NO. 3 GEORGIA AT VANDERBILT
Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019
7:30 p.m. EDT at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville
VIDEO & RADIO
ESPN & 102.3/106.9 FM
THE MATCHUP
Georgia’s offensive line against Vanderbilt’s defensive front should be a huge edge for the Bulldogs, so the more intriguing matchup will be Georgia’s inexperienced receivers against a Commodores defense that really needs to improve across the board after allowing 438.9 yards per game last season. Senior Tyler Simmons is the receiver Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has mentioned most this month, but five-star freshman George Pickens provided an eye-popping highlight during the first scrimmage. “Every one of those wideouts at one time or another has made really good plays,” Smart said this week, “so there is a body of eight or nine of them there who need to get confidence. They need to use the skill sets that so many of them used to get them here, and the next step for these guys is to go do that in a game.”
ONE TO WATCH
There are so many Bulldogs to choose from, whether Pickens or redshirt freshman running back Zamir White or new pass-rushing threats Jermaine Johnson and Nolan Smith, but Jake Fromm is a very logical pick as well. After a preseason free of any competition conversation, the junior quarterback is among the early Heisman Trophy candidates but doesn’t receive the same amount of attention as Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who threw two interceptions Thursday night in a rout of Georgia Tech. It’s the first of many stages for Fromm, who is in solid shape to be the most efficient passer in program history. “He has a really good spatial awareness of the field, understanding where people are and where his people are,” Smart said. “He knows before the play whether he is going to do this, this or this. He is not having to process that information slowly. It comes natural to him through the number of reps he has gotten.”
IN THE END
In a day and age when information is harder and harder to keep secret, credit Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason for making it to game day before it’s revealed whether redshirt junior Deuce Wallace or Ball State graduate transfer Riley Neal is the starting quarterback. “We’ve had a great quarterback battle, but we’ve settled into what we’re doing,” Mason said Wednesday. Whoever replaces Kyle Shurmur will have a difficult challenge, even with the return of running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, tight end Jared Pinkney and receiver Kalija Lipscomb. Vaughn was impressive early during Georgia’s 41-13 victory last year in Athens, but Pinkney and Lipscomb combined for just 28 receiving yards. Georgia should have 70% of the crowd in its favor, so look for this one to get out of hand like the past two series meetings have.
PREDICTION
Georgia 44, Vanderbilt 17
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.