UGA Football: Georgia vs Tennessee Tech Game Review

ATHENS, Ga. — Led by five touchdown passes from quarterback Carson Beck, the top-ranked Georgia football team earned its 26th consecutive win at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, routing Tennessee Tech 48-3 in the Bulldogs’ home opener. The victory, in front of a crowd of 93,033, was also the Bulldogs’ 41st straight regular-season win.

From the moment he stepped onto Dooley Field, Beck was on target. He completed his first 11 passes, for 111 yards, and threw three touchdown passes in the first half. Beck sat out much of the second half after the game was a 38-0 runaway, and ended his day 18 of 25 passing for 242 yards and five touchdowns. Beck is the eighth Georgia passer to throw five TD passes in a game.

While the Georgia (2-0) offense piled up 498 yards, averaging 8.2 yards per play, the Bulldog defense held the Golden Eagles (0-2) to 134 yards of total offense and just 2.8 yards per play. Tech’s only points came on a 32-yard field goal on the game’s final play.

On Tennessee Tech’s first play from scrimmage, the Golden Eagles were stopped for a four-yard loss. The first time a Georgia player got his hands on the ball was when Anthony Evans III returned the Golden Eagles’ first punt, going 46 yards down to the Tech 22-yard line. On the Bulldogs’ first offensive play, Beck hit wide receiver Dillon Bell on the left edge of the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

After the Bulldog defense forced another punt, the Georgia offense kept rolling. Facing a third-and-11 at the UGA 41, Beck hit Oscar Delp for 13 yards. On the next play, Beck hit Dominic Lovett for 12, followed by a 14-yard completion to Arian Smith, to the Tech 20. A short pass to Brandon Robinson on the next play resulted in a 14-yard gain, and on first-and-goal at the 6, Beck connected with a crossing Colbie Young for a six-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 6:37 left in the first quarter.

Two drives into the game, Beck was 8 of 8 passing for 90 yards and two touchdowns, with completions to seven different targets. By the end of the first quarter, with Georgia driving again, Beck was 11 of 11 for 111 yards.

Beck threw a little long on his first attempt of the second quarter, snapping his perfect start. The Bulldogs eventually settled for a 27-yard Peyton Woodring to push their lead to 17-0 with 11:45 to play in the half.

Running back Trevor Etienne, the Florida transfer who missed the Bulldogs’ opener, made his Georgia debut Saturday. He finished with 78 rushing yards on five carries, including a 45-yarder late in the second quarter that helped set up the Bulldogs’ next score. Georgia took a 24-0 lead into halftime after Beck hit Lovett in the end zone near the front right pylon for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:11 left. It was Beck’s third TD pass of the half, to three different receivers.

Georgia got the ball to open the second half, and soon another Beck pass was in the air for a touchdown. This time, on first down at the 50, Beck lofted one deep toward the end zone where Smith was wide open behind the secondary. Smith reeled it in for an easy score and a 31-0 lead with 12:54 left in the quarter.

Tech fumbled on its next drive, the game’s first turnover, and safety Dan Jackson recovered the loose ball at the 27. Soon after, following a penalty, Beck lofted an easy pass to an open Lawson Luckie on the left side for a 37-yard touchdown and a 37-0 lead.

Gunner Stockton took over at quarterback midway through the third quarter and led the Bulldogs on another touchdown drive. Stockton completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive and running back Branson Robinson scored on a 13-yard rush, pushing the lead to 45-0. Stockton finished the game 10 of 12 passing for 90 yards. Woodring kicked a 32-yard field goal with 3:07 remaining in the game to make it 48-0 Bulldogs.

A lot of Bulldogs got in on the offensive and defensive action Saturday. Seven rushers combined for 24 carries for 166 yards, and in the passing game, 15 receivers caught at least one pass. Defensively, linebacker CJ Allen’s five tackles (three solo) led 13 Bulldog defenders with at least two stops.

The Bulldogs open SEC play next Saturday against Kentucky in Lexington. Georgia has won an SEC-record 27 consecutive regular-season conference games.