No. 3 Georgia looks to keep rolling against Middle Tennessee

Published

Middle Tennessee (1-1) at No. 3 Georgia (2-0), noon ET (ESPNews)

Line: Georgia by 32½.

Series Record: Georgia leads 1-0.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

Georgia will be looking to avoid a letdown and continue its strong start following lopsided wins over Austin Peay and South Carolina. Middle Tennessee, working on a stretch of three straight bowl seasons, will try again for an upset of a SEC team after opening with a 35-7 loss to Vanderbilt. The Blue Raiders of Conference USA will be trying to end a 0-15 drought against ranked opponents, but they have five wins over Power 5 opponents under coach Rick Stockstill, including over Syracuse in 2017 and Missouri in 2016.

KEY MATCHUP

Middle Tennessee QB Brent Stockstill vs. Georgia secondary. Stockstill, the coach's son, leads a fast-paced offense that ran 94 plays in last week's 61-37 win over UT Martin. Stockstill will look for quick passes and matchup advantages to compensate for Georgia's advantage in speed and talent.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Middle Tennessee: Sophomore WR Brad Anderson, who spent most of his 2017 freshman season at running back, leads the Blue Raiders with 11 catches for 178 yards, including a career-high 141 yards last week.

Georgia: Freshman LT Cade Mays could make his first start as Andrew Thomas may be held out with a left ankle sprain. Mays took over for Thomas in the third quarter of last week's win over South Carolina, when the Bulldogs put the game away with three straight touchdown drives.

FACTS & FIGURES

The kickoff time was changed from 7:15 p.m. due to concerns about Hurricane Florence. ... Georgia was ranked No. 8 when it beat the Blue Raiders 29-10 in 2003 in the only previous meeting between the teams. ... The Blue Raiders have 17 scholarship players from the state of Georgia — almost matching their 20 from Tennessee. ... Brent Stockstill has thrown TD passes in 25 consecutive games, the second-longest streak nationally behind 30 by Penn State's Trace McSorley. ... Georgia has had 13 players catch passes in its first two games. ... The Bulldogs begin a stretch of seven straight games against Southeastern Conference opponents with next week's visit to Missouri.