Base Offense: Pro-Style. Mark Richt and Mike Bobo tend to emphasize an offense that favors setting up the play-action by running the football effectively. They will get cute and try to deceive you in terms of formation, oftentimes running single-back power formations and double-back quasi-spread formations, but the plays are typically not that risque, although there are exceptions. Success for them typically resides in disciplined play in traditional blocking schemes from the OL and smart running from the backs.
Returning Starters: 10. The only guy they lost is Joe Cox.
Quarterback: Aaron Murray, UGA's highly touted RS freshman, looked good against ULL last week. His throws were quick and accurate, and he even showed a bit of mobility, which wasn't something I expected out of him. He also, though, made a few freshman-like throws that could have very well been picked by a better defense, but overall he looked very like the real deal.
Continue after the jump.
Running Backs: As usual, Georgia boasts plenty of talent in the backfield. Assuming he plays, Washaun Ealey will be the starter, with Caleb King also getting plenty of carries. King is a bit faster, but both are pretty versatile backs. Carlton Thomas also played well last week, but I'm not sure how much time he'll get now that Ealey is back.
Offensive Line: UGA's offensive line boasts a wealth of returning talent from one of the better lines in the country this past year. Their performance against ULL was pretty decent, although run-blocking was a little suspect. That may be because ULL typically stacked the box to try to slow down King and Thomas, but, still, you'd think this group would have been able to manhandle ULL, so the average performance may be cause for concern.
Wide Receivers: A lot here is riding on whether or not A.J. Green plays. While UGA has some good receivers and tight ends other than Green, Green is a gamebreaking-type player that could make a major difference. I'm hearing it's very possible he might be out, as there is possibly (just rumor at this point) more to his story than Agentgate. Stay tuned here.
Analysis: The key to a good defensive performance is going to be stopping UGA's running game. This isn't to say that I don't fear Murray and the passing game, especially if Green plays. But Ellis Johnson would be a fool if he didn't realize that the most dangerous thing about UGA is their ability to control the game with their backs and that their biggest weakness is that they have a RS freshman with little game experience playing QB. In short, I would look for Johnson to stack the box and play the run. If we can stop the run (and I see Georgia's line's performance as promising for this reason), we can force Murray to throw, and if we can get pressure on him in those situations, a few key errors on his part will likely be the end of Georgia in this game. It's not that I don't think that Murray can make some plays; it's just that if we make the game about Murray's ability to beat us, we should win. If we can't, though, it may be a long afternoon--see Georgia-Georgia Tech from last year.