The Final SEC Prediction: Why Georgia Will Win

The college football season is getting closer and closer by the minute. The smell in the air is returning and soon it will come. Now as I prepare for the 2010 season I will write only two more predictions. Today's and an article on who will win the SEC very soon.

It's been a long time since Richt and UGA have been to Atlanta, that year was 2005. Many believe that Georgia would have won in 2007  if Tennessee had lost to Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Well this may be the year they return.

This slideshow will give reasons why Georgia will win the SEC over Alabama this year. 

Here are the first two parts of the Final SEC Prediction series. 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/434683-the-final-sec-prediction-why-alabama-will-win

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/430599-the-final-sec-preview

Reason No. 5 The Kicking Game

With the travesty of last season, Georgia did have a few bright spots with one of the brightest being the kicking game. First Blair Walsh the All-American kicker from Florida. Walsh had to take Brandon Coutu's place in 2008. Since then, Walsh has been amazing.

In 2008 he was 15 of 27 at at a 65.2 percent success rate, making 50 of 50 extra points and scoring 95 points.

His 2009 season was his best and he nearly won the Lou Graza award. During that year, Walsh was 20 of 22 at a 90.9 percent rate and once again made all his extra points at 42 of 42. He kicked 102 points that year as well.

Drew Butler, son of legend Kevin Butler, is the punter and had an amazing season. Drew's 2008 season was not full of glamor since he only punted three times averaging 35.2 yards.

In 2009, Butler won the Ray Guy award with a total of 2691 yards. Butler also manged to average 48.1 yards per punt. Butler's longest punt was 75 yards.

Add another year to that and you have the best kicking game in the country.  

Reason No. 4 The Offensive Line

The offensive line exploded last year in the late of the 2009 last year. The O-line gets a couple upgrades with Trinton Sturdivant and Clint Boling returning this year from injuries. 

It's hard to show stats of the O-line, but looking at the rushing stats and passing stats might help.

Joe Cox had a better year than you think going 185 of 331 at a 55.1 percet rate. Cox also thew for 2584 yards and 24 touchdowns last year. Tebow had 2895 yards and less touchdowns than Cox at 21.

This can say a lot about an O-line, the better the stats of a quarterback the better the O-line is. But, if you look at the rushing game this will give you big details. 

In the first half of the season the rushing game only gained about 416 yards, giving Georgia a 70 yard per game average. The second half brought something different

The rushing game put up 1,041 yards in the final seven games averaging 148.7 yards a game. If the O-line gets better, so will the passing and rushing game.  

Reason No. 3 The Running Game

The running game is something that Georgia has always been known for. It didn't look like that however, during the first half of the year. The second half of the year showed something that a young Moreno showed in 2007.

Caleb King backed up former Bulldog great Moreno in 2008 with 247 yards in 61 attempts. Moreno ran up 1400 yards on 250 attempts and sixteen touchdowns. King also averaged four yards and scored a touchdown.

King was seen as the best running back going into the 2009, being the only part of the running game to have playing time in the previous season. King had a sloppy first half, but would rebound ending the season with 594 yards and seven touchdowns.

Ealey did not play in the first four games and only had 33 yards in his first game versus LSU. Like King, Ealey would improve over the season greatly.

In his first four games Ealey only put up 192 yards averaging 48 yards per game. Ealey also never reached the endzone in his first four games and his longest run was 33 yards.

The second half was much better, as he gained 525 yards in his final five games. He also scored three touchdowns and averaged 105 yards per game.

Reason No. 2 A.J Green

Green has to be a huge piece to Georgia's chances at an SEC title in 2010. Green is known to everyone as one of the best if not the best receiver in the nation. Green might be in some hot water right now with Agent Gate, but his name so far seems to be cleared. 

The 2008 year was the coming out year for Green in which he put up 963 yards out of 56 receptions. His freshman year was amazing, Green averaged 17.2 yards a catch and scored eight touchdowns.

The 2009 season was a bit of a letdown due to injuries that kept Green out of three games and most of the Auburn game. Even though Green missed nearly four games last year, he still got 808 yards out of 53 receptions and averaged 15.2 yards a catch.

If Green stays healthy he won't only be a significant part of the 2010 UGA team, but also a Heisman favorite.   

Reason No. 1 Mark Richt

Richt is 90-27 (.762 percent) in nine seasons, 7-2 in bowls, 2-1 in BCS games, 50-22 in the SEC, 41-11 at home, and 33-6 away. So why is Richt on the hot seat?

It could be because he has yet to win a BCS title or has gone 17-8 in the last two seasons. Richt also is 2-7 versus the hated rival Gators, but is 8-1 versus rival Georgia Tech.

The 2009 season was the worst in Richt's nine years at Georgia, his previous being his first year where he went 9-4. The thing about Richt, however is how he can turn an average quarterback into an elite player. 

David Greene, D.J Shockley, and Matthew Stafford all became great players due to Richt's teaching. There is also another great thing about Richt.

Every year after his worst year Georgia becomes a national title contender. The 2001 season Richt went 8-4 however, in 2002 Georgia exploded onto the field going 13-1 with an SEC title and a number three ranking.

The 2006 season also was a terrible season for Georgia, going 9-4 that year. The 2007 season Georgia went 11-2 with a number two ranking. Also many thought that Georgia was the best team at the end of the year.

One difference however, Richt's quarterbacks were both sophomores and Murray is a freshmen. So does this mean Richt will something more amazing and win the SEC with a freshmen quaterback?