WHERE: Sanford Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 1-0, Samford 1-0

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Alyssa Lang) Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, D.J. Shockley); Sirius/XM (158 or 191)

After throttling Oregon last week in Mercedes-Benz, the Bulldogs play their first game inside Sanford Stadium since winning last year’s national crown.

It promises to be quite the ovation for Kirby Smart’s squad, which will then go about the business of dismantling FCS Samford before next week’s SEC opener at South Carolina.

In the Smart era, Georgia is 31-4 at home, including 29-1 since 2017. The team’s .886 winning percentage at home under Smart is the best in school history.

As for today’s contest, there’s some nostalgia for Smart, as Samford is coached by Chris Hatcher, who gave him his first coaching job at Valdosta State in 2000. Smart later became the Blazers’ defensive coordinator after Will Muschamp became the linebackers coach at LSU.

Smart and Georgia are 1-0 against Samford, winning 42-14 in 2017.

RB Andrew Paul – ACL, out for the year

WR Arian Smith – Ankle, expected be out for the year

S Christopher Smith – Shoulder stinger, expected to play

CB Nyland Green – Hamstring, not expected to play

OL Earnest Greene - Hamstring, expected to play

S Tykee Smith - Knee, expected to play

Offense

QB Stetson Bennett—Threw for a career-high 386 yards with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) against Oregon. Look for the senior to have another huge day.

RB Kenny McIntosh—Led Georgia with nine catches for 117 yards last week

RB Kendall Milton – Off to a great start after rushing for a team-high 50 yards with two touchdowns—one rushing and one receiving.

RB Daijun Edwards—Only carried the ball four time for 24 yards last week. Both totals should rise Saturday.

TE Brock Bowers—“Only” caught two passes for 38 yards, but that was largely due to the fact Georgia has no shortage of offensive weapons. Don’t worry, however; those numbers will expand on Saturday.

TE Darnell Washington—Better stamina allowed him to take 35 reps against Oregon. His hurdle of a hapless Duck defender after making a catch was one of last week’s highlights.

WR AD Mitchell—Had a fine first game, catching four passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.

WR Ladd McConkey—Had five catches for 73 yards and a score. Also rushed twice for 16 yards and another touchdown.

LT Broderick Jones—Finally reaching his potential.

RT Warren McClendon—Underrated by some, many believe McClendon is the best offensive lineman on the team. Showed his versatility by playing both right and left tackle against Oregon.

C Sedrick Van Pran—Quarterback of the offensive line is becoming one of the best at the position in the SEC. Laid out some devastating blocks against Oregon.

Defense

DT Jalen Carter—Only had two tackles against Oregon but spent all afternoon shoving Oregon’s offensive linemen backwards.

DE Mykel Williams—We knew Williams was going to see extensive reps, but it did qualify as a surprise when he earned last week’s start.

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson—Played a solid first game, finishing with three tackles.

LB Smael Mondon—Saw extensive action. There were times when he lined up incorrectly, but those are correctable mistakes.

OLB Nolan Smith—Didn’t play as much as you would think, but that was largely due to the score being what it was. Still led the team with three quarterback pressures.

CB Kelee Ringo—Sophomore cornerback is one of the best in the league.

CB Kamari Lassiter—Was flagged by an official for a questionable unsportsmanlike penalty after making a hard tackle. Otherwise, his first career start was a successful one.

S Christopher Smith—Veteran is the eyes and ears of the secondary. Picked off a pass against Oregon, almost taking it to the house.

S Malaki Starks—Freshman played an amazing game, leading Georgia with eight tackles and intercepted his first career pass.

Clean up the “WTF” moments: Last week’s score was certainly impressive but there was plenty, especially on defense, that went wrong for Smart and his assistants to focus on. Players lining up wrong was an issues, especially at linebacker. While the Bulldogs were able to largely make up for those mistakes with effort and hustle, problems with alignment need cleaning up now before beginning SEC play next week.

Stay healthy: With the exception of some bumps and bruises, the Bulldogs came away unscathed last week. This will obviously be a weekly key, but it’s certainly something that certainly needs to continue before heading to Columbia next week.

Keep the main thing the main thing: Samford won’t necessarily be intimidated coming to Sanford Stadium, as the FCS Bulldogs are used to playing Power 5 schools. Nevertheless, this is a game Georgia should win easily. To do that, the Bulldogs simply need to come out focused. It’s hard to imagine a Kirby Smart-coached team not doing that, but let’s see it. The Bulldogs talk all the time about playing to a standard. Saturday is the perfect opportunity to do so.

… After a heated QB battle in spring and fall camp, Michael Hiers got the starting nod against No. 8 Kennesaw State and then proceeded to light up the scoreboard by passing for four touchdowns, which is tied for the most touchdowns by a Samford QB in his first start under head coach Chris Hatcher. Graduate wide receiver Kendall Williams caught two of those touchdowns and had a career night by hauling in nine passes for 187 yards and the two scores.

… Through his first seven seasons, Hatcher’s offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the season, Hatcher's teams have averaged 34.7 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. Terry Bowden (1987-1992) averaged 27.92 points per game during his tenure while Bill Gray (2001-06 / 25.68) and Pat Sullivan (2007-14 / 25.50) round out the top five.

… Samford has an all-time record of 2-79-3 against the current members of the Southeastern Conference. Samford has played an SEC team in nine of the last 11 fall seasons but has not defeated a team from the SEC since 1934 (Ole Miss).

Let’s just cut to the chase. This is a game that Georgia will win easily. No offense to Samford, but there’s simply not a lot the Birmingham Bulldogs are going to be able to do to compete with Georgia, assuming Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are ready to play. They will be. Prediction: Georgia 55, Samford 7