Notre Dame and Georgia face off tonight in a key early-season game that will probable knock the loser out of the national championship race.

The No. 7 Irish face the No. 3 Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia, in a national televised game with so much on the line for both schools.

The Irish were unimpressive in their opening win over Louisville on Labor Day night but last week the offense showed signs of coming to life while the defense again played a steady game. The result was a blowout of undermanned and heavy underdog New Mexico, 66-14.

Quarterback Ian Book lit up the scoreboard with a career-high five touchdown passes on a 15 of 24 passing day for 360 yards. Two of the TD throws were more the result of what the receiver did with the ball after the catch. The two were short tosses in the backfield to running back Avery Davis and wide receiver Chris Finke that ended up TDs. But it was a needed shot in the arm for Book, whose performance against Louisville let of lot of Irish fans wondering about his ability to get the job done.

Notre Dame’s running game is still a big question mark if it wants to continue a national title run. ND had to play without top runner Jafar Armstrong, who has a torn abdominal and is out until sometime in the middle of October, and also lost running back Jahmir Smith to a sprained toe injury that occurred in practice prior to the game. The Irish were limited to just 157 yards on 38 carries against the Lobos. Smith is listed as doubtful tonight so the Irish could once again be without two key running backs.

Overall the Irish were, in my opinion, OK, but not at a level of a team like Georgia is right now. More on the game later.

Tonight ND and Georgia play for just the third time. In 2017 in South Bend, the Bulldogs came away with a 20-19 victory, taking a win out of the hands of the Irish. The only other game between the programs was a Sugar Bowl match up in 1981 won by Georgia, 17-10.

The Bulldogs are led by one of the best QBs in the nation in Jake Fromm. He has completed 42 of 56 passes (75 percent) for 601 yards and five touchdowns so far this season. The top running backs are D’Andre Swift with 290 yards on 31 carries and two scores and Zamir White with 141 yards on nine carries and two TDs. Top receivers are George Pickens with nine catches and 162 yards and a score and Dominick Blaylock with 106 on seven catches and two scores.

George enters at 3-0 with wins over Vanderbilt, 30-6; Murray State, 63-17; and last week Arkansas State, 55-0.

The game will be televised nationally by CBS-TV with a 8:10 p.m. scheduled kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... Senior wide receiver Javon McKinley recorded his first career catch against Louisville and last week he upped his production with TDs on both his catches. ... Sophomore C’Bo Flemister scored his first career rushing TD and sophomore wide receiver Braden Lenzy caught a TD pass from freshman QB Clark, both firsts ... The 66 points were the most scored by a ND team in an opener since 1932 ... The Irish also had three pass interceptions ... Some New Mexico game stats. Rushing: Book 46 yards on nine carries; Kyren Williams, 26 on four; Brendon Clark, 24 on four; Phil Jurkovec, 17 on three and Tony Jones Jr. 17 on six. Receiving, Chase Claypool four catches for 96 yards, one TD; Javon McKinley, 85 on two and two scores; Braden Lenzy, 74 on two and a score; Chris Finke, 57 on two and a score. Jonathan Doerer had one field goal of 36 yards. Freshman defensive back Kyle Hamilton had one interception which he returned for the first score of the game. Defensively, Asmar Bilal had eight tackles with Bo Bauer, Daelin Hayes, Jayson Ademilola, Drew White and Adetokunbo Ogundeji all having four ... ND had a total of 591 yards gained in the game ... Notre Dame’s defense failed to record a sack against New Mexico ... Many fans wondered why Jurkovec only was in for one series. That was due to a thigh contusion he suffered in practice and coach Brian Kelly didn’t want it to get worst since he is Book’s backup ... Tight end Cole Kmet will return to the starting lineup tonight. Kmet has completely finished his recovery from a broken collarbone ... Book moved 60 spots ahead of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence in the national pass-efficiency rankings. His 202.7 mark puts him fifth. He is behind two former transfers — Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts (Alabama) and LSU’s Joe Burrow (Ohio State). Book is also fifth nationally in points responsible per game (24.0) and even better in passing yards per completion (second at 19.1) ... Kelly is 3-7 against the AP Top 10 while at Notre Dame, though nine of those games have been played away from home ... Georgia enters tonight’s game ninth in total defense ... A total of 15 freshmen saw action for the Irish against New Mexico. They were: punter Jay Bramblett, kicker Harrison Leonard, safety Kyle Hamilton, defensive ends NaNa Osafo-Mensah and Isaiah Foskey, cornerback KJ Wallace, linebacker JD Bertrand, rover Jack Kiser, nose guard Jacob Lacey, defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Hunter Spears, quarterback Brendon Clark, wide receiver Cam Hart, running back Kyren Williams, and offensive tackle Andrew Kristofic .. The Las Vegas bookies have ND a 13 point underdog — that’s not much respect for a No. 7 ranked team ... In my preseason picks I have Georgia winning tonight and there is no reason to change that. This could get ugly for the Irish, who, despite putting up 66 points last week, did not impress me. Georgia has a very solid chance of covering the line. Hope ND can keep it respectable.