Welcome to Bulldawg Illustrated’s Game Day Thread for the matchup between No. 5 Georgia and Massachusetts. This is week 12 for the 2018 football season as the Bulldogs take on the Minutemen. We have your game day info, where to watch or listen to the game, college football scores, and a live chat!
Game Day Information & Timeline
Match-up: #5 Georgia (9-1)(7-1) vs. UMass (4-7)
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Location: Sanford Stadium
Roster:
Schedule:
Season Stats:
Game Notes:
GAMEDAY ACTIVITIES:
- Tailgate Locations Open on Campus: 7:00 AM
- SEC Nation Broadcast: 10:00 AM * LOCATION CLICK HERE*
- Pregame Broadcast: 12:00 PM
- Dawg Walk: 1:45 PM
- Gates Open: 2:00 PM
- Kick off: 4:01 PM
T.V./ Radio Info
TV:
CHANNEL: SECN @4:00 p.m. ET
TV ANNOUNCERS:
Play-by-Play: Taylor Zarzour
Color Analyst: Matt Stinchcomb
Sideline: Laura Rutledge
RADIO:
BULLDOG NETWORK STATIONS:
Radio: 630 AM
Audio Stream: GEORGIA DOGS| TuneIn
Satellite: Sirius 99/190
BULLDOG NETWORK RADIO ANNOUNCERS:
Play-by-play: Scott Howard
Color Analyst: Eric Zeier
Sideline: Chuck Dowdle
GEORGIA vs. UMASS MATCHUP
No. 5 Georgia hosts the University of Massachusetts today at 4:00 p.m. on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs look to earn their 10th win of the season. Georgia’s seniors picked up its 40th win last weekend against the Auburn Tigers. The 2018 seniors are 40-11 and the 40 wins are tied for fifth best by a class in Georgia history. The record for most wins by a class is 44 held by the 2005 team who went 44-9 with a pair of SEC Conference titles. However, the most decorated class was the 1983 group that posted a 43-4-1 record including the 1980 National Championship and three SEC crowns. Georgia looks to win back-to-back SEC titles for the first time since claiming three in a row from 1980-82.
This will be SEC Nation’s sixth visit to Athens and the 16th appearance on the show for the Bulldogs. The traveling pregame show will air from 10:00 a.m. to noon today. Laura Rutledge hosts the show, steering the conversation with analysts Tim Tebow, Marcus Spears, and Paul Finebaum. Fans are invited to watch the show from the Special Collections library, where the show will be filmed.
A little Bit about the Minutemen of Massachusetts
— Last week, UMass played host to BYU at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and lost to the Cougars 35-16. Ross Comis got the start at quarterback for the Minutemen and went 22 of 33 for 183 yards passing and ran one score in. Both scores from UMass came from the ground game.
— Andy Isabella is one of 11 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s top wideout. The 5-10 190 pound receiver ranks second in the FBS with 87 receptions for 1,479 yards. He is tied fourth in touchdown receptions with 11.
Interesting Tidbits about the 2018 Georgia team
— Georgia’s on pace to set a record for scoring average in a season. The Bulldogs have scored 40+ points in five games this year. The average took a hit when the Bulldogs managed to only score 16 points in the loss to LSU. Georgia is averaging 37 points per game which is third in the SEC. The 2014 team owns the school record at 41.3 points a game.
–Jake Fromm is a 2018 Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist.
— Fromm is hovering around the school record for Completion Percentage. Georgia’s school record is 67.9 completion rate by Hutson Mason in 2014. The SEC record is 72. 3 percent held by Tim Couch from Kentucky. Fromm ranks No. 2 in the SEC at 67.5 percent. He is 21-3 as the starter, including 8-3 versus top-25 schools. Fromm is ranked No.5 in the nation in Passing Efficiency at 164.2.
— Justin Fields enrolled in January and has seen action in nine of the ten games this season. He is 20-27 with 220 yards and two scores. Fields also has 150 yards on 29 carries averaging 5.2 yards a carry and three rushing touchdowns. He ran for a career-high against Tennessee with 45 yards on 5 carries and 2 rushing touchdowns.
— For only the third time in school history and the first time since Herschel Walker did it in 1980, the Bulldogs have had a tailback with two rushing touchdowns of 75 or more in the same season. D’Andre Swift raced 83 yards for a touchdown against Kentucky and then took off for a 77-yard touchdown run against Auburn. Walker had a pair of 76-yard touchdown runs, one against Texas A&M and the other against South Carolina. The only other tailback to do it at Georgia, we have to go way back to 1945 when Charlie “Rabbit” Smith took one 86 yards at Kentucky for a score and then 80 yards at Chattanooga for a touchdown.
— Georgia has a two-headed monster this year at running back that averages 6.7 yards a carry. Elijah Holyfield leads the way with 118 carries for 767 yards and five touchdowns. He averages 6.5 yards a carry. D’Andre Swift has 116 carries for 808 yards and eight scores. He averages 7.0 yards a carry. Swift earned career highs last week against the Tigers as he toted it 186 yards on 17 carries and one score. He was named for the second week in a row, the SEC Offensive Player of the week.
— The Bulldogs lead the SEC in rushing offense at 240.7 yards a game and first in SEC games with 232.8 yards.
— Georgia’s defense is third in the SEC and ninth nationally in Scoring Defense allowing 15.8 points a game.
— The Bulldogs returned 51 lettermen from their 2017 squad, including 13 starters. However, Georgia’s is still the SEC’s youngest team and the nation’s 15th youngest team with 68.2 percent being either freshmen or sophomores. There are 58 freshmen (38 True Freshmen/20 RS) and 30 Sophomores.
— Rodrigo Blankenship is on his way to putting his name in the Georgia record books. He’s 43-of-43 in PATs and has made 17-of-19 field goals. Blankenship is second the nation with 53 touchbacks on 59 kickoffs. He has 152 career touchbacks and is on pace to beat Kevin Buttler’s 169 touchbacks. The junior needs 17 to tie Butler’s record with at least four games left in the season. Blankenship has made 132 consecutive PATs and officially is at the top of Georgia’s rankings in most consecutively made PATs. Last season he broke Kevin Butler’s single-season touchback record with 67 touchbacks, shattering Butler’s 51. He already has 64 this season and aims to set record again.
*Special thanks to Georgia sports communication for the game information*
Game Day Preview: CLICK HERE
Scores Around the Country
ESPN SCOREBOARD