Entering Georgia’s season opener, there were many doubters as to how Nick Chubb would perform in his first game returning from a gruesome knee injury.
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is going with experience at quarterback in the season-opener. It was a prominent part of what turned out to be a gorgeous stat line in Chubb’s first game since October 10 past year: 32 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Georgia has eyes on winning the SEC East title this year, but with a new head coach, an nearly entirely new front-seven, and – at best – a true freshman quarterback, the beginning of this season is going to be rough for the Dawgs.
Smart said Eason could still play in the game.
“It felt really weird”, Smart said, chuckling.
“We just made too many mistakes and you can’t do that against a good team and have success”, said Fedora, noting his team’s 13 penalties. I had a lot of support from everyone around me, and this game, I wasn’t out there by myself at all. With 6:34 to go in the third with a 24-14 lead, the Tar Heels were rolling and UNC fans were broke into an “ACC” chant.
“We know they’re going to go fast”, Smart said.
Eason’s longest completion was a 51-yarder to McKenzie midway through the fourth quarter that set up William Ham’s 29-yard field goal that put the Bulldogs up for good.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83.
As far as the passing game is concerned, it sure looked like Georgia can do more with it when freshman Jacob Eason is in the game. But as North Carolina drove down the field to score their first points of the game on a 1-yard Trubisky run, Eason began warming up on the sideline and came in on the next drive. Two Georgia defenders collided near the kickoff reception, which helped Logan spring out into space and ultimately return it 95 yards for a touchdown.
Following the practice, selected offensive players visited with the media and said they were looking forward to the contest with No. 20 North Carolina especially now that it’s only a few days away.
“I just know that this one hurts”, Switzer said.
Chubb left the Georgia Dome on Saturday with a dazzling stat line, rushing for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns on 32 carries. Only one Georgia running back has more 200 yard games in a career – Heisman victor Herschel Walker with nine. His kickoff return for touchdown was his third career special teams score and his first since a 78-yard return for touchdown against Cincinnati in the 2013 Belk Bowl.
The Bulldogs haven’t started a freshman since Matthew Stafford in 2006, when he got the job three weeks into the season. He’ll take the field finally as the starter Saturday when the No. 22 Tar Heels face No. 18 Georgia in Atlanta. With the Bulldogs rushing attack, the pressure might not be on Lambert to have a great game. “I’m just proud of everyone”. They were led by fifth-year head coach Larry Fedora, who has his systems in place.
Eason relieved starter Greyson Lambert and led Georgia on a pair of second-half scoring drives after North Carolina had scored 17 answered points.
Davis finished with 285 yards and two touchdowns.
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With a mostly overhauled coaching staff and influx of younger players in major roles, one of many questions surrounding the Georgia Bulldogs during the offseason was how the players would respond to times of adversity when things didn’t go so well.
