ATHENS, Ga. – When third-ranked Georgia faces No. 7 Notre Dame this Saturday night inside Sanford Stadium, it will mark the 32nd consecutive start for Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is aware of challenges Fromm presents, the Irish having failed to capitalize in Fromm’s first career start in Georgia’s 20-19 victory at South Bend two years ago. The Bulldogs traveled to Notre Dame with the senior tailback tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel but with a freshman Fromm replacing injured sophomore starter Jacob Eason.
“I thought he played with great poise, and I thought he was extremely efficient,” Kelly said. “He took care of the football. When you get a glimpse of somebody when they’re a freshman and they exhibit those kinds of traits, you know you’re going to have somebody who’s going to be a special player.”
Fromm completed 16 of 29 passes for 141 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his starting debut, and that was enough to ignite the Bulldogs on their surge to the 2017 Southeastern Conference championship and a spot in college football’s four-team playoff. His efficiency rating of 100.5 against the Irish would be the lowest of his freshman season and the second-lowest of his career – Fromm posted a 96.6 rating in last year’s 36-16 loss at LSU – heading into Saturday’s CBS-televised showdown.
South Bend, Indiana – Saturday, September 9, 2017 – The Georgia Bulldogs football team defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 20-19, at Notre Dame Stadium. © 2017 Perry McIntyre.The triumph at Notre Dame served as the first of Fromm’s 26 career wins against just five defeats.
“I was just very thankful,” Fromm said. “I didn’t think I played my best game at all. I just really put it on the backs of Nick and Sony. I said, ‘Hey guys, help me out of here,’ and we came out with the win.”
Said senior defensive lineman David Marshall: “We had known Jake was a good quarterback since he stepped onto campus, but winning a big game like that was impressive.”
Fromm’s lone touchdown pass at Notre Dame was to Terry Godwin, who made an acrobatic, one-handed catch that became an instant highlight and still remains popular with Bulldogs fans.
“Terry was just being Terry,” Fromm said. “Those were the things we saw from him in practice all the time. We gave him a chance, and he made a play.”
Two years later, Fromm is on track to becoming the most efficient quarterback in Georgia history. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder is coming off a 17-for-22, three-touchdown performance in last Saturday’s 55-0 victory over Arkansas State, and he has 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in his last five regular-season games dating back to last season.
Fromm has compiled 59 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions in a career that has come a long way since South Bend.
“There is a world of difference,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “He was a young, nervous but composed freshman, and now he’s a confident and experienced junior. He continues to get better, and he makes good decisions.”
By the end of Fromm’s freshman season, he was rallying the Bulldogs from a 31-14 deficit to a 54-48 double-overtime victory over Oklahoma in a Rose Bowl national semifinal. That comeback might not have occurred had Fromm not guided a 63-yard drive four months earlier that led to Rodrigo Blankenship’s winning field goal and the 20-19 final at Notre Dame.
Fromm completed three of four passes for 45 yards on the deciding drive in South Bend that began with 6:47 remaining.
“He’s come along and become that kind of special player, so I kind of got a glimpse of that the first night we saw them,” Kelly said. “He played with such poise and such confidence, and he wasn’t afraid of the moment. He stepped up big, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s playing at the level that he’s playing.”
Kelly’s Irish will provide a different level from what Fromm and the Bulldogs have faced to this point. Georgia has opened with wins over Vanderbilt, Murray State and Arkansas State by a combined 148-23, with the Irish having pounded Louisville and New Mexico by a combined 101-31.
“They’re going to be a bigger football team, more schemed up and faster,” Fromm said. “We know that, and we’re ready to play someone our own size.”
Odds and ends
The last time Georgia was involved in a top-10 matchup against a nonconference opponent in Sanford Stadium was the 1966 game against Georgia Tech. Notre Dame running backs have gone 1,041 carries without losing a fumble, a streak that dates back to November 2015. … Smart expects to have more depth at receiver this week with the return of Tyler Simmons and Demetris Robertson, but Kearis Jackson likely will remain out with a broken hand. … The Irish are seeking their program’s 900th win.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.