What are the game details?<\/h3>\nOpponent:\u00a0<\/strong>Marshall
\nHistory:<\/strong> Georgia leads the series 1-0.
\nLast meeting:<\/strong> Georgia defeated Marshall 13-3 in Athens in 2004.
\nDate and Time:<\/strong> Saturday, August 30 | 3:30 p.m.<\/a>\u00a0EST
\nLocation:<\/strong>\u00a0Vince Dooley Field at Sandford Stadium.
\nTelevision:<\/strong> ESPN
\nSpread<\/a>:<\/strong> Georgia -39.5<\/div>\nOver\/Under:<\/strong> 55.5<\/div>\nWhat Should You Know About Marshall?<\/h3>\nIt’s a brand new team. Marshall is the defending #FunBelt (Sun Belt) champion. Normally, this should make for a really fun game. Probably not so much this year. Marshall’s head coach, Charles Huff, left in the offseason to coach Southern Miss. He wasn’t fired, and Southern Miss wasn’t exactly an upgrade. The Golden Eagles were 1-11 last year. Huff and the Thundering Herd mutually parted ways. After the coaching change, the Thundering Herd saw 36 players enter the Transfer Portal, including Braylon Braxton, the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. Kirby Smart commented this week on how Georgia is preparing for Marshall and its large roster turnover.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a roster that when we write on the depth chart transfer, it’s three deep transfer, four deep transfer, all these spots, a lot of transfers. But that’s more and more evident all over. Probably the first games all over the country this weekend will be a lot of guys figuring out who’s in that spot, who’s in that spot. Nobody has a clue who’s in those spots. The fewer teams there are in the spotlight, the less you’ll know. But again, it’ll probably be more of an adjustment from the kickoff to the first quarter than most games, but it’ll also be about us.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSo while questions abound for Tony Gibson’s squad, the focus on Saturday will be on Georgia.<\/div>\nWhat Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Offense?<\/h3>\n
All eyes will be on the offense heading into Week 1. Smart spoke about how his staff will evaluate the offense to measure their success against the Thundering Herd. “We have some really lofty goals. We go in and we say, okay, we got about 15, 20 goals up there that we look for. And if we hit those goals, then we usually play well. And if we don’t, then we usually didn’t, as run goals involved in that, third down conversion rate, red zone rate, yards per completion rate, turnover rate, I mean, penalty rate, there’s a lot that goes into that. So, I can’t simply say just win the game; there’s more to it than that.”<\/p>\n
Here are three things we will be watching for on Saturday:<\/p>\n
\n- How does the offense flow under Gunner Stockton?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe’ve seen him be “the guy” in the SEC Championship game and in the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. There is a spark and a fire to Stockton, but at the end of the day, we need points and touchdowns. The Georgia offense will need Stockton’s arm and legs to be successful.<\/li>\n- How is the running game, Bobo<\/a>?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe wrote about it earlier this season. The running game has to be effective. It is more than just Nate Frazier or Cash Jones. Georgia will need its new-look offensive line to step and open holes to provide Georgia with a presence.<\/li>\n- Where are the chunk and big plays?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGeorgia took its fair share of shot plays last year. Too often, though, passes were either dropped, and momentum was negated. Georgia will rely on some big transfers to make the receiving threat a viable threat again in 2025. Georgia grabbed two of the top receivers in the portal this winter:<\/p>\n\n- \n
Noah Thomas<\/a> (Texas A&M<\/a>) brings a massive 6-6 frame and is a red-zone threat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
Zachariah Branch<\/a> (USC) is pure explosiveness\u2014a returner who gives you electric speed, quickness, and big-play upside.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n![\"Georgia](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25102815_168400536_lowres-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nWhat Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Defense?<\/h3>\n
The Georgia defense was good last year. But they were not great. They failed to have a difference maker up front to disrupt and give their back seven the space and ability to make big plays. Smart took a few minutes to talk about the defensive line in his weekly press conference. He was not overly critical, but reading between the lines, he is calling for somebody or multiple folks to step up in a big way.<\/p>\n
“These guys, they’re going to war every day. I mean, who you are is on your tape. That’s your resume. It speaks for itself. We show our guys every day in the team meeting. This is who you are, cuz this is what you put on tape, especially at the defensive line and offensive line position.” Smart said. “So I don’t expect it to go out in the game and change all of a sudden. The guys with good characteristics, good habits in practice, it’ll show up that way in the game.”<\/p>\n
Here are three names to look out for on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\n- Christen Miller<\/a>
\n<\/strong>The Redshirt Junior from Cedargrove enters year four with Georgia. Miller played in 12 games with 10 starts, finishing the year with 27 tackles, 3.5 of them for a loss. He saved his best for the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, piling up a career-high five tackles along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.<\/li>\n- Jordan Hall
\n<\/strong><\/a>The Junior from Jacksonville, is one of the veterans for the Georgia defensive line. He has played more of a reserve role in each of the last two years, but should be ready to step up and leave his mark.
\n<\/strong><\/li>\n- Elijah Griffin<\/a>
\n<\/strong>One of the young pups. Griffin is a freshman from Savannah. Ranked the No. 2 player in the country, the top defensive lineman, and the No. 1 prospect in Georgia, he powered Savannah Christian to a 10-1 season and a trip to the GHSA Private quarterfinals. In just nine games, he racked up 53 tackles\u201440 solo\u2014along with 27 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWho wins Georgia vs. Marshall?<\/h3>\n
\nHistory:<\/strong> Georgia leads the series 1-0.
\nLast meeting:<\/strong> Georgia defeated Marshall 13-3 in Athens in 2004.
\nDate and Time:<\/strong> Saturday, August 30 | 3:30 p.m.<\/a>\u00a0EST
\nLocation:<\/strong>\u00a0Vince Dooley Field at Sandford Stadium.
\nTelevision:<\/strong> ESPN
\nSpread<\/a>:<\/strong> Georgia -39.5<\/div>\n
What Should You Know About Marshall?<\/h3>\nIt’s a brand new team. Marshall is the defending #FunBelt (Sun Belt) champion. Normally, this should make for a really fun game. Probably not so much this year. Marshall’s head coach, Charles Huff, left in the offseason to coach Southern Miss. He wasn’t fired, and Southern Miss wasn’t exactly an upgrade. The Golden Eagles were 1-11 last year. Huff and the Thundering Herd mutually parted ways. After the coaching change, the Thundering Herd saw 36 players enter the Transfer Portal, including Braylon Braxton, the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. Kirby Smart commented this week on how Georgia is preparing for Marshall and its large roster turnover.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a roster that when we write on the depth chart transfer, it’s three deep transfer, four deep transfer, all these spots, a lot of transfers. But that’s more and more evident all over. Probably the first games all over the country this weekend will be a lot of guys figuring out who’s in that spot, who’s in that spot. Nobody has a clue who’s in those spots. The fewer teams there are in the spotlight, the less you’ll know. But again, it’ll probably be more of an adjustment from the kickoff to the first quarter than most games, but it’ll also be about us.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSo while questions abound for Tony Gibson’s squad, the focus on Saturday will be on Georgia.<\/div>\nWhat Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Offense?<\/h3>\n
All eyes will be on the offense heading into Week 1. Smart spoke about how his staff will evaluate the offense to measure their success against the Thundering Herd. “We have some really lofty goals. We go in and we say, okay, we got about 15, 20 goals up there that we look for. And if we hit those goals, then we usually play well. And if we don’t, then we usually didn’t, as run goals involved in that, third down conversion rate, red zone rate, yards per completion rate, turnover rate, I mean, penalty rate, there’s a lot that goes into that. So, I can’t simply say just win the game; there’s more to it than that.”<\/p>\n
Here are three things we will be watching for on Saturday:<\/p>\n
\n- How does the offense flow under Gunner Stockton?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe’ve seen him be “the guy” in the SEC Championship game and in the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. There is a spark and a fire to Stockton, but at the end of the day, we need points and touchdowns. The Georgia offense will need Stockton’s arm and legs to be successful.<\/li>\n- How is the running game, Bobo<\/a>?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe wrote about it earlier this season. The running game has to be effective. It is more than just Nate Frazier or Cash Jones. Georgia will need its new-look offensive line to step and open holes to provide Georgia with a presence.<\/li>\n- Where are the chunk and big plays?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGeorgia took its fair share of shot plays last year. Too often, though, passes were either dropped, and momentum was negated. Georgia will rely on some big transfers to make the receiving threat a viable threat again in 2025. Georgia grabbed two of the top receivers in the portal this winter:<\/p>\n\n- \n
Noah Thomas<\/a> (Texas A&M<\/a>) brings a massive 6-6 frame and is a red-zone threat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
Zachariah Branch<\/a> (USC) is pure explosiveness\u2014a returner who gives you electric speed, quickness, and big-play upside.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPhoto Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nWhat Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Defense?<\/h3>\n
The Georgia defense was good last year. But they were not great. They failed to have a difference maker up front to disrupt and give their back seven the space and ability to make big plays. Smart took a few minutes to talk about the defensive line in his weekly press conference. He was not overly critical, but reading between the lines, he is calling for somebody or multiple folks to step up in a big way.<\/p>\n
“These guys, they’re going to war every day. I mean, who you are is on your tape. That’s your resume. It speaks for itself. We show our guys every day in the team meeting. This is who you are, cuz this is what you put on tape, especially at the defensive line and offensive line position.” Smart said. “So I don’t expect it to go out in the game and change all of a sudden. The guys with good characteristics, good habits in practice, it’ll show up that way in the game.”<\/p>\n
Here are three names to look out for on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\n- Christen Miller<\/a>
\n<\/strong>The Redshirt Junior from Cedargrove enters year four with Georgia. Miller played in 12 games with 10 starts, finishing the year with 27 tackles, 3.5 of them for a loss. He saved his best for the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, piling up a career-high five tackles along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.<\/li>\n- Jordan Hall
\n<\/strong><\/a>The Junior from Jacksonville, is one of the veterans for the Georgia defensive line. He has played more of a reserve role in each of the last two years, but should be ready to step up and leave his mark.
\n<\/strong><\/li>\n- Elijah Griffin<\/a>
\n<\/strong>One of the young pups. Griffin is a freshman from Savannah. Ranked the No. 2 player in the country, the top defensive lineman, and the No. 1 prospect in Georgia, he powered Savannah Christian to a 10-1 season and a trip to the GHSA Private quarterfinals. In just nine games, he racked up 53 tackles\u201440 solo\u2014along with 27 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWho wins Georgia vs. Marshall?<\/h3>\n
What Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Offense?<\/h3>\n
All eyes will be on the offense heading into Week 1. Smart spoke about how his staff will evaluate the offense to measure their success against the Thundering Herd. “We have some really lofty goals. We go in and we say, okay, we got about 15, 20 goals up there that we look for. And if we hit those goals, then we usually play well. And if we don’t, then we usually didn’t, as run goals involved in that, third down conversion rate, red zone rate, yards per completion rate, turnover rate, I mean, penalty rate, there’s a lot that goes into that. So, I can’t simply say just win the game; there’s more to it than that.”<\/p>\n
Here are three things we will be watching for on Saturday:<\/p>\n
- \n
- How does the offense flow under Gunner Stockton?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe’ve seen him be “the guy” in the SEC Championship game and in the Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. There is a spark and a fire to Stockton, but at the end of the day, we need points and touchdowns. The Georgia offense will need Stockton’s arm and legs to be successful.<\/li>\n- How is the running game, Bobo<\/a>?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWe wrote about it earlier this season. The running game has to be effective. It is more than just Nate Frazier or Cash Jones. Georgia will need its new-look offensive line to step and open holes to provide Georgia with a presence.<\/li>\n- Where are the chunk and big plays?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGeorgia took its fair share of shot plays last year. Too often, though, passes were either dropped, and momentum was negated. Georgia will rely on some big transfers to make the receiving threat a viable threat again in 2025. Georgia grabbed two of the top receivers in the portal this winter:<\/p>\n- \n
- \n
Noah Thomas<\/a> (Texas A&M<\/a>) brings a massive 6-6 frame and is a red-zone threat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Zachariah Branch<\/a> (USC) is pure explosiveness\u2014a returner who gives you electric speed, quickness, and big-play upside.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Photo Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \nWhat Should You Watch for on Georgia\u2019s Defense?<\/h3>\n
The Georgia defense was good last year. But they were not great. They failed to have a difference maker up front to disrupt and give their back seven the space and ability to make big plays. Smart took a few minutes to talk about the defensive line in his weekly press conference. He was not overly critical, but reading between the lines, he is calling for somebody or multiple folks to step up in a big way.<\/p>\n
“These guys, they’re going to war every day. I mean, who you are is on your tape. That’s your resume. It speaks for itself. We show our guys every day in the team meeting. This is who you are, cuz this is what you put on tape, especially at the defensive line and offensive line position.” Smart said. “So I don’t expect it to go out in the game and change all of a sudden. The guys with good characteristics, good habits in practice, it’ll show up that way in the game.”<\/p>\n
Here are three names to look out for on Saturday.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Christen Miller<\/a>
\n<\/strong>The Redshirt Junior from Cedargrove enters year four with Georgia. Miller played in 12 games with 10 starts, finishing the year with 27 tackles, 3.5 of them for a loss. He saved his best for the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, piling up a career-high five tackles along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.<\/li>\n- Jordan Hall
\n<\/strong><\/a>The Junior from Jacksonville, is one of the veterans for the Georgia defensive line. He has played more of a reserve role in each of the last two years, but should be ready to step up and leave his mark.
\n<\/strong><\/li>\n- Elijah Griffin<\/a>
\n<\/strong>One of the young pups. Griffin is a freshman from Savannah. Ranked the No. 2 player in the country, the top defensive lineman, and the No. 1 prospect in Georgia, he powered Savannah Christian to a 10-1 season and a trip to the GHSA Private quarterfinals. In just nine games, he racked up 53 tackles\u201440 solo\u2014along with 27 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWho wins Georgia vs. Marshall?<\/h3>\n
- Jordan Hall
- \n
- How is the running game, Bobo<\/a>?\u00a0<\/strong>