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Georgia vs. Austin Peay Fearless Prediction and game preview.

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, September 1
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET
Venue: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Network: ESPN

– 2018 CFN Preview | Georgia Preview

Georgia (0-0) vs. Austin Peay (0-0) Game Preview

Austin Peay is ranked in the preseason top 25 coming off a strong 8-4 run, but this is nothing more than just a warm-up moment for Georgia before the showdown against South Carolina to open up the SEC season.

The Governors might be overmatched, but their offensive line and running game will provide a good first test for the rebuilding Dawgs. They need to get the right parts in place on the defensive front and work in Justin Fields at quarterback a bit, but to do that, the game needs to be a blowout early on.

Austin Peay is good enough to keep that from happening.

Georgia is going to get what it wants – it’s going to win and there won’t be a whole lot of stress about it, but the team can’t just mail it in.

One Reason Why Austin Peay Will Win

The offensive line has the talent to blast away after finishing among the best in the FCS averaging 259 yards per game. Tackle Kyle Anderton and 318-pound guard Ryan Rockensuess lead a line that really and truly might be an issue, even for a national championship-caliber defensive front.

The Dawgs have talent up front – Notre Dame transfer Jay Hayes helps, but for a line that relied on the linebackers to get behind the line, it could be a bigger fight than the D might like.

The bigger problem for Georgia will be undersized pass rusher extraordinaire Jaison Williams. He’s built like a Dawg running back size-wise, but he’s every bit as quick off the ball and a terror in the backfield. The last thing UGA needs is to get Jake Fromm popped before the big game the following week.

One Reason Why Georgia Will Win

Outside of Williams, there’s not a whole lot that’s going to happen behind the line from the Governor defensive front.

Gunner Scholato is a terrific, run stuffing linebacker, and it’s going to be an active line, but it’s a smallish group that’s going to be blasted.

This is the game to show that there’s life after Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, with D’Andre Swift looking like the next-star-up as part of a fantastic rotation. The revamped Georgia line will do its part – the running game will work from the start.

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What’s Going To Happen

Georgia will come out angry. The team might be trying to put the end of last season in the rearview mirror, but you’re not going to know it by the way the game starts.

Austin Peay is good, but give it three drives and the Dawgs will be up by three scores. Forget about how there are so many new starters on both sides of the ball. Georgia will look every bit like the defending SEC champion, and then the second half will showcase the key backups in a light and breezy blowout.