Monday, September 2, 2013

Georgia Bulldogs: 2013's USC


Last year’s Southern California Trojans turned out to be one of the biggest busts in college football history after failing to back up their preseason number one ranking. The Trojans ended 2012 with a loss to Georgia Tech in the unimpressive Hyundai Sun Bowl to cap off a 7-6 season.

Posterboy quarterback Matt Barkley had been the face of the Trojans and was an early Heisman frontrunner, as well as potential number one pick in a relatively weak draft class. Barkley and USC could do know wrong, that is until they met state rival Stanford in Palo Alto which would be there first loss of the season after a 2-0 start.

In the next months, USC would fall apart, dropping five more decisions along with Barkley’s once sky high draft stock as he fell to the fourth round where he was picked by the miserable Philadelphia Eagles.

Almost a year since USC fell off the radar, it seems like history is about to repeat itself with another top five nationally ranked team, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia began its season on Saturday where the Tajh Boyd-led #5 Clemson Tigers outlasted the Bulldogs in a 38-35 showdown on ABC’s Saturday Night Game of the Week. One game and one loss into the their season, the Bulldogs do not have an easy road ahead of them. Next week, Georgia gets the wonderful opportunity to face off against fellow SEC power #6 South Carolina and their merciless, hard-hitting Heisman candidate, Jadeveon Clowney.

Following their meeting with the other USC, Georgia has an early bye to likely revive their skill position players’ health from Clowney’s hits before they have North Texas at home, which should end with a win. After the Mean Green (Can’t type that with a straight face), the Bulldogs are slated to take on the #12 LSU Tigers. Luckily for the Bulldogs, this game will also be played at home and not in possibly college football’s worst atmosphere, Death Valley.

It is possible that by Week 5, Georgia can be either 2-2 or 1-3 with another six conference games left on their schedule and no bye. In the SEC, it is as hard to make it to the conference championship with more than two losses as it is to win eight straight games in any college conference. The only ranked opponent after LSU will be another prominent SEC program in the #10 Florida Gators.

After a preseason of hype as the next best team in the SEC behind mighty Alabama, Georgia is facing the risk of a futile season much like the Trojans last year. To add to the idea of déjà vu, Georgia has a highly touted quarterback and Heisman favorite in senior Aaron Murray just like USC with Barkley.

Like Barkley, Murray bypassed entering the NFL Draft for another season in college. Murray also lived up to Barkley’s hype when he was named as this preseason’s All-SEC quarterback, instead of two time defending national champion AJ McCarron and troubled reigning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.

Whether it was out of greed or pure determination, Murray returned for his final year in Athens wanting things he did not already have, a national championship, an SEC crown, and a Heisman. If Murray follows in Barkley’s footsteps and flops as a senior he could see his draft stock also drop along with his credibility in football.

Just like their quarterback, the Bulldogs are at the brink of criticism. By putting together one of the better schedules in the nation including a tough stretch early on, Georgia looked to gain respect as a national power.

However, the only way to gain that respect would be to win those important games, otherwise, the Bulldogs will be the laughingstock of college football just like USC was a year ago. Only, Georgia would have tried being someone they aren’t which is the ultimate offense in my book.

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