Big things are expected from Nick Chubb and No. 9 Georgia this season. After a phenomenal freshman season, Chubb has been hyped as a potential Heisman candidate this year, while his Bulldogs are priced at +500 to reclaim SEC supremacy for the East.
Georgia’s long road to the top begins with a simple non-conference matchup in Week 1 against the Sun Belt’s Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks’ big strength is on defense, but can they hold up against the Bulldogs and their bulldozing running game?
Read on below for our preview of Bulldogs’ season opener. And for more SEC – this time over in the West – check out our previews of No. 20 Wisconsin vs. No.3 Alabama and Arkansas State vs. No. 8 USC.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Louisiana Monroe Warhawks vs. Georgia Bulldogs Preview
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens
When: Saturday, September 5, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (+35) at Georgia Bulldogs (-35) – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Louisiana-Monroe went 4-8 (5-6-1 against the spread) last season, including 1-2 against the SEC. The Warhawks were shutout 31-0 by LSU at Baton Rouge and were creamed 48-14 by Kentucky at Lexington. However, they did hold Texas A&M – a top-five offense in the conference last season – to 21 points in a close five-point loss as 32-point underdogs at College Station.
ULM finished 4-0-1 against the spread in its last five games of the season.
The Warhawks’ defense will be even better this year as it returns eight starters. That experience-laden group should give the team a good chance to avoid getting annihilated in Athens. Senior nose tackle Gerrand Johnson, who led the team with 92 tackles last season, anchors a solid run defense that gave up 183 rushing yards per game.
The Warhawks’ pass rush, which led the Sun Belt with 38.0 sacks last season, should also be able to put some pressure on Georgia’s new – and inexperienced – quarterback.
Louisiana-Monroe’s offense, though, was dead last in the Sun Belt in points per game (20.1) and total offense (349.4 yards per game) last season, and will have a quite a struggle putting up points and yards on Georgia.
The Warhawks’ biggest weapons will be returning wideouts Rashon Ceaser and Ajalen Holley, who combined for 134 receptions and 1,735 yards in 2014. However, they must contend with a Bulldogs pass defense that allowed just 170.4 passing yards per game last season, which ranked No. 5 in the nation.
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Betting on the Georgia Bulldogs
With days remaining until Georgia’s opening game of the season, the Bulldogs’ quarterback situation is still nowhere near a resolution. However, whoever starts under center shouldn’t be too much of an issue against Louisiana-Monroe, not when Nick Chubb is around to power an outstanding running game.
Chubb, a +1,000 Heisman contender, is coming off an outstanding freshman season where he finished with 1,547 yards on 7.1 yards per carry, and 14 rushing touchdowns. He broke out for 266 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Georgia’s 37-14 shellacking of Louisville – the 10th-ranked rushing defense in the nation last season – in the Belk Bowl.
Chubb owes a lot of his success to the team’s excellent offensive line, and that unit will return four starters from last season. Sophomore Sony Michel and senior Keith Marshall should also add depth at running back after injury-hit seasons.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s defense could be outstanding this season. The front seven is overflowing with talent. Five-star recruit Trenton Thompson should be one of the best freshmen this season as he slides into an already solid D-line, while outside linebackers Jordan Jenkins, Leonard Floyd and Lorenzo Carter can wreak all sorts of havoc on the Warhawks’ quarterback.
Georgia, which averaged 41.3 points per game last season (eighth in the nation), had two wins of over 35 points last season: a 66-0 laugher against Troy (Louisiana-Monroe’s conference-mates in the Sun Belt) and a 55-9 win over Charleston Southern.
Writer’s Prediction
Chubb and the Georgia running game runs all over the Warhawks. The Bulldogs (-35) cover the spread with a 42-3 win.
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