Scouting the opponent: East Tennessee State

Having faced Virginia, the Bulldogs play five days later against FCS opponent East Tennessee State, in what will be the first meeting between the two schools.

The Bucs, who are coming off a 3-9 campaign, will be a warm-up for Georgia's huge game the following week at Alabama.

For more on East Tennessee State:

Versus Georgia: Sept. 12 at Sanford Stadium

Head coach: Randy Sanders

2019 Record: 3-9

Head coach Randy Sanders is no stranger to Georgia fans.

Entering his third season as head coach of the Bucs, Sanders coached for 17 years at his alma mater Tennessee, before a successful stint as the offensive coordinator at Florida State. He helped Jameis Winston win the Heisman Trophy in 2013, the same year the Seminoles won the National Championship.

In his very first year at ETSU in 2018, Sanders coached the Bucs to an 8-4 record and a share of the Southern Conference title, before falling back to 3-9 last year.

ETSU is no stranger to SEC teams, although it hasn't had much luck.

The Bucs fell to Tennessee 58-3 in 2018 before they were shut out by Vanderbilt 38-0 last year in Nashville. This year's game against the Bulldogs is the next in a line of challeges against FBS opponents, followed by Vanderbilt in 2021, North Carolina in 2022, and Appalachian State in 2024.

Offensively, Sanders hopes his Bucs will be able turn it up a notch from a season ago.

ETSU managed just 335 yards and 20 points per game last year, but despite such totals, were actually competitive in most of the games they played. Of their nine losses, two took place in overtime (VMI and Western Carolina), with four of the remaining seven were lost by seven points or fewer.

Defensively, the Bucs gave up 26.2 points per game, but as indicated by losses of 42-7 to Appalachian State and 38-0 to Vanderbilt, those numbers increased drastically when the team stepped out of FCS competition.

1. The Bucs are led by redshirt junior running back Quay Holmes. A second-team member of the All-Southern Conference team, the 6-foot-1, 216-pounder rushed 206 times for 1,143 yards, including a school-record 255-yard effort against Mercer. Holmes played his high school ball at McEachern.

2. Quarterback Trey Mitchell started 11 of ETSU's 12 games last year, completing 148 of 265 passes for 1,616 yards and 11 touchdowns in what was his first collegiate action. Mitchell is a native of Knoxville.

3. With the graduation of defensive back Artevius Smith and his five interceptions, ETSU's returning defense enters the season with a combined two picks last year.

4. Senior linebacker Zac Yancy is ETSU's top-returning tackler, finishing with 69 tackles last year, including 5.5 for losses of 17 yards. He also finished with five quarterback hurries, second-most on the team.

5. Georgia's special assistant to Kirby Smart, former Bulldog quarterback Mike Cavan, served as the head coach at East Tennessee from 1992-1996, posting a record of 30-27, including a 10-3 mark his final year.