UGA Football – Page 65 – Field Street Forum

UGA Football: No. 1 Bulldogs Stifle Skyhawks In Opener

ATHENS, Ga. — The two-time defending national champion Georgia football team opened its 2023 season by rolling past UT Martin, 48-7, on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium. The win was the Bulldogs’ 18th in a row overall, 19th in a row on Dooley Field, and Georgia tied the school record for regular-season wins in a row with its 28th, matching the great run of the 1981-83 teams.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 92,746, the Bulldogs were in control throughout their takedown of the Skyhawks, an FCS program that plays in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference, though the offense took a bit to get rolling. Georgia (1-0) finished with 559 of offense while the defense repeatedly stuffed Martin, holding it to 260 total yards.

Among the offensive players held out of the game were wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint; McConkey had 58 catches for 762 yards and seven touchdowns last season and Rosemy-Jacksaint had 29 for 337 yards. Still, the Bulldogs still had plenty of offensive weapons available, including one of the best players in the country in tight end Brock Bowers. The junior finished with five catches for 77 yards and scored on a three-yard run in less than three quarters of action.

UGA Football: Postgame Notes – Georgia vs. UT-Martin

Postgame Notes: The UT Martin Game at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium

*Season Opener: With today’s 48-7 victory, No. 1 Georgia has won 10 straight season openers including all eight under Kirby Smart.
Today marked Georgia’s first season opener at home since 2018 against Austin Peay (Bulldogs won 45-0). Since then, the Bulldogs kicked off a season with wins at Vanderbilt, Arkansas, versus #3 Clemson in Charlotte and last year against #11 Oregon in Atlanta. Also, today marked the official game debut of UGA XI or “Boom” who was introduced to the Bulldog Nation at the spring G-Day game this past April.

*Defense Blanks Skyhawks For Three Quarters:Top-ranked Georgia blanked the Skyhawks until 6:39 left in the contest when they scored a TD on a nine-yard completion to Trevonte Rucker from Kinkead Dent to finish a 12 play, 75-yard drive that made it 38-7. UT Martin finished with 260 yards of offense on 63 plays. In the first half UT Martin was held to 89 yards on 24 plays.
Tonight, Georgia’s leading tacklers were sophomore safety Malaki Starks with eight and senior star Tykee Smith with six including a TFL. Sophomore DE Mykel Williams had a sack. Williams led the team last year with 4.5 sacks. Freshman Kyron Jones registered a pick-six, covering 26 yards to make it 48-7. It marked the 28th score on either defense or special teams in the Kirby Smart era. It was the first Bulldog pick-six since Kelee Ringo’s 79-yarder to help clinch the CFP national championship against top-ranked Alabama on Jan. 10, 2022.