GoGamecocks.com
SEC Preview: Richt risks doghouse with dangerous slate
CommentsFour years ago, the Georgia football team was coming off a disappointing season, and breaking in a fifth-year quarterback. The Bulldogs then won 10 games, the SEC title and were ranked 10th in both national polls.
Given the same scenario this year, the Bulldogs would probably take the same result.
Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are gone, but so is the national championship talk. What's left is the most consistent program in the SEC over the past decade - the Bulldogs have won at least 10 games all but one year since 2002, and the exception was a nine-win season.
However, the Bulldogs do appear to have a more questions than in years past:
IS IT NOW A.J. GREEN'S TEAM?
The receiver from Summerville lived up to the hype as a freshman. Now, with Stafford and Moreno in the NFL, the attention is fully on him. But while a receiver with Green's abilities can affect a game in big ways, he will only touch the ball, at most, around 10 times a game.
The rest of the time it's up to quarterback Joe Cox to find other receivers, such as the often-overlooked Michael Moore. Georgia coach Mark Richt likes the tailbacks, saying he could "blindly pick two or three" and feel good. But they're all unproven.
"(Last year) everybody expected us to win 'em all because we had these two guys (Moreno and Stafford) that everybody considered stars, and maybe subconsciously our guys thought, 'We can count on these guys,' “ Richt said. "Now that they're gone, I think our team understands the only chance they have is to play together, work together, earn it as a team."
IS JOE COX GOING TO BE D.J. SHOCKLEY OR JOE TERESHINSKI?
Cox becomes the third Georgia quarterback in the past five years to get the job as a fifth-year senior. His model is Shockley, who led the Bulldogs to the SEC title game - and not Tereshinski, who lost the job to Stafford early in the season.
The hopeful news for Georgia is that Cox's high school resume is closer to Shockley's. Cox was rated the nation's seventh-ranked quarterback coming out of Charlotte's Independence High, and was invited to the Elite 11 camp. If not for Stafford, the top pick in this year's NFL draft, Cox would have a couple years of starting under his belt.
"I don't think there's any player on this team that doesn't believe Joe was ready last season," Richt said. "And the year before, if something were to happen to Matt, they knew Joe was ready to go."
WILL THE DEFENSE BE BETTER?
Georgia ranked in the middle of the SEC last year in yards allowed, but only two teams (Mississippi State and Arkansas) yielded more points per game. That was a big reason the Bulldogs fell short of preseason hopes.
Most of the starters return, including leading tackler Rennie Curran. The junior linebacker is underrated because of his size (5-foot-11), but he has talent.
Richt's assessment of his defense sounded like a baseball manager who wants to be good up the middle; he likes his tackles, middle linebacker and safeties. The big question will be pressuring the quarterback. Sophomore end Justin Houston is the team's returning leader in sacks with 2.5.
"We need pressure off the edge," Richt said. "We need guys that can cover people outside."
WILL THE DOGS SURVIVE THE NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE?
Georgia athletics director Damon Evans has been striving to increase the school's national exposure, scheduling games against Oklahoma State and Arizona State.
Throw in the annual game against Georgia Tech and the Bulldogs’ schedule is a rarity - three nonconference games against BCS conference teams..
Georgia has to open at Oklahoma State, which should be highly-ranked. The regular season finale is at Georgia Tech, which last year beat its in-state rival for the first time in eight years.
"We might have bit off more than we should have," Richt said.
IS RICHT ON THE HOT SEAT?
In terms of his job, of course not. The dean of SEC coaches, entering his ninth year, has won 79 percent of his games at Georgia, including 72 percent in the SEC.
There have been grumbles that the Bulldogs fell short the two seasons there was national championship talk: Last year and 2004. But expectations are lower this season.
Cox said the talk of his coach being on the hot seat was "a joke."
"With his history and a 10-win season, just the talk of it really bothers our team," Cox said. "When you also look at the things he does for the school off the field, there is no way you can let a guy go like that."
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
Georgia outlook
Record last year: 10-3
Coach: Mark Richt (82-22 in eight seasons at Georgia)
Key players: QB Joe Cox, WR A.J. Green, OT Clint Boling, DT Geno Atkins.
Key losses: QB Matt Stafford, RB Knowshon Moreno, CB Asher Allen.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Pick |
| Sept. 5 | at Oklahoma State | L |
| Sept. 12 | South Carolina | W |
| Sept. 19 | at Arkansas | W |
| Sept. 26 | Arizona State | W |
| Oct. 3 | LSU | W |
| Oct. 10 | at Tennessee | W |
| Oct. 17 | at Vanderbilt | W |
| Oct. 31 | vs. Florida (in Jacksonville) | L |
| Nov. 7 | Tennessee Tech | W |
| Nov. 14 | Auburn | W |
| Nov. 21 | Kentucky | W |
| Nov. 28 | at Georgia Tech | L |
| Projected record | 9-3 |
Most Viewed Stories
- USC recruit could be removed from high school
- SEC basketball: Midseason report
- SEC releases baseball TV schedule
- Morris: USC's Nainima develops into star
- USC Taking Look At Florida Lineman
- Townsend Says Clemson Making Strong Push Right Now
- Break hurts Bradley's hand, USC's lineup
- Mauldin's Norton Grew Up A Gamecock Fan
- Recruiting: Compare and contrast never ends
- Bone named SEC freshman of the week again
@Nyx.CommentBody@