The game of the week in college football is undoubtedly the top-10 showdown between the no. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and no. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Kickoff is set for 8:00 EST on Saturday, September 21 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The game will be nationally televised on CBS.
Oddsmakers list the Bulldogs as 14-point favorites at home with an over/under of 56 points. Click here to check out all of this week’s college football betting odds.
As most expected, Georgia has hit the ground running in 2019. The Bulldogs took care of rival Vanderbilt 30-6 in their season opener and have followed it up with a pair of easy wins over Murray State and Arkansas State. Last week’s 55-0 win over a solid Arkansas State team was particularly impressive. Georgia nearly tripled the Red Wolves in total yards, and that’s with playing their backups for most of the second half.
Of course, the Bulldogs know that Saturday’s game could decide their fate. A win over a top-10 Notre Dame team would be a great resume builder, giving the Bulldogs a little leeway if they stumble during the regular season or fall short in the SEC Championship Game like they did last season. Meanwhile, a loss, especially at home, would mean that Georgia would have to run the table in order to reach the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame, of course, is in a similar situation. The Irish made it to the CFP last season at 12-0. However, some still speculated that their schedule was so easy that even going undefeated shouldn’t have been enough to deserve a top-4 spot. A road win over Georgia would give the Irish the kind of statement win that would eliminate similar talk this season. Meanwhile, a loss could be difficult to overcome with only two other teams currently ranked left on their schedule.
The Irish head to Athens fresh off a 66-14 shellacking of New Mexico. Prior to that, Notre Dame earned a road win over Louisville 35-17. However, it’s fair to question the strength of both of those opponents, so it’s a little difficult to know whether Notre Dame is ready to face a team like Georgia.
Most fans should remember when these two programs met up in South Bend two seasons ago. The Bulldogs squeaked out a 1-point road win on a late field goal on their way to reaching the national championship game. The Irish would love to return the favor when they make the return trip to Georgia on Saturday night.
As much as I like Georgia, I can’t abide by a spread this large against another top-10 team. I understand the feeling that the Irish could get blown out by an elite team as they did against Clemson in the CFP last season. But I think Brian Kelly and company deserve the benefit of the doubt. I’ll trust Notre Dame to keep this game within two touchdowns.
Obviously, the Irish haven’t been challenged much early in the season. But I saw enough from quarterback Ian Book last year to know that he’s the real deal. He may not have the biggest arm, but he can find the open receiver and play mistake-free football, which is what you want in a hostile road environment. To be fair, I’m a little concerned that he’s also Notre Dame’s co-leader in rushing yards after two games. But Tony Jones Jr. has been a reliable workhorse back thus far. Plus, Book has done a nice job scrambling and picking up positive yards, which is something he’ll need to do to keep drives alive against the Georgia defense.
Meanwhile, it’s fair to say that the Georgia offense hasn’t been tested that much early in the season either. That’s not to say I haven’t been impressed. But Georgia’s toughest opponent this year has been Vanderbilt, a team that the Bulldogs were always going to push around. With the way Notre Dame recruits, they will have the talent and physicality in the front-7 to put up a fight against Georgia’s offensive line. It’s hard to assume the Bulldogs will run the ball at will the way they have in their first three games.
The X-factor, of course, is Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who the Bulldogs are expecting to take a big step forward this year. He’s looked good early in the season, but he hasn’t taken over a game because he hasn’t needed to. If Fromm can take the lead and be willing to push the ball downfield, he’ll give Georgia a chance to win going away and cover the spread. However, we must remember that he’s working with a young group of receivers. It remains to be seen if they can make big plays down the field against the Notre Dame defense.
In the end, I think Georgia will be tough to beat, but I don’t expect Notre Dame to bow down to them. Book will make enough plays to keep the Irish in the game and give them a chance in the fourth quarter. Look for the Bulldogs to win but fail to cover the two-touchdown spread.