2009 marked a low point during the Mark Richt era. The Bulldogs' 8-5 record was the worst in Richt's nine seasons. Georgia finished in the bottom half of the SEC in both scoring offense and defense. The defense was bad by just about any standards, causing Richt to part ways with three of his four defensive assistants. But there is reason to believe that 2010 will treat the Dawgs better. Richt is 90-27 during his stay in Athens, and wins don't pile up like that unless you're doing something right. With Tim Tebow and eight other Gators making the jump to the NFL Georgia is optimistic that it can get back to the top of the SEC East this season, but I can assure you it won't be easy. After all, Florida crushed the Dawgs 41-17 last season and the cupboard is not empty in Gainesville. The Dawgs rebounded from that loss to win four of their final five games, including a victory over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl. That gives them some nice momentum heading into the season. Additionally, one has to think Georgia will do a better job of taking care of the football. The Bulldogs ranked last in the SEC and 118th out of 120 nationally in turnover margin a year ago.

Offense - Georgia has an offense loaded with talent and experience, but a lack of experience at the quarterback position could be what keeps the Dawgs from an SEC East title. Logan Gray is the only quarterback on Georgia's roster that has taken a snap in college, and he hasn't taken very many of them. Redshirt freshman Aaron Murray looks to be the better player and that makes him the favorite to land the starting job this fall. Growing pains are expected, but he should benefit from playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the league and from throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the country. The offensive line returns four experienced starters, including stud blindside protector Clint Boling. A.J. Green is a game-breaker, capable of getting behind the defense on any given play. He caught 53 passes for 808 yards and six scores in 2009. In order to take the pressure off of Murray, the Dawgs will go with a heavy dose of running backs Washaun Ealey and Caleb King. Ealey is coming off a 717-yard, three-touchdown season.

Defense - The Dawgs ranked No. 10 in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing 25.9 points per game. That was enough to send three defensive assistants packing. Todd Grantham of the Dallas Cowboys was hired to take over defensive coordinator duties. Georgia also brought Connecticut's Scott Lakatos and Vanderbilt's Warren Belin aboard to coach the secondary and the insider linebackers respectively. Grantham is transitioning the defense into a 3-4 scheme. He wants this unit to be the attacker, so you can count on the new scheme coming with plenty of blitz packages. Being more aggressive on defense should help the Dawgs improve some, but it will also make them susceptible to the big play. The player to watch is outside linebacker Justin Houston. He recorded 7.5 sacks last season.

Prediction - 2nd SEC East - Georgia will be a better football team in 2010, and we will get a much better feel for how much better when it plays South Carolina and Arkansas in September. Right now, Florida still looks to be a little bit ahead of the Dawgs on both sides of the football. That could change by the time these two teams meet in Jacksonville on Halloween eve, but I'm not ready to make that leap yet. Be sure to check out my 2010 SEC football predictions to see how I have the rest of the league playing out.

Beat the college football odds this season with award-winning picks from world champion handicapper Jimmy Boyd!

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The Tennessee Volunteers finished the 2009 season 7-6. They weren't able to cap off their campaign with a victory over Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but it was still a nice year considering 2008 ended without a bowl game. It is also encouraging that three of Tennessee's losses came by four of fewer points. In fact, Tennessee played national champion Alabama as tough as anyone all season. All in all, Lane Kiffin's first season at Tennessee was a success in my book. But Kiffin has now left for USC, and the program has been put in the hands of Derek Dooley. Dooley is a good hire, but his first season on the job could be a very trying one. The Volunteers open the 2010 season by playing the likes of Oregon, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina in six of their first eight games. If the Vols can't find a way to win any of those contests, getting back to a bowl game could be a very difficult task.

Offense: Tennessee's offense was better than expected in 2009 when it averaged 29.3 points. The Vols were able to do most of their damage through the air. They ranked No. 3 in the SEC with 226.3 passing yards per game. Unfortunately, the offense could take a step back this season. Junior college transfer Matt Simms is the early favorite to land the starting job, and he certainly has the pedigree. He is the son of Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms. However, the horse with the best pedigree doesn't always win the race. Simms is very much unproven, and he will be working behind an offensive line that only returns one player with starting experience in league play. The good news for Simms is that he has a talented stable of receivers to work with. Wide receivers Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore have big play ability, and Luke Stocker is heralded as one of the best tight ends in the country. The Vols are also excited about incoming freshman Da'Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter. The running game doesn't inspire much confidence either when you consider that neither Tauren Poole or David Oku have broken the century mark for a season.

Defense: Tennessee really struggled to stop the run last season. It ranked No. 8 in the SEC in run defense, giving up 149.5 rushing yards per game. The defensive line is small outside Montori Hughes, and that means that run defense could be an issue again. Plus, the Vols are really going to miss All-American safety Eric Berry. The guy was a hard-hitting, lock down defender, who could fill quickly against the run. The Vols have a talented performer in Janzen Jackson ready to step in, but he's no Berry yet. Up front, the guy to watch is defensive end Chris Walker. He recorded six sacks and picked off two passes last season. He is the Vols' top returning performer in both of those categories.

Prediction - 4th SEC East - It can be done, but it will be very difficult for Dooley to get the Vols to a bowl game considering how inexperienced this team is and how tough the schedule is. The defense has enough talent to remain a solid unit, but right now the offense looks like it will need time to jell. And time isn't exactly on Tennessee's side with all the tough games in September and October.

Make sure you check out my 2010 SEC football predictions to see how I have the rest of the conference shaping up.

Beat the college football odds in 2010 with the help of World Champion handicapper Jimmy Boyd.

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The modern University of Florida was created in 1905 when Florida passed the Buckman Act. This act abolished the state's existing publicly supported educational institutions and consolidated them all into the all male "University of the State of Florida."

Jack Forsythe coached the new Florida team for three winning seasons which included a 6-0 over the Gainesville Athletic club in their first game between the two rivals. The official name of the university was shortened to the "University of Florida" in 1909, and the coaching changed to George Pyle's command at this time. During this same period of time, the Gators adopted their orange and blue team colors which represented a combination of the blue and white of the old Florida Agricultural College and the orange and black of the old East Florida Seminar, which were the university's predecessors before the consolidation.

The 1910 season had the Gators see many of their rivals for the first time. The 1911 Gators ended up defeating The Citadel, Clemson and the College of Charleston. They finished the 1911 season 5-0-1, which is the only undefeated football seasons in Gator history. The Gators joined the Southern Conference in 1922.

The 1923 and 1924 seasons were coached by James Van Fleet and let the team to its first national notoriety. In 1923, Florida shocked the nation when they beat the heavily favored Alabama 16-6 in one of the biggest upsets of the year. The 1924 Gators tied Georgia Tech and Texas which were heralded as powerhouse teams.

Coach Charlie Bachman led the team to even greater national recognition in 1928, and in 1929. He helped lead the Gator team to finish with the highest season win totals for 32 years. 1928 also gave the Gators their first All-American, Dale Van Sickel, who later became Florida's first member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1975.

The Gators joined the Southeastern Conference in December of 1932 along with Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and Georgia Tech. Dutch Stanley replaced Bachman as the head coach in 1933, which was the first SEC football season for the Gators. Stanley was only 26 years old at the time and had been a player for the Gators in 1928. This coach later resigned under fan pressure in 1935 and was replaced by Josh Cody. Tom Lieb replaced Cody in 1940. During World War II, many of the top players went to serve in the war, and as a result the team suffered. There was one highlight during this dark time as the Gators produced their second All-American, Fergie Ferguson in 1941.

The Gators kindly call the next staff changes era. The Bob Woodruff era lasted from 1950 to 1959. The Ray Graves era lasted from 1960 to 1969. Doug Dickey took over and led the team from 1970 to 1978. Charley Pell became the head coach in 1979 and was coach until 1989. Steve Spurrier led the team from 1990 to 2001. Ron Zook took over from 2002 to 2004 and the Gators are now coached by Urban Meyer. Meyer took over in 2005 and is the present day coach for the Gators.

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