ATHENS, Ga. — Hey, what did you expect, Georgia to score touchdowns on every possession all year?
Quarterback Stetson Bennett’s streak of perfect offense ended on the Bulldogs’ first drive of the game against Samford on Saturday. They were stopped for no gain on third-and-3 at the Samford 5, were flagged for delay of game while contemplating going for it on fourth down and finally settled for a Jack Podlesny 27-yard field goal.
The Bulldogs would suffer a similar fate on their second possession, too, getting a 25-yard “J-Pod” kick. And so it went. It was that kind of day for the defending national champions, playing at home for the first time since November. No. 2 Georgia won in spectacularly unspectacular fashion 33-0.
To say that the Bulldogs were simply going through the motions against their FCS visitors probably would be too harsh. But on a damp, overcast day in Athens, there certainly wasn’t the energy that was crackling throughout Mercedes-Benz Stadium a week ago against No. 11 Oregon in a near-perfect 49-3 win.
The stakes will get stoked again Saturday as Georgia opens SEC play on the road against South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. In the meantime, the Bulldogs will have to take satisfaction in being 2-0 and at least still ranked No. 2 in the college football polls. For a moment, it looked like the No. 1 spot might be up for grabs as Alabama trailed unranked Texas in the final seconds in Austin. But the Crimson Tide kicked a short field goal to win it, 20-19, likely holding onto the top spot for at least another week.
It would have been hard for the Bulldogs to impress the pollsters against their Southern Conference visitors anyway. But there was little of distinction done by Georgia in building a 30-0 halftime lead on three field goals and three touchdowns. And when Bennett took a 17-yard sack in the third quarter, leading to a missed 54-yard field goal, Georgia had only its second empty offensive possession.
Bennett’s day again ended early. He was 24-of-34 passing for 300 yards and one touchdown, with one TD rushing.
Carson Beck took over at the 2:34 mark of third quarter, and it was more of the same. His first offensive series ended in 25-yard field goal. That was the fourth of the day for Podlesny.
Georgia’s defense did distinguish itself. It gave up zero points, one first down and only 59 yards on 23 plays in the opening half. As the Bulldogs posted their third takeaway of the season — on a Dan Jackson hit and Xavian Sorey fumble recovery in the first quarter – Georgia posted an eighth first-half shutout in the past 17 games.
The rest of the game — which included a fourth-quarter shortened to 12 minutes by head coaches’ agreement — was a blur of meaningless possessions and wholesale substitutions. The Bulldogs dressed 100 players and played most of them. But, in the grand scheme of a long season, such shared workloads can be beneficial.
But the highlight-reel plays that were so prevalent with Georgia’s presence a week ago won’t be Saturday night.
