pose too much of a threat.

Tennessee Volunteers, October 9th, Home

With the departure of Lane Kiffen, Derek Dooley becomes the newest head coach in the Tennessee system. 

The Volunteers did have a top 10 recruiting class this past year, but the expectations for this season were low even before the departure of Kiffen.

Replacing quarterback Jonathan Crompton may prove to be the most difficult challenge for Dooley. In fact, the position may still be unsettled when October 9th rolls around. 

The Volunteers assumed that Nick Stephens, who threw 106 passes without an interception last season, would take over the starting role, but he has left the school. Matt Simms, the son of Phil Simms, and the freshman Tyler Bray are left to fight it out for the starting spot. 

The wide receiving core, bolstered by Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore, will be solid but the defense lacks depth on both the line and at the linebacker position. As the season drags on this will hurt them.

If this game were in two years and in Tennessee, the final score may be closer than it will be this year. 

Mississippi State Bulldogs, September 25th, Away

Most SEC games are tough, especially when played on the road. 

This matchup with the Mississippi State Bulldogs however shouldn't be too difficult. 

The Bulldogs will be playing without Anthony Dixon, who led the Mississippi State team last year with 1,391 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Jamar Chaney, the team leader in tackles last year and an emotional leader as well, has departed from the team. 

Junior Robert Elliot hopes to fill Dixon's shoes at running back while the quarterback position is still unsettled at this time. 

Chris Relf, the fourth year junior, and Tyler Russell, the redshirt freshman, are competing for the right to throw the ball for Mississippi State this season. All indications lead towards a possible time share right now. 

The Bulldogs finished 5-7 last season but ended with a 41-27 victory over rival Ole Miss. They hope to build upon that success this season and lead this team back to the top of the SEC.

But the defense isn't strong enough and there are too many unsettled pieces for them to take down the other Bulldogs in this game. The ones dressed in red and black should prove themselves to be far superior. 

Kentucky Wildcats, October 23rd, Away

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they play the Wildcats right in the middle of the Wildcats' brutal stretch of conference play.

New head coach Joker Phillips is trying to take the Wildcats back to a bowl game for the fifth consecutive season this year.

To do so he will have to decide who the starting quarterback will be. Phillips will also need to stem the bleeding from the departure of his best defensive players. 

Senior Mike Hartline, returning from a knee injury, will compete with sophomore Morgan Newton and redshirt freshman Ryan Mossokowski for the starting quarterback gig. Newton last season showed potential but inconsistency while filling in for Hartline. 

While the offense will welcome four new starters on the offensive line, they are fortunate to have both running back Derrick Locke and wide receiver Randall Cobb back in the Bluegrass State. 

Kentucky also lost their top four defenders from last season and will need their replacements to produce quickly.

Many Kentucky fans expect great things from their team this season and this is one upset that could possible happen for the Wildcats. But Georgia will be and should be favored. 

South Carolina Gamecocks, September 11th, Away

This matchup comes early in the season when both teams will still be eager to prove themselves. 

Junior Stephen Garcia and true freshman Connor Shaw will both get playing time at quarterback for head coach Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier was quoted as saying "We will have two (quarterbacks) ready to play next year. That’s the first time in my coaching career of about 28 years we only had one guy that could play. We will play two if the first guy doesn’t play the way the coaches ask him to play," earlier in the year.

Unfortunately for the two players, they may end up running backwards instead of throwing the ball. The offensive line for the Gamecocks last season was awful. South Carolina allowed the most sacks in the SEC and finished last in rushing.

New offensive line coach Shawn Elliot hopes to turn that around and give the quarterbacks time to get standout wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey the ball. 

On defense, the Gamecocks will be without the talents of Eric Norwood, the SEC leader in both sacks and tackles. However with the addition of new players like Toquavius Gilchrist and the return of many starters, the defense should still be very solid.

Expect the Gamecocks to give the Bulldogs a fight, but for the away team to eek out a win. 

Arkansas Razorbacks, September 18th, Home

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, this game will be played early in the season and between the hedges in Sanford Stadium.

One of the few SEC teams without a quarterback controversy, the Arkansas Razorbacks will be led this season by quarterback Ryan Mallett and head coach Bobby Petrino. 

Last season Mallett threw for 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns. He should perform even better this season and hopes to lead the Razorbacks to a conference title in the SEC. 

Sophomores Ronnie Wingo and Kniles Davis will join Mallett in what looks to be a very potent backfield. 

Also on the offensive side receivers Greg Childs, Jarius Wright and Joe Adams all return after combining for 118 catches and 19 touchdowns last season. 

The defense, which gave up 402 yards per game last season, looks forward to the return of junior cornerback Isaac Madison but needs fill the holes that are currently present at the defensive end, defensive tackle, and linebacker positions. 

This should be a high scoring game full of fireworks and the Bulldogs should come out on top by a small margin. 

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, November 27th, Home

After an upset win last season, Georgia hopes to win another game against the arch-rival Yellow Jackets, but in Athens this time. 

The vaunted triple option shouldn't be quite as effective this season due to the departure of running back Jonathan Dwyer and three starters on the offensive line. Leading wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is gone as well.

Fortunately for Tech, Josh Nesbitt returns at the quarterback position and running back Anthony Allen will have plenty of time to learn on the job. This is the final game of the regular season, so all the kinks of the triple option should be worked out by then. 

The defense was not great last season but hopes to receive a boost from the shift to a 3-4. Al Groh will be doing his best job to coach the defense to better numbers than the 24 points allowed per game last year.

The loss of defensive end Derrick Morgan won't help either.

This game still should scare Georgia fans. Tech is the arch-rival and they'll be hungry for revenge after the game last season.

The Bulldogs should be the better team at this point in the season and they'll have the advantage of home field, but anything can happen in rivalry games. 

Auburn Tigers, November 13th, Away

Head coach Gene Chizik returns for his second season as an Auburn Tiger and the team should improve dramatically. 

The team begins the season with memories of both a close loss to Alabama and the win to close the season in the Outback Bowl. They'll be shooting for an even better bowl this season.

Cameron Newton, a junior college transfer, will most likely be starting at quarterback in this penultimate game of the regular season. 

Newton will be throwing the ball to an incredibly deep set of receivers. Darvin Adams should lead the bunch, but there are least five more (Terrell Zachery, Quindarius Carr, Kodi Burns, DeAngelo Benton, and Emory Blake) that will contribute. 

The rushing game, despite the loss of Ben Tate to the NFL, will be very good behind an incredibly strong offensive line. The line returns four starters, has two junior college transfers fighting for the right tackle spot, and is very experienced.

Although the defense lacks depth, it is still solid. It will be especially good if Jessel Curry, a new player at Auburn, can contribute. 

Auburn poses a very serious threat to the Bulldogs and may very well win this away game. 

Florida Gators, October 30th, Away

Tim Tebow is gone this year but will it matter?

With John Brantley throwing the ball this season there really won't be much of a rebuilding process necessary for the Gators. 

The team lost a ton of talent due to early departures for the NFL, but the number one ranked recruiting class in 2010 should help make up for the loss. 

The Gators do return a solid running back trio in Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, and Emmanuel Moody. The defense also returns three solid defensive backs, so some talent does indeed still reside at Florida.

Lately it seems as though the Florida Gators are always in competition for the top spot in the SEC and under the leadership of Urban Meyer, this season should be no different.

Expect a dogfight at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this season.