First Half Open Thread: Putting the echoes to bed.

Reports are that there may be as many Bulldog fans in South Bend tonight as Fighting Irish partisans. Is this indicative of the relative importance of the game to each fan base? Probably not. Is it indicative of the level of motivation each team will bring onto the field? Certainly not.

But if asked to hazard a guess, I would say that we will see a charged up Georgia football team coming out in a few moments ready to prove that it belongs on the national stage. Will that translate into the type of execution necessary to win a football game like this on the road? Frankly, I have no idea.

Jake Fromm is not ready to start his football game. That is no slight against him. The truth is no true freshman quarterback is ready to start this kind of game two weeks into his collegiate career.

The task for Jim Chaney will be to call a game that keeps Fromm engaged enough to stay sharp and keep the Irish off balance, and in the background enough that he's not counted on to win the game single-handedly, nor believes that he has to.

Defensively, Georgia will be contending with a big boy rushing attack behind massive big boys up front. I think Georgia’s front seven is good. We are about to find out if they are great.

Sure, Notre Dame is a team coming off a 4-8 season, and which hasn't done much of anything on the national stage in five years. But the mystique of South Bend still counts for something in the eyes of the national football viewing public. If you are Kirby Smart and you want to prove that you are building a powerhouse in Athens, a win in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus would be a good way of demonstrating it. Let's do it.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!