It’s a battle of the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga., this weekend, as Georgia football takes on the Samford Bulldogs. Here is our preview of the matchup.
Fresh off its huge win at Notre Dame, Georgia returns home for a game against Samford. Quite the decrease in viewing appeal, I’d say.
Either way, Georgia fans have to be feeling good after their teams performance in South Bend. Most impressive was freshman quarterback Jake Fromm, who made his first collegiate start on the road. Fromm kept his composure, despite some turnovers throughout the game, when most freshmen might not have held up.
Samford comes into Athens an obvious underdog but they aren’t any slouch. Samford is ranked 17th in the FCS coaches poll and are 2-0 on the season. The Samford Bulldogs will come into this game looking to spring an upset. Anything is possible.
Samford will be led by quarterback Devlin Hodges and wide receiver Kelvin McKnight. Samford has a good offense and just might be tricky for the Georgia defense at the beginning of this game.
Here is how you can watch Saturday’s Georgia vs. Samford game:
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Sanford Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to victory
The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off of the high of facing a storied program like Notre Dame, to facing Samford. Suffice to say that doesn’t hype your players up as much as last week. The Bulldogs will have to avoid being disinterested in this game. If they come out flat and uninspired then things could get hairy real quick.
For me, I think the defense will be key to shutting down Samford’s offense. But the real key is the continued play from Fromm. This game will give coaches and fans another look at what he can do under center. Fromm has a chance to really showcase himself, he just can’t let the pressure get to him of that moment.
Samford simply has to be themselves. Don’t try to do too much in this game and shoot yourself in the foot. Anything is possible in football, that’s why they play the games and don’t just go off of predictions like this. Samford is a great FCS team. They just have to come out with that mindset in this game.
If Hodges can get the offense in scoring position early, it could motivate the Bulldogs to the fact that they can hang with Georgia. As I’ve said, Fromm is still young. If Samford can take advantage of that on defense and create turnovers, then they could put themselves in good position to spring an upset.
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Prediction
Despite coming off of the high of facing Notre Dame, I don’t expect much drop-off from them in this matchup. Kirby Smart will have the Bulldogs focused and if they come out flat, he’ll have something to say about it. While I do think Samford could give Georgia fits early in this game, I just don’t see them sustaining throughout the game against the superior talent of Georgia.
Final Score: Georgia 45, Samford 20