Week 2 Preview: Georgia Hosts the Governors
by Chito Chibuye
Dawgs OTL Writer/ UGA Alumnus
After a wild Week 1 in college football, Georgia comes into Week 2 as the No. 4 team in the country and gets another tune-up game before undertaking SEC play. This week, the Governors of Austin Peay will travel to Athens from Clarksville, TN, in hopes of going 2-0 after their upset of rival Middle Tennessee State University in Week 1. The Bulldogs have familiarity with both the Blue Raiders of MTSU and the Govs, as the Dawgs opened the 2018 season against Austin Peay and walked away with a 45-0 win between the hedges.
Austin Peay’s Confidence After Week 1 Upset
Led by second-year head coach Jeff Faris, the Governors traveled to Murfreesboro last weekend and got a win over now-HC Derek Mason (former Vanderbilt HC) and a team they hadn’t beaten since 1986. This team is confident at the moment and will undoubtedly bring their “We Will” mantra with them to the Classic City.
Fortunately for UGA, the leader of this team has his players focused on “process over results.” Kirby doesn’t care who is on the other side of the ball — he still expects consistency from the first to the fourth quarter. The offensive line will have an opportunity to improve from some of the mental mistakes they made last week and will more than likely see backups at both RG and RT (Juan Gaston’s MRI came back negative*). Defensively, if Georgia plays like it did last week, this game will get out of hand very quickly — but it’s also a chance for players to work on tackling, setting the edge, and being crisp in coverage before traveling to Knoxville.
Georgia Defense vs. Austin Peay QB Chris Carson
Facing QB Chris Carson (#3) may be the perfect test for the UGA defense this week. Listed at 5’11” and 224 lbs, the Mississippi State transfer and redshirt sophomore spun the ball well against the MTSU defense and looked like a Temu Kyler Murray on film (with all due respect). He helped his team by throwing two early TDs to jump out and stay in front of the Raiders, and he also had 11 carries for 35 yards.
Offensively, they spread the ball around to their trio of wide receivers: Shemar Kirk (#13), Nate Garnett Jr. (#8), and Jaden Robinson (#81). A mobile QB will demand the attention of both Georgia’s edge players and secondary. I’ll be looking for Gabe Harris to set the edge and help contain Carson, Chris Cole to be a potential QB spy or TE cover, KJ Bolden to direct traffic on the field, and Zion Branch to make big tackles from the safety position.
Final Thoughts and Prediction
Austin Peay is feeling good about themselves, as they should — but you don’t win games off feelings, you win them off consistent execution. I fully expect Georgia to bring that on Saturday. I don’t expect it to be perfect because the 2’s and 3’s will see the field in an effort to stay healthy as we start conference play. I do, however, expect to see growth from Week 1 to Week 2 and for the Governors to pay the price.
Go Dawgs.
Score Prediction: UGA over Austin Peay 41-10
