Breakdown of 2012 schedule

Most of you have probably already seen next year's schedule. Here it is in case you haven't with a few of my thoughts on how it breaks down.

Sept. 1: Buffalo Bulls - Easy cupcake to start the season with. Gives the new players on the offensive line a chance to break themselves into the starting lineup without a true threat of UGA losing the game.


Sept. 8: at Missouri Tigers - Tricky SEC opener. Missouri will not be as good as South Carolina next year but it will be a tricky game because there is no familiarity with Missouri and because it is a long road trip. Missouri's team and fans should be pumped as it will be their first SEC game. Georgia should win this game but they must take Missouri seriously or they will be in for a huge fight.
Sept. 15: Florida Atlantic Owls - Great timing for this game as the long road trip to Missouri could take a toll on the team. Another game for the offensive line starters and backups to get experience they will need.

Sept. 22: Vanderbilt Commodores - In the past a game Georgia may over look but with the way this years game went down Vandy will have Georgia's full attention.

Sept. 29: Tennessee Volunteers - Possibly a trap game between Vandy (did I just say that?) and South Carolina. Tennessee could be dangerous but until proven otherwise they seem to be a sinking ship.

Oct. 6: at South Carolina Gamecocks - At least on paper this game will be between the top two teams in the SEC East next year. I feel much better about this game with our offensive line having five games under their belt than I would if we played South Carolina in week two.

Oct. 13: open date - I actually like the bye here better than right before Florida. South Carolina is the most physical team we play during the regular season and probably the biggest game of the season as it is likely to decide the east. A week to recharge physically and mentally after this game is much needed.

Oct. 20: at Kentucky - Sandwich game between South Carolina and Florida could make this game more interesting than it should but the open date after South Carolina should help to do away with that.

Oct. 27: Florida Gators (at Jacksonville) - GA/FL is kinda a big deal. If Georgia can win it will be back to back wins against UF it will be 2 in a row, 3 out of 6, and 4 out of 9. While that is not something normally to get excited over that is light years better than only having 1 win from 1990 to 2003. In my mind it would put to rest talk of the past 20+ years of the rivalry and each years game would be measured on its own merit instead of in terms of demons of years gone by.

Nov. 3: Ole Miss - Another game that could be more interesting than it should be because it is between UF and AU but Georgia should be able to win this game comfortably anyways. Ole Miss is just not very good and will have travelled to Arkansas the week before heading to Athens. Pretty tough back to back road trips.

Nov. 10: at Auburn Tigers - The away team has a winning record in this series. Does AU continue its slide or does the youth on last years team start to show its growth and maturity? Although Richt has beaten AU regularly I don't like the idea of Auburn having a chance to ruin Georgia's shot at the SECCG so hopefully we will have it wrapped up by this game.

Nov. 17: Georgia Southern Eagles - Literally the Georgia Tech scout team complete with former Georgia Tech coaches. Perfect game to have before playing Tech.

Nov. 24: Georgia Tech - Georgia beats Tech that is just what happens. Teams with an extra week to prepare for Tech's option game fair pretty well against Tech. I can only imagine having a team that runs exactly the same offense can only have a positive effect on the game for Georgia.

Overall it is hard to look at the schedule and not think it is lined up great for Georgia. The only two things I see as possible negatives are traveling to Missouri for their first SEC game ever which should make for a very pumped up team and playing a stretch with 4 out of 5 games away from home. Manage those two obstacles and next year could (should?) be a special season for Georgia.