Carson Beck debuts as Georgia’s starting quarterback on Saturday when the No. 1 Bulldogs open defense of their latest national championship on their home field in Athens against Tennessee-Martin.

Beck, officially named the starter by coach Kirby Smart on Aug. 19, handled every test the coaching staff put in front of him since Stetson Bennett’s storybook stay at Georgia ended with the second of the program’s back-to-back national titles in January.

“Carson is very knowledgeable, very intelligent,” Smart said of the promotion. “One of the smartest quarterbacks I’ve been around.

“He did the best job.”

Beck said last month he “was just not ready” to be the No. 1 quarterback when Bennett jumped him on the depth chart just before the opener in 2021. Smart asked Beck to share with the entire locker room his experience, which the coach described as a “missed opportunity.” But Smart said the end result to date is that Beck learned how to prepare, and he is ready for the moment this time around. The junior threw for 310 yards with four TD passes in 2022.

“He’s different, the players really enjoy him, they rally around him,” Smart said. “He has a way with the skill players, calm, cool and collected, and poised in the pocket. People point to the fact he hasn’t done it in a game, but around here we value practice, and a lot of times the practice is more valuable than the game in terms of who you are going against.”

Smart doesn’t want most of the roster to revisit the past, or put any weight into the narrative of being a team chasing a three-peat as back-to-back defending champs without a loss in the Southeastern Conference regular season over the past two years.

In addition to Bennett, the Bulldogs have a bevy of key players now playing their craft professionally. Among the All-SEC honorees Smart had to replace on the depth chart are top-10 pick Jalen Carter (Philadelphia Eagles) and two other first-round picks in offensive tackle Broderick Jones (Steelers) and linebacker Nolan Smith (Eagles).

UT-Martin (0-0) went to Tennessee last season and lost 65-24 but the FCS power has “the football character to compete,” said coach Jason Simpson, whose son, Ty, spent the summer competing to be the starting quarterback for Alabama.

“I’m waiting for these guys to say something about being picked third,” Simpson said of his team in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference poll, which now includes the Big South.

The Skyhawks have won consecutive OVC titles. Like Smart, Simpson spent the summer reminding his team that 2021 and 2022 hardware means noting in 2023.

Simpson doesn’t have the benefit of the top-ranked recruiting class in the country to lean on when attempting to replace 14 All-OVC players from the 2022 roster. He does have a defense that is expected to rate near the top of the OVC-Big South, led by defensive end Daylan Dotson, defensive tackles Giovanni Davis and Jay Rogers, safety Carson Evans and linebacker Tevin Shipp.

Kinkead Dent, an Ole Miss transfer, takes over at quarterback in a backfield that returns 2022 OVC Freshman of the Year Sam Franklin.

“The biggest challenge is getting the new players caught up to speed to play winning football,” Simpson said. “It all hits at different spots and it will all come together at some point, but you just wish you could speed it up.”

–Field Level Media

Sam Hartman makes his Notre Dame debut in Ireland as the No. 13 Fighting Irish take the fight to Navy.

The Midshipmen bring a new coach and mindset to Dublin, promising to stretch beyond the throwback option offense and use athletes in new ways.

Notre Dame has won the two meetings between programs in Ireland, 54-27 in 1996 and 50-10 in 2012.

This game was rescheduled from its original date in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

–Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET
–Television: NBC
–Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
–Point Spread: Notre Dame (-20.5)

QUICK PICK
Some novelty travels with Navy across the pond to Ireland with a new head coach and offensive coordinator promising to expand beyond the triple-option base to push the ball downfield. But the element of surprise is lost when an opponent has the entire offseason to prep and study tendencies of the coaching staff and personnel.

Notre Dame calibrated the offense with Hartman at the controls following his record-setting career at Wake Forest. One of the best offensive line groups in the nation could make life easy for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame was an 18.5-point favorite when the game opened at Circa and has risen to 20.5 points.

Our Pick: Notre Dame 41, Navy 16

THE NEWS
Following a 9-4 season in his first as head coach at Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman went out and found a pillar at the quarterback spot.

Hartman arrives with great fanfare after setting the ACC record with 110 touchdown passes and two bowl wins at Wake Forest in three seasons as their starting quarterback. The 24-year-old represents the stabilizer Freeman said he needed.

“There’s no substitution for experience. None,” Freeman said. “I don’t care if you’re the head coach or the quarterback. That’s what gives me confidence in Sam Hartman. There’s nothing that’s going to be able to make him too high or too low. He’s thrown interceptions. He’s made bad decisions. He’s made great plays and long touchdown throws. He knows what to expect. That’s the No. 1 thing he brings, but he also makes those guys around him better.”

A deep stable of running backs and a prospect-laden offense line might make Hartman’s evening easier (the game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. local time).

Not knowing exactly what to expect from the offense brings a new wrinkle for the Fighting Irish defense.

First-year head coach Brian Newberry wants Navy to feature the disciplined and methodical approach the program is known for historically, but understands the need to stretch defenses and achieve better balance.

The Midshipmen spent part of spring practice working exclusively on shotgun looks that can be used for run or pass plays and even employed multiple-receiver packages. This might not get spread offense devotees excited, but Newberry believes the changes are for the better.

“We want to get off to a fast start,” Newberry said. “It’s hard to simulate what we do in practice. It’s hard enough to simulate what we do schematically, it’s even harder to simulate the speed at which we do it.”

THEY SAID IT
“It’s a very important game for us to show what we’re about. A new team, a new offense, the mentality that we have, and come out not scared of anybody. Respect ‘em, but not scared to play anybody, and I think it’s going to be a really fun game to be a part of and to watch.”
— Navy QB Tai Lavatai

KEY STAT
Notre Dame’s No. 1 wide receiver Tobias Merriweather had one reception last season. Navy’s leading returning receiver, captain Jayden Umbarger, had 16 catches in 2022.

PROP PICK
The market projects a Notre Dame win and plenty of points. And if the plot plays out as bookmakers anticipate, Navy will find itself in the uncomfortable position of using triple-option personnel to executive repeated forward pass plays.

Enter Notre Dame’s ballhawking secondary, perched behind a strong pass rush, and we’re taking the Fighting Irish defense to score a TD (+420) as our prop of the game.

–Field Level Media