Graphic by Bob Miller.
[su_spacer size=”20″] Georgia, ranked No. 9 in the preseason Associated Press poll and the consensus favorite to win the Southeastern Conference East Division and play for the league championship in Atlanta, opens with Louisiana-Monroe.
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If this is to be the kind of season the Bulldog faithful are hopeful for, then clearly this is a game that Georgia needs to win, and win handily.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Louisiana-Monroe has a strong football history. The Warhawks — then known as the Northeast Louisiana Indians — won the Division I-AA national championship and have boasted several standout players through the years, in particular quarterbacks Stan Humphries and Bubby Brister. In recent years, the Warhawks made a name for themselves by scalping a pair of Southeastern Conference big boys.
[su_spacer size=”40″] This should serve as easy motivation for Mark Richt.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In 2007, Louisiana Monroe rolled into Tuscaloosa and handed first-year coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide a 21-14 beating. That led to a couple of clever billboards for the Bama faithful to see as they drove through Monroe en route to Shreveport for the Poulan Weed-eater Independence Bowl.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Following Bobby Petrino’s blonde motorcycle mishap through the Ozarks, Arkansas was still a preseason top ten team heading into the 2012 season. Louisiana-Monroe stunned the eighth-ranked Hogs with a 34-31 overtime win in Little Rock.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Those two victories officially established Louisiana-Monroe as giant killers.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The last two seasons, the Warhawks took down Wake Forest. Granted the Demon Deacons have fallen to the bottom of the ACC, but these high caliber wins from one of the Sun Belt Conference’s traditional big boys have infused a tremendous amount of confidence and energy into the program.
[su_spacer size=”40″] There are big expectations this season, as the Warhawks return 15 starters, including nine on the defensive side. Louisiana-Monroe went just 4-8 a year ago, and 3-5 in Sun Belt play. But five of the losses came by seven or fewer points, and that returning talent has the program dreaming of a shot at the Sun Belt title and a bowl game.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Key Match-up
[su_spacer size=”20″] Georgia’s quarterbacks will have a good test against an experienced defense. Hall of Fame coach Jim Donnan, now a television and radio analyst, said this summer that the War- hawk defense would be a stiffer challenge than the one the Bulldogs would face the following week in the Southeastern Conference opener at Vanderbilt.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Granted it’s not the Steel Curtain or the ’85 Bears, but this should be an excellent challenge for whoever is calling the signals for the Bulldogs — whether its Bauta, Lambert or Ramsey, a combination of the two or all three.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The centerpiece of the Georgia offense is a star-studded crop of tailbacks led by Heisman Trophy candidate Nick Chubb and Sony Michele, an outstanding group of tight ends and a veteran offensive line that returns four starters.
[su_spacer size=”40″] All eyes will be on the quarterback, and there will also be a lot of cheers when wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell and tailback Keith Marshall first touch the pigskin. Both are back and healthy after suffering a pair of knee injuries. In 2012, Mitchell proved to be one of the most electric play-makers in the SEC, the highlight his catch and run touchdown in Georgia’s 17-9 win over Florida in Jacksonville. Marshall, meanwhile, was a big-play counter-puncher to All-American Todd Gurley.
[su_spacer size=”40″] There are a lot of weapons and strength on this Georgia offense.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia Defense and Special Teams
[su_spacer size=”20″] A year ago, under the watch of first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and a new defensive staff, the Bulldogs stop-unit was much improved. The same goes for the special teams as a whole. In 2013, the kicking game was a disaster. Last season there were many more positives than negatives.
[su_spacer size=”40″] But in the three losses there were major special teams breakdowns and Georgia couldn’t stop the run.
[su_spacer size=”40″] If the defense and special teams can make further strides this season, it will help take some of the pressure off the offense and first year starting quarterback.
[su_spacer size=”40″] 10 Years Ago
[su_spacer size=”20″] Time flies. It has been a full decade since the Bulldogs posted one of the most impressive season-opening victories in program history.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Making his first start at quarterback, eventual SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Championship Game Most Valuable Player D.J. Shockley had a spectacular performance to lead No. 13 Georgia past 18th-ranked Boise State 48-13 between the hedges. Shockley threw for five touch-downs and 289 yards, while carrying five times for 85 yards and a touchdown.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia’s defense was a wrecking crew, harassing Bronco quarterback Jared Zabransky throughout the game. The Bulldogs picked him off four times, including one by Dannell Ellerbe on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and forced him to fumble twice.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs went on to capture the SEC title with a 34-14 victory over LSU in the Georgia Dome.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Big Picture
[su_spacer size=”20″] Despite the Warhawks big recent upsets of SEC com-petition, their returning strength on defense and Georgia’s quarterback concerns, this is a game that the Bulldogs should take without any drama. The same goes for the following week.
[su_spacer size=”40″] If that is not the case, then a schedule that turns brutally tough the next week looks even more daunting.
[su_spacer size=”40″] For more articles like this, including player and fan photos as well as videos, check out Bulldawg Illustrated’s 2015 Season Opener digital issue:
[su_spacer size=”40″] Bulldawg Illustrated
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