GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
SITE: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
TV: SEC Network
SERIES: First meeting.
RANKINGS: Georgia No. 5
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Ross Comis has passed for 1,521 yards this season, but 540 came in the triple-overtime win over Liberty. He was 29-of-44 passing in that game and had 508 of his yardage total at the end of regulation. Four of his 12 touchdown passes came in that game as well.
–WR Andy Isabella currently ranks first in FBS for total receiving yards this season (1,479), second for yards per game (134.5), second in receptions per game (7.9) and tied for fourth in touchdown catches (11).
–LB Bryton Barr is second among all NCAA FBS players in total tackles (147) and sixth for tackles per game (12.5) through 11 games. Barr had at least 10 tackles in nine games, During his 23 games with UMass, Barr, who transferred from Towson in 2017, averages 10.5 tackles per game (242 total). He made at least 10 stops in 14 outings.
Bulldogs
–QB Jake Fromm continues to perform at a high level for the Bulldogs, having completed 143-of-212 passes for 1,955 yards and 19 touchdowns with just five interceptions. The sophomore is 21-3 as a starter, including an 8-3 mark versus Top 25 teams.
–RB D’Andre Swift continues to post huge numbers for the Bulldogs in the running game. The sophomore capped his third-consecutive 100-plus effort by rushing for a career-best 186 yards against Auburn last week. Swift has rushed for 808 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns on the season.
–RB Elijah Holyfield hasn’t been doing bad himself. Like Swift, the junior is also on pace for a 1,000 yards season as he comes into Saturday’s game with 767 yards and five scores.
–DT Jordan Davis has started the last three games against Georgia, Kentucky and Auburn. The freshman has given the defensive front a huge boost with his ability to soak up double-teams and freeing up other teammates to make plays.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
Coach Kirby Smart will be looking for his fifth-ranked Georgia team to keep its focus on the task at hand when the heavily favored Bulldogs host struggling Massachusetts Saturday.
Kickoff at Sanford Stadium in Athens is 4 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
The Bulldogs (9-1) are coming off an impressive three-game stretch that featured wins over Florida, Kentucky and Auburn that sewed up the Southeastern Conference East. With the rivalry game against Georgia Tech and the SEC Championship Game against Alabama to follow, coach Kirby Smart is intent on having his players not look past the Minutemen (4-7), putting the onus on the team leadership for that responsibility.
“I think we’ll find out a lot about our team this week because it’s never about who we’re playing,” Smart said. “I mean for you guys it’s about who we’re playing. But I’ve told you all every week that it’s not about Florida, it’s not about Kentucky. It’s not really about them.
“It’s just about how we work, because we worry about us. That way when you get to this week, it’s not different.”
The Minutemen a lost 35-16 loss at Foxborough Stadium to BYU last week and earlier this year dropped a trio of games to Boston College (63-24), Georgia Southern (34-13) and FIU (63-24) by huge scores.
BYU dominated the Minutemen in rushing for 221 yards, overcoming an early 10-0 deficit and outscoring UMass 35-6 over the last 47 minutes.
“We hadn’t been knocked off the ball like that in a while,” coach Mark Whipple said. “They were just bigger and more physical.”
Georgia has an even bigger personnel advantage than BYU enjoyed, but the Bulldogs are staying in the same mode as their coach in keeping their minds on the Minutemen and not looking to Georgia Tech or Alabama.
“It isn’t tough at all. It is the next game for us, the next opponent,” linebacker Juwan Taylor said. “We approach every week the same so there is nothing different about preparing for this game. Every week is the same for us. We prepare the same way for every opponent no matter who we play.”
Even kicker Rodrigo Blankenship sang the same company tune.
“We are just going into this week with the same mindset that we had last week against Auburn,” he said. “We don’t want to take anybody on our schedule for granted on any given Saturday. Anything can happen in this country.
“We are going in with a mindset of being as serious as we can be, and we need to have the same level of focus and concentration on details that we had last week. Hopefully, that will allow us to perform our best if not better than we did last week.”
Not all players toed the company line, however.
Wide receiver Tyler Simmons gave a little wink when asked if some of the team’s younger players were perhaps anticipating getting an opportunity for extra playing time.
“I’ve heard the buzz a little bit about young guys being excited to play,” Simmons said.
Smart also said the competition for playing time is continuing in the days leading up to the first meeting between the two programs. Even going into the 11th game, positions are still open, he said.
“All of them,” Smart said. “Every position on our team — every week, inside backer, every week, outside backer, probably more the second and third at the outside backer than the first.
“Defensive line. We’ve had changes in defensive line, and you all don’t write about who starts there, but we’ve had a lot of changes there. Secondary — we’ve had a lot of battles at safety, and rotating the dime, nickel and star.”
At defensive tackle, Jordan Davis has gone from a seldom-used scout team member to being listed as a co-starter with Tyler Clark. Devonte Wyatt is also starting to get more looks. Ditto for freshman Otis Reese, who is now listed as a co-starter at safety along with Richard LeCounte.
“Otis is getting better. Richard is actually getting better,” Smart said. “The best thing for Richard has been Otis’ growth. So, I think that the motivation and the competition has made Richard better.”
