Season Opener Finally Here

FOOTBALL

The 13th ranked Georgia Bulldogs will kick-off the 2009 season in Stillwater Oklahoma against the 9th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.

5th year senior Joe Cox is the starting quarterback and will have Richard Samuel lined up at tailback and Shaun Chapas at fullback behind him.

A.J. Green and Mike Moore will start at the wide receiver positions and Aaron White at tightend.

The offensive line is deep and experienced with the return of Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle along with Chris Davis, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn and Clint Boling.

The offense won’t be as flashy as the 08 version but is solid at every position and with Cox’s knowledge of the system; we should control the ball and move the chains.

The return of Jeff Owens and a healthy Roderick Battle is huge for the defensive front four, with Geno Atkins and Demarcus Dobbs along side them we have plenty of size and speed.

Juniors Rennie Curran and Akeem Dent are two of the best linebackers in the SEC. Senior Darrius Dewberry is back from a shoulder injury.

Brandon Boykin is the new kid on the block in the secondary and will be making his first start at short corner. Senior Prince Miller will start on the other side with Reshad Jones and Bryan Evans between them.

As you can see we will only have one player starting on defense that has not played extensively before and he may well be the best athlete on the field. The only real question mark for the defense is at defensive end. The Dawgs are very strong up the middle and should shut down the Cowboys running game.

Blair Walsh returns as the place kicker with Drew Butler taking over the punting duties, Walsh has the leg to be consistent up to 60 yards out. It may be a game time decision as to who will handle the kickoffs, either Walsh or Brandon Bogotay.

The pass happy Big 12 and the Cowboys have put up some fantastic offensive numbers but the suspect defenses make it hard to read much into them. Oklahoma State must run the ball first to be successful on offense and their all world receiver Dez Bryant didn’t really show up in their biggest games last year. Look for the Dawgs to stop the run, blanket Bryant and keep Cox and company on the field as long as possible.

The Dawgs will be without Caleb King and Kiante Tripp due to injuries as well as Bruce Figgins and Justin Houston due to suspensions.

Game time temperature is expected to be around 82 degrees with a 40% chance of a thundershower. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has decided against the pre-game handshake.