georgia vs okie state

Georgia's Offense--Last year, Georgia’s offense figured to be as dynamic as any in the country, but a series of injuries decimated the line and Richt was forced to employ a lineup featuring three freshmen and two sophomores. This year, Georgia’s offensive line is healthy, experienced and deep. The line is mature, the quarterback’s mature, so there’ll be nothing from a schematic point of view that should hold them back. Having gone through the gauntlet of an SEC season last year, freshmen Cordy Glenn, Justin Anderson and Ben Jones made immense strides. Clint Boling figured to be a solid contributor on last year’s line, but after injuries to Vince Vance and Trinton Sturdivant, he blossomed into a leader. Add a healthy dose of rehabilitation to the numerous injured players, and suddenly this year’s line no longer resembles the patchwork unit Richt employed last season. Having that many guys with playing experience that know what they’re doing will prove to be invaluable in the run game and protecting QB Joe Cox. Strudivant’s knee is back to full health, and he appears to have a lock on the starting left tackle job. Boling slides from the left side to the right. Jones, who was one of Georgia’s most impressive freshmen last season, will be the starting center. Now we all know that Joe Cox won't post the numbers that Matthew Stafford did last fall, but he'll have a solid campaign and help A.J. Green reach his preseason goal of surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards.

Georgia's Defense--What can you say? We all know what SEC Defenses are made of and we all know what OSU will be facing here in this game. Even with the high-powered Offense OSU will be bringing, especially being at home and being all fired up, I just cannot see them being able to put up 35 or 40 points like a lot of people are thinking. Marcus Washington's return from shoulder surgery is overlooked by a lot of folks but now that he's 100 percent, the senior will prove to be one of the best run-stoppers on the team. Bryan Evans has finally found a home at free safety. Although he's probably not the hitter fans think of when it comes to this position for the Dawgs, Evans' speed and athleticism will probably allow him to lead the Bulldogs in interceptions this fall.

OSU Offense--Hey, we know that OSU has a high-powered Offense and are going to be tough, especially against teams in their conference. We are talking about an SEC Defense in this matchup though. OSU now must replace two graduated starters in David Washington and Steve Denning who had a combined 63 starts at the guard position last season. The current depth chart has sophomore Jonathan Rush at left guard and fifth-year senior Noah Franklin at right guard. The Georgia opener will provide a difficult challenge for two new Cowboy linemen. And who will step up to help out Bryant at wide receiver? Other than Bryant, no returning wide receiver had more than three receptions last season. The Cowboys also will be breaking in a new tight end with the loss of Pettigrew and his 42 receptions.

OSU Defense--Can OSU's defense pressure opposing quarterbacks without relying heavily on blitzes? With only 15 sacks last season, OSU had the Big 12's weakest pass rush. Can starting ends Jamie Blatnick and Ugo Chinasa develop into impact players? Can Richetti Jones finally become a force? Against OSU last season, Texas' Colt McCoy, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Taylor Potts combined to complete 78 percent of their passes for 1,277 yards and 13 touchdowns. On 144 pass attempts, they were intercepted only once. Was OSU guilty of lousy coverage? For the most part, no. The primary problem was an inability to generate pressure in the pass pocket. If his rhythm is not disrupted, Georgia's Joe Cox is capable of hurting OSU with 15-yard throws all day long. The secondary was torched often last season - 267.7 yards per game - but too often, opposing wide receivers had time to get open because the lack of a pass rush enabled opposing quarterbacks to get comfortable in the pocket. OSU allowed 405.5 yards per game last season.

I say all that to say this...I am a Georgia fan but will probably stay away from this game. I'm just throwing out a few things on this game that are sometimes easy to overlook. I can honestly see the game going either way but one thing I definately can't see is it being a complete blowout in OSU's favor. GL to everyone in whichever way you decide to wager.