The Bulldogs (1-0) are set to take on Ball State (0-1) at home this week.
The Georgia defense will see one familiar face in the Ball State backfield: running back Marquez Cooper, who played for Kent State a year ago.
Cooper got it going against Georgia in the matchup in Sanford last season with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He tacked on 40 more yards receiving on two catches.
“He’s a power back and a physical runner.”
Ball State lost 44-14 to Kentucky on the road this past Saturday, but the final score doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Cardinals were up on the Wildcats 7-3 in at the end of first quarter. They coughed up two fumbles in the second and the Wildcats recovered both and returned one for a touchdown. those costly turnovers swung all the momentum in favor of Kentucky.
Ball State finished with 295 total yards compared to Kentucky’s 357.
Georgia is still trying to figure out their identity offensively with a new quarterback, new offensive coordinators and revolving running back room.
They will be glad to bring back wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, a guy that brings a lot of leadership and experience to this offense. He could become a reliable target for Carson Beck in this game outside of Brock Bowers.
Ladd McConkey was out for the season-opener and was still not fully participating in practice this week. He’s been running and cutting during drills, but has not returned to full-contact play. So, it doesn’t look like he’ll be available until Week 3 against South Carolina.
The coaching staff seems to be playing McConkey safely, so he can be healthy for more meaningful contests.
Georgia’s offense will get into more of a rhythm now that Beck has gotten his first start out of the way.
Final score prediction: Georgia 59 Ball State 7
