Dawg Talk

Of all the coaches in the SEC, Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason has a unique perspective when it comes to Saturday night’s game between No. 3 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame.

He’s recently played them both.

Last year, Vanderbilt traveled to South Bend and gave the Irish all they wanted, and more, before falling at the end 22-17.

The Commodores fell to Georgia in the season-opener three weeks ago 30-6, so Mason knows both teams well.

So, what does he think? I posed that question to Mason during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference.

“You’re talking two really good teams. From I’ve seen with Georgia, you’re talking athletic all across the board. I think as they go on, they’re just going to continue to get better with the talented group they have,” Mason said. “Obviously, they’ve changed coordinators on both sides of the ball, and I think first games are just about, you know, seeing exactly where you are. I think coming off our game, Georgia knows who they are, and I think they’ll continue to keep their engine rolling.”

Mason’s respect for Notre Dame is also high.

“You look at what Coach (Brian) Kelly is doing up at Notre Dame, those guys are playing good football,” he said. “They’re a football team that that doesn’t beat itself. They play smart, they’re good on defense, they’ve got some offensive weapons, and they find ways to win ball games.”

But will Notre Dame storm into Sanford Stadium Saturday and come away with the win?

Mason, whose friendship with Kirby Smart has been well-documented, isn’t sure about that.

“It’s going to be a good game in Athens. I think playing both teams, I think Georgia, to me, they’re probably a notch above,” Mason said. “But the reality is, the game is going to be won between the lines. It will be a good game in Athens. College football, you’re going to get a treat.”

Fans of both schools aren’t the only ones converging on Athens for this weekend’s game.

So is the media.

As of Wednesday, Georgia sports information director Claude Felton's office has issued in the neighborhood of between 460 and 470 credentials for the contest.

The school is still getting requests, most of which the school doesn’t have space to accommodate.

Although specific records are not kept, Felton said the number of requests he’s received for the Saturday compares to Alabama-Georgia in 2008, Georgia-LSU in 2013, and Georgia-Alabama in 2015.

Among the national media set to be in Athens will be writers from the New York Times, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, SEC Network, Sports Illustrated, and the Washington Post.

Want a close-up look at the 2019 National Championship Trophy?

Come Friday, and you’ll get your chance.

Between noon and 2:00 p.m. at the Walmart on 440 Atlanta Highway in Winder, the trophy will be on display. Fans will be able to view and have their pictures taken with the 24k gold trophy, which will be given to the champion after the title game in New Orleans to take place Jan. 13.

Athens, you’re not getting left out.

From 3-5:00 p.m. ET, the trophy moves to the Walmart on Epps-Bridge Parkway.

I’m 2-1 on my predictions after really going out on a limb last week.

Not this time.

Saturday night, the college football world—if they didn’t already know—gets introduced big-time to D’Andre Swift. He’s going to have a huge game.