The Georgia Bulldogs will try to get back to the College Football Playoff.
The Georgia Bulldogs season is right around the corner, and despite all the talk in the offseason about the bigger issues in the sport, fans are ready for toe to meet leather and football to start.
At last month's SEC Media Days in Tampa, the Bulldogs wound up getting the benefit of the doubt in the press vote as they were picked once again to win the conference. Despite the discourse surrounding the team after three straight years without a playoff victory, Georgia still rules the roost in the SEC and even all the hype for the Texas Longhorns could not get them the vote.
In order to win the conference for a three-peat though, the Dawgs will have to get back to Atlanta, and to do that, they will have to navigate their schedule with as few hiccups as possible. How many losses will there realistically be on the schedule?
Things get started pretty light over the first three weeks with what should be wins against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and a road trip to Arkansas, who is expected to be one of the worst teams in the conference.
At the end of September, it's a challenge at home against Oklahoma, but it would take a monumental effort from the Sooners before starting October the next week at home with Vanderbilt.
After that, a road trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama is always going to be difficult and that one is a true toss up before returning home to face an Auburn team who has not won at Sanford Stadium in more than two decades.
After a bye, it's a rivalry game versus Florida -- a showdown which has been a whole lot closer in recent years -- before hitting Oxford for potentially the biggest game of the year on the road against Ole Miss.
The final stretch sees a home game against Missouri, a road game against South Carolina, and a return home to host Georgia Tech.
Breaking it down, it feels extremely likely that one of the two marquee road games is lost and one is won between the Rebels and the Crimson Tide. If Georgia can avoid trip ups against teams like Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida, or the road trip against South Carolina there's no reason why 11-1 is not achievable this season.
10 wins is likely all it would take to make the College Football Playoff field, and against this schedule which is very light by SEC standards, anything less than that would be unacceptable.
Count on the Dawgs to win 11 games and head to Atlanta to try to claim what is rightfully theirs.
