Georgia Football 2011: Besides Boise State, UGA's Schedule a Double-Edged Sword

The Georgia Bulldogs have very little margin for error this season.  One of the reasons a lot of analysts are picking Georgia to win the East is the same reason the Bulldogs cannot afford to lose this year if they want a shot at a National Title.

The preseason rankings put Georgia right where they belong, having not proved they can pull all their talent together yet, but this will all work itself out for UGA.  Where UGA starts in the rankings does not really mean anything this year.   

Winning against Boise State to open and South Carolina in Week 2 would move Georgia right into the top 10.  At that point, it will be up to the Bulldogs to just keep winning and let the rankings take care of themselves. 

As far as the rankings go, Georgia’s schedule then becomes a double-edged sword.  While all the rest of the games are winnable, for the same reason, no loss will be forgiven in the voting.  The last several years, winning the SEC Championship game has meant a guaranteed trip to the BCS Championship game.  This is probably not the case for the 2011 Georgia team. 

Looking at the schedule on paper, Boise State is probably the only team the Bulldogs could lose to and still have a chance at a BSC Championship Game berth.  A loss to a top-five team in the first week is possible for UGA to recover from.  A loss to any other team on UGA’s schedule and they will probably fall behind most other one-loss teams in the polls.  South Carolina is ranked 12th in the preseason, but who knows where they’ll end up in the rankings, so a loss to the Gamecocks could look bad by season end.

So, if the Bulldogs do get past Boise State and South Carolina unscathed, they probably need to go undefeated to have a shot at the National Championship, even with a win the SEC Championship Game.   UGA only has three ranked teams left on their schedule after Week 2, and the highest ranked is Mississippi State at No. 20, the other two being Florida (22) and Auburn (23), and the Tigers probably won’t even be ranked by the time the Bulldogs get to them. 

Georgia has a great opportunity to get back into form and have another 10-win season.  But for aspirations more than a SEC Championship and a trip to the Sugar Bowl, Georgia probably needs to run the table.