UGA Football: Georgia vs UMass Game Review – Bulldogs Surge Past UMass As Seniors Get 51st Win

ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 10-ranked Georgia football team extended its school-record home winning streak to 30 games on Saturday with a 59-21 victory over UMass at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Day on Dooley Field prior to kickoff, and with the win the 2024 senior class became the most successful in program history with its 51st victory.

Georgia redshirt senior quarterback Carson Beck threw four touchdown passes and completed 20 of 31 passes for 297 yards. Freshman running back Nate Frazier had the first 100-yard game and first multi-touchdown game of his career, finishing with career-highs in yards (136), touchdowns (3) and carries (21).

The Bulldogs (9-2) needed the offense to excel because it was at times a tough day for the defense, which allowed UMass (2-9) to move the ball effectively on numerous drives. Georgia ended up with 550 yards of offense to the Minutemen’s 351. The Bulldog defense did score a touchdown late in the game after forcing a turnover.

UMass received the opening kickoff and quickly drove 75 yards for a touchdown. The Minutemen got a 38-yard run from quarterback Ahmad Haston on third-and-8 at the UMass 30, and CJ Hester later scored on a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 9:15 left in the first quarter.

Georgia answered right back with its own touchdown drive, one that featured a mix of runs by Frazier and passes to a variety of targets by Beck. There was a 15-yard completion to sophomore tight end Lawson Luckie, an 8-yard completion to freshman wideout Sacovie White, and the Bulldogs scored when junior tight end Oscar Delp turned a screen pass on the right side into a 17-yard touchdown.

The Minutemen had the ball for nearly 11 minutes of the first quarter, out-gaining the Bulldogs 134-65. UMass was at the UGA 16-yard line as the second quarter began, but soon the Minutemen were headed backward. There was a 15-yard offensive pass interference penalty followed by a 7-yard sack by Georgia senior defensive lineman Warren Brinson on third down, forcing a punt.

Georgia started its next drive at its 10, got a 12-yard rush from freshman Dwight Phillips, Jr., followed by a 49-yard completion from Beck to senior Arian Smith — plus a 15-yard penalty on UMass for roughing the passer. Later, on fourth-and-4 at the 8, Beck hit redshirt junior Cash Jones out of the backfield for an easy touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 10:30 on the clock.

The Bulldog offense was soon back on the field after senior defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse forced a fumble on a rushing attempt and sophomore linebacker Raylen Wilson recovered it at the UMass 28. A few plays later, senior wideout Dominic Lovett hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone, pushing Georgia’s lead to 21-7 with 8:56 until halftime.

UMass didn’t go away after getting behind a couple of touchdowns. On their next drive, the Minutemen converted a pair of fourth-down plays and had a first down at the 3 at the two-minute timeout. On the next play, Jalen John capped a 14-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, cutting the Bulldog lead to 21-14 with 1:55 to go in the half.

Beck led the Bulldogs on a quick scoring drive before halftime. Beck ran for 10 on one play, completed a 20-yard pass to junior wideout Cole Speer on another, and found Smith for a 34-yard touchdown down the middle with 43 seconds left. At the break, Georgia led 28-14.

Georgia had a couple of big offensive plays on the first drive of the second half — a 15-yard completion to Phillips and a 27-yard completion to Smith — but eventually had to settle for a 53-yard Peyton Woodring field goal, extending the lead to 31-14.

UMass only needed two plays to answer with a touchdown. Quarterback AJ Hairston avoided the Georgia rush and fired a deep pass into double coverage that wideout Jakobie James-Keeney pulled in, running the final 35 yards for the score and cutting Georgia’s lead to 31-21 with 12:53 left in the third.

Frazier did much of the work on Georgia’s next drive, including scoring on a 9-yard run to push the Bulldog lead to 38-21 with 8:44 to go in the third. Frazier carried the ball five times on the nine-play drive, gaining a total of 37 yards.

The Georgia defense forced its first three-and-out on the next UMass drive, with defensive end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins batting down a third-down pass. After a 33-yard punt, the Bulldogs had a first down at their 40. Despite fumbling twice on the drive, Georgia was able to go ahead 45-21 with 1:26 left in the third on a 15-yard touchdown run by Frazier.

The Minutemen needed one play to get inside the Georgia 10 on the ensuing drive. On first down, John took a handoff 68 yards to the UGA 7. Two plays later, the Bulldogs got a strip sack from defensive end Mykel Williams that resulted in a loss of 23 yards to the 28. Kicker Jacob Lurie later missed a 37-yard field goal, keeping the UGA lead at 24 points.

Frazier added a third touchdown, this one a 2-yarder, to make it 52-21 with 6:33 to play in the game. Georgia’s defense, which struggled to contain explosive plays at times in the game, scored with 3:28 remaining when freshman linebacker Chris Cole returned a fumble 28 yards for the first defensive touchdown of the season for the Bulldogs. Linebacker Gabe Harris’s sack and strip forced the fumble.

The Bulldogs wrap up their regular season at Sanford Stadium next Friday night against Georgia Tech.