Georgia football and Notre Dame are two of the most historic programs in all of college football. So who takes the win on Saturday, the staff here at Dawn of the Dawg give their predictions. Do you agree?
We’re one day away from Georgia football and Notre Dame squaring off between the hedges on Saturday night.
Right now, according to ESPN, the spread is at 14.5 points right now in Georgia’s favor. That spread is massive, and while it might scare some, it didn’t phase the experts.
Georgia’s averaging 49.33 points a game while holding opponents to 7.67. Now, the Dawgs have played two lower-tiered games the last two weeks so that the stats may be a tad deceiving.
However, the same can be said for Notre Dame. The Irish played Louisville and New Mexico. Notre Dame averages 50.5 points a game and allows opponents to score 15.5 points per game.
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While both teams have stats that are a little skewed right now, this game is going to be a grudge match still.
There isn’t a bigger stage in all of college football than the one in Athens, Georgia on Saturday. How will the Dawgs fair? Here’s what the staff at Dawn of the Dawn think
Jonathan Williams:
Everything that the Dawgs have done up to this point in the season has been in preparation for the matchup against the Irish.
A matchup for the ages and not a better place for it to take place in than the Classic City on Dooley Field.
Notre Dame has looked impressive on the offensive side of the ball with quarterback Ian Book leading the team, but I think their inability to stop the run is what will make the most significant difference in this game.
Georgia being just about five deep in their running attack is a nightmare for any opposing team, but when your team is the No.120 in rush defense and averaging 230-yards per game against you, it becomes deadly.
I expect a massive game from all of our key backs and our defensive front will be able to get some pressure on Book to make him uncomfortable.
There is no having a vanilla gameplan for Georgia this Saturday, and it is going to create fits for the Irish.
That said, I have the Dawgs establishing themselves as a top team in the nation and beating the fighting Irish on what will be a historic day.
Score prediction: Georgia 38 Notre Dame 20
Eric Taylor
Georgia comes into this game with the No. 8 rushing offense facing the No. 120 rushing defense in Notre Dame. Louisville rushed for 249 yards on the Irish’s defense, Georgia averages 283 rushing yards a game.
Notre Dame has an explosive offense too, boasting the No. 19 passing attack averaging 313 yards a game.
Georgia’s passing defense is No. 34 giving up 182.3 passing yards a game.
If Georgia can run the ball and stop Notre Dame from passing the ball, they should win this one going away.
Georgia 34 Notre Dame 21
Davis
Georgia simply has the advantage over Notre Dame in every aspect of the game. The Dawgs have the better quarterback, defensive backs, offensive line, kicker, etc. The list goes on and on. As the game in 2017 taught us, Notre Dame is a tough opponent and won’t go down easy.
That being said, having this game in Athens this year is enormous. Notre Dame will bring a decent amount of fans down from South Bend, but the Dawgs will have an extremely fired up and loud home crowd behind them when they take the field.
Jake Fromm will undoubtedly have to throw the ball more in this game than he has in the first three games of the season.
I fully expect the junior signal-caller to remain his calm and collected self as he guides Georgia to a victory.
This game will remain close for a while, but Georgia will simply wear Notre Dame down and close out the game in the 4th quarter to give the Dawgs a signature win in 2019.
Georgia 30, Notre Dame 20
Richard
The 2019 Georgia defense comes of age this week, taking back a turnover for a touchdown in the second quarter to give the Dawgs a slim 10 – 7 halftime lead.
Jake Fromm figures out the Notre Dame front seven halfway through the third quarter, and Georgia shakes a wide receiver loose.
D’Andre Swift follows with a long touchdown, and the Dawg’s enter the final quarter with the game their’s too loose. They don’t. The Dawgs hold the ball for 10 of the last 15 minutes to take the top ten matchups.
Georgia 24 Notre Dame 14.
Savannah Leigh
The week is finally here for the Georgia/ Notre Dame showdown. Some think the Dawgs will blow out the Irish, and while that might end up being the case, I think this one becomes an instant classic.
Georgia’s at home though, and I don’t know that the Irish can keep up depth-wise. Notre Dame might stick around for a half, but when Georgia’s got fresh running backs in the third and fourth quarter, it’ll be hard for the Irish to slow down.
The Dawgs continue to score 40+ points against opponents, and guess what Dawg fans, this isn’t a fluke.
Georgia comes in and just punches the Irish in the mouth. I would love to see a flea-flicker to open up the game, and never let the throttle come off until the clock reads 0:00 and the Irish are begging to stop the game.
This matchup could decide who gets into the College Playoff at the end of the year. Don’t lose at home, Georgia in front of the biggest crowd ever at Sanford Stadium. It’s not in the Dawgs mind that they’re going to lose. All they see is winning and moving onto the next opponent.
Game Prediction: Georgia 42 Notre Dame 21
Brenden Armour
In the biggest game of the college football season to date this year, the Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a historic matchup between the hedges at Dooley Field in Sanford Stadium.
The No. 3 Dawgs will have their work cut out for them against the No. 7 Irish, as this Notre Dame team is much different and better than the team the Bulldogs toppled two years ago in Southbend, Indiana.
The Bulldogs will have to be able to move the ball offensively as this Notre Dame offense has been able to put up some points and high yardage figures so far this year against Louisville and New Mexico.
However, two years ago the Dawgs were facing a mostly one-dimensional threat in quarterback Brandon Wimbush, this year they will have to deal with dual-threat in quarterback Ian Book who can sling it, but also can take off and gain yards on the ground.
What you have to worry about with this offense, much like the Bulldogs’ offense, is their ability to spread the ball out to multiple players which continually leaves you guessing as to which weapon will get the ball.
Offensive coordinator James Coley has been showing mostly vanilla play-calling through three games into the season so that they won’t have to give too much away on film, but the playbook will be wide open for this top ten matchup.
At the end of the day, the Georgia defense will be able to stop the Irish offense from scoring too many times, holding them to under 30 points.
Fromm could very possibly go over 300 yards for the first time this season, along with almost 300 yards on the ground from our backs.
The Irish will have to commit to stopping the run first and foremost, which should allow for an efficient passing attack built off of play-action passes and quick throws with the occasional deep ball thrown into the mix.
At the end of Saturday night, Georgia will leave no doubt they are a top team in the nation and a superior team to Notre Dame.
Georgia Bulldogs 41, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24
Georgia and Notre Dame will be a game everyone remembers. Tell us your score predictions in the comment. Let’s see who gets the closest!