Georgia better hope that their final scrimmage of the preseason isn’t an indication of things to come in 2015. If so, the Bulldogs are starting off the year 0-1 with a devastating loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

Could a team that Georgia has outscored by a combined 156-16 in their three all-time meetings waltz into Sanford Stadium and knock off the No. 9 Bulldogs? Sure. Will they? Not very likely. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Just ask the 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks. The Warhawks upset No. 8 Arkansas in Week 2 of that year and essentially lit the fuse that began the implosion of the program under John L. Smith.

It’s highly doubtful that Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt allows his team to get caught in that kind of a trap. But the veteran coach will be the first one to tell you that it doesn’t matter how strong your team is, any weakness at the quarterback position can mean the difference between winning a title and going a decade between them.

The quarterback conundrum

Both Georgia and Louisiana-Monroe will be breaking in new quarterbacks when they kick off the season Saturday in Athens. Richt has named Greyson Lambert the starter, though he hinted that Brice Ramsey probably will play in the season opener.

Louisiana-Monroe recently surprised many by naming redshirt  freshman Garrett Smith as its starter.

For Richt and the Bulldogs, again, they’ve already faced Smith and ULM in practice… and lost. Richt simulated a scenario during the team’s final scrimmage in which the Bulldogs trailed 24-0 to the Warhawks coming out of the half. He then turned the reigns over to Ramsey for the third quarter and Lambert for the fourth. The duo led the Bulldogs back, but couldn’t overcome Smith (aka Bauta posing as Smith on the second team), losing 31-24.

To be fair, Bauta would probably be the starter in Monroe (no offense, Smith). As for in Athens, it appears Bauta will start the year in the third string role as Lambert and Ramsey fight it out for the top spot.

Lambert and Ramsey flip-flopped working with the first team on almost a daily basis throughout the summer, although the Virginia transfer Lambert has gained a slight edge in the week before the season — having been handcuffed with first-teamer Nick Chubb for recent rushing drills, while Ramsey was paired with second-stringer Sony Michel.

Lambert threw for 1,632 yards last season with a Virginia Cavaliers squad that finished 5-7, but beat No. 21 Louisville and Miami, as well as held their own against Virginia Tech and ranked opponents No. 7 UCLA, No. 21 BYU and No. 2 Florida State. Still not everyone is yet sold on the prospect of starting Lambert, who threw 11 interceptions against 10 touchdowns last year.

Ramsey is a redshirt sophomore who passed for 333 yards in relief work of Mason last season. He was thought to be the leading candidate for the job, but didn’t pulled away from Lambert this summer.

Bulldogs offensive tackle Kolton Houston was quick to defend his quarterbacks.

“All these people are putting the emphasis on the quarterback race, but it doesn’t matter because they’re all three good,” the senior Kolton Houston said via the Savannah Morning News. “Regardless of who the quarterback is, it is not like those three quarterbacks are terrible.”

Whomever is under center is going to get a nice stretch of games to cut his teeth on to open the season. Georgia faces winnable games against Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Southern, before facing Alabama in Week 5. They’ll also benefit tremendously from a Georgia offense that boasts one of the best running games and offensive lines in the SEC.

Smith won ULM’s job this week clearly winning the role over last year’s back-up Brayle Brown. The redshirt freshman beat out five other candidates to replace Pete Thomas — who tossed for 3,181 yards for the Warhawks last year and graduated after throwing for 9,117 career yards with Colorado State, North Carolina State and the Warhawks.

How the new QBs fit

Georgia isn’t just inserting a new quarterback into its system. New this year is also offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who replaces now Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo.

Schottenheimer has hasn’t coached on the college level since he led the tight ends at Southern California in 2000 and the wide receivers at Syracuse in 1999. As weird as it sounds, the new offensive coordinator claims the faster pace of the Bulldogs offense was among the biggest transitions from working under the same title for nine years with the New York Jets and St. Louis Rams of the NFL.

“It’s as fast as I’ve ever been around,” Schottenheimer said of the offense he inherited via the Athens Banner Herald. “Obviously, these guys are used to it. It’s pretty impressive to tell you the truth. … The tempo’s been very good.”

Rather than bring the tempo down, Schottenheimer said his offense will implement both non-huddle and tradition packages, and will likely employ an even more up-tempo, pro-style offense than Bobo’s Bulldogs — who set the program records for total yards in a season (6,547 in 2012), average yards per game (484.2 in 2013) and most touchdowns in a season (72 in 2012).

At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Lambert, owner of a career rushing mark of minus-61, isn’t going to beat you with feet. Ramsey lists at 6-foot-3, 213 pounds and was considered the No. 3 quarterback, according to 247Sports. Ramsey gives the Schottenheimer and advantage with both a strong arm and speed to match.

Louisiana-Monroe is the opposite of Georgia on offense. Veteran offensive coordinator Steve Farmer enters his 11th season as head of the Warhawks offense. Farmer has a knack for grooming quality quarterbacks, having a quarterback throw for more than 2,000 per season every year dating back to 2009. This year’s Warhawks lack a strong offensive line and had one of the worst running games in the country last year. That will place added pressure on Smith, in his first career game, to make plays happen. If he slips up, the Georgia defense will make him pay.

LOUISIANA-MONROE WARHAWKS CLOSER LOOK

Top returning players, offense: Rashon Ceasar, Sr., WR and Ajalen Holley, Jr. WR — Ceaser and Holley hauled in 872 and 863 yards, respectively, in 2014. Holley led the team in touchdowns with 7, while Ceasar contributed 3 scoring grabs of his own. They’ll have a new, untested quarterback throwing to them this season, but should be among the Sun Belt Conference’s top receiving tandems once again.

Top returning player, defense: Michael Johnson, Sr., LB — The senior linebacker led the Warhawks with 8 sacks in 2014 and returns to lead an experienced ULM defense that had 36 quarter drops last season.

Top returning player, special teams: Tyler Cain, Sr., WR/KR — Cain’s 780 kick-return yards in 2014 was the fifth-highest mark in Louisiana-Monroe program history.