EXPECTATIONS
The grace period is over. After being selected third in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division race last year and experiencing an erratic 8-5 ride that ended in the Liberty Bowl, the Bulldogs have been picked to win their division in Kirby Smart's second season as coach. Georgia should be more comfortable under Smart and coordinators Jim Chaney and Mel Tucker, and the Bulldogs should fare better with sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason having gone through his first-year challenges. Of course, being picked to reach the SEC title game and actually getting there have been two different things for the Bulldogs, who are seeking their first East crown since 2012 and first league championship since 2005.
CONCERNS
Despite having 17 of 22 starters returning from a team that won four of its final five games, Georgia is having to replace three starters on the offensive line. Smart, Chaney and offensive line coach Sam Pittman signed bigger linemen earlier this year, so this still could be another transition period up front as far as the coaches having their line the way they want it. Eason had a better season statistically than Matthew Stafford when Stafford was a freshman in 2006, but Stafford took a monstrous jump as a sophomore and led the Bulldogs to a No. 2 final ranking. Can Eason take a similar leap? Special teams were woeful last season, and only time will tell if Smart has addressed those issues.
WHAT'S NEW
Compared to last year? Familiarity. The Bulldogs endured plenty of growing pains last season, which included falling behind Ole Miss 45-0, not putting up much of a fight again against Florida in Jacksonville and blowing a 27-14 lead against state rival Georgia Tech. Smart was in his first year as head coach after learning for years under Alabama's Nick Saban, and now he has been through the full cycle and then some. Bigger offensive linemen will be new if touted freshmen Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson play significant roles, and the Georgia coaches are hoping a dominant defense could be in store with 14 of the top 15 tacklers back. The Bulldogs also could have graduate transfers at punter and kicker.
OUTLOOK
The schedule can be viewed as a glass half full or half empty. Georgia's Sanford Stadium slate of Appalachian State, Samford, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Kentucky should result in a 6-0 sweep that alone would make the Bulldogs bowl-eligible for a league-leading 21st consecutive year. All six games away from Sanford, however, could be tricky, with Tennessee (No. 24), Florida (No. 16) and Auburn (No. 13) each ranked in the preseason coaches' poll, with Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech having topped the Bulldogs last year and returning a lot of starters, and with a trip to a Notre Dame that is eager to bounce back from a 4-8 debacle that contained seven one-possession losses.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Should Georgia break through and win the East or even the league championship, it will be because a much-improved Eason flourished behind a much-improved offensive line. The Bulldogs are structurally sound heading into this season, with loads of experience returning at all three levels defensively and with junior defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and senior outside linebackers Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter poised for all-conference runs. Disastrous special teams cost the Bulldogs repeatedly last year, most notably in the 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt, so that has to be improved. Georgia should be noticeably better than its 7-5 regular season of a year ago, so much that even 9-3 might be a bummer.