Georgia football can no longer bask in the glory of their national championship this week, as they head down the road to Atlanta to take on the Oregon Ducks. The Dawgs are a heavy favorite heading into the contest and look to take a comfortable win in their opener.
Where does a team go from here?
Usually, for a school with a four-decade title drought, that answer is down. Yet, Georgia football brings back a loaded defense filled with NFL prospects. Their offense may need reestablishing, due to the loss of backs Zamir White and James Cook, but Georgia’s recruiting is good enough now to where they don’t need to fear production losses much.
For Oregon football, they’ll be hoping to spoil what is essentially a home game in Atlanta. New head coach Dan Lanning is keeping quiet on who his starter will be, but Bo Nix seems the most logical choice. He’ll lead a rebuilt running back room and a young receiving corps behind one of the nation’s most solid offensive lines.
Yet, Oregon is at a major disadvantage compared to the defending champions. Here are three reasons why Georgia football will beat Oregon.
3. Oregon football is breaking in an entirely new coaching staff
Perhaps the most obvious reason that Georgia will win is due to coaching staff continuity. Yes, Georgia does have to break in a new defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp, but Oregon’s breaking in a new staff.
New Ducks head man Dan Lanning has clear experience with the Dawgs, as he was their defensive coordinator the year before. Yet, with a new offense – new Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham comes from the Mike Norvell coaching tree – going against this Georgia defense that still has big-time players, it remains to be seen if they’ll actually move the ball.
Thankfully for Oregon, they do have a defensive coordinator who has SEC experience in former Alabama DC (and recruiting stud) Tosh Lupoi.
The problem is, these are entirely new schemes to learn for the Ducks, despite the fact they have a good quality staff. That’s not a recipe for success against a team like Georgia.