APPALACHIAN STATE (0-0) at No. 15 GEORGIA (0-0)
Tonight at 6:15 Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.
ESPN & 102.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
Georgia coach Kirby Smart did not release a depth chart this week or announce a starting lineup, but that doesn’t change the fact that three starters must be introduced on the offensive line. First-team left tackle Isaiah Wynn and first-team center Lamont Gaillard are known commodities, but first-team right tackle Andrew Thomas is a true freshman, and there could be as many as four players rotating tonight at the two guard spots. The Mountaineers are loaded with upperclassmen in their defensive front seven a year after holding Tennessee to 127 rushing yards in their opening overtime loss in Knoxville. “They’re the fastest defense I’ve seen on tape,” Smart said this week, “and that goes for every position. We had their tape last year because we played Tennessee, and they do a tremendous job defensively. I’m talking flying to the ball, pursuit and incredible leverage. They are outweighed, but they are lower than the 300-pounders that they’re going against and can get up under them.”
ONE TO WATCH
There are not many players in the Southeastern Conference this season who will be under the microscope more than Georgia sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason. If Eason thrives in his second year like fellow five-star recruit Matthew Stafford did for the Bulldogs as a sophomore in 2007, then the start of a successful Smart era could be stamped. If he does not improve on his 13th place among SEC quarterbacks in efficiency, however, Georgia could be in for yet another “pool of six” bowl that is accompanied by lackluster interest and ticket sales. Eason got plenty of experience last season, coming in for Greyson Lambert in the opener against North Carolina and starting the next 12 games, and how much he learned will be put on display starting tonight. “You know you’re going to get the first snap of the game,” Eason said, “so you know how to prepare. Last year, I was playing, but I didn’t know when I would get in. Now I know. I’m going to get the game plan and will know what to do with the ball on the first drive, so it’s a little different.”
IN THE END
Did you know that Appalachian State upset Michigan in 2007 and took Tennessee into overtime a year ago? Of course you did. Georgia players know that as well after watching videos of the Michigan upset in their weight room all week. What isn’t mentioned quite as much is that App State came to Georgia in 2013 and lost 45-6, or that the Mountaineers hosted Miami last season and lost 45-10. The Bulldogs are 14.5-point favorites but haven’t won a game by more than 14 points since a 27-3 dumping of Kentucky late in the 2015 season. App State will not suffer the same fate tonight as it did last year against the Hurricanes, nor will the Mountaineers take the Bulldogs into overtime. It will be somewhere in between, so we’ll go with a decent first half and an eventual three-touchdown difference.
PREDICTION: Georgia 34, Appalachian State 13