ATLANTA - It's a question that has accompanied Georgia's football team all season, from the opening game through the Southeastern Conference schedule and certainly the historic trips to Notre Dame and last week's Rose Bowl.
Will this moment be too big for true freshman quarterback Jake Fromm?
One final moment remains tonight as the Bulldogs take on the sport's continuing gold standard, coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide, in the championship game of the College Football Playoff. Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled for 8:17 on ESPN.
"This is a different one now," second-year Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said Saturday. "There are a lot of us who have never been in this game, including Jake. Who knows what things will take place? I'm glad to say I get to try this, so we'll just find out.
"I hope and trust that he'll be ready to play. He's yet to show any signs. It's just another game for that boy."
Fromm has a chance to become the first true freshman quarterback to win a national title since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985. Alabama counterpart Jalen Hurts had the opportunity last season to make such history, but his 30-yard touchdown run with 2:07 remaining in last January's title game was followed by Clemson's nine-play, 68-yard drive that ultimately was the difference in the Tigers' 35-31 triumph.
Though they have heard the occasional outside chatter that a specific contest might prove too steep, Fromm and his teammates haven't given it much attention.
"You try and block everything out and just play a football game," said Fromm, who was once committed to Alabama. "I feel like I've been through a couple of big games. This has been an awesome experience, and this is one I'm definitely looking forward to. I feel really good about the group of guys I'm getting ready to go into battle with."
Said senior running back Sony Michel: "Jake is not worrying about proving anybody wrong. That has been a story all season because somebody needs a story to write. He's going to continue to do what he does. He's going to make mistakes, and he's going to make plays."
Fromm has made far more plays than mistakes this season, entering tonight's game ranked fourth nationally in efficiency (166.4) behind Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, Central Florida's McKenzie Milton and Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder from Warner Robins, Ga., has completed 165 of 259 passes (63.7 percent) for 2,383 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Georgia's Jake Fromm could become the first true freshman quarterback to guide a national championship team since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985. Fromm's Bulldogs face Alabama tonight inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta."Jake Fromm has done a fantastic job of leading that offense," Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt said. "He makes a ton of plays and gets them in really good run situations. He's checking on almost every snap."
In last Monday's Rose Bowl, Mayfield torched the Bulldogs out of the gate as Oklahoma built a 31-14 lead just before halftime. Fromm had not played poorly at that point, but once the deficit got to 17, he helped rally Georgia to a 54-48 win in double overtime by completing 9 of 13 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Fromm was 20-of-29 for 210 yards and two scores for the game.
"He's played 14 games, so he's pretty seasoned," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "That's a game or two beyond a season for a lot of teams, but I think he came in with a lot of seasoning already. I've always given his high school coach (Von Lassiter) a tremendous amount of credit, because they prepared him. He played in one of the most competitive regions in all of high school football.
"He was more prepared for this than your average freshman, and he's done a tremendous job of handling it. He's a great leader."
Fromm was plenty effective early last month in Mercedes-Benz at the Southeastern Conference championship game, when he completed 16 of 22 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-7 win over Auburn. He played before an overwhelmingly partisan Bulldogs crowd, which has been the case for most of this season.
Only trips to Auburn and Tennessee had a true road-game feel during the regular season, and Georgia, which is playing for its first national title since 1980, could have a solid advantage in supporters tonight.
"I'm so thankful for the fans we have," Fromm said. "There have been games on the road - the Rose Bowl was definitely one of them - where I thought, 'This is a home game for us,' even though we weren't at home. It's an awesome and incredible feeling, and it helps me to make calls and checks at the line.
"I can't wait to see how many fans we have at the Benz."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.