Route ’15: Georgia has been picked to win the SEC Eastern Division, something the Bulldogs have not done since 2012. Missouri is the two-time champion in the division, a fact that doesn’t sit well in Athens, especially given Georgia’s 34-0 win in Columbia, Mo., last season. The Bulldogs also want to taste the conference championship, which they haven’t done since D.J. Shockley was the winning quarterback in a 34-14 triumph over LSU in 2005. It’s been somewhat of a roller coaster since, with Georgia producing top-five teams in 2007 and ’12 but losing five or more games in ’09, ’10 and ’13. Mark Richt always has quality quarterback play and needs it again.
Caution ahead: So scant is the returning experience of quarterbacks Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta that the situation has been compared to 1989, when Greg Talley beat out Preston Jones. Greyson Lambert made it a three-player race when he arrived from Virginia, but he has experienced the same ups and downs as the others during camp. Should the Bulldogs continue their run of quality quarterback play – Hutson Mason was by no means an All-SEC performer last season but did throw for 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions – there is also the matter of building receiver depth following the departures of Chris Conley, Michael Bennett and Jonathon Rumph.
Winding road: Only two assistants – tight ends coach John Lilly and receivers coach Bryan McClendon – remain on Richt’s staff from two seasons ago, and McClendon has shifted from coaching running backs. Last year, Georgia underwent its first complete defensive coaching overhaul in 50 years when new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt arrived from Florida State, and now the new coordinator is offensive play-caller Brian Schottenheimer, who had the same role the last three seasons with the St. Louis Rams. Schottenheimer could be challenged to develop a quality quarterback to complement sophomore tailback Nick Chubb, who is certain to be the focus of the attack.
On the horizon: After opening against Clemson the past two seasons, the Bulldogs and their new starting quarterback will ease into this year with Louisiana-Monroe. A trip to Vanderbilt is next, and then Georgia returns to host South Carolina, which has won four of the last five games in the series. The key to the season will be October, which begins with Alabama in Sanford Stadium and Tennessee in Neyland Stadium. If the Bulldogs sweep those games, a special season could be in order. If the Bulldogs get swept, the Liberty Bowl could be in order. Georgia also faces Missouri and Florida in October, which will be unique challenges coming off the Crimson Tide and Volunteers.
Road to success: If Georgia fails to match last year’s 10-win season, then it likely will be the result of quarterback deficiencies. The Bulldogs were much better defensively under Pruitt than they were in Todd Grantham’s final season as coordinator, and they should be just as good or better on that side of the ball this year. The fact Georgia plays both Alabama and Auburn in the West could be a divisional determining point, especially if the Bulldogs lose in Knoxville, but how they fare in those three games likely will go a long way in determining if the Bulldogs are back in Atlanta for the first time since 2012 and celebrating in Atlanta for the first time since ’05.