Two proud programs square off between the hedges Saturday as Marshall visits Georgia in a season-opening battle of reigning conference champions.

This will be the second meeting between the programs. In 2004, the Bulldogs defeated the Thundering Herd 13-3 in Athens.

Saturday’s showdown also gives us a chance to recognize College Football Hall of Fame Coach Jim Donnan, who established Marshall as a national power in Division 1-AA. Donnan left Marshall to become Georgia’s head coach prior to the 1996 season. Amongst the top players he coached for the Bulldogs, All-Southeastern Conference safety Kirby Smart of Bainbridge, Georgia.

Marshall is one of the fascinating stories in the country. The Thundering Herd won the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game 31-3 over Louisiana to post a 10-3 record. Two days later, head coach Charles Huff departed for Southern Mississippi. As Sun Belt champs with 10 days, obviously Marshall was bowl bound. However a massive number of players entered the transfer portal, and the Herd had to pull out of their Independence Bowl matchup with Army. A sad ending to a fantastic season.

Tony Gibson is the new head coach at Marshall. He came to Huntington from N.C. State, where Gibson was the Wolfpack’s defensive coordinator.

With a slew of new players on the roster, the Thundering Herd are one of the ultimate unknowns in college football this season.

You have to think that Kirby Smart’s film staff had to put in quadruple overtime trying to get tape on the roughly 60 new Marshall players.

Smart is heading into his 10th season as Georgia’s head coach, and he has constructed a Hall of Fame career at his alma mater. The Bulldogs have appeared in eight consecutive major bowl games and finished inside college football’s top ten in each of those seasons. Georgia became the first school in the playoff era to capture back-to-back national championships, with the Bulldogs hoisting the trophy in 2021 and 2022.

Last season, Georgia beat Texas to win the Southeastern Conference Championship. The Bulldogs fell to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl in the CFP Quarterfinals. Georgia was without All-American punter Brett Thorson, who injured his knee against the Longhorns. The game in New Orleans also marked the starting debut of Gunner Stockton, who took over at halftime for an injured Carson Beck, and led the Bulldogs to a tremendous comeback victory.

Will Thorson be ready to go on Saturday? How will Stockton play with a revamped corps of pass catchers?

There is tremendous excitement in Athens, as there is every fall. With defensive and special teams units regarded amongst the SEC’s best, and an offense with a lot of promising new faces, expectations are rightfully high.

A win over the Thundering Herd would deliver another milestone for the Bulldogs. Georgia’s 31 straight home victories are tied with Alabama, which also won 31 in a row at home between 2015 (with Smart as the defensive coordinator that season) and 2019. So a win over Marshall would make 32 in a row Between the Hedges and a new SEC record.