Game Thread | No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia

Sanford Stadium |8:00 p.m. ET | CBS

Game Week Articles | Roster| Depth Chart | Schedule |Staff Predictions 

Prove It

You can talk about what Notre Dame does well and doesn’t do well as the Irish head to Athens to take on No. 3 Georgia this weekend. The Dawgs are loaded with athletes and enormous humans in the trenches, but Notre Dame needs to prove to itself they belong with the elite programs in college football. 

Notre Dame has overachieved in some regards by going 12-0 twice during the Brian Kelly era yet the Fighting Irish are at a crossroads as they head to Georgia. 

Clemson was at a similar fork in the road when “Clemsoning” was a thing. The Tigers beat Notre Dame (at home) and never looked back. Notre Dame will have a similar chance to get the “big game blues” off its back this weekend with a win in Athens. 

Five Players To Watch

Georgia RB D'Andre Swift
Maybe the best player the Irish will face this season. He's averaging over 9 yards per carry and is a threat to take it to the house whenever he touches the football. Notre Dame has to have 11 to the ball in order to slow him down.

Notre Dame DE Julian Okwara
His matchup with UGA offensive tackle Andrew Thomas will be watched closely by every NFL scout in attendance. Notre Dame needs him to play at the same level he did against Clemson last season.

Notre Dame WR Chase Claypool
Claypool has looked fantastic after the catch in the first two games. The Irish will need that and him winning contested catches against Georgia's very good cornerback duo. 

Georgia QB Jake Fromm
Fromm is not a threat to run the football, but he is deadly accurate from the pocket when he has time. That's often with Georgia's offensive line keeping him clean by only allowing one sack this season. The Irish must pressure him and force Fromm to beat them. He's 26-1 when throwing less than 30 times a game. He's 0-4 when throwing 30 or more passes.

Notre Dame S Alohi Gilman
Big games are for big-time players and Gilman has been a big-time player for Notre Dame's defense. They need him to be at his best on the biggest stage. He's going to have to make several solo tackles and produce some havoc plays to slow down the Georgia offense.

By The Numbers 

2 - Notre Dame’s visit to No. 3/3 Georgia will mark just the second time the Irish will
face a top-five SEC team on the opponent’s home field in school history. The No.
24 Irish fell 38-14 at No. 4 Tennessee in 1999.

3 - Notre Dame recorded at least 66 points in a game for just the third time since
1932 in its 66-14 win over New Mexico. 

7 - With ESPN’s College GameDay making an appearance in Athens this weekend, it
will mark the 30th time the pregame show will appear before a game featuring
the Irish and the 12th time in the Brian Kelly era. That is the seventh-most of
any program in the nation.

19.07 - Ian Book leads all Power 5 quarterbacks in yards-per-completion with a 19.07average (he ranks second among all FBS quarterbacks in that category).

20.2 - Notre Dame skill players have averaged 20.2 yards after the catch this season (31
receptions, 627 yards-after-catch) – the best among Power 5 teams. 

30 - Notre Dame has held its opponents to 30 points or less in 16 consecutive games.

41.5 - Notre Dame leads all FBS teams for opponent completion percentage, as Irish
opponents are 22-for-53 (41.5%) in the first two games.

2205 - Over the last eight games, Ian Book has thrown for 2,205 yards, the fifth-most
among all active FBS quarterbacks.

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame QB Ian Book on being a 14-point underdog: 
"Honestly, we don’t care at all what anyone says. If we’re supposed to lose by double-digits, it’s kind of a chip on our shoulder and we’ll use that as motivation. It’s great. The pressure isn’t on us. We’re going down there to do what we have to do. We believe in ourselves. Everyone in this family knows we can do it. We know our potential, so we’re not worried – we’re confident.”

WR Chris Finke on being underdogs: 
“We’re fueled by our goals which are to win a National Championship. The way that goes is to win every week. We’re preaching this week that it’s not about proving anything to anyone. We know who we are. It’s about preparing and being precise in our preparation.”

DE Ade Ogundeji on Georgia:
“They do things the right way and they aren’t going to beat themselves. We have to go out and play hard. We have to beat them. We can’t have penalties and we have to play football the right way."

For Your Nerves 

Notre Dame vs. Georgia Hype Video

http://instagr.am/p/B2mpWrQF9Fh