University of Georgia and city officials are expecting as many as 160,000 visitors to Athens on Saturday. Sanford Stadium seats only about 93,000 people, so there will be a lot of extraneous revelers wandering around before and after the 8 p.m. kickoff.
What’s all the fuss about? Well, a top-10 matchup between No. 7 Notre Dame (2-0) and No. 3 Georgia (3-0). It’s the highest-ranked, non-conference contest at UGA since the No. 7 Bulldogs defeated No. 5 Georgia Tech 23-14 in 1966.
A capacity crowd of 43,621 attended that day in ’66. There might be that many folks in the bars on Clayton Street on Saturday.
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Here are five things all those people can be looking for as the Bulldogs play host to the Fighting Irish for the first time ever:
Running the rock
The Bulldogs’ effectiveness running the football will be the greatest determining factor for their success Saturday. The Fighting Irish have allowed 559 yards rushing in their first two games. Meanwhile, Georgia has averaged 286.7 yards in its first three games. It follows that the Bulldogs have a better offensive line and backs than Notre Dame faced in Louisville and New Mexico.
Georgia’s offensive front averages 6-foot-5, 329 pounds – making it the biggest line in school history – and features four returning starters. Notre Dame’s starters on the defensive front average a little under 6-foot-3 and 273 pounds. The Bulldogs also go 10 deep.
Behind that bunch is one of the more prolific backfields Georgia has fielded. The per-carry averages in what amounts to a four-player rotation are through the roof at 9.4 yards for D’Andre Swift, 7.4 for Zamir White, 5.8 for Brian Herrien and 12.9 for James Cook. Swift, 5-9, 215-pound junior, needs just 43 yards to become the 16th Georgia back to go over 2,000 yards in his career.
Of course, the Bulldogs’ gaudy rushing numbers also have to be tempered by the competition they’ve faced. But the thinking is that Vanderbilt is at least comparable to the Irish, and Georgia thrashed the Commodores for 323 yards in Week 1 in Nashville. Anything close to that Saturday and the Dogs should be assured a victory.
Battle on the edges
While Georgia appears to have a decided edge in its interior offensive line, that shapes up to be more of a challenge on the edges. Even a push in that battle could mean a good day for the Bulldogs.
The Irish are loaded with talent, depth and experience at defensive end. They rotate four seniors there in Julian Okwara, Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem and Adetokundo Ogundeji and line up graduate Asmar Bilal at the “buck” outside linebacker spot. All are built for speed. They have 30 tackles and just one sack between them this season, but have combined for 26.5 career sacks along with 343 tackles.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs aren’t going to be full strength at tackle. Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson are both All-American candidates, but Wilson just returned to practice this week after missing the past two games with a sprained ankle. It’s possible Georgia might have to move right guard Cade Mays out to Wilson’s spot as they did last week or start sophomore Jamaree Salyer, who handled the job the week before. So line coach Sam Pittman will have to decide is whether the best strategy is to go with his second-best player at 100 percent or his best player at less than that. Either way, the edge battle should be a good one to watch.
Secondary a primary concern
UGA defensive backs coach Charlton Warren has a similar dilemma to resolve within his unit. Sophomores Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell have manned the corners in Georgia’s first three games and played very well. But Campbell emerged from last Saturday’s Arkansas State game with a “lower-body extremity” injury. Regardless of the exact nature of it, that’s generally not a good thing for a cornerback, especially a former 5-star such as Campbell, who is considered the fastest of Georgia’s DBs.
The Irish certainly are aware of this, and they come to Sanford Stadium with the most sophisticated passing attack the Bulldogs have seen in a while. They’re averaging 313.5 yards passing a game (507 yards per game overall) and love to attack the flanks with quick passes and RPOs.
The good news for Georgia is because of the lopsided nature of this season’s games, first-year backups such as Tyrique Stevenson (another 5-star freshman) and D.J. Daniel (the top junior college corner last year) have gotten a lot of playing time and have been impressive during the opportunities. But they haven’t encountered the kind of seasoned talent they’ll face in senior wideouts Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley and Chris Finke.
Reading Notre Dame’s Book
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has probably offered more commentary on Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book this week than anybody he’s ever referenced for an opposing team. Smart describes the 6-foot, 212-pound senior as “talented, athletic, mobile and elusive” while referring to his mobility as “frustrating” and like “Houdini.”
“As a defensive coach, you think you’ve done everything right, and then all the sudden he gets a 10-yard gain,” Smart said.
Book leads the Irish with 127 yards rushing and a 5.5 yards-per-carry average and 2 rushing touchdowns. But he’s the very definition of a dual-threat quarterback as his Power-5-leading, 19.07-yards-per-completion average attests.
So while the Bulldogs emphasis this season has been on pressuring the passer to create as much havoc as possible, they will have to utilize more caution with player such as Book, whose best work often comes when a play backs down.
Big stage for young stars
Freshmen George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock have validated their 5-star grades as prospects in the first three games. They enter Saturday’s contest Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, among Georgia’s receivers with 162 and 160 yards, respectively. On Saturday, Blaylock led the Bulldogs with 114 yards and two touchdowns, and Pickens has been a highlight waiting to happen.
Against Notre Dame, they will need to prove they can do it on college football’s grandest stage, and there will be pressure to do so. Senior Tyler Simmons, Georgia’s most experienced wideout, had to leave Saturday’s game with a shoulder sprain, Demetris Robertson has been sidelined with a hamstring pull, and Kearis Jackson has been practicing with a club on his fractured left hand.
Pickens, Blaylock and other up-and-comers such as Lawrence Cager and Matt Landers will be counted on more than ever.
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