Game To Watch: #11 Oregon vs #3 Georgia: September 3, 2022

Oregon travels to Atlanta to play a “neutral site” game against Georgia this Saturday at 3:30 EST. This will be the head coaching debut for Dan Lanning who will attempt to solve the defense he helped build the last four seasons in Athens. The Bulldogs begin the defense of their national title in a season where they have to replace 15 NFL draft picks. Both teams have College Football Playoff aspirations this year, getting a big win week one against a nationally ranked opponent would certainly help the cause.

Recent History

This is only the second meeting all time between the two programs. Georgia beat Oregon 27 – 16 in 1977 the last time they played. The more relevant recent history between the two programs is the fact that Dan Lanning was Georgia’s defensive coordinator the last three seasons. He accepted the head coaching job at Oregon after the 2021 season and will face his former team week 1.

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What To Watch For…

How Good is Georgia’s Defense?

Georgia’s defense was historically great in 2022, but the Bulldogs have lost a lot of talent from that unit. Eight members of the 2021 Georgia defense were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, with five of them being picked in the first round. Those losses came at every level of the defense with three players drafted from the defensive line, three from the linebacker unit and two from the secondary.

Up front, the pressure is on Jalen Carter to lead the defensive line in 2022, he played well his first two years on campus, but played alongside Jordan Davis, Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt. For the first time in his career, Carter will be the guy the offensive line is focused on. If he is able to remain productive it will take the pressure off the new starters stepping in alongside him and allow them to grow. At linebacker, Georgia will need one of their returning players to step up and replace Nakobe Dean’s leadership and knack for making the big play. There’s no question there is plenty of talent at the position, but making key plays at the key moments is not easy. Kelee Ringo leads the secondary and will be the top corner on the team, he and Christopher Smith are returning starters and will proved experience on the back end. If Tykee Smith is healthy and able to perform as he was expected to when he transferred in from West Virginia, this unit could be a strength in 2022.

Georgia’s defense lost an incredible amount of talent and leadership, it would be crazy to expect them to be as good this year as they were last year, but there is plenty of young talent ready to step in making this a fun group to watch early in the year.

Oregon’s Linebackers Will Be Tested by Georgia’s Offense

Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe arrived at Oregon as five star recruits in the 2020 class. Sewell has thrived during his time in Eugene and has earned a reputation as one of the best defensive players in college football. Flowe on the other hand has been injured during the season opener in each of his first two seasons. He was excellent in the opener against Fresno State last year, recording 14 tackles with 1 tackle for loss and a fumble forced, but that was the only game he played all season. This pair has the potential to be the best inside linebacker duo in the country, if they can remain healthy.

Georgia’s offense is uniquely set-up to test the abilities of these two linebackers. Georgia features a power running game and sticks with it until it wears the defense down. The Bulldogs have a deep stable of backs at their disposal and a powerful offensive line. Georgia also will not hesitate to throw the ball to the running backs, forcing the linebackers to be conscious of them at all times. To top it all off, Georgia has the best group of tight ends in college football. Brock Bowers is the best tight end in the country, but Darnell Washington is a physical specimen that is not far behind. Arik Gilbert showed excellent promise in his freshman season at LSU and has the potential to be a top pass catcher, as well. Sewell and Flowe will have to be aggressive defending the run game while also protecting the middle of the field from Georgia’s dynamic tight end group. This will be the toughest test of the season for the Ducks inside linebacker duo.

What Will the Oregon Offense Look Like?

Oregon is expected to have a strong offensive line and tight end Terrance Ferguson showed good potential, other than that there is a lot we don’t know about Oregon’s offense right now. Dan Lanning has not named a starting quarterback yet, though the expectation is that Auburn transfer Bo Nix will win the job over former top-50 recruit, Ty Thompson. Nix is a bit of a mystery himself, he started three seasons at Auburn and made plenty of exciting plays that showed off his talents, but struggled with consistency never averaging more than 7.1 yards per attempt in a season. Nix has played great for stretches, but has been unable to sustain that level of play, the hope is that the Oregon staff can get more consistency out of him.

The Ducks lost their leading rusher and receiver from last year’s team so new weapons will need to step up for the offense. There are talented options on the roster like Troy Franklin, Kris Hutson and Donte’ Thornton at receiver, and Byron Cardwell, Mar’keise Irving and Seven McGee in the backfield. The young talent means there is potential for an explosive offense in Eugene, but the skill players are relatively unproven at the moment. Georgia’s defense will be a tough first test for an offense breaking in a lot of new talent.

Prediction

Georgia will be playing close to home in Atlanta, while Oregon travels across the country for the game. Georgia’s defense may not be as good as it was a year ago, but they will still be stout. The Oregon offense has talent but asking them to carry the load would be a tough ask, fortunately Oregon’s defense is good enough to keep them in the game. Don’t expect the Georgia offense to light up the scoreboard against the Ducks, but they will do enough for a comfortable win. Georgia 31 Oregon 21.

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