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Justin Fields plays starring role in UGA's blowout win over UMass

The Bulldogs (10-1, SEC East champs) can now focus on Georgia Tech and Alabama for the final pre-Playoff push.
Credit: Staff

UGA fans were treated to a sustained glimpse of the future on Saturday, in the form of freshman quarterback Justin Fields logging plenty of snaps.

Against an admittedly overmatched opponent (UMass), the backup Fields experienced a near-flawless day, leading the Bulldogs in passing (5 of 8 for 121 yards), rushing (100 yards on seven carries) and overall touchdowns (three).

The end result: No. 5 Georgia walked away with a 66-27 victory at Sanford Stadium.

Which brings us to this: Fields might have been a dominant Alpha Male against the Minutemen defenders, but will Saturday's performance move the proverbial needle, moving forward?

CHECK OUT THIS FIELDS-TO-HARDMAN TD CONNECTION

Namely, in the coming weeks, does Fields have a legitimate shot at extended playing time against Georgia Tech or Alabama (SEC title game)?

And down the road, would Fields ever have the inside track to starting for the Bulldogs next year, similar to how Alabama boldly switched quarterbacks earlier this season–moving from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa?

That's a tough question to answer, since Fromm has been a highly effective two-year starter for the Dawgs (10-1, SEC East champs), positioning his troops for a run at back-to-back conference titles.

There's also the teeny-tiny matter of Fromm's perfect outing against UMass. 

In limited work, Fromm completed all five passes for 106 yards and one touchdown; and charting his last 10 outings, Fromm has accounted for 18 TD passes and only four interceptions.

THE TROUBLE WITH 'BUY' GAMES

Fields certainly had a superb outing against UMass, but it's still hard to gauge his readiness for top-shelf defenses.

For example, against Florida, LSU, Kentucky and Auburn, Fields made three appearances ... but attempted only two passes. 

(In the world of armchair quarterbacks, the Dawgs coaches still don't trust Fields in pressure-packed situations.)

Quarterback battles aside, wideout Tyler Simmons might be ready for an expanded role with the Dawgs offense.

Simmons maximized his three touches, posting touchdowns of 49 yards (rushing) and 71 yards (receiving). 

In all, the junior wideout accounted for 130 total yards.

And of the last three games, Simmons has three scores.

Georgia's defense might have surrendered 27 points and 390 total yards to UMass, but it's hard to overreact to these deficiencies when facing outclassed opponents.

However, it's fair to wonder how UMass wideout Andy Isabella dominated the Dawgs secondary ... to the tune of 15 catches, 219 yards and two touchdowns?

Hence the term 'buy' game. 

In exchange for UGA happily writing a big check to guarantee victory before Georgia Tech and Alabama, a number of young Bulldogs got to experience the simultaneous rush of logging extended snaps on the field ... and making a slew of mistakes in the process.

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