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Hello, world: Georgia RB Nick Chubb with chance for spotlight in Belk Bowl
By Jordan Cox
Published:
A strong Belk Bowl performance against Louisville would vault true freshman Georgia running back Nick Chubb into the national spotlight and, perhaps, make him an early Heisman favorite in 2015.
He had shining moments early in the season, but Chubb became a household name in the SEC in mid-October against Missouri.
He followed up his 143-yard performance against the Tigers with a 202-yard outburst against Arkansas. Chubb led the Bulldogs in rushing in 2014 racking up 1,281 yards in seven games as a starter. After he took over the starting role from the suspended — then injured — Todd Gurley, Chubb’s lowest rushing effort was 113 yards in a scrimmage against Charleston Southern.
Chubb need not be told, but he faces a much stiffer test against Louisville on Tuesday evening in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.
Todd Grantham’s defense ranks third in the FBS in rushing defense, allowing a modest 93.7 yards per game. The former Georgia defensive coordinator turned things around quickly at Louisville, though the Cardinals were stout up front prior to Grantham’s arrival this past offseason.
Related: Nick Chubb will be X-factor in Belk Bowl showdown with Louisville
Statistically, Louisville is worse against the run this season than in 2013. The Cardinals allowed just 80.7 rushing yards per game last season.
It’s strength against strength between the Bulldogs and Cardinals.
Grantham’s defense hasn’t faced a back as talented as Chubb this season, except for maybe Miami’s Duke Johnson. Louisville allowed just 90 yards to the Hurricanes’ talented back.
Chubb has registed performances of 143, 202, 156, 170, 144, 113 and 129 yards this season. Three times has the true freshman averaged 10 yards per carry or better, and he averaged nearly seven yards per carry this season.
In SEC play, Florida and Missouri were the best defensive fronts Chubb faced, an he torched both. Louisville is at another level, however.
The Cardinals allowed a 100-yard rusher in just five games, with two of its three losses coming in those five games. A 100-yard effort against Grantham’s defense would cement Chubb as a star, not only in the SEC, but across the country.
The Cedartown, Ga., native is powerful and runs with a low center of gravity, yet he’s fast enough to get to the outside. The front seven is Louisville’s strength, but if Chubb can get to the second level, the 5-foot-10, 228-pound back will give the Cardinals fits.
Chubb has already gotten college football fans reaching for his potential in Athens. If he caps his season with an exclamation point against one of college football’s best rushing defenses, his season could become that of folk lore.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
