The (15) Georgia Bulldogs charge into South Bend to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, September 9th at 7:30 p.m. EST on NBC. The match-up between the two storied programs features the SEC Conference and an Independent. Coming into this game, Las Vegas has the Fighting Irish as a -4 point favorite to defend their home turf and come away with a victory. They also have the contest’s total at 57.5, which is up three and a half points since it opened on Monday morning.
The Bulldogs cruised to a 31-10 win over Appalachian State at home between the hedges on Saturday to start the season. The fighting Irish thumped Temple 49-16 at home in their opener Saturday. The two programs have played each other only one time in their history. In that game, Georgia took a 17-10 win over Notre Dame on January 1, 1981 in the Sugar Bowl.
(15) Georgia Bulldogs (1-0)
Georgia got off to a slow start but they pulled it together and got the decisive victory regardless. In fact, the defense did more than their share. In the win, the Bulldogs kept Appalachian State from scoring a single point until the fourth quarter. By that time, the match-up had clearly been decided.
Overall, Georgia held a 368-264 advantage in total yards, while also holding an 18-12 edge in first downs. There were some negatives, as Georgia committed two turnovers and lost the time of possession battle to the Mountaineers by almost two minutes. Furthermore, starting quarterback Jacob Eason went down early with an apparent knee sprain.
Back-up freshman quarterback Jake Frohm filled in nicely after Brice Ramsey went 0-2 with two interceptions. The greenhorn completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Frohm will get the start against the Fighting Irish on Saturday, as Jacob Eason is still recovering.
Considering the circumstances, the Bulldogs looked to their run game to take control of the game. Tail backs Nick Chubb and Sony Mitchell responded, rushing for 183 yards and three scores. Chubb led Georgia with 96 yards and two trips to the back of the end zone. Mitchell also held his own, scampering for another 87 yards on 16 carries and a score. Both will be looking to impose their wills once again when they head into South Bend this weekend.
Although the passing game took a back seat to the rushing attack, wide out Javon Wims still managed to record three receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Running back D’Andre Swift also got involved in the passing game, catching three balls for 18 yards and converted two crucial third downs.
Defensively, the Bulldogs didn’t do anything eye-popping in their win over Appalachian State. Even still, the numbers speak for themselves. On the day, Georgia limited a good running team to only 136 yards on 32 carries.
The Bulldog’s secondary also did their part, holding the Mountaineers to 128 through the air. Unfortunately, they did not create a turnover in the game, so that will be a focus when they take the field against Notre Dame.
Notre Dame (1-0)
Notre Dame got their 2017 campaign off on a positive note as they triumphed over Temple in their opener. The Fighting Irish look to continue to improve and put their horrendous 4-8 record from last season behind them.
The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 21-3 advantage by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. All totaled, Notre Dame piled up a 606-330 edge in total yards and held a 26-18 advantage in first downs. One sour note for the Irish’s offense was they did commit a turnover in the victory. Nevertheless, Notre Dame was sharp in the first game with their new system.
Like the Bulldogs, the Fighting Irish also fielded a inexperienced signal-caller to kick-off their 2017 season. Brandon Wimbush took the reigns and performed quite well. Overall, he completed 17 of 30 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. He was responsible for the Fighting Irish’s lone turnover. Impressively, Wimbush showed why he is considered a dual-threat quarterback by running for another 106 yards and a score.
Brandon Wimbush certainly had plenty of help from his back field last Saturday against the Temple Owls. Tail back Josh Adams had 19 carries for 161 yards and two trips to pay-dirt. Not to be out done, back field mate Dexter Williams only carried the ball six times but had 124 yards and another score.
In all, the Fighting Irish totaled 422 yards and five scores on the ground while averaging 9.6 yards per carry. Pretty impressive numbers against any team in Division I football if you ask me.
The defensive Notre Dame front came into the season returning zero sacks from 2016. Well, that’s not the case now. The Fighting Irish recorded three take downs and an impressive 11.5 tackles for loss to halt the Owls progress in their opener. Now, they will really be put to the test against two stellar backs that will get a boat load of touches in their match-up Saturday.
Prediction
This will be a ground and pound affair between two universities that will look to impose their will on the other. One huge factor is going to be which team can develop the ability to bait the others secondary into some play-action surprises. Also, I think turnovers will be as big as advertised in this game, and the Bulldogs finished 18th in the country in that category last year.
Even with most of this contest being battled out on the ground, I believe the country might be in for a bit of a surprise. This Wimbush kid looked good and I’d have to give the edge in the starting quarterbacks to Notre Dame. Let’s face it, we all know what Georgia’s tail backs are worth, and that’s a lot. The surprise to me was the productivity from the Fighting Irish’s backs as well.
Line setters have placed Notre Dame as a four point favorite and that surprises me a bit. I realize they looked good against the Temple Owl’s defense but this will be a whole different monster when they face-off against the Georgia Bulldog front seven. Also, the defensive front looked improved for the Irish, so it will be interesting to see how they perform against an SEC running game.
Either way, I am staying away from the total 57 in this one because there will be a lot of smash-mouthed football doled out between the tackles. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the country is going to see that Brandon Wimbush is the real deal. Real enough to get the Fighting Irish the victory but not by more than a field go. Give me the dog, or should I say Bulldogs and the +4 points in a field goal affair.
Trends
The Bulldogs are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games.
The Bulldogs are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
The Under is 15-6 in the Bulldogs last 21 games overall.
The Under is 7-3 in the Bulldogs last 10 non-conference games.
The Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
The Fighting Irish are 2-6 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
The Over is 6-2 in the Fighting Irish last 8 vs. SEC.
The Under is 29-14 in the Fighting Irish last 43 games following a straight up win.
