The first player I think of in this matchup is Georgia's Nick Chubb, who will be making his return after a gruesome knee injury ended his season prematurely a year ago. Now healthy, the junior could end this season as the nation's leading rusher. And if it wasn't for an unfortunate injury, he would've been close to doing just that last year.
In the five games prior to his injury, suffered on the first play of Georgia's game at Tennessee, Chubb averaged 149 yards per game and an NCAA-best 8.2 yards per carry to go along with 7 touchdowns. Extrapolate that to a 13-game season and Chubb could have reasonably finished with over 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns. To say Chubb will be a big factor in this game is an understatement. He'll be the best player on the field.
For North Carolina, the story is ever so slightly different. Elijah Hood, the Tar Heels' junior running back, ended last season among the top 20 in both rushing yards (1,463) and touchdowns (17). He's not as heralded as Chubb or Fournette, but he's shown an ability to be super effective in the run game, and for that reason he's UNC's most valuable player.
What makes an effective Hood even more important to North Carolina's game is the fact that head coach Larry Fedora will be starting a rather inexperienced quarterback with the graduation of Marqise Williams this past year. Junior Mitch Trubisky will step in to head an offense that was among the best in the country in 2015-16. He's only completed 82 passes in his career, but Trubisky will have to be efficient against a tough Georgia defense.
The Dawgs' defense was number eight in the country in opponent points per game (16.9) last year, and they are expected to do the same type of damage this season. If they do, North Carolina could have a tough time moving the ball. As a result, I could see this game failing to reach the projected 57-point total Vegas has it pegged for. But with a mere three-point spread in favor of the Bulldogs, expect this one to go down to the wire in Atlanta.