This time last year everybody was pimping Georgia as the preseason SEC and national champion. They had Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno on offense, but had a summer of off-the-field problems and some preseason injuries to key players.

A year later, things are obviously different in Athens. Stafford’s in Detroit, Moreno’s in Denver and preseason expectations are much, much lower. In fact, some of the most recent buzz surrounding the Bulldog football program has been on the recruiting trail, where Georgia’s received commitments from four of Rivals’ top 50 prospects.

While Stafford and Moreno didn’t disappoint last year, it was the defense that was Georgia’s biggest flaw last year. UGA gave up 24 points per game last year, and five teams (Alabama, Florida, LSU, Kentucky and Georgia Tech) scored 38 points or more on Georgia. That’s almost hard to believe.

Now Georgia may have to rely on that defense, as fifth-year senior Joe Cox (or possibly a younger quarterback) steps in to take the reins of the offense and a stable of young backs step in for the dazzling Moreno. One thing that isn’t different from last year? Georgia’s playing another tough schedule.

Many think they take a step back this year. But Mark Richt’s won 10 games every year except for 2001 (his first year) and 2006. Will this year break that trend?

Schedule Breakdown

Assumed wins:

• Arizona State (the Sun Devils went just 5-7 last year and lost to Georgia 27-10 in Tempe)
• at Vanderbilt
• Tennessee Tech
• Kentucky

Assumed losses:

• Florida (in Jacksonville)

Toss-ups:

• at Oklahoma State (Can Georgia handle the Cowboys’ offense in this opening weekend showdown?)
• South Carolina
• at Arkansas
• LSU
• at Tennessee
• Auburn
• at Georgia Tech (Tech ran for 409 yards in Athens in a 45-42 win last year)

LB Rennie Curran was second in the SEC in tackles in 2008

Studs

WR A.J. Green (So.): Green was the first-team all-SEC receiver last year as a true freshman. He had a better year statistically than Alabama’s Julio Jones (slightly more yards and twice as many touchdowns). Green’s undoubtedly Georgia’s best skilled player back this year, and he’s going to be a huge help to Cox as he settles in as the starter.

LB Rennie Curran (Jr.): Another first-team all-SEC player, Curran led Georgia in tackles by a large margin last year. Curran might be the best defensive player Georgia has, and will likely be starting on Sundays before too long.

Defensive tackles: A problem for many teams are the big guys up front on the defensive line, but it’s not that way in Athens. Senior Jeff Owens returns this year after being lost for the season in last year’s opener (knee). Geno Atkins, another senior, was a first team all-SEC player and led Georgia in tackles for loss last season, and fellow senior Kade Weston’s there as well. Sophomore DeAngelo Tyson was a highly-touted prospect as well, so this is one of best DT groups in the conference.

X-Factors

QB Joe Cox (Sr.): After waiting behind Matthew Stafford, Cox finally gets his turn as Georgia’s starting quarterback. Cox’s most memorable so far in his career came in 2006, when he led a fourth-quarter Dawg comeback over Colorado. Richt spoke glowingly of his confidence in Cox and his ability to lead. If Cox struggles, sophomore Logan Gray and a pair of true freshman (Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger) could emerge.

Can sophomore A.J. Green match the production from his exceptional freshman season even with a new quarterback?

Something Cox will have to help him out is his offensive line. Georgia lost a couple of starters to injury last year, so they return a bunch that’s got experience and averaged 148 yards rushing per game last year and 4.5 yards a carry (how of much that is attributable to Moreno is debatable). Not only are they good, but the experience young guys got gives UGA pretty good depth as well.

Wide receivers not named A.J. Green: Opposite of Green last year was Mohamed Massaquoi, who’s now departed. The reliable senior Kris Durham will miss the entire season due a shoulder injury that requires surgery. That leaves a couple of question marks in terms of taking away attention from Green. Senior Michael Moore and junior Tony Wilson is the upperclassmen who will have to step up (special thanks to Gate reader gnargnar for pointing out that I missed the dismissal of junior Tony Wilson), and redshirt freshman Tavarres King and true freshman Marlon Brown may be able to help as well.

Defense: As I mentioned earlier, Georgia’s defense last year was not up to typical Georgia standards, and coordinator Willie Martinez has come under some scrutiny for the struggles, especially after Georgia Tech ran over, through and around the Dawgs in the regular season finale.

Statistical proof: when Martinez was promoted to coordinator in 2005, Georgia’s defense gave up just around 15 points per game the 3 years prior. The Dawg defense stayed that course in ’05, giving up just 16.5 ppg. However, that number has increased each of the following three years: 17.6 in 2006, 20.2 in 2007 and 24.5 last year. It’s not like Georgia’s recruiting of defensive players has declined. Again, Georgia’s defense is going to have to be good while the new pieces on offense get acclimated – and the schedule stresses that both of those happen rather quickly.

What’s New, but Maybe Not Improved

DT Jeff Owens (Sr.): I already mentioned Owens, and his impact in the middle of the Bulldog defense should be as big as he is (he’s listed at 306 lbs). Also returning from injuries are sophomore offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, a full-time starter as a true freshman, and senior offensive tackle Vince Vance, who was hurt in the middle of last year.

Georgia gets this scary dude Jeff Owens back from a knee injury

Running back by committee?: Knowshon Moreno carried the load from the running back position last year, obviously, and unless someone emerges, you might see a two- or three-back rotation. The bunch is young, but it’s talented. The candidates: sophomores Caleb King and Richard Samuel are the frontrunners, along with redshirt freshmen Carlton Thomas and Dontavius Jackson, junior Kalvin Daniels and true freshman Washaun Easley. The only thing for sure is they’ll have a quality line leading their ways.

Lower expectations: I wouldn’t say Georgia is flying completely under the radar, but they are very much in the shadow of Florida, Alabama and Ole Miss (every East team is in Florida’s shadow) and compared to last year the Dawgs are flying low. Coach Richt said at Media Days last week that last year that his team seemed to rely almost too much on Stafford and Moreno, and although losing those two is obviously going to be difficult to overcome, this is still a talented team, returning most everybody but those two NFL first-rounders.

HSH’s Bold Prediction

Continuing the thoughts from that last point, the general consensus about this 2009 Georgia team is mixed. Some think Georgia’s going to be fine; others see problems and some losses in the face of a front-heavy schedule. What do I think? I think Georgia’s going to be fine. This is still a talented team in just about every spot, and arguably the strength of this team is along the offensive and defensive lines. The subtle key – because Cox taking over and finding a main guy to run the ball are the obvious ones – is the defense. They struggled at times last year, but the talent and the experience are certainly there. Can they play up to it each week? I think they’ll be better and I’ll go ahead and call them winning 9 games (10 with a bowl).

– … to me.

Images Courtesy of: Kelly Lambert / Athens Banner-Herald • David Manning / Athens Banner-Herald

About the Author:  I'm from Memphis but I'm now entering my third year at the University of Tennessee here in Knoxville. I am majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media and hope to go into sports broadcasting/writing/something like that. I'm a huge Vol fan and have been going to games for as long as I can remember. I started my on blog called "The View From The Hill" but moved here to Gate 21 for bigger and better things. In addition to my passion for Tennessee football and basketball, I enjoy watching the NFL and the NBA as well. Basically, sports are a big part of my life. >> Read more from this author

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