The Georgia Bulldogs’ Five Toughest Games This Fall
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs have a much tougher schedule this season than last year. Part of that has to do with drawing the Alabama Crimson Tide from the SEC West as the rotating eighth conference game. Outside of a rebuilding Vanderbilt Commodores team under second year HC Derek Mason, the Dawgs could play five bowl eligible divisional rival this fall.
Florida and South Carolina had down years in 2014 but still qualified for the postseason, winning six regular season games in addition to coming away victorious in their respective bowl games. It’s still too early to figure out what exactly the Gators and Gamecocks will be in 2015. All I know is that UGA has a bitter rivalry with both neighboring states’ flagship university. The 2015 Dawgs seek to avenge both of last year’s losses to Florida and South Carolina at Jacksonville and in Athens .
Kentucky started the year out strong (5-1) but failed to win any of their final six games to finish 2014 at 5-7. HC Mark Stoops and QB Patrick Towles can definitely get UK back into a bowl game in 2015. The Wildcats are on the rise since Stoops took over in 2013. Georgia is lucky to draw UK at home this year.
Both teams in the 2014 SEC Championship Game will play Between the Hedges this fall, as Alabama and Missouri venture to Athens in October. The Tide and the Tigers should both enter 2015 ranked in the AP Top 25. I’d be shocked if Bama or Mizzou are no longer ranked when they take on the Dawgs.
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The Georgia Bulldogs will have to travel to Atlanta, Auburn, and Knoxville to face off with Georgia Tech, Auburn, and Tennessee. Georgia Tech had an outstanding 2014 season winning the ACC Coastal Division, upsetting arch rival UGA in Athens, and defeating Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl. HC Paul Johnson and QB Justin Thomas look to build on last year’s success. Auburn experienced a sophomore slump under second year coach Gus Malzahn, finishing 8-5 after playing for a National Title in 2013. War Eagle Nation hopes to soar over this year’s competition. The Tennessee Volunteers ended a four-year bowl game drought in 2014. HC Butch Jones seems to have the Vols primed for a great 2015 campaign in year three of his regime.
It’s tough to decide when college football games are still four and a half months away, but here’s the five games I find the most difficult for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Oct 11, 2014; Columbia, MO, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Brendan Douglas (22) runs the ball during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Georgia won 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
5. Missouri (October 17th)
Gary Pinkel’s Mizzou Tigers are the two-time defending SEC East Champions. Entering their fourth year in SEC play, the Tigers look to vindicate last year’s shellacking put on them by the Dawgs in Columbia. Led by Junior QB Maty Mauk, Mizzou will use their spread passing game to attempt at instigating havoc in the UGA secondary. Although elite pass rusher Shane Ray left the Tigers a year early, expect a new front-seven beast to emerge in Pinkel’s historically stout defense. Missouri has been a welcomed addition to the SEC and the road team has won all three UGA-UM contests thus far. It has the making of another fantastic game in this emerging rivalry.
4. @ Georgia Tech (November 28th)
Georgia Tech broke the hearts of Dawg Nation with their overtime victory over UGA in 2014. Paul Johnson ran the ball down our throats all game long in last year’s edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Tech looks to repeat as Coastal Division winners and get back to a New Year’s Six Bowl Game. Fortunately for the Dawgs, HC Mark Richt has yet to lose in Bobby Dodd Stadium in his fourteen years on the Georgia sidelines. It’s nice to have the Jackets relevant again as it’s mutually beneficial to have a strong annual opponent in non-conference play. The Dawgs have to bring their A game to Atlanta Thanksgiving Week if they want to avoid a two-game losing streak to Tech.
Nov 15, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their game against the Auburn Tigers at Sanford Stadium. Georgia won 34-7. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
3. @ Auburn (November 14th)
I was in Auburn for the Prayer at Jordan-Hare Game in 2013. That was as painful of a loss as I care to remember. Idiot DB Josh Harvey-Clemons completely choked on a 4th and 17 bomb from Auburn QB Nick Marshall. 99 times out of 100, Georgia wins that ball game. But then again this is Georgia, where Murphy’s Law reigns supreme.
The Bulldogs have done a nice job in the last decade of handling Deep South rival Auburn at home, occasionally stealing a game here and there on the Plains. Auburn will have a promising new starter at QB in Jeremy Johnson and return arguably college football’s best WR in Duke Williams. This long-standing rivalry has intensified during Malzahn’s tenure as head coach. Expect another emotionally charged game from these bitter rivals in mid-November.
2. Alabama (October 3rd)
SEC Goliath Alabama will come to Athens for the first time since 2008’s infamous UGA Blackout Game. The last two games between the Dawgs and the Tide have gone Bama’s way. I will never be able to re-watch the 2012 SEC Championship Game again in my lifetime. Ron Swanson wouldn’t approve of my crying. Alabama has failed to play in a National Championship Game each of the last two seasons. The reigning SEC Champion was upset in the Sugar Bowl by the eventual winners of the inaugural College Football Playoff Ohio State Buckeyes. HC Nick Saban has a roster oozing with NFL talent and would love to crush the Dawgs in Athens. Richt needs to have his Bulldogs foaming at the mouth to stand a fighting chance at upending the Crimson Tide in October.
Sep 27, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Lorenzo Carter (7) hits Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nathan Peterman (12) as he releases the ball during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Georgia defeated Tennessee 35-32. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
1. @ Tennessee (October 10th)
Okay, let me talk you through this one. The Tennessee Volunteers will be serious SEC East title contenders this fall. Butch Jones has recruited marvelously for UT since arriving in Knoxville in 2013. The young Vols have matured after a good year in 2014. Led by QB Joshua Dobbs and RB Jalen Hurd, Tennessee is on the brink of something special. Rocky Top could echo from the banks of the Tennessee River all season long.
Perhaps what I’m most concerned about with regards to UT is their playing surface. More than any other venue in the SEC, the grass isn’t forgiving and ACL tears run rampant at Neyland Stadium. Just ask Keith Marshall or Marcus Lattimore. If any UGA tailback has a season-ending knee injury in Knoxville, I will completely lose my mind. This is natural grass we’re supposedly talking about here! Why does it play like Montreal’s Olympic Stadium?
Overall, UGA has a rough schedule this fall. Florida and South Carolina will be challenging games as well. If the defense continues to improve in the second year under DC Jeremy Pruitt, Richt and new OC Brian Schottenheimer find the right guy at QB, and Nick Chubb runs like he did last year, the Dawgs will have a special season. A 10-2, 9-3 regular season and an East title are attainable for this year’s team. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst: The Georgia Way. Go Dawgs!, Sic ‘Em!