Spring practice rarely amounts to much, but its end does serve as another checkpoint. Georgia and Georgia Tech will open on Aug. 31, albeit against opponents of varying stripe: Georgia will face the Clemson Tigers, Tech the Elon Phoenix. That in mind, we look ahead four months and eight days to the next installment of, at least for us in these parts, the One True Sport.
What’s at stake?
For Georgia, championships. The Bulldogs have won 22 games and two SEC East titles the past two seasons and this is no longer seen as program in descent. Whether Georgia continues to climb depends on its capacity to levy the not-entirely-expected return of quarterback Aaron Murray into an SEC championship that would surely put the Bulldogs in position to play for the BCS crown in Pasadena on Jan. 6.
For Tech, credibility. The Jackets have managed only one winning season over the past three and even that one (8-5 in 2011) was tarnished by five losses over the final seven games. They’re 22-21 since Thanksgiving 2009 and the enduring memory of last season wasn’t the Sun Bowl victory over sleepwalking Southern Cal but the 49-28 home defeat inflicted by Middle Tennessee.
What’s expected?
Georgia will enter the season ranked in the top 10 nationally, probably around No. 5, and will be favored to win the SEC East.
Tech will draw votes in the preseason poll but mightn’t crack the Top 25. The Jackets should be picked second behind Miami in the ACC Coastal.
What’s realistic?
This will be Georgia’s most ambitious schedule since 2009, but a victory at Clemson would leave the Bulldogs with a realistic shot at going undefeated. South Carolina and LSU must come to Athens in September and the Gamecocks no longer have Marcus Lattimore to hammer Georgia and 10 Tigers declared early for the NFL draft. As always, there’ll be Florida in Jacksonville, but the Gators suffered heavy defensive losses — including coordinator Dan Quinn — and their offense stinks.
The key to Tech’s season rests in September home dates against North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Lose both and the Jackets would do well to break .500. Win both and 9-3 or even 10-2 could be possible. (Also of interest: ACC newbies Syracuse and Pitt will visit Atlanta in the span of 15 days.) Road games at Miami, BYU and Clemson will be difficult and nothing suggests the gap between Tech and Georgia — the two meet at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Nov. 30, and Tech hasn’t won since 2008 — is narrowing.
Who’s under pressure?
For Georgia, it’s Murray, who figures to leave school with nearly every SEC passing record but is down to his last chance at winning more than a division. Next in the prove-it line is defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who must replace eight starters off a unit that wasn’t as good as advertised in 2012. Big-name recruits Ray Drew and Josh Harvey-Clemons need to leave an imprint.
For Tech, it’s Vad Lee, newly installed as the starting quarterback. He runs faster and throws better than predecessors Joshua Nesbitt and Tevin Washington, but he hasn’t proved he can run Paul Johnson’s option as well as they did. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof inherits eight starters and is expected to correct the longstanding wrongs of previous administrations.
Is the head coach on the ol’ Hot Seat?
Consecutive division titles have made it likely that Mark Richt, who’s 53, will retire as Georgia’s coach on his terms. Yes, things can go unravel fast in the SEC — ask Gene Chizik — but this program is again on solid ground.
Tech’s coach, by way of contrast, hasn’t had a big season since 2009 and will be working under new athletic director Mike Bobinski. Johnson isn’t in trouble yet, but another seven-win season could change that dynamic.
What could go wrong?
Georgia could start 1-3 and the disappointment could turn a season of great expectations into a three-month round of finger-pointing.
Lee could turn the ball over four times a game and Roof could discover that no amount of scheming can mask a lack of talent.
What if things go right?
Georgia wins the national championship.
Tech wins the ACC title.
Are those predictions?
No. Predictions we save for Memorial Day.
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