I don’t know how familiar Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason is with New York Yankees history, but he’s playing the role of Wally Pipp.

While it may be premature to cast Jake Fromm as Lou Gehrig, he was instrumental in the Bulldogs’ 31-3 blowout Saturday of Mississippi State. The true freshman QB was 9-of-12 for 201 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

As the story goes, Pipp was a solid first baseman for the Yankees after being purchased from the Detroit Lions in 1915. At one time or another, he led the American League in home runs and triples. But he sat out a game in 1925 due to a headache, opening the door for Gehrig to get the start after having only played sparingly the previous two seasons.

Gehrig set a record by starting the next 2,130 straight for New York. By 1926, Pipp was a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Eason arrived in Athens this past season as a 5-star recruit with a high enough ceiling to be considered for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds with a missile launcher for an arm, he was the prototype.

However, even after taking over for incumbent Greyson Lambert midway through Week 1 of the 2016 campaign, Eason’s freshman year had more valleys than peaks. He was a 55.1-percent passer with a TD-to-INT ratio of 16-to-8, which certainly isn’t bad for a kid straight out of high school, especially with a mediocre supporting cast.

The thought was that an improved running game, better blocking and more reliable receivers would bring out the best in Eason.

Fromm may have been a 4-star signee, but the 6-foot-2, 229-pounder didn’t have near the fanfare of Eason the previous recruiting cycle. Nevertheless, it was Fromm who outshined Eason in the G-Day Game from start to finish in April.

Eason kept the starting job in fall camp, although he was less than sharp in the opener against Appalachian State. Just 1-of-3 for 4 yards, he left what was a scoreless game at the time with a knee injury. Just like the season before, the ground assault wasn’t dominant. The protection was less than ideal. Wideouts weren’t getting separation.

Fromm may have been a 4-star signee, but the 6-foot-2, 229-pounder didn't have near the fanfare of Eason the previous recruiting cycle.

Then Fromm entered the huddle. Everything changed. UGA went on to take care of the Mountaineers in comfortable fashion 31-10.

It’s not like Fromm set the world afire in his first collegiate action, yet he was an efficient 10-of-15 passing for 143 yards with a score and no picks. The offense got into a rhythm, which had been rare with Eason at the controls.

With Eason sidelined, Fromm outlasted Notre Dame on the road in Week 2 and smoked Samford at home in Week 3 before Mississippi State made its presence between the hedges. Its own signal caller, Nick Fitzgerald, was generating serious Heisman Trophy speculation with the red-hot way he’d started the season both as a passer and a rusher.

Nevertheless, Fitzgerald was completely ineffective with only 83 yards passing, just 47 rushing and a pair of interceptions.

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, Fromm (above) ran the offense beautifully and didn’t throw a single incompletion in the first half as the Dawgs built a 14-3 lead. With their signal caller playing mistake-free football, they ran it well and displayed suffocating defense.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is now 4-0 and has a decision to make at the game’s most important position. On the one hand, Eason was the original starter and perhaps shouldn’t lose his spot atop the depth chart because of an injury. Conversely, Fromm is more productive than Eason has ever been wearing that red-and-black uniform.

Georgia is on its way to Atlanta, and Fromm is in the driver's seat. Smart would be a fool to hand the keys back to Eason now.

It shouldn’t take long for Smart to make up his mind. He has to ride it out with Fromm and deal with the Eason fallout later.

It’s 2017, and players transfer in and out of programs more than ever before — especially field generals since only one of them can play at a time. Keeping Eason on the bench certainly opens up the door for him to leave the Bulldogs at season’s end.

But if Fromm proves to be the real deal in the long run, and there’s every reason to believe he will, then Eason high-tailing it out of town is a moot point anyway. Not to mention the fact that Smart has made progress with Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison High School’s Justin Fields, the nation’s No. 1 passing prospect for the class of 2018.

Most important, the Bulldogs are on their way to a special season and have established themselves as the team to beat in the East.

The rest of the division is drowning. Florida’s offense is atrocious. Tennessee struggles on both sides of the ball. Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt have all proven to be pretenders in recent weeks. Missouri is a dumpster fire.

UGA faces the Volunteers, Commodores, Tigers, Gators and Gamecocks consecutively in the next six weeks — a bye is scheduled prior to the annual World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville — so this is its opportunity to run away and hide in the East. It’s no time to work Eason back into the lineup once he’s cleared to play.

Fromm is a 62.3-percent passer with 7 TDs and just 1 INT. Whatever the reason, the Dawgs are simply better when he’s in there.

It’s not just Fromm, either. Tailback Nick Chubb, who averaged a career-low 5 yards per carry last year, is now averaging 6.3 and looks more like his old self. Perhaps he’s just healthier than a season ago, but the numbers don’t lie.

Additionally, Fromm doesn’t have to light up the scoreboard based on how well the D is playing. The Dawgs currently rank sixth or better in the SEC in rushing defense, passing defense, total defense and scoring defense. That performance against Fitzgerald and Co. in Week 3 was magnificent and caught a lot of the experts by surprise.

Georgia is on its way to Atlanta, and Fromm is in the driver’s seat. Smart would be unwise to hand the keys back to Eason now.