Georgia Football will get over eight wins this fall.
Related Story: Why Georgia Football will not win more than eight games in 2016
Yeah, Georgia is going to get over eight wins. Count on it. While nothing is easy in the SEC, it can be done. There are several reasons why.
First, look at the schedule. There are only two teams in the East that Georgia has any business losing too. That would be Tennessee and Florida (unless another team breaks out). Also, Georgia plays only four road games in 2016 that do not appear extremely challenging on paper.
The toughest road game is against Ole Miss – UGA’s rotating cross-division opponent. UGA misses the Alabamas and LSUs of the world and have a tough but winnable West matchup. The rest of the schedule is not easy, but certainly all the games are winnable.
Second, let’s not dismiss Georgia’s returning talent. After all, people forget that Georgia went 9-3 last year despite the season not going quite as planned. The offense wasn’t very good when Nick Chubb got hurt but before his mid-season injury the UGA offense was much more formidable.
Chubb rushed for 747 yards and seven touchdowns in really only five games. In this time, he also averaged a ridiculous eight yards per carry average. Chubb will be back from knee injury in 2016 and is deservedly a legit Heisman threat. His presence alone makes Georgia dangerous. The time table for Chubb to come back is still not certain, but all signs point to the Cedartown, Ga., native coming back early in the season better than ever.
Greyson Lambert was a big disappointment last year (except against South Carolina where everyone thought he was the next Tom Brady). Make no mistake, he’s not going to be 2016’s starter; it will be Jacob Eason. No one is sure when Eason will hit the field, but it looks to be sooner rather than later.
The former blue-chip prospect has got all of the talent in the world, but he’s just a freshman. Many think he’s going to be the real deal after an impressive G-Day performance. At the quarterback position, it’s kind of a situation of how worse could he be than Georgia’s QB play was last year. Eason is going to make youngster mistakes, but his talent and upside overcomes that.
Eason will have the huge benefit of having one of the best running back corps in the SEC and probably the country to hand the ball off to. We already mentioned Nick Chubb, but Sony Michel thrived in his starting role once Chubb went down with injury. Top newcomer Elijah Holyfield, the underrated Brian Herrien and the reliable, power back Brendan Douglas will add solid depth to the unit.
The receiving corps’ depth is still in question, but the leader Terry Godwin should have an even better season than his 2015 game and should be Georgia’s best receiving option. The other wide receivers around him are largely inexperienced but still excellent. The tight end position at Georgia is probably the best group of tight ends in the entire country led by Jeb Blazevich. The offensive line should be okay, but depth is still a question.
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Georgia will be fine on defense. After all, Kirby Smart’s strong suit is that side of the ball, and he’s got some good players returning.
UGA finally can say they aren’t overly worried about their secondary. It’s very experienced and is not shabby as Georgia was the best pass defense in the country last season. It will definitely highlight what should be one of the best defensive sides in the SEC.
UGA returns a talented team in 2016 and are bolstered by a top incoming recruiting class including Jacob Eason. Georgia has it’s share of weaknesses as well, but they have the guys to make some noise this fall. While I don’t see them winning the East this year, the Bulldogs will get over eight wins in 2016.