Nick Chubb's Picture-Perfect Return Reminds Nation Why UGA Is Contender to Watch

ATLANTA — "Chubb watch" is officially over, and we can all get back to a college football pastime that is much more enjoyable.

Watching Georgia running back Nick Chubb do what he does best: terrorize opposing defenses. 

The junior was back to his old ways in Georgia's 33-24 win over North Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome on Saturday night. He notched 32 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns—including a 55-yarder with 3:34 to play that sealed the deal for head coach Kirby Smart in his first game as the Bulldogs' head coach.

"Nick Chubb is a special person," Smart said. "He's got great humility, a great family and he works so hard. Not many of you know what this guy went through, when he's going out and doing extra taekwondo at night and early mornings. There's a reason why he's in the shape he's in, and it's because of the way he works."

That work in the summer allowed Smart to feed his star running back all game long, which was critical in a game in which star freshman quarterback Jacob Eason came in as a reserve against a tough opponent. The last thing Smart and the Bulldogs needed was their young signal-caller being forced into playing point-a-minute football with the Tar Heels, and Chubb's fourth career 30-carry game prevented that.

"I didn't know where I was at—carries or yards," Chubb said. "It doesn't matter to me. If the team calls on me, I know the whole team's behind me."

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That's a far cry from where Chubb was last October. 

Eleven months ago, he entered uncharted waters.

On the first play from scrimmage against Tennessee, he tore ligaments in his knee and derailed what looked to be a Heisman Trophy-caliber season that included 100-yard performances in each of Georgia's first five games.

"I was injured; it was bad. I've never been in that position. I was down in a lot of pain," Chubb said. "I could have done two things: laid down there and never gotten up, or do what I did, which is push myself."

Push himself, he did.

Chubb's return to pre-injury form should scare the daylights out of the rest of the country, because it signifies Georgia is not only a contender in an SEC East that has looked less than stellar through one week, but also a contender for bigger, better things.

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Who will slow Georgia down?

Tennessee looked atrocious in its overtime win over Appalachian State on Thursday night, South Carolina and Missouri don't have any offense to speak of, Vanderbilt already has a conference loss, Kentucky lost to Southern Miss and Florida got tested more than it wanted by UMass.

Georgia's defense held a veteran North Carolina offense to just 315 total yards and 5.34 yards per play. The Tar Heels averaged 486.9 yards per game and 7.28 yards per play a year ago en route to the ACC Coastal title.

With a win over a quality Power Five opponent in its pocket, Georgia's confidence can and should build.

"We're going to be better when we go play at some of the places we've got to play in the SEC because we played a really good football team, and you need to give those guys credit," Smart said. "[Head coach] Larry Fedora does a good job. The've got a good football team, and that's going to help us in the long run by giving us good competition."

How do you win consistently in college football?

You run the ball, and you play defense.

Georgia did just that despite questions facing both aspects of that old cliche heading into the season.

Are there quarterback issues?

Sure. 

But there are far worse problems to have. After all, Eason still completed eight of his 12 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, including a pretty 51-yard bomb to Isaiah McKenzie in the fourth quarter that led to the go-ahead field goal.

With Chubb back and a defense that has proved it can be one of the best, Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney can bring Eason along slowly. 

The catalyst for that is the star running back, who seemed to have enough tread left on the tires to run for a couple of miles after rolling over, around and through the Tar Heels for 60 minutes.

"Somebody asked me if he was on a 'pitch count,'" Smart joked after the game. "I guess not."

That sound you hear is the rest of the country shaking.

Quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Odds provided by OddsShark.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.