NO. 3 GEORGIA (2-0) VS. ARKANSAS STATE (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019
Noon at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia
VIDEO & RADIO
ESPN2 & 102.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
Georgia will face an Arkansas State passing attack guided by quarterback Logan Bonner, who has averaged 304.0 aerial yards through two games with six touchdowns and just one interception. The Red Wolves can play the possession game with Brandon Bowling, who has a team-high 17 receptions for a 7.8-yard average, or go deep with Omar Bayless, who has 16 catches and a 17.6-yard average. "It's a great challenge, because they have skilled athletes who are as good as we've faced as far as a committee of them, because there are a bunch of them," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "They've got great size, and they play the ball really well in the air. They spread you out, so they're not easy to cover, and they do a great job of packaging those plays with their running game."
ONE TO WATCH
If the Red Wolves spend a lot of time dropping back to pass, they could get very familiar with Bulldogs freshman outside linebacker Nolan Smith. The nation's top overall prospect in the 2019 signing class began to show why last Saturday against Murray State, tallying 1.5 sacks. "Nolan is smart and Nolan listens, so when you give Nolan a plan on how to rush on this particular play, he does it," Smart said. "He plays with maximum effort and is like a wild man with his hair on fire. Football is important to him, and that has allowed us to play him in a bunch of different situations. He's got to continue to improve, because he is going to continue to get matched up against better and better people. He'll play against better tackles this week than he did last week, so he'll have to use his skill set and his trade."
IN THE END
Red Wolves coach Blake Anderson lost wife Wendy to breast cancer right before the start of this season, and many Georgia fans plan to honor her by wearing at least some pink in addition to their usual red and black. Arkansas State has never defeated a Southeastern Conference team and lost 57-7 last season at Alabama, trailing 40-0 at halftime. This game could be more of the same for the Sun Belt Conference program, as Georgia's youthful talent will have another stage from which to excel.
PREDICTION
Georgia 45, Arkansas State 10
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.