Southern Jaguars vs. Georgia Bulldogs Complete Game Preview

The Georgia Bulldogs dominated the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, thanks to consistent play from Greyson Lambert, a strong outing from Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, and the defense being able to shut down the Gamecocks run game.

Now the Bulldogs move on to the Southern Jaguars and this will be the first time these two schools have met on the gridiron. The Jaguars play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and they have won their last two games. And Georgia head coach Mark Richt knows about how successful Southern has been in league play.

“Coach Dawson Odums does a great job with his team,” Richt said in his weekly press conference (via Georgiadogs.com). “A year ago, they had eight wins, 8-1 in league play, and they are 2-0 in league play today. They are scoring a bunch of points.”

As good as Southern is, the Bulldogs have more talent and more depth. This will be game where the Bulldogs hope to jump to a big lead, get the young players in the game and get ready for the rest of their SEC schedule.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26

Time: 12:01 p.m. EDT

Place: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network, Sirius/XM 158/191

Spread: N/A

When Southern Has the Ball

The Jaguars are off to a hot start offensively as they are averaging 38 points per game. They have balance offensively, throwing for 275 yards per game and rushing for 170 yards per contest.

Running back Lenard Tillery already has five touchdowns on the year and is averaging 95 rushing yards. Backup running back Malcolm Crockett already has two rushing touchdowns and is averaging 88 yards per game.

But the offense starts and ends with quarterback Austin Howard. The current SWAC Offensive Player of the Week is coming off a performance against Jackson State where he threw for 395 yards and scored two total touchdowns.

So the Bulldogs defense will have a challenge ahead of it. But it's off to a solid start as it's third in the conference in scoring defense and fourth in total defense. The unit notched three sacks in the win against the Gamecocks and Dominick Sanders notched his second interception in three games. Linebackers Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd already have a combined five sacks.

When Georgia Has the Ball

To say the Bulldogs had a strong outing against the Gamecocks last week would be an understatement. Lambert had the best night any quarterback could have as he completed 24 of his 25 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 20 straight passes, which is a school record, and his 96 percent completion rating is now an NCAA record.

Lambert also got help from Chubb and Michel. Chubb rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns while Michel had 51 rushing yards, 32 receiving yards and three total touchdowns. And the Bulldogs offensive line was also on point as it helped Georgia rush for 246 yards and did not allow Lambert to get sacked all night.

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[ESPN Video] Lambert throws 3 TDs to lead UGA past South Carolina: Greyson Lambert throws for 330 yards ... http://t.co/2fVHvEv1P7 #UGA

— Georgia Bulldogs (@BR_UGABulldogs) September 20, 2015"

Southern will look to disrupt the Bulldogs' high-powered offense by using a 4-3 front and six returning starters. Linebacker Kentavious Preston leads the team with 19 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Danny Johnson already has two interceptions and defensive lineman Daniel Brown leads the team with two sacks.

Player to Watch for Southern: QB Austin Howard

As it was mentioned earlier, Howard has been a big reason the Jaguars have been able to win two of their first three games. He only has two touchdown passes this season, but he is second in the SWAC in pass efficiency with 147.5, he’s second in completion percentage with 65.5 and he’s third in the conference with 640 passing yards.

The game against Jackson State is what could be his best performance yet, which could not have come at a better time with the team playing in its biggest game of the season.

“I thought it was the first time this season that he played a complete football game,” Odums said to Les East of the Advocate. “He managed the game the way it needed to be managed, and so he was able to move the ball up and down the field.”

With his athletic ability, he should be able to make some plays against a very athletic Georgia defense.

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Southern QB Austin Howard looks to put his team right in the thick of things in 2015 http://t.co/OkK8PDOBjj pic.twitter.com/JPSfjto5r0

— The SWAC (@theswac) August 21, 2015"

Player to Watch for Georgia: Jake Ganus

If there is one player for the Bulldogs who is making an impact but is not getting as much attention, it would have to be inside linebacker Jake Ganus.

The UAB transfer was all over the field in the South Carolina game as he led the team with seven tackles. So far this season, Ganus is fourth on the team with 16 tackles and he came up with a big interception in the Vanderbilt game two weeks ago.

"For a guy to come in on such short notice and play significant time and be able to get out there and make some calls, get people lined up and all that kind of thing, it is impressive,” Richt said. “He is a seasoned football player. I guess he led the team in tackles maybe the last two years at UAB, so it was not like he was a mystery as far as a football player. He has done very well. Glad we got him"

Ganus is already sitting on cloud nine as he got engaged to his girlfriend after the South Carolina game. So it’s safe to say Ganus is having a lot of fun in Athens right now.

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Well, that's one way to celebrate a big victory... pic.twitter.com/GpjOdaypob

— ESPN (@espn) September 20, 2015"

Final Prediction: Georgia 45, Southern 7

Georgia is coming off its best performance of the season. It was able to run the ball well, throw the ball downfield and limit the Gamecocks offensively. It looks to continue that trend on Saturday and get some young players in the game as well.

Southern is no slouch of a team, though, as it is the No. 1 offense in the SWAC. However, the Bulldogs are stronger, faster and deeper in talent, and the Jaguars will get a rude awakening as soon as Chubb and Jenkins hit the field.

Georgia will want to get off to a fast start and finish even faster so it can get out the game healthy and get ready for Alabama next week.