ATLANTA — Senior Greyson Lambert started it and finished it.
But in between, freshman quarterback Jacob Eason, junior running back Nick Chubb, and several other underclassmen showed that the future of the Georgia Bulldogs will rest quite comfortably in their hands.
Eason and Chubb rallied Georgia from a 24-14 deficit with 19 unanswered points over the final 21 minutes to knock off North Carolina 33-24 Saturday in both teams’ season opener at the Georgia Dome in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.
Eason threw for 131 yards and one touchdown and Chubb pounded out 222 yards on 32 carries, including a 55-yard blast late in the game to seal the win. For Chubb, it was a moment he had been waiting nearly a year for.
“Just being back out here with my teammates was an amazing feeling,” Chubb said. “I felt good the whole game.”
Talk during the week leading up to the game was would the Georgia coaches be the ones to put the breaks on Chubb as much as the Tar Heels defense would try to do.
“I guess there wasn’t a pitch count on him,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart joked with the media afterwards. “Nick is just a special person and he worked his tail off to get back and he did a great job. But the line did a great job and the receivers blocked their tails off as well. It was a team effort.”
Lambert started the game and led the Dogs (1-0) to their first score on their second drive and he handed off to Chubb on the big run late and took the final snap of the game.
But it was the vibe Eason brought in with him that changed the momentum in the third quarter after North Carolina (0-1) had erased a 14-7 Georgia lead.
TJ Logan opened the second half with an electrifying 95-yard kickoff return and then added a 21-yard scamper on the Tar Heels next possession to help them grab a 24-14 lead with 6:34 left in the third quarter.
A hush fell over the Georgia crowd that dominated the Georgia Dome and you could almost see the thoughts of ‘we’ve seen this before.’
“I’m sure there were a lot of doubters and ‘here we go people’ out there when they got up 10 on us,” Smart said. “But we practice adversity with these guys. There wasn’t any panic on the sideline. They showed just what a resilient bunch they are. I was proud of them.”
On the ensuing drive Eason, taking over for Lambert, connected with Michael Chigbu on a crucial third-down to move the chains and then induced a pair of North Carolina pass interference calls on third down with deep balls just looking for a play. Eason helped cap the drive two plays later executing a jet sweep for 17 yards to Isaiah McKenzie for a touchdown to pull the Dogs within 24-21.
The defense took the cue and forced a safety on the Tar Heels next possession to climb within 24-23. Two possessions later Eason dropped a perfect pass to McKenzie for 51 yards down the right sideline to the UNC 16 to set up William Ham’s 29-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the game to reclaim the lead, 26-24.
The comeback was complete.
“I’ve been in this (the Georgia Dome) a bunch and (after the safety) I think that is the loudest I’ve ever heard it in here,” Smart said. “That was a big moment and it changed the momentum of the game.”
When asked, Smart said despite the positive things Eason brought to the field he was not ready to discuss a possible starter for next week’s home opener against Nichols State at Sanford Stadium.
“There’s no plan right now. We’ll look at the tape this week and try and figure things out,” he said. “But I thought both kids competed hard. They both have positives and negatives. Only time will tell.”
Following Ham’s field goal, and after a quick three-and-out by the Georgia defense, Chubb nailed the win shut with his blast through the line and sprint down the right sideline just outdistancing a Tar Heels defender to the pylon.
“It’s always great to score but that play I think did it,” Chubb said. “It was a great call by the coaches.”
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said Chubb was everything they expected and more.
“He’s really good,” Fedora said. “We were in an all-out blitz (on the 55-yard TD run) and we just didn’t fit it well. They outnumbered us and we had a couple of guys that had opportunities to make a tackle and didn’t get it. But we won’t be the only ones that don’t make a tackle on that guy.”
The Tar Heels got one last chance to cut into the lead starting at its own 22 with 3:29 left and moved to the Georgia 29 with 1:05 remaining but a Mitch Trubisky pass fell incomplete and Lambert came out to take a knee to push his record 11-2 as a starter for the Dogs.
“Our goal was to help our players to understand how to play Georgia football,” Smart said. “It wasn't perfect but I was proud of how they competed and didn’t quit.”
Freshman Brian Herrien looked eerily like Chubb when he was a freshman spelling Todd Gurley. Herrien was quick and tough to bring down and finished the game with 59 yards on seven carries, including a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to break a 7-7 tie.
Georgia put a lot of its youth on display with six first-time starters, including former Rabun County standout and true freshman Charlie Woerner. Woerner caught his first collegiate pass for 1-yard but was used primarily as a blocker.
Former Buford standout Isaac Nauta, also a true freshman, played much of the first half and was targeted once but dropped the pass that would have given the Dogs a first down.
Lambert finished 5-of-8 for 54 yards and was sacked three times. Eason was sacked once.
Trubisky was 24-of-40 for 156 yards and the Georgia defense showed some toughness in the run game holding down touted running back Elijah Hood to just 76 yards on 10 carries and no touchdowns. They held the Tar Heels to just 164 yards rushing for the game.
SCORING SUMMARY
Georgia.........7......7.....9.....10 -- 33
N. Carolina....0....10....14......0 -- 24
First Quarter
G -- Chubb 2 run (Ham kick) 7-0, 4:40
Second Quarter
N -- Trubisky 1 run (Weiler kick) 7-7, 8:37
G -- Herrien 19 run (Ham kick) 14-7, 6:22
N -- Weiler 22 FG 14-10, 0:11
Third Quarter
N -- Logan 95 kickoff return (Weiler kick) 17-14, 14:46
N -- Logan 21 run (Weiler kick) 24-14, 6:34
G -- McKenzie 17 pass from Eason (Ham kick) 24-21, 1:19
G -- Safety 24-23, 0:48
Fourth Quarter
G -- Ham 29 FG 26-24, 5:27
G -- Chubb 55 run (Ham kick) 33-24, 3:34
