Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 SEPT. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED terback. This is an inexperienced po- sition group that includes redshirt freshman Azeez Ojulari and highly touted five-star recruit Nolan Smith. Monty Rice, the starting Will line- backer, was third on the team in tackles last year with 59, and ultra- talented freshman Nakobe Dean backs him up. Fifth-year senior Tae Crowder is the starting Mike line- backer and has vast experience. Sophomore nose tackle Jordan Da- vis might be the best player in the front seven. Listed at 6-6 and 330 pounds, Davis eats up holes and makes plays in the backfield. The one are this defense has strug- gled with is getting to the quarter- back. Last year, the team ranked 84th among Football Bowl Subdivision teams in sacks per game at 1.8. In their first two games against Vander- bilt and Murray State, the Bulldogs had a total of four sacks. The strength of this unit is the sec- ondary. According to Dasher, Geor- gia will spend a majority of the game with five of them on the field. In 2018, safety J.R. Reed made Pro Football Focus' list of the top 101 col- lege football players (No. 84), and he is back this season. He already has returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Richard LeCounte III is the other safety. He started 13 of Georgia's 14 games last season. Redshirt sophomore Eric Stokes is tasked with picking up where Thorpe Award winner DeAndre Baker, who left for the NFL, left off. His produc- tion last year was one of the surprises of the season for the Bulldogs, es- pecially when he beat out five-star recruit Tyson Campbell for a starting spot in the second half of the season. Campbell returns and will compete with junior D.J. Daniel at left corner- back. Both are susceptible to getting beat down the field. The star corner (nickel) will likely be Mark Webb, who led the team in tackles with 10 after two games. MATCHUP WITH NOTRE DAME Don't expect a sea of green in the crowd at Sanford Stadium, but Dasher says there is a strong contin- gent of Notre Dame fans in Georgia, especially in historically Catholic ar- eas like Savannah. This should be a matchup between two top-10 teams, and Dasher ex- pects nothing less than a hard-fought battle between them. "I think Georgia wins just because of the ground game," he said. "It's go- ing to come down to the line of scrim- mage. I think Georgia's offensive line and Georgia's strength at running back will help them control the clock and open up opportunities for Jake Fromm in the passing game with play action. If they've done what they've historically been able to, I think Georgia will win. "I don't mean an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. I just think Georgia's strengths match up well with Notre Dame's weaknesses." ✦ GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA Pro Football Focus tabbed J.R. Reed as the No. 7 safety and No. 84 overall player in the country follow- ing his junior campaign in 2018. PHOTO COURTESY UGA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS 2019 GEORGIA SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Vanderbilt W, 30-6 Sept. 7 Murray State W, 63-17 Sept. 14 Arkansas State W, 55-0 Sept. 21 Notre Dame (CBS) 8 p.m. Oct. 5 at Tennessee TBA Oct. 12 South Carolina TBA Oct. 19 Kentucky TBA Nov. 2 vs. Florida* (CBS) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9 Missouri TBA Nov. 16 at Auburn TBA Nov. 23 Texas A&M TBA Nov. 30 at Georgia Tech TBA * at Jacksonville, Fla. 2019 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 at Louisville W, 35-17 Sept. 14 New Mexico W, 66-14 Sept. 21 at Georgia(CBS) 8 p.m. Sept. 28 Virginia (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 Bowling Green (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 12 USC* (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Michigan (ABC/ESPN) TBA Nov. 2 Virginia Tech (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at Duke (ACCN) TBA Nov. 16 Navy (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23 Boston College (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Stanford TBA * This will be the Irish Wear Green contest, with fans encouraged to dress in green ACCN — ACC Network