Fall camps are under way and the regular season will be here soon so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview. #15 Georgia Bulldogs 10-3 SU; 6-6-1 ATS Fargos Take Georgia has the least amount of starters returning since 2003 but dont feel bad for the Bulldogs. Instead of rebuilding, they simply reload and that will be the case again in 2006. The real concern is that this will be the first year that head coach Mark Richt has not had the services of either David Greene or D.J. Shockley at quarterback. Stepping in will be Joe Tereshinski who only has one career start to his credit but he is a senior and he knows the system. Nonetheless, expect Georgia to be more apt to run the ball, at least early on in the season. Defensively, the Bulldogs are strong once again but the secondary took a big hit and will be the biggest cause for concern. Richt has won 52 games in his first five years at Georgia and has had double-digit wins in each of the last four seasons. He knows how to win and what it takes to win and Georgia will be knocking at the SEC door once again. Returning Starters on Offense 4 Tereshinski beat out three other signal callers to earn the starting nod including heralded freshman Matthew Stafford, who is the future of the Bulldogs. To ease some of the transitional pressure, the rushing game will be the primary offense and rightfully so. Three running backs are in the mix with junior Thomas Brown leading the way. He rushed for 736 yards on 5.0 ypc last season and will be the top guy once again. Kregg Lumpkin and Danny Ware are the best backups any team could ask for and overall, the Bulldogs have the best group of running back in the SEC. Like the quarterback, the receiving corps will have to adjust as well as there is not a lot of experience but a lot of potential. Three new starters will be on the offensive line but there is plenty of experience and depth in that group and the running game wont suffer because of the lack of starts. Returning Starters on Defense 5 Georgia finished 7th in the country in passing defense and 12th in passing efficiency defense last season but three All-SEC starters have departed leaving big holes to fill. Rover Tra Battle is back while Thomas Flowers and Paul Oliver are expected to make big impacts on the corners at some point in the season. The strength of the defense is on the line, namely defensive end Quinton Moss who flirted with leaving early but decided to stay put for his senior season. Moss is an All-American candidate and he will be joined by Charles Johnson on the other side to provide arguably the best bookends in the country. All three linebackers return intact but they will need to step things up and provide better rushing coverage as the Bulldogs slipped from 15th in rushing defense in 2004 to 52nd last season. Schedule As all SEC teams know, its never an easy season trying to get through the brutal schedule. The good news for Georgia is that most of the difficult games come later on in the slate giving it time to find the cohesiveness it needs. Three of the first four games are at home with the one road game being a decent challenge at South Carolina. The home games consist of contests against Western Kentucky, UAB and Colorado, none of which should be a problem. September ends with a game at Mississippi followed by the toughest test so far against Tennessee. Following two more winnable games against Vanderbilt and Mississippi, the Bulldogs face Florida in Jacksonville and then travel to Auburn two weeks later. The game against rival Georgia Tech is at home. Three of the top four teams in the West, LSU, Alabama and Arkansas missed the schedule. You can bet on This will be one of biggest tests that Richt will have faced in his short tenure in Athens. The cupboard certainly isnt bare but he has to rely on some inexperienced players at some key positions. If those players do step up, namely Tereshinski, the Bulldogs have an excellent shot of heading to Atlanta and the SEC Championship for the fourth time in five years. Georgia is 19-2 in true road games under Richt which is amazing considering the conference it is in. There are only four road games, not counting Florida, this season and with Georgia going 15-6 against the number in those 21 road contests, more profits could be in the way. The only real road test is at Auburn and that doesnt come until November 11th. |
