--Georgia's Offense--
Last year, Georgia’s offense figured to be as dynamic as any in the country, but a series of injuries decimated the line and Richt was forced to employ a lineup featuring three freshmen and two sophomores. This year, Georgia’s offensive line is healthy, experienced and deep. The line is mature, the quarterback’s mature, so there’ll be nothing from a schematic point of view that should hold them back. "When it comes to quarterback play, in my opinion, you need to have an accurate passer, you need to have a great decision maker, you need to have a young man who can handle the pressure of the job," says coach Richt. "Joe Cox, who threw 2 TDs and no picks and 151 yards last season, really personifies all those characteristics." Having gone through the gauntlet of an SEC season last year, freshmen Cordy Glenn, Justin Anderson and Ben Jones made immense strides. Clint Boling figured to be a solid contributor on last year’s line, but after injuries to Vince Vance and Trinton Sturdivant, he blossomed into a leader. Add a healthy dose of rehabilitation to the numerous injured players, and suddenly this year’s line no longer resembles the patchwork unit Richt employed last season. Having that many guys with playing experience that know what they’re doing will prove to be invaluable in the run game and protecting QB Joe Cox. Strudivant’s knee is back to full health, and he appears to have a lock on the starting left tackle job. Boling slides from the left side to the right. Jones, who was one of Georgia’s most impressive freshmen last season, will be the starting center. Now we all know that Joe Cox won't post the numbers that Matthew Stafford did last fall, but he'll have a solid campaign and help A.J. Green reach his preseason goal of surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards. There is no question that Cox will benefit from the presence of A.J. Green, a true star at the receiver position. As a freshman in '08, Green racked up 56 catches for 963 yards and eight touchdowns. This year's hot freshman is Marlon Brown, and he will benefit from the double coverage that Green commands.
--Georgia's Defense--
What can you say? We all know what SEC Defenses are made of and we all know what OSU will be facing here in this game. Even with the high-powered Offense OSU will be bringing, especially being at home in a new stadium and being all fired up, I just cannot see them being able to put up 35 or 40 points like a lot of people are thinking. Marcus Washington's return from shoulder surgery is overlooked by a lot of folks but now that he's 100 percent, the senior will prove to be one of the best run-stoppers on the team. Bryan Evans has finally found a home at free safety. Although he's probably not the hitter fans think of when it comes to this position for the Dawgs, Evans' speed and athleticism will probably allow him to lead the Bulldogs in interceptions this fall. There are six starters back, not including defensive tackle Jeff Owens, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of the 2008 opener. Owens, Geno Atkins and Kade Weston give Georgia three senior defensive tackles. There is experience through the middle of the defense, with Curran and Akeem Dent at linebacker and Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones at safety. Cornerback Prince Miller is another returning starter. The wealth of experience will make this defense better. ``We've been here, we've played in the big games, we know what it feels like to win,'' Owens said. "We have guys who are dependable backs and guys who know the defense from end to end". Rennie Curran is a stud linebacker who has a motor that never dies. He runs sideline to sideline, can cover receivers, blitz the quarterback and shed blockers. Curran was Mr. Everywhere for the Bulldogs with 115 tackles and three sacks last season.
--Oklahoma State Offense--
Hey, we know that OSU has a high-powered Offense and are going to be tough, especially against teams in their conference but we are talking about an SEC Defense in this matchup though. So lets go ahead and get some stats and pre-season hype out there right now. QB Zac Robinson, though somewhat unheralded because of all the other star power in the Big 12, threw for 3,064 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes last year. He also rushed for 562 yards. RB Kendall Hunter is the league's top returning back, the only Big 12 rusher to average 100 yards per game last season. And Bryant is incredible, making numerous circus catches among the 87 balls he grabbed. Oklahoma State finished sixth in the nation in total offense, was ninth in scoring, fifth in passing efficiency and eighth in rushing offense. Also, they get almost everyone back with eight starters returning although they are having to work in two new guards and a new tight end along the front line. OSU now must replace two graduated starters in David Washington and Steve Denning who had a combined 63 starts at the guard position last season. The current depth chart has sophomore Jonathan Rush at left guard and fifth-year senior Noah Franklin at right guard. The Georgia opener will provide a difficult challenge for two new Cowboy linemen. And who will step up to help out Bryant at wide receiver? Other than Bryant, no returning wide receiver had more than three receptions last season. The Cowboys also will be breaking in a new tight end with the loss of Pettigrew and his 42 receptions.
--Oklahoma State Defense--
Can OSU's defense pressure opposing quarterbacks without relying heavily on blitzes? With only 15 sacks last season, OSU had the Big 12's weakest pass rush. Can starting ends Jamie Blatnick and Ugo Chinasa develop into impact players? Can Richetti Jones finally become a force? Against OSU last season, Texas' Colt McCoy, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Taylor Potts combined to complete 78 percent of their passes for 1,277 yards and 13 touchdowns. On 144 pass attempts, they were intercepted only once. Was OSU guilty of lousy coverage? For the most part, no. The primary problem was an inability to generate pressure in the pass pocket. If his rhythm is not disrupted, Georgia's Joe Cox is capable of hurting OSU with 15-yard throws all day long. The secondary was torched often last season - 267.7 yards per game - but too often, opposing wide receivers had time to get open because the lack of a pass rush enabled opposing quarterbacks to get comfortable in the pocket. OSU allowed 405.5 yards per game last season.
Bottom line is that Georgia returns more starters and lettermen than OSU from a team with a better 2008 record than OSU, and from a conference that was better than the Big 12. Last year Georgia outgained their competetion by about 75 ypg while OSU was 25 ypg. This is a testament to how good Georgia's Defense is versus how bad OSU's is. And, Georgia did all this while also dealing with injuries.To the tune of 44 times did a starter miss a game last season due to injury. Now they have 15 starters back from a 10-3 team, including many of those injured players that didnt play last season. I believe that Georgia has the better coaching staff in this matchup as well. Oh, and by the way, Georgia won the SEC title back in 2005 with a first year QB in D.J. Shockley. I really feel like Georgia's offensive line will be able to control the game and wear down OSU's defense. I say all that to say this; I am a Georgia fan but will probably stay away from this game. Not because I don't think Georgia can win here but because I very rarely bet on my Dawgs. It's just a personal rule I have always laid down for myself. I'm just throwing out a few things on this game that are sometimes easily overlooked. This game may go either way but one thing I definately can't see is it being a complete blowout in OSU's favor. By all means don't be afraid to take the points here (currently around 6.5 I think) and maybe even lay a little something on the ML. GL to everyone in whichever way you decide to wager.
Last year, Georgia’s offense figured to be as dynamic as any in the country, but a series of injuries decimated the line and Richt was forced to employ a lineup featuring three freshmen and two sophomores. This year, Georgia’s offensive line is healthy, experienced and deep. The line is mature, the quarterback’s mature, so there’ll be nothing from a schematic point of view that should hold them back. "When it comes to quarterback play, in my opinion, you need to have an accurate passer, you need to have a great decision maker, you need to have a young man who can handle the pressure of the job," says coach Richt. "Joe Cox, who threw 2 TDs and no picks and 151 yards last season, really personifies all those characteristics." Having gone through the gauntlet of an SEC season last year, freshmen Cordy Glenn, Justin Anderson and Ben Jones made immense strides. Clint Boling figured to be a solid contributor on last year’s line, but after injuries to Vince Vance and Trinton Sturdivant, he blossomed into a leader. Add a healthy dose of rehabilitation to the numerous injured players, and suddenly this year’s line no longer resembles the patchwork unit Richt employed last season. Having that many guys with playing experience that know what they’re doing will prove to be invaluable in the run game and protecting QB Joe Cox. Strudivant’s knee is back to full health, and he appears to have a lock on the starting left tackle job. Boling slides from the left side to the right. Jones, who was one of Georgia’s most impressive freshmen last season, will be the starting center. Now we all know that Joe Cox won't post the numbers that Matthew Stafford did last fall, but he'll have a solid campaign and help A.J. Green reach his preseason goal of surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards. There is no question that Cox will benefit from the presence of A.J. Green, a true star at the receiver position. As a freshman in '08, Green racked up 56 catches for 963 yards and eight touchdowns. This year's hot freshman is Marlon Brown, and he will benefit from the double coverage that Green commands.
--Georgia's Defense--
What can you say? We all know what SEC Defenses are made of and we all know what OSU will be facing here in this game. Even with the high-powered Offense OSU will be bringing, especially being at home in a new stadium and being all fired up, I just cannot see them being able to put up 35 or 40 points like a lot of people are thinking. Marcus Washington's return from shoulder surgery is overlooked by a lot of folks but now that he's 100 percent, the senior will prove to be one of the best run-stoppers on the team. Bryan Evans has finally found a home at free safety. Although he's probably not the hitter fans think of when it comes to this position for the Dawgs, Evans' speed and athleticism will probably allow him to lead the Bulldogs in interceptions this fall. There are six starters back, not including defensive tackle Jeff Owens, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of the 2008 opener. Owens, Geno Atkins and Kade Weston give Georgia three senior defensive tackles. There is experience through the middle of the defense, with Curran and Akeem Dent at linebacker and Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones at safety. Cornerback Prince Miller is another returning starter. The wealth of experience will make this defense better. ``We've been here, we've played in the big games, we know what it feels like to win,'' Owens said. "We have guys who are dependable backs and guys who know the defense from end to end". Rennie Curran is a stud linebacker who has a motor that never dies. He runs sideline to sideline, can cover receivers, blitz the quarterback and shed blockers. Curran was Mr. Everywhere for the Bulldogs with 115 tackles and three sacks last season.
--Oklahoma State Offense--
Hey, we know that OSU has a high-powered Offense and are going to be tough, especially against teams in their conference but we are talking about an SEC Defense in this matchup though. So lets go ahead and get some stats and pre-season hype out there right now. QB Zac Robinson, though somewhat unheralded because of all the other star power in the Big 12, threw for 3,064 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes last year. He also rushed for 562 yards. RB Kendall Hunter is the league's top returning back, the only Big 12 rusher to average 100 yards per game last season. And Bryant is incredible, making numerous circus catches among the 87 balls he grabbed. Oklahoma State finished sixth in the nation in total offense, was ninth in scoring, fifth in passing efficiency and eighth in rushing offense. Also, they get almost everyone back with eight starters returning although they are having to work in two new guards and a new tight end along the front line. OSU now must replace two graduated starters in David Washington and Steve Denning who had a combined 63 starts at the guard position last season. The current depth chart has sophomore Jonathan Rush at left guard and fifth-year senior Noah Franklin at right guard. The Georgia opener will provide a difficult challenge for two new Cowboy linemen. And who will step up to help out Bryant at wide receiver? Other than Bryant, no returning wide receiver had more than three receptions last season. The Cowboys also will be breaking in a new tight end with the loss of Pettigrew and his 42 receptions.
--Oklahoma State Defense--
Can OSU's defense pressure opposing quarterbacks without relying heavily on blitzes? With only 15 sacks last season, OSU had the Big 12's weakest pass rush. Can starting ends Jamie Blatnick and Ugo Chinasa develop into impact players? Can Richetti Jones finally become a force? Against OSU last season, Texas' Colt McCoy, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Taylor Potts combined to complete 78 percent of their passes for 1,277 yards and 13 touchdowns. On 144 pass attempts, they were intercepted only once. Was OSU guilty of lousy coverage? For the most part, no. The primary problem was an inability to generate pressure in the pass pocket. If his rhythm is not disrupted, Georgia's Joe Cox is capable of hurting OSU with 15-yard throws all day long. The secondary was torched often last season - 267.7 yards per game - but too often, opposing wide receivers had time to get open because the lack of a pass rush enabled opposing quarterbacks to get comfortable in the pocket. OSU allowed 405.5 yards per game last season.
Bottom line is that Georgia returns more starters and lettermen than OSU from a team with a better 2008 record than OSU, and from a conference that was better than the Big 12. Last year Georgia outgained their competetion by about 75 ypg while OSU was 25 ypg. This is a testament to how good Georgia's Defense is versus how bad OSU's is. And, Georgia did all this while also dealing with injuries.To the tune of 44 times did a starter miss a game last season due to injury. Now they have 15 starters back from a 10-3 team, including many of those injured players that didnt play last season. I believe that Georgia has the better coaching staff in this matchup as well. Oh, and by the way, Georgia won the SEC title back in 2005 with a first year QB in D.J. Shockley. I really feel like Georgia's offensive line will be able to control the game and wear down OSU's defense. I say all that to say this; I am a Georgia fan but will probably stay away from this game. Not because I don't think Georgia can win here but because I very rarely bet on my Dawgs. It's just a personal rule I have always laid down for myself. I'm just throwing out a few things on this game that are sometimes easily overlooked. This game may go either way but one thing I definately can't see is it being a complete blowout in OSU's favor. By all means don't be afraid to take the points here (currently around 6.5 I think) and maybe even lay a little something on the ML. GL to everyone in whichever way you decide to wager.
