ATHENS, Ga. — During the week, Kirby Smart was told that Tennessee Tech first-year coach Bobby Wilder was complaining about having to play at Georgia, given all the obvious reasons but mainly having to play on the road against the No. 1 team in the nation in its home opener.
“Does he still want the check?” Smart replied.
Presumably, Wilder did. Tennessee Tech came and went Saturday with $550,000 for its trouble, while Georgia got some reps in before SEC play, easing to an expected win.
Tennessee Tech was able to leave a bit early, the coaches agreeing to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes. But first, the visitors kicked a late field goal to avoid the shutout.
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Some takeaways from the Bulldogs’ 48-3 win:
1. In its season-opening win over Clemson, Georgia didn’t score a touchdown until the second half. This time, it happened on the first play: Carson Beck hit Dillon Bell for the first of five touchdown passes by Beck, to five receivers: Bell, Arian Smith, Colbie Young, Dominic Lovett and Lawson Luckie.
Not that Smart was embracing the idea that the faster start meant anything.
“We played a different team. That was the difference,” Smart said. “I’d love to sit here and say that we started fast today and everything clicked. But that wasn’t the same opponent. We are considerably better than that opponent, and we should execute at a high level.”
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) threw five touchdown passes Saturday. (Dale Zanine / Imagn Images)
Beck finished with 242 passing yards and called it a game with 11:20 left in the third quarter. Gunner Stockton came in to get more experience, leading a touchdown drive.
2. Trevor Etienne, a transfer from Florida, made his Georgia debut after sitting out the opener with a suspension. He looked shifty and explosive, uncorking a 45-yard run down the right sideline after evading defenders near the line. Etienne finished with 78 yards on five rushes and had 14 yards on two catches.
Essentially, it showed how much more explosive Georgia’s offense could be.
“It opens up a lot,” Smith said. “Just like having me out there, people are scared of me going for a deep pass, he can do the same as well at running back. He can run through tackles, he can make people miss. It’s hard to guard that and guard receivers.”
3. After not finding room to run against Clemson, tailback Branson Robinson had a touchdown run in the third quarter and finished with 43 yards on five touches. Robinson missed all of last season after tearing his patella tendon, and on Saturday, he said his performance against Clemson was a combination of rust and the way Clemson’s defense was playing.
“I would say 50-50. I do believe I was a little rusty, adjusting to the game speed,” Robinson said. “Thankfully, we played an opponent like Clemson, a very good team, and I got a chance to shake off that rust and be ready to compete against any opponent because they had a really good defense. Yeah, it just wasn’t really my night.”
That made Saturday’s game useful to get Robinson’s confidence back.
“Absolutely. The touchdown, the way I was running today, I felt really confident,” Robinson said. “I’m back to where I need to be, mentally.”
4. The Georgia defense, even without star edge rusher Mykel Williams (out with an ankle injury), looked how it should against an FCS team. The Bulldogs were credited with nine tackles for loss in the first half, and Tennessee Tech was held to minus-7 passing yards. (That is not a typo. Both of quarterback Jordyn Potts’ passes were caught and tackled behind the line of scrimmage.)
But much like the offense, Smart wasn’t using Saturday’s game to pump up his defense.
“Hard to measure our success today. That’s not a disrespect, it’s just the truth,” Smart said. “Those guys were going to struggle up front. They don’t have big guys. Their starting quarterback is out. Realistically, it’s hard. Last week was a great performance for our defense. Today was what we should do.”
5. Two offensive players left the game with injuries: tight end Oscar Delp with an ankle problem in the first quarter, although he returned before leaving again, perhaps a precautionary measure; and tailback Nate Frazier, who had an electrifying debut against Clemson, hurt his shoulder late in the third quarter, finishing the game with 28 yards on six rushes.
Frazier was cleared to return to the game, according to Smart, but didn’t because of the score. Smart was less sure about Delp, saying, “We’ll see.”
6. A few personnel observations:
Gabe Harris got his first career start, replacing Williams at outside linebacker. Williams is dealing with an ankle injury and sounds questionable to play at Kentucky.
Joenel Aguero started at nickelback after missing the Clemson game with an injury.
Freshman KJ Bolden got his first career sack on a safety blitz on Tennessee Tech’s second drive.
Sophomore Anthony Evans made some nice moves on a long punt return.
7. Georgia announced Friday that it’s raising ticket prices, from $60 per game to $80 per game, and changing the donation payment structure (required to buy season tickets) so that about 46% will have to pay more, 17% will drop. And parking rates are also going up.
There’s a reason the school waited until next year: Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Kentucky are among the teams visiting Sanford Stadium in 2025. But those are all road games this year, with Tennessee in November looking like the marquee home game this year. Auburn and Georgia Tech could be interesting this year, but playing Tennessee Tech was just about having an opponent for an easy game in what should be a tough opening stretch.
Georgia starts SEC play at Kentucky, then has a bye before going to Alabama. After the throttling of Clemson, Saturday’s game served a different purpose: Georgia got the reps, and Tennessee Tech got the check.
(Top photo of Colbie Young: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 10:09:00
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