No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs vs No. 22 North Carolina Tar Heels
Kirby Smart will coach his first game as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. Lucky for him, he’ll have his star running back at 100 percent in Nick Chubb, coming off a brutal injury that ended his 2015. However, Smart and Chubb will be going up against a North Carolina Tar Heels team that’s dangerous. North Carolina made it to the ACC title game just last year and have hopes of doing it again. Trying to get their respective seasons started on the right foot, it’ll be Georgia vs North Carolina from the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
This matchup will be broadcast on ESPN with live streaming obviously being through WatchESPN. You can access WatchESPN either online or through the ESPN app by using a cable or satellite subscription to login.
Details for Saturday’s game are below:
Date: Saturday, September 3
Start Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Atlanta, GA
Stadium: Georgia Dome
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
As is the case with so many teams in the SEC this season (or so it seems) Georgia’s success in this matchup comes down to their quarterback. Greyson Lambert was inconsistent at best last season for the Bulldogs, especially in Chubb’s absence. So going up against a talented North Carolina team, the senior will have to be much better. If not, freshman Jacob Eason is waiting in the wings and would surely love to show the world what he can do.
North Carolina needs Mitch Trubisky to take the reigns with authority at quarterback, certainly. However, the key against Georgia is not allowing Chubb to make the monster runs. Make no mistake, the Bulldogs running back is going to eat and get his yards. However, the Tar Heels have to avoid the big play and have to find ways to mildly contain the superstar back.
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Betting Odds
Coming into Saturday morning, Georgia is favored by 3.5 points as they’re in their home state. However, the over/under line is a bit tricky as it’s set at 57 points on Saturday.
Prediction
With the line being so tight, that should indicate just how difficult of a matchup this is to predict. This game should play out to being just as close as the point spread indicates. However, I think that Chubb will be too much for what was a shaky Tar Heels defense to handle. In the end, Trubisky and company won’t have enough firepower and will fall to the Bulldogs.
Pick: Georgia Bulldogs: 30, North Carolina Tar Heels: 24