By Monte Perez
The No.11 Oregon Ducks will take on the No.3 Georgia Bulldogs for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.
When: Saturday, September 3rd
Time: 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Network: ABC TV
Betting line: The Bulldogs are favored by 17.5 points
The Oregon Ducks are coming into this season with a rookie head coach in Dan Lanning. He starts his first game on the sidelines against his old boss in Kirby Smart. Both teams are trying to establish their identity and start the year off with an impressive win.
The Bulldogs defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide last season, winning their first national championship since 1980. Georgia wore out an injury riddled Alabama squad, 33-18. Smart’s team returns 10 starters from that championship game, including their starting quarterback, Stetson Bennett. Bennett threw for over 2,900 yards last season and had 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He has championship experience and playmaking ability. Year in and year out Georgia has a stable of running backs and a defense that is amongst the fastest in all of college football. Don’t be surprised if the Dawgs go undefeated in the regular season.
Publicly, Oregon’s head coach has not revealed who the starting quarterback will be for its season opener on Saturday. The Ducks are still deciding between their transfer from Auburn, Bo Nix, and Red Shirt Freshman Ty Thompson. Oregon has a lot of young talent at the wide receiver and running back positions, but they are inexperienced.
Defensively, Noah Sewell is one of the best linebackers in the entire country. He is a playmaker and leader. This unit should be fast, and furious, and cause a ton of turnovers.
Prediction:
Georgia has now become just as good as their SEC rival Alabama. Every year they lose a ton of players to the NFL but that does not stop them. They re-tool, they do not rebuild. The Ducks are fighting out of their weight class here. They have a new starting quarterback, running back, and head coach. I expect Lanning’s team to compete for the PAC-12, but I expect Georgia to compete for a National Championship.
Georgia 34… Oregon 20
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