Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 23, 2019 37 lishing the ground game will be vital to any chance at victory against the Bulldogs. Georgia has yielded only 129.9 rushing yards per game the last two seasons, and opponents have averaged 3.9 yards per attempt. In its five losses, though, the Bulldogs surrendered 206.2 yards per game on the ground and allowed opponents to rack up 4.8 yards per attempt. Finding a way to establish the ground game is instrumental to success for Notre Dame, and stop- ping opponents from running the ball is crucial for the Bulldogs to come out on top. Advantage: Georgia NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. GEORGIA PASS DEFENSE Georgia had a salty pass defense in 2018, due mainly to its ability to cover at an extremely high level. PFF ranked the Bulldog defense as the na- tion's ninth-best coverage unit, which is impressive for a squad that ranked just 35th in pass rush and generated only 188 quarterback pressures. Consider that Notre Dame's 2018 defense ranked fourth in coverage, but the Irish also ranked fourth in pass rush. Georgia has already racked up eight sacks in two games, but neither Vanderbilt nor Murray State can match what Notre Dame will supply in talent and depth up front. Pivotal to Notre Dame will be protecting se- nior quarterback Ian Book and giving him time to throw. The film tells the same story that PFF does, and that is Georgia's secondary will be tight in coverage, which means Book must be accurate and the wideouts must win one-on-one battles on contested throws. That was the difference in the game back in 2017, with Georgia's wideouts making tough receptions while the Irish pass catchers fell short. Notre Dame's wideouts ranked 25th in receiving last sea- son, but the Irish will be without standout Miles Boykin, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens. That will place a great deal of pressure on senior wide receiver Chase Claypool to be at his best in the matchup. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS When looking at the 2018 squads it's not even close, with the Bulldogs holding a major advan- tage. Georgia ranked seventh in punt returns and 30th in kick returns a season ago, and opponents returned only 15 combined punts and kicks in 14 games. Notre Dame did not rank in the top 50 nationally in punt returns, punt coverage, kick returns or kick coverage. Georgia returns veteran kicker Rodrigo Blanken- ship, who has made 56 of 67 career kicks. The Bulldogs also return sophomore punter Jake Ca- marda, who allowed just five returns on 43 punts a season ago. Advantage: Georgia COACHING Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has had quite the start to his tenure at his alma mater. After an 8-5 campaign in year one, Smart led the Bulldogs to a 24-5 record in seasons two and three. Georgia entered the 2019 season as a consensus top-five squad, and the Bulldogs are arguably the team in the Southeastern Conference best suited to knock Alabama off its perch. Through two games this season, Smart has ac- cumulated a 34-10 overall record. His teams are 9-8 against opponents that were ranked at the time of the game, which will be the case when the Fighting Irish come to town. However, only one of those losses came at home. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly enters this matchup with an 83-35 record, and his teams are 18-18 against opponents that were ranked at the time the game took place. The Fighting Irish have won seven games away from home against ranked teams. Notre Dame enters the season with the same staff it had a year ago, and all three coordina- tors are now in their third season in South Bend. Georgia has first-year coordinators on both offense and defense. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES On paper this is a very competitive matchup. Notre Dame enters the game with several matchup advantages, and the Bulldogs hold an advantage in other areas. Both teams entered the season ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press and Coaches polls. When it is that close the game can often come down to intangibles, and in this matchup it's Geor- gia's home-field advantage. The Bulldog faithful filled Notre Dame Stadium in 2017, and that rabid fan base is unlikely to sell as many tickets to Irish fans as they bought two years ago. Notre Dame is also just 2-8 when it plays away from home against opponents that finished the season ranked. The good news for the Irish is that both of those wins came last season (Northwest- ern and Syracuse). Advantage: Georgia GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 229 Sr. 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 220 Sr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 305 Sr. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 307 Jr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 292 5th-Sr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-5 300 So. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 289 Jr. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 319 Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5½ 309 So. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 280 Fr. TE 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 246 Jr. 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3½ 235 So. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 180 So. WR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 172 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 212 Sr. 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 227 So. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. 34 Jahmir Smith 5-11 205 So. 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 205 Fr. 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 200 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 266 Sr. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 286 Jr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So. NG 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 Fr. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr. Buck 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 228 Jr. or 31 Jack Lamb 6-4 233 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So. or 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 So. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 216 So. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So. or 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr. 12 DJ Brown 6-0 198 So. CB 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 5th-Sr. 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 23 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. PK 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 203 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 193 5th-Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 225 Sr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 224 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. KR 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 205 Fr. 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 200 So. Special Teams