I'm going to commit a football fandom cardinal sin and glance ahead to the fall slate and share what I'm feeling about each match-up. I am aware that this is a ridiculous thing to do since we don't really know, well, anything, about next season. It's Joe Cox, a stable of running backs, receivers who don't catch, and a defense without healthy bookends. But, other teams have problems to deal with and none of this means shit until toe meets leather anyway.
The upcoming season is drawing a lot of comparisons to 2006, and with good reason. There are a similar number of questions and one is eerily familiar: Who will shine at QB? Will JoeC be the next JoeT and give way to a ballyhoo-ed youngster? Will we struggle down the stretch, losing to Vandy and Kentucky? Both programs are better now and they fall in a schedule that's twice as tough. Tennessee and Auburn were down last season, but could be back - big time.
And then there's Florida. Fuck.
Oh well, here goes:
Oklahoma State - Georgia has played insanely well in true road games under Richt. Only once have we started away under his watch, though, and we can be rusty to say the least early on. Overall, I think we'll be ready and the Pokes will not liveh up to their pre-season hype. We win on the road and come back focused for Spurrier and the Cocks.
SoCar - Is Garcia the answer? No. But it won't matter, as this game will come down to defense again. Toss-up in low scoring game.
Arkansas - I HATE this game. The Razorbacks will not be as good as us, but they'll be much improved from '08 and we won't play well. We'll split these back-to-back SEC games.
Arizona State - I like us in this one. We'll be drained from the last 2 games, but honed in and focused as well. It should be more competitive than last season, but we'll edge the Devils out.
LSU - Terrifying, but winnable. We'll be leaving ATH on a high note heading into the Tennessee road trip.
Tennessee - I don't know. Gut feeling, we win. But I've got my eye on Kiffin and his 6-Million Dollar Staff.
Vandy - A win. Ugly, but a win.
Bye-Week - We should be 6-1, maybe 5-, by this point. A little time to heal, and then...
...Florida!- Even with a bye-week we lose this game. It will be winnable late, but we will never catch Florida slipping.
Tennessee Tech - Big win and a great recovery from the Cocktail Party
Auburn - I don't know. My gut says: 'Check back later.'
Kentucky - We'll handle the 'Cats in ATH.
Georgia Tech - see: Auburn. We will beat either the Jackets or the Tigers, but not both. So, that put us at 9-3 or 8-4 on the year. We could realistically scrape out another win or two somewhere, but I would be honestly surprised if we dip below 7-5.
Before you criticize this, you must know that I used historical data, expert sources*, the scientific method**, and lots of number crunching*** to arrive at these predictions.
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*beer
** guessing
*** more beer
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Side-Note: I just capped off a perfect season on NCAA '09 by trouncing Ohio State 63-17 in the BCS Title game. Imagine that, an SEC team embarrasing the 'Bucks on a grand stage.
Interesting. As little as I think one can glean from the spring game, Auburn's A-Day this weekend might actually tell us something (though God knows what) about what that team will look like come fall. Congrats on the undefeated season! (Also, why is OSU the Bucks and not the Eyes? Hmmm...)
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