UGA Football: Bulldogs Hit The Road for SEC Opener Against Kentucky

Top-ranked Georgia (2-0, 0-0 SEC) makes it first roadtrip outside the state this season to face Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC).

Last year in Athens, top-ranked Georgia built a 34-7 lead by halftime and eventually won 51-13 over No. 20 Kentucky in a battle of unbeatens. Quarterback Carson Beck set career highs with 389 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs tallied 608 yards of total offense on 73 plays while Kentucky was held to 183 yards on 50 plays. A week earlier, Kentucky had beaten Florida 33-14 when it ran for 329 yards. However, they managed just 55 yards on 24 attempts against the Bulldog defense.

Georgia’s last visit to Lexington came on a cold, windy day in 2022 as the Bulldogs emerged with a 16-6 victory. Kenny McIntosh rushed for a career-high 143 yards and Jack Podlesny made three field goals. The Bulldogs led 9-0 at the half and then 16-0 heading into the fourth quarter. UK stopped a Georgia drive at the one yard line and then managed a nine play, 99-yard touchdown drive that ate up 5:02.

The Bulldogs entered the game ranked second nationally in scoring defense at 11.6 ppg. The victory gave the Bulldogs their second straight 8-0 league record as they became just third SEC team to do that since 1992, joining Alabama (2008-09) and Florida (1995-96).

The Wildcats now feature a pair of former Bulldogs in Georgia graduate Brock Vandagriff at quarterback and 2022 All-America linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson. They left for UK after last season.

For the year, Vandagriff is 15-for-28 for 199 yards with three TDs and one interception. Dumas-Johnson has six tackles, 1.5 TFL and one interception.

In the 31-6 loss to South Carolina last Saturday, UK was held to 183 total yards and completed only six passes for 44 yards. Also, they had 11 penalties.

The more things change the more they stay the same. The Bulldogs have not allowed any points in the first half and just six total points (two field goals) on the year. In 2024, the Bulldogs limited 14th-ranked Clemson to three points while Tenn. Tech kicked a field goal on the final play of the game. Georgia’s leading tacklers are junior Jalon Walker and sophomore CJ Allen with nine each. Georgia has five sacks led by Walker with 1.5 while junior Malaki Starks has an interception and senior Dan Jackson has a fumble recovery. Seven of 11 starters return from the 2023 defense that ranked fifth nationally in Scoring Defense (15.6 ppg) and led the nation in 3rd Down Conversion (25.7%).

Up next, top-ranked Georgia (2-0) opens SEC action at Kentucky (1-1, 0-1 SEC). The Wildcats dropped their SEC opener to South Carolina 31-6 in Lexington last Saturday. The Bulldogs have won 14 straight in the series since 2010. The last visit to Lexington saw the Bulldogs post a 16-6 win.

The Bulldogs opened the 2024 season ranked No. 1 in the AP and US LBM Coaches poll for the third time in school history (2008, 2023). Georgia (2-0) remains No. 1 this week. The Bulldogs have the longest active streak of being ranked in the AP top 10 (52 straight polls). The Bulldogs will face five teams that were preseason ranked in the top 15 including three of those on the road in Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss plus a fourth at a neutral site (Clemson in Atlanta) while Tennessee visits Athens too.

Georgia is the only team to have finished in the top seven of the final AP poll in each of the past seven seasons. The last team to start and finish a season at No. 1 was Alabama in 2017.

Head coach Kirby Smart is unbeaten against all active head coaches over the past five years. Georgia is 64-6 in that span. The coaches no longer active who have wins over Georgia during this stretch: Nick Saban (3) along with Will Muschamp, Ed Orgeron and Dan Mullen.

Did You Know, Part III? The Bulldogs were the only FBS team to finish the 2023 season nationally ranked in the top five in both Scoring Offense (40.1 ppg/5th) and Scoring Defense (15.6 ppg/5th). Also the Bulldogs were the first FBS team since 2020 to not allow a punt return all season.

In the Smart era, the Georgia defense has ended the year ranked in the top five nationally in Scoring Defense five times including leading the nation twice (2019 at 12.6 ppg & 2021 at 10.2 ppg). Also, Georgia has been ranked in the final top 10 in Scoring Offense from 2021-23.

Senior Carson Beck is 15-1 in his career as the starting quarterback (6-1 against top 20 teams). He opened the 2024 season with a 34-3 win over No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta, going 23-for-33 for 278 yards and two TDs to earn SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. He followed that with a school record-tying five TD passes in a 48-3 rout of Tennessee Tech. The Georgia offense is bolstered by four starting linemen returning in LT Earnest Greene III, LG Dylan Fairchild, RG Tate Ratledge and RT Xavier Truss. The skill players share the load as Beck utilizes multiple options in the backfield, at wideout and tight end. A total of 15 Bulldogs caught a pass in the win over the Golden Eagles.

Georgia is 48-2 in last 50 games with a school record streak of 41 consecutive regular season victories

Georgia has an SEC and school record streak of 27 consecutive SEC regular season wins.

Georgia has a 15-game winning streak in an opponent’s home stadium, which leads in FBS. The streak began in 2020 with a 14-3 win over Kentucky. Georgia last fell at No. 2 Alabama in 2020.

Georgia’s current streak as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press (AP) poll is at three weeks. The Bulldogs had an SEC and school record streak of 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the Associated Press rankings (10/9/22 to 11/26/23), which ranked second all-time in the CFP era.

The 2024 Senior Class is 44-2 (38-0 in the regular season). The 2023 Senior Class has the school record at 50-4 with two national titles, an SEC crown plus went 6-0 in bowl/CFP games.

Georgia is riding a school record 26-game home winning streak, which leads in FBS.

Georgia owns the nation’s longest active bowl streak at 27 seasons and has won its last seven matchups.

Fifth-year senior Carson Beck, a 6-4, 220-pound native of Jacksonville, Fla., owns a 15-1 record as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

Beck is on the 2024 watch list for numerous national awards. He was a 2023 Manning Award finalist and a Maxwell Award / Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist after leading Georgia to a 13-1 mark and final AP ranking of No. 4.

6-1 versus top-20 opponents with a 73.3 Completion Percentage (148-202) for 1,971 yards, 15 TDs, 2 INTs in those contests.

SEC Offensive Player of the Week after 34-3 win over #14 Clemson this year

School record 72.4 Completion% in 2023 (5th nationally).

302 completions in 2023 ranked 2nd in UGA single season history, trailing only Stetson Bennett, who had 310 in 2022 when the Bulldogs went 15-0

3,941 passing yards last year ranked 2nd in school history, trailing only Bennett, who had 4,127 in 2022.

Georgia’s quarterback room also includes redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, freshman Ryan Puglisi and redshirt freshman transfer Jaden Rashada (Arizona State). Stockton saw action in four games last year and completed 63% of his passes (12-for-19) for 148 yards and two TDs. This year, Stockton is 10-for-12 for 90 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT.

Passing Yards	389 vs. #20 UK, 2023
Completions	29 @ VU, 2023
Attempts	39 @ VU, 2023
TD Passes	5 vs. TT, 2024
Long Pass Completion	55 yards vs. Florida, 2023
Long Rush	20 vs. USC, 2022

Year	G/GS	Cmp.	Att.	Pct.	Yds.	INT	TD	Eff.	LG
2020	1/0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—	—
2021	4/0	10	23	43.5	176	2	2	119.06	32 UAB
2022	7/0	26	35	74.3	310	0	4	186.40	28 SC
2023	14/14	302	417	72.4	3,941	6	24	167.9	55 UF
2024	2/2	41	58	70.7	520	0	7	185.8	50TT
Total	28/16	379	533	71.1	4,947	8	37	169.0	55 UF

Game	Cmp.	Att.	Pct.	Yds.	INT	TD	SK	EFF	LG
2020
MZ	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—	—
2021
UAB	4	10	40.0	88	1	1	0	126.9	32
@VU	1	3	33.3	11	0	0	0	64.1	11
CS	5	10	50.0	77	1	1	0	127.7	30
@GT	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—	—
2022
#11 ORE	5	6	83.3	71	0	1	0	237.7	23
SAM	5	7	71.4	52	0	0	0	133.8	16
@SC	5	6	83.3	55	0	1	0	215.3	28
AU	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—	—
VU	8	11	72.7	98	0	2	0	207.6	24
GT	1	2	50.0	3	0	0	0	62.6	3
#3 TCU	2	3	66.7	31	0	0	0	153.5	20
2023
UTM(W)	21	31	67.7	294	0	1	0	158.1	54
BSU (W)	23	30	76.7	283	1	2	0	171.2	41
USC (W)	27	35	77.1	269	0	0	2	141.7	36
UAB (W)	22	32	68.8	338	0	3	1	188.4	50
@ AU (W)	23	33	69.7	313	1	1	0	153.3	40
#20 UK (W)	28	35	80.0	389	1	4	0	205.4	49
@ VU (W)	29	39	73.4	261	1	1	2	133.9	31
vs. UF (W)	19	28	67.9	315	0	2	0	185.9	55
#12 MIZ (W)	21	32	65.6	254	0	2	3	152.93	34
#9 OM (W)	18	25	72.0	306	1	2	0	193.2	44
@ #18 UT (W)	24	30	80.0	298	0	2	0	196.4	34
@ GT (W)	13	20	65.0	175	1	1	0	145.0	29
SECCG: #8 UA (L)	21	29	72.4	243	0	0	2	142.8	51
%#5 FSU (W)	13	18	72.2	203	0	2	1	203.6	35
2024
#14CU (W)	22	33	66.7	278	0	2	1	160.5	40
TT (W)	18	25	72.0	242	0	5	0	219.3	50
Career Total	379	533	71.1	4,947	8	37	12	169.0	55

• Averaging 41.0 points/game (T31st nationally)
• Outscored opponents 82-6 (30-0 in the 1st Half & 52-6 in the 2nd Half)
• 9-for-9 (100 percent) in the Red Zone with 6TDs, 3 FGs
• Currently 40% (8-for-20) on 3rd Down Conversions

Game	Georgia	Opp.	Final
vs. #14 CU	10 (4R, 6P)	3 (0R, 3P)	#1 Georgia, 34-3
vs. TT	7 (3R, 4P)	2 (2R)	#1 Georgia 48-3

Longest Rush by Georgia: 45-yd by Trevor Etienne vs. TT)
Longest Rush by Opp.: 26-yd by Aidan Littles vs. TT
Longest Completion by Georgia: 50-yd TD vs. TT (Beck to Smith)
Longest Completion by Opp.: 36 yd by #14 CU (C. Klubnik to A. Williams)

The Bulldogs return four starters on the line in Earnest Greene III, Dylan Fairchild, Tate Ratledge and Xavier Truss, along with Micah Morris, Jared Wilson, and Monroe Freeling. Ratledge and Truss have 30 career starts while Wilson made his first in the 2024 season opener.

Georgia is averaging 7.81 yards per play and 472.5 yards per game in 2024.

The 2023 Georgia offense set a school record averaging 7.26 yards per play while the 496.5 yards per game average ranked second all-time.

The unit was a Joe Moore Award finalist for the third season in a row in 2023. Opportunities Abound For Running Backs Georgia’s running back room features Florida transfer Trevor Etienne, Roderick Robinson II, Branson Robinson, who was sidelined in 2023 due to an ACL injury, Cash Jones plus a host of freshmen in Chauncey Bowens, Nate Frazier and Dwight Phillips Jr.. Frazier has a team-high 111 yards.

Robinson made his first career start in the season-opening win over #14 Clemson. He was one of seven Bulldogs who combined for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Frazier led the attack with 83 yards on 11 carries including a 40-yard scamper and his first TD. Jones’ lone carry was a 15-yard TD that featured an impressive stiff arm plus he was a key contributor on punt returns.

Etienne, who did not play in the season opener, had a team-best 78 yards on five carries in the win over Tennessee Tech. He ran for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons at UF. Also in his UF career, he tallied 30 receptions for 238 yards and one touchdown plus returned 28 kicks for 671 yards.

Robinson II is recovering from toe surgery and yet to make his 2024 debut. He had 24 carries for 196 yards and two scores in just five games last year.

Senior QB Carson Beck will find the open receiver, and he’s been spreading the wealth this season. “You have to do that nowadays in college football, You have to keep those tight ends happy and those wideouts happy,” said Kirby Smart after the Tennessee Tech game. The top trio includes Arian Smith (9-for-129 yards, 1 TD), Dillon Bell (8-for-78 yards, 1 TD) and Dominic Lovett (6-for-66 yards, 1 TD). This past Saturday, 15 different Bulldogs caught a pass against TTU as Lovett, Smith, Bell each had a score.

Nine Bulldogs registered a reception in the win over #14 Clemson including a career-high five by Smith for 56 yards. Smith and Bell are options to run the ball too. Bell tallied four catches for 32 yards against the Tigers. Last year, Bell had 25 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns and threw an 18-yard touchdown in the 38-10 road win over No. 18 Tennessee.

London Humphreys (Vanderbilt), Michael Jackson III (USC) and Colbie Young (Miami) transferred to UGA in January. Young and Humphreys’ scored touchdowns in their Bulldog debut, both coming on their second catch against #14 Clemson. Young’s 7-yarder was Georgia’s first TD of the season while Humphreys’ covered 40 yards. Humphreys’ first catch as a Bulldog was “clutch,” according to coach Kirby Smart as it came on a 3rd-and-10 at the UGA 49 and went for 23 yards.

Sophomore Anthony Evans III will be in the rotation while freshman Sacovie White and Nitro Tuggle will vie for playing time too. Junior Cole Speer, who has contributed on special teams, could see more action too.

The tight end room features veterans Oscar Delp, sophomore Lawson Luckie and Stanford grad transfer Ben Yurosek plus a pair of freshmen in Jaden Reddell and Colton Heinrich. Luckie leads the tight end group with 80 yards receiving on four catches including a 37-yard TD versus Tenn. Tech.

Georgia has had 42 players drafted over the past four seasons, including 23 on defense and eight of those defenders have gone in the first round.

The 2024 unit ranks T4th in Scoring Defense (3.0 ppg), allowing just two FGs.

The 2023 unit ranked fifth nationally in Scoring Defense (15.6 ppg).

Allowed only 93 points in the second half in 2023 for a 6.6 average and allowed a touchdown or less in the second half in eight of 14 contests.

5-1 versus ranked opponents and allowed just 15.2 ppg in those contests.

Seven of 11 starters return from Georgia’s 2023 defense.

The defensive backfield returns All-America safety Malaki Starks and Daylen Everette, who each started all 14 games last year. Starks’ first career interception (vs. #11 Oregon – Bo Nix in 2022) and most recent interception (vs. #14 Clemson – Cade Klubnik in 2024), both in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, are two worth checking out.

Starks has six career interception. When asked about Starks’ latest pick against the Tigers, head coach Kirby Smart said, “I do think the play I saw him make today may be one of the best defensive football plays I’ve ever seen live in person.” Starks is on the watch list for several national awards and following the win over Clemson, he was named the Jim Thorpe Award National DB of the Week. In 2023, he was a Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Jim Thorpe Award finalist and a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist.

Three starters from the 2023 secondary now are in the NFL in Javon Bullard (Green Bay), Kamari Lassiter (Houston) and Tykee Smith (Tampa Bay).

Mykel Williams, Nazir Stackhouse, Warren Brinson, Christen Miller, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins anchor the front while several freshmen have seen action too. Williams and Brinson missed last week’s game versus TT due to ankle injuries. Ingram-Dawkins made his first career start against TT and responded with a career-high four tackles inclduing 3 TFL.

The veterans in the linebacker room include Smael Mondon, Jalon Walker, CJ Allen, Raylen Wilson and Chaz Chambliss. Mondon has 26 career starts.

Walker, a 6-2, 245-pounder is a self-described “hybrid linebacker” for his ability to play on the edge and in the box. He led the team with five sacks last year including a pair in the SEC Championship Game. Walker enjoyed a solid showing in the 2024 season opener, leading the Bulldogs with six tackles and 1.5 sacks in a 34-3 win over #14 Clemson to earn Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week honors.

A few freshmen contributing include KJ Bolden, Ellis Robinson IV and Demello Jones in the secondary, Justin Williams and Chris Cole at linebacker, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Jordan Thomas on the line. Bolden finished second on the team with four tackles in the win over #14 Clemson. Bolden and Thomas notched their first career sacks versus TT.

Georgia welcomes back a two-year starter in P Brett Thorson and sophomore PK Peyton Woodring after both shined in 2023.

Thorson, a native of Melbourne, Australia is averaging 49.7 yards on five punts, placing four inside the 20 with three fair catches and no returns.

Thorson is known for his comedic slant about his lack of playing time because the Bulldogs punted a record low 32 times in 2023 after just 36 punts in 2022 (15 games), the two lowest totals dating back to at least 1948. No word yet on his reaction to QB Carson Beck’s postgame comments from the TT game where he said, “I think the on-running joke is the quarterback and the punter hate each other…I told him, well, my goal is to never have Brett Thorson get on the field.” On a related note, Thorson is the backup holder behind Beck!

In 2024, Thorson punted four times against #14 Clemson for a 48.0 average with three placed inside the 20, two for 50+ yards and none were returned.

Thanks in part to Thorson’s punts and the entire punt coverage team including gunners Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett, Georgia was the only team in the FBS that did not allow a punt return in 2023, the first school to do that since 2020 when COVID limited the amount of games teams played.

Peyton Woodring, who hails from Lafayette, La., was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist as a freshman. This year, he has a team-high 22 points and is handling most of the kickoffs too (14 of 15 overall with nine touchbacks and one out of bounds).

He earned 2024 SEC Special Teams Player of the Week in the opening win over #14 Clemson. He accounted for 10 points including the first six points of the season on field goals of 30 yards and a career-long 55-yarder — the longest by a Bulldog since the 2018 Rose Bowl (Rodrigo Blankenship vs. Oklahoma).

The 55-yard field goal is the longest in the SEC this season.

In 2023, Woodring scored a team-high 134 points, going 21-for-25 on field goals and 71-for-71 on PATs. He ranked sixth nationally in Scoring and third among kickers, and his 134 points ranked third best in school history for a kicker and most for a Bulldog freshman kicker.

The snapping duties are handled primarily by Beau Gardner, a graduate transfer from UCLA who is from San Francisco.

Graduate transfer Charlie Ham, a native of Atlanta, Ga., is back in the Peach State to provide depth. This year, he has two kickoffs with one touchbacks. He had a successful undergraduate career at Duke (2019-23). He appeared in 46 games, going 36-for-50 on field goals (LG-50), 91-for-93 on PATs and tallied 193 kickoffs with a 61.2 average and 98 touchbacks.

Sophomore Anthony Evans III is averaging 10.6 yards on the year with eight punt returns for 85 yards. He had a career-long 46-yarder versus TT. Against #14 Clemson, he had three returns for 23 yards.

In the kickoff return game, Evans along with Dillon Bell, Cash Jones and Travis Etienne are options. Georgia does not have a KOR this year. Last year, Bell had six returns for 160 yards (26.7 avg.) including a 39-yarder at Ga. Tech. In two seasons at Florida, Etienne tallied 26 kickoff returns for 645 yards (24.8 avg.).

Currently, four Bulldogs have blocked a kick or punt in their career: DB Joenel Aguero blocked a Florida punt in 2023 that resulted in a safety. In 2022, DL Nazir Stackhouse blocked a field goal that was returned 96 yards for a touchdown by teammate Chris Smith in the opening quarter of the SEC Championship Game versus No. 14 LSU. OLB Jalon Walker blocked a punt that resulted in a safety versus Kent State in 2022. S Dan Jackson blocked a punt against No. 8 Arkansas in 2021.

With its 34-3 demolition of No. 14 Clemson, top-ranked Georgia improved to 101-27-3 in season openers including 9-0 in the Kirby Smart era. The Bulldogs have won 11 straight openers. The win over the Tigers gave the Bulldogs a 10-3 record in ranked matchups to start a season including 4-0 under Smart. The 18th-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 22 UNC 33-24 in Atlanta in Smart’s debut in 2016. In 2021, then No. 5 Georgia stifled No. 3 Clemson in Charlotte. In 2022, No. 3 Georgia crushed No. 11 Oregon 49-3 in Atlanta.

Career Placekicking For Peyton Woodring
Year	PAT	Pct.	FG	Pct.	LG	Pts
2023	71-71	1.000	21-25	.840	48	134
2024	10-10	1.000	4-4	1.000	55	156
Total	81-81	1.000	25.29	.862	55	156
Field Goal History For Peyton Woodring
Year	I20	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-99	LG
2023	0-0	3-5	14-14	4-5	0-1	48
2024	0-0	1-1	2-2	0-0	1-1	55
Total	0-0	4-6	16-16	4-5	1-2	55

Career Highs For Woodring
Points: 15 (UK23)
PATs: 9 (FSU23)
FGA: 3 (USC23, UK23, @VU23, MIZ23)
FGM: 3 (UK23, @VU23), MIZ23)
LG: LG: 55 (vs. CU24)

Career Punting For Brett Thorson
Year	Punts	Yards	Avg.	I20	50+	60+	FC	BL	LG
2022	36	1620	45.0	19	9	1	18	0	75 UT
2023	32	1,403	43.8	14	6	1	21	0	60UA
2024	5	247	49.4	4	3	0	3	0	57CU
Total	73	3,270	44.8	37	18	2	42	0	75 UT

Career Highs For Thorson
Punts: 5 (UTM23, AU22)
*Avg.: 50.2 on four punts (UT22), UA23)
Long: 75 (UT22)
*at least two punts

Home: 1-2; Away: 4-2; Neutral: 3-3 {Bowl Game/CFP: 3-2}
(*SEC games: 3-4; *Includes CFP National Championship)

The Bulldogs are 1-2 in overtime games under Kirby Smart.
Jan. 1, 2018: #3 Georgia beat #2 Oklahoma 54-48 (2OT) in Pasadena, Calif. (CFP Semifinal: Rose Bowl Game)
Jan. 8. 2018: #4 Alabama beat #3 Georgia 26-23 in Atlanta, Ga. (CFP National Championship, Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
Oct. 12, 2019: South Carolina beat #3 Georgia 20-17 (2OT) in Athens, Ga.

Georgia enters the 2024 campaign on an SEC and school record streak of 27 consecutive regular season wins in league play. The Bulldogs first SEC game will be Sept. 14 at Kentucky with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.

In the all-SEC 2020 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs won their final three SEC regular season games and have since run the table.

In 2021, Georgia posted its first perfect 8-0 mark in league play in school history. The SEC went to eight games when it split into divisions in 1992.

The 2022 Bulldogs followed it up with another 8-0 SEC mark, and the average margin of victory in those games was 25.5.

The 2023 Bulldogs made it three straight 8-0 league seasons (the only SEC school ever to accomplish that feat).

In school history, Georgia has gone undefeated in league play 10 times.

The 2024 SEC slate for the Bulldogs features roadtrips to Kentucky plus three teams preseason ranked in the top 10: No. 5 Alabama, No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Ole Miss plus the neutral site game with Florida in Jacksonville. Georgia’s SEC home games will be with Auburn, Miss. State and No. 15 Tennessee.

Carson Beck: SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2), Manning Award Star of the Week (Sept. 2)

Malaki Starks: Jim Thorpe Award National DB of the Week (Sept. 4)

Jalon Walker: Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2)

Peyton Woodring: SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 2)

Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year:KJ Bolden, DB, Ellis Robinson IV, DB
Chuck Bednarik Award: Smael Mondon, LB; Malaki Starks, DB, Mykel Williams, DE
Dick Butkus Award: Smael Mondon, LB
Walter Camp Award:Carson Beck, RB; Malaki Starks, DB
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award:Dillon Bell, WR
Comeback Player of the Year:Branson Robinson, RB
Lou Groza Award:Peyton Woodring, PK
Ray Guy Award:Brett Thorson, P
Paul Hornung Award:Trevor Etienne, RB
Lott IMPACT Trophy: Malki Starks, DB, Jalon Walker, LB
John Mackey Award:Oscar Delp, TE; Ben Yurosek, TE
Patrick Mannelly Award:Beau Gardner, SN
Manning Award:Carson Beck, QB
Maxwell Award:Carson Beck, QB; Trevor Etienne, RB
Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Smael Mondon, LB; Malaki Starks, DB; Mykel Williams, DL
Davey O’Brien Award:Carson Beck, QB
Outland Trophy:Dylan Fairchild, OL; Tate Ratledge, OL; Nazir Stackhouse, DL; Xavier Truss, OL
Rimington Trophy:Jared Wilson, OL
Jim Thorpe Award:Malaki Starks, DB; Daylen Everette, DB
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award:Carson Beck, QB
Doak Walker Award:Trevor Etienne, RB
Allstate Wuerffel Trophy/Good Works Team Nominee:Malaki Starks, DB

The Bulldogs welcome back James Coley (wide receivers), who is in his second stint at UGA (first was 2016-19) during the Kirby Smart era. Also, Josh Crawford (run game coordinator/running backs), Travaris Johnson (co-defensive coordinator, safeties) and Donte Williams (defensive backs) are fresh additions.

Also, Kirk Benedict has been promoted from special teams quality control to special teams coordinator. Meanwhile, former co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has transitioned into an off-field analyst to spend more time with family. Muschamp’s youngest son, Whit, is a freshman quarterback at Vanderbilt while his oldest son, Jackson, was a quarterback at Georgia, finishing in 2023.

Following the retirement of Uga X, 10-month old puppy Boom assumed the vaunted role of Georgia’s on-field mascot in 2023. Currently, he is 14-1.

During a pregame ceremony at the annual “G Day” game, University of Georgia president Jere W. Morehead joined J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks and his son, Davis, in the ceremonial collaring of Boom. Boom is the 11th solid white English Bulldog to serve as Georgia’s mascot since the line began in 1956 courtesy of the Seiler family of Savannah. In his first season, Boom saw the Bulldogs post their third-consecutive undefeated regular season, followed by a record-breaking 63-3 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. In the offseason, Boom resides with his family in Savannah.

Following the two-phase renovation in 2023-24 that included a new press box, capacity at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium has increased slightly to 93,033. Georgia remains ninth among the top 10 largest on-campus stadiums.

The Sanford Stadium Press Box is located on the 400 and 500 levels at the west end of the Sky Suites on the south side of the stadium. The 400 level of the press box is named for Hall of Fame SID Claude Felton while the 500 level is named for the late Dan Magill, known as “the greatest Bulldog of them all.” Those two Bulldog loyalists combined to serve UGA for nearly a century.

The new press box replaced the Dan Magill Press Box which was built in 1967. This space now is home to the newest premium area known as the 1929 Club. There’s a new network television booth, and it’s still located on the club level on the south side. There is no change to the field level Frank Lumpkin Media Center, which serves as the photographer work and hospitality area as well as the head coach’s interview room.

Georgia is +2 in turnover margin.

The Bulldogs have 14 points (includes the PATs) off two turnovers.

Opponents have not forced any turnovers

#14 CU: UGA 6 pts. off 1 TO; UGA had no TOs
TT: UGA 7 pts. off 1 TO; UGA had no TOs

Georgia ranks third in NCAA history for consecutive games scoring and third among schools with active streaks:

Team – Games
Florida 449 (1988-present)
TCU 392 (1991-present)
Georgia 374 (1995-present)

Georgia has nine plays of 25 yards or more this season while its opponents have two.

GAME 1 (Longest):
#1 UGA: 5 (40-yd TD pass, Beck to Humphreys; 40-yd rush Frazier)
#14 CU: 1 (36-yd pass, Klubnik to Williams)
GAME 2 (Longest):
#1 UGA: 4 (50-yd TD pass, Beck to Smith)
TT: 1 (26-yd rush A. Littles)

The Bulldogs had twelve first-time starters in their season-opening win over #14

#14 CU (6):Lawson Luckie (TE), Brandon Robinson (RB), Jared Wilson (C), Julian Humphrey (DB), Christen Miller (DL) and JaCorey Thomas (Star).
TT (6): J. Aguero (Star), T. Etienne (RB), G. Harris (LB), T. Ingram-Dawkins (DE), J. Walker (LB), C. Young (WR)

The Bulldogs had 13 true freshmen make their debut in the 2024 season-opening win over #14 Clemson in Atlanta: KJ Bolden (S), Nate Frazier (RB), Ellis Robinson IV (CB), Joseph Jonah-Ajonye (DE), Jordan Thomas (DL), Justin Williams (LB), Chris Cole (LB), Daniel Calhoun (OL), Jahzare Jackson (OT), Jaden Redell (TE), Colton Heinrich (TE) and Chauncey Bowens (RB) and Quintavius Johnson (LB).

vs. #14 CU: C. Beck, T. Ratledge, J. Walker & M. Williams
TT: C. Jones, X. Truss, C. Chambliss, N. Stackhouse
@UK:
@UA:
AU:
MSU:
@Texas:
vs. UF:
@OM:
UT:
UMASS:
GT:

• Ninth season as Georgia coach • 95-16 Career Record • 2021 & 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
• 2017 CFP national runner-up
• Unbeaten against all active coaches over the past five years and one of just two active coaches with multiple national titles (Dabo Swinney-Clemson, ’16 & ’18)
• Best record & winning percentage (85-15, .850) after his first 100 games of any coach in SEC history
• 2017, 2022 SEC Champions • SEC Eastern Division Champs 2017-19 & 21-23
• Georgia defense has been ranked in the top five nationally in Scoring Defense five ties including leading the nation in 2019 & 2021; Been ranked in the top 10 in Scoring Offense the past three seasons (2021-23)
• 2017 George Munger award (National Coach of the Year by Maxwell Club)
• Three-Time SEC Coach of the Year, 2017, 2021-22
• Bulldogs have won two Butkus Awards and two Mackey Awards, One Outland Trophy, Bednarik Award, Thorpe Award, Groza Award, Manning Award & Burlsworth Trophy; Two NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards, One Heisman Trophy finalist
• 20 1st-team All-Americans
• 17 First Round NFL Draft picks
• 63 NFL Draft Picks
• 242 players on SEC Academic Honor Rolls, including a high of 43 on the 2023 team

Year	W	L	Pct.	SEC	Bowl	AP Rank
2016	8	5	.615	4-4	Liberty	NR
2017	13	2	.867	8-2#	CFP Rose/NCG	2nd
2018	11	3	.786	7-2#	Sugar	T7th
2019	12	2	.857	7-2#	Sugar	4th
2020	8	2	.800	7-2	Chick-fil-A	7th
2021	14	1	.933	9-1#	CFP Orange/NCG	1st
2022	15	0	1.000	9-0#	CFP Peach/NCG	1st
2023	13	1	.929	8-0	Orange	4th
2024	2	0	1.000	0-0	1st
Total	96	16	.857	*59-14

#3-5 (includes 2017-19, ’21, ’22, ’23 SECCGs, 2018 & 2022 CFPNC)

SEASON	OPPONENT	START OF 4TH QUARTER OR DEFICIT	FINAL
2016	% #22 UNC	Trailed 24-23	33-24
2016	@ Missouri	Trailed 27-21	28-27
2016	@ Kentucky	Trailed 21-16	27-24
2016	#8 Auburn	Tied 7-7	13-7
2016	^TCU	Trailed Trailed 23-21	31-23
2017	@ #24 Notre Dame	Trailed 17-16, trailed 19-17 with 10:21 left	20-19
2017	$ #2 Oklahoma	Tied 31-31, trailed 45-38 with 0:55 left	54-48 2ot
2020	~ #8 Cincinnati	Trailed 21-10, trailed 21-19 with :03 left	24-21
2022	! #1 Alabama	Trailed 18-13 with 10:14 left	33-18
2022	@ Missouri	Trailed 19-12, trailed 22-12 with 14:09 left	26-22
2022	~ #4 Ohio State (CFP Semi)	Trailed 38-24, trailed 41-35 with 2:43 left	42-41
2023	@ Auburn	Tied 17-17, tied 20-20 with 6:21 left	27-20

%Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic; ^Liberty Bowl; $Rose Bowl Game; ~Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl; !CFP National Championship

Rushing Yards: 222, Nick Chubb vs. #22 UNC (9/3/16);
Rushing TDs: 3, Sony Michel UK (11/18/17); vs. #2 Oklahoma (1/1/18); Daijun Edwards AU (10/8/22);
Longest Rush: 83-TD, D’Andre Swift @ #9 UK (11/3/18);
Passing Yards: 401, JT Daniels MSU (11/21/20);
Passing TDs: 5, C. Beck (TT-9/7/24), Stetson Bennett UAB (9/11/21);
Receiving Yards: 197 (8 rec.), Jermaine Burton MSU (11/21/20)
Receiving TDs: 2, by 9 different Bulldogs multiple times;
Longest Pass/TD Pass: 89-TD, S. Bennett to Brock Bowers UAB (9/11/21);
Tackles: 15, Nakobe Dean vs. #8 UF (11/7/20);
Sacks: 3, Trenton Thompson vs. TCU (12/30/16); Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT (11/13/21);
TFL: 3, Azeez Ojulari #7 AU (10/3/20); Thompson vs. Nicholls (9/10/16); Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT (11/13/21)

• The Bulldogs are 27-1 (loss came versus #8 UF in 2020) when they register a non-offensive score under Smart.
• In 2023, freshman DB Kyron Jones returned an INT versus UT Martin 26 yards for a score; redshirt sophomore Mekhi Mews took a punt return 69 yards for a touchdown against Ball State; and Joenel Aguero blocked a punt for a safety versus Florida.
• In 2022, the Bulldogs had a safety on a blocked punt versus Kent State and Chris Smith ran a blocked field goal back 96 yards for a touchdown versus No. 14 LSU.
• In 2021, Georgia had six of these scores: Smith’s 74-yd INT return (#3 CU); Jamon Dumas-Johnson’s 20-yd INT return (UAB); Safety (SC); Zamir White 0-yd return of blocked punt (#8 ARK); Nakobe Dean’s 5

{108 Points on 16 TDs, 6 Safeties}

2016: 14 points in 3 different games (Pick-Six, Fumble Ret., Safety);
2017: 6 points in one game (Fumble Ret.);
2018: 12 points in 2 different games (Pick-Six, Fumble Ret.);
2019: 18 points in 3 different games (2 Fumble Ret., 1 Fumble Rec.);
2020: 22 points in 4 different games (2 Pick-Sixes 1 Fumble Ret., 2 Safeties);
2021: 28 points in 6 different games (4 Pick-Sixes, 2 Safeties);
2022: none
2023: 8 points in two games (Pick-Six, Safety)

2016: 12 points in 2 games (KOR, PR);
2017: none;
2018: 12 points in 2 games (PR, Blocked Punt Ret.);
2019: none;
2020: none;
2021: 8 points in 2 games (Blocked Punt Ret.; Safety/Blocked Punt);
2022: 8 points in 2 games (Safety/Blocked Punt; Blocked FG Ret.).
2023: 8 points in 2 games (PR, Safety)

“Kirby Smart All Access Presented by Piedmont Healthcare” – This half-hour program will air Monday at 7 p.m. during football season and offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look through the preparation ahead of each game, from exclusive interviews with coaches and players, to features showcasing what it takes to build and maintain a championship program.

“Bulldogs Final” – This short wrap-up program will air on Saturday nights of UGA football games, with a repeat Sunday mornings, and will include highlights, analysis, and exclusive content from that week’s game.

“Bulldogs Now Presented by Hoffman Financial” – This weekly, half-hour program on Saturdays at 8 a.m. will deliver exclusive access and the latest updates on the Georgia Bulldogs all year round. Outside of football season, the show will feature the latest news, in-depth features and updates on all 21 UGA sports programs.