Georgia football has been as much a part of the ABC TV lineup this fall as Grey’s Anatomy or Dancing with the Stars.
The Bulldogs have been on the network in eight of their first 10 games, including four prime-time windows.
That changes today after eight straight SEC games.
Georgia-UMass Saturday is on the SEC Network for a 12:45 p.m. kick, the earliest home game since noon against Ball State on Sept. 9, 2023.
Only two years removed from winning back-to-back national titles, the Bulldogs are a big TV draw, not to mention a schedule that’s included five top 20 teams.
They will be playing today to get a win as a 42 ½ point favorite and maybe trying to impress a College Football Playoff selection committee that has the Bulldogs ranked No. 10 this week.
“Honestly, I try not to worry about it,” Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette said before the third CFP rankings were released Tuesday. “At the end of the day, we’re just trying to focus on us getting better and how we can improve week by week.”
This game is Senior Day for Georgia even though it’s not the final home game. This one was seen as easier for families to get to and take part in a pregame ceremony then the Friday after Thanksgiving against Georgia Tech.
“It’s a lot better fit for them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
Why Georgia will beat UMass
This is pretty much a name your score type of game.
UMass is No. 181 in the Sagarin Ratings just behind Holy Cross and just ahead of Penn and 10 spots below Tennessee Tech which Georgia beat 48-3 in week 2.
Did we mention that the school just fired their coach, Don Brown, on Monday?
Interim coach Shane Montgomery cancelled practice that day.
Georgia’s offensive line and running backs Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens and Dwight Phillips should have a big day. UMass is allowing 191.4 rushing yards per game.
Some injuries to frontline Georgia players and what figures to be a lopsided score will mean a chance for backups and reserves to get into the game.
“All freshmen want to play, and this has been a weird year for us because we have not had a lot of breaks in action to get those guys playing experience,” Smart said. “I probably met with that group, I don’t know, three or four times this year as a group who just said, stay the course. You’re going to get an opportunity because so many of them come in with high expectations, and they want to play.”
Smart said defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann told him Georgia averaged 100 snaps for its second and third teamers the last couple of years but hasn’t come close this year.
Look for cornerbacks Ellis Robinson and Demello Jones, linebacker Justin Williams and tight ends Jaden Raddell and Colton Heinrich to see action.
Backup quarterback Gunner Stockton should play for the first time since Week 2 and transfer QB Jarden Rashada could make his Georgia debut.
Why UMass will beat Georgia
OK, it won’t.
Unless there’s food poisoning. And like a bunch of Georgia turnovers.
Even still…
UMass could make Georgia work some. It led Mississippi State 10-0 in Starkville in what became a 45-20 loss.
That was with former Clemson and Georgia Tech Taisun Phommachanh at quarterback but an injury knocked him out for the season.
That leaves UMass using redshirt freshman Ahmad Haston and freshman AJ Hairston at quarterback.
“We’ve got to find ways to run the football early,” Montgomery said. “We cannot become one-dimensional early in the game.”
The Minutemen have a threat at wide receiver in Eastern Washington transfer Jakobie Keeney-James, who has 42 catches for 670 yards and 4 touchdowns.
UMass can only hope it can produce 390 yards of offense like it did in a 66-27 loss in Athens in 2018.
The Minutemen are coming off 426 yards of offense against Liberty last week in an overtime loss, their most against an FBS opponent this season.
“I really thought that was our most complete game,” Montgomery said. “We’ve played well at times throughout the year but there’s always been hiccups here and there that really kept us from putting up the type of points to win the game.
Prediction
Georgia 56, UMass 3
SEC teams Missouri and Mississippi State scored 45 points on the Minutemen this season. The Bulldogs don’t usually run it up in games like this, but impressing the College Football Playoff selection committee could come into play.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football vs. UMass: Scouting report, prediction
