Georgia vs Notre Dame: 3 Bold Predictions

Georgia heads to South Bend to take on Notre Dame football. Here are three bold predictions for one of this week’s most intriguing matchups.

After settling for an 8-5 season under first-year head coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs come into this season looking to return to the prominence they enjoyed a few years ago. Similarly, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is in dire need of a successful season after last year’s disaster. Both coaches got off to great starts this past week, each handling their respective opponents easily.

Notre Dame’s achievement was the greater feat, defeating the Temple Owls 49-16 at home. However, nothing can be taken away from a Georgia team that sent Appalachian State home with a score of 31-10. Both teams held their own on Saturday, but now face off against each other in a game that should shed some light on the futures of their respective seasons.

Regardless of who wins this game, the victory will likely come by way of a few exceptional performances. Here are three bold predictions for the upcoming contest between these two storied programs.

3. Josh Adams and Nick Chubb combine for 250 yards

Both Josh Adams and Nick Chubb enjoyed solid outings in their season debuts on Saturday, with Adams putting on a 161 yard display alongside a 96 yard day from Chubb. Temple and Appalachian State both fared well against the rush last season, but faltered greatly in their first attempts of this season.

It’s hard to determine exactly where either of the opposing defenses currently stand, so we’ll avoid comparing competition between the two at this time. What is for certain is that neither of these players are alone in their respective backfields. Adams saw his backup in Dexter Williams explode for 124 yards last week while Chubb was involved in a split backfield of his own.

While neither of these backups are threats to their running back peers, they are likely here to stay when it comes to snagging some carries here and there. Chubb, despite recording nearly 100 yards on Saturday, is involved in a near 50/50 split with teammate Sony Michel. The latter was easily outperformed by Chubb, but still managed one more carry over the course of the day.

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In terms of Georgia and Notre Dame’s defenses, it’s once again difficult to assess where either of these programs stand defensively. Neither Appalachian State or Temple are held as offensive powerhouses, but here are the numbers nonetheless.

Notre Dame excelled against the Owls’ run game, allowing only 85 yards on 37 carries. They also managed to keep Temple out of the end zone in the ground game. This was a huge boost from a year ago, a season that saw Notre Dame let up approximately 182 yards a game.

Georgia, while being a little more generous on the ground, let up only 136 yards on five less carries. This number was a tad south of what the Bulldogs averaged last year, and was a solid bar to set as most of the yardage came from Appalachian State quarterback Taylor Lamb.

Adams and Chubb combine for 250 if they distance themselves from their in-house competition and take advantage of holes in two recovering defenses. With a Jacob Eason injury and an inexperienced Brandon Wimbush, expect these two to be given all the shots they need to put up huge numbers this Saturday.