Anyone who has followed my posts in the past on this board knows I'm a big Georgia fan, but I'm also a pragmatic sports better. And, just like any good bettor, I never play "homer" for my own team.
With that in mind, I seriously think that this season could start really ugly for Georgia. The early schedule is murder, and they could legitimately start the season 2-3, or even worse. The schedule does get easier, though, and they will probably make a run and end up with a respectable season, though not 10 wins.
Players lost:There's no getting around this one. Georgia lost their #1 QB, RB, and WR, two of which were top-10 picks in the draft. Those would be devastating losses to most programs, but for Georgia, it might have actually helped their team chemistry.
The loss that will end up hurting the most is actually Mohamed Massaquoi at WR, since the starting QB this year will be Joe Cox, a 5-year player in the DJ Shockley mold. Also, there is no firm starting RB coming back, but the top 4 players, while not being Knowshon, are still excellent runners, and will have an offensive line with at least 7 players with starting experience coming back.
Schedule: This is Georgia's killer hurdle for this season. Much was made about Georgia's schedule last year, but this years' lineup should actually be more difficult than last year. They face 7 bowl teams from last year, and in addition to their always-difficult SEC lineup, they play 3 of their 4 non-conference games against teams from BCS conferences. (And not patsys like Stanford or UConn.)
Prediction: ATS: 5-6
Straight up: Anywhere between 6-6 and 10-2
See schedule breakdown in the next post.