Appalachian State vs. Georgia 2017 final score: Bulldogs lose Eason, win game

The Georgia Bulldogs opened the 2017-18 season with a 31-10 victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers in an all-around dominating performance.

However, the Bulldogs lost starting quarterback Jacob Eason on the third drive of the game with what was called a “sprained knee” by head coach Kirby Smart.

Ignoring the fact that it was a blatantly dirty hit from Appalachian State, it’s good that Eason seems to have avoided serious injury.

Jake Fromm relieved Eason, and was fairly good, going 10-15 for 143 yards one touchdown.

The real story of the afternoon though, was Georgia’s rushing attack. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel had pretty similar days, as Chubb rushed 15 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while Michel rushed 16 times for 87 yards and one score. We knew the Bulldogs would have a lethal two-headed monster at running back, but if they can get five-plus yards per carry from both players on a regular basis, they’re going to be incredibly hard to stop.

The other story was Georgia’s defense.

It’s hardly surprising that a defense that returned 10 of 11 players looked so good, but the Bulldogs took it to another level, allowing just 136 rushing yards and 148 passing yards. Defensive tackle Trenton Thompson led the way with six tackles, two of which came for a loss.

The Bulldogs will spend the week anxiously awaiting an update on Eason, but with a fairly tough matchup at Notre Dame on the ledger for next week, Smart and the Bulldogs might elect to go with Fromm instead of a less than 100% Eason. It will be an interesting week in Athens, to say the least.