With the 2012 college football season just weeks away from kickoff, Rant Sports begins a new series dedicated to dissecting a team’s stats from last season and other facts that may influence their 2012 season. In this edition, the Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC are profiled.
6: The ranking of the Bulldogs in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Writers Poll. Georgia is considered to be the favorite to win the SEC East and their ranking is proof of that. With their stout defense and talented signal-caller, the Georgia Bulldogs may find themselves in a BCS Bowl if they can maintain their position in the Top 10.
10: The number of returning starters on defense for Georgia Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham: The Dawgs only lost defensive end Deangelo Tyson from last year’s defense, leaving most of their Top 5 defense intact. Tyson will be replaced by linebacker Cornelius Washington, who offers more speed off the edge than Tyson.
5: The ranking of Georgia’s defense as a whole last year in the NCAA. The Georgia Bulldogs are in year three of Grantham’s 3-4 defense and should take another step forward in 2012. NT John Jenkins went on record earlier in the offseason that he did not know the defense last year. Now that he does, opposing quarterbacks should watch out for the behemoth of a nose tackle.
13.5: The number of sacks linebacker Jarvis Jones accrued last season. Jones decided to return to Georgia this season after enjoying one of the greatest defensive seasons in Georgia Bulldog history, finishing half a sack short of the school record of 14. In year 2 in the system, Jones will look to improve upon those numbers
13: The number of touchdown passes Aaron Murray needs to become the school’s leader in touchdowns. Murray finished with 35 touchdowns last season and 24 the year before that. Even if he matches his numbers from last season, Aaron will become the school’s career leader in touchdown passes. Improved conditioning and footwork make it easy to believe that Murray may surpass his numbers from last season.
Chris Lionetti covers the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as a College Football Writer for Rant Sports
Follow him on Twitter at: @ChrisLionetti
