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Big game weekend is finally here

This is the weekend Georgia Bulldog fans have circled on their calendars: the 15th ranked Dogs make their first-ever trip to South Bend and take on the 24th ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Notre Dame Stadium. The nationally televised contest kicks off at 7:30 Saturday night.

From Chip Towers, AJC Dawg Nation...

After 37 years, Georgia and Notre Dame are finally going to play a football game again. You may have heard about the last one. The traditional powerhouses met in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 1981, and the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs, led by a tailback named Herschel Walker, defeated the Fighting Irish 17-10 to finish the season 12-0 and as undisputed national champions.

Not only has Georgia not won a national championship since, but the two teams have never had the occasion to play again. Vince Dooley, the head coach of record for the championship and the athletic director for the next 24 years afterward, had brokered a home-and-home series with the Irish at the end of the last century. But, alas, those contracts got torn up after the Notre Dame underwent an administrative changeover.

Fast forward a few decades, and that’s not necessarily the main storyline anymore. Dooley will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Chicago Cubs’ game Friday night and will be on hand for the game Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. But the matchup of the present is now taking precedence over that one of the past.

The 15th-ranked Bulldogs (1-0) will be going into battle with a true freshman at quarterback. Jake Fromm will get the start after relieving Jacob Eason, who went down with the knee injury midway through the first quarter of last Saturday’s opener against App State.

No. 24 Notre Dame (1-0) will counter with a first-year starting quarterback of their own in redshirt sophomore Brandon Wimbush. But the more prominent storyline for the Irish is the long term job security of their head coach. Brian Kelly almost completely turned over his entire coaching staff and retooled both the offense and the defense in the wake of last year’s 4-8 season.

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