UGA National Championship Section

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Confetti swept throughout SoFi Stadium, sprinkling the Georgia Bulldogs as they reveled in their 65-7 victory over TCU, their two-year journey that once seemed unfathomable was now complete.

“I told them all year: ‘We ain’t getting hunted, guys. We’re doing the hunting and hunting season is almost over and we only got one more chance to hunt,’” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We hunted tonight.”

Georgia’s win on Monday night was as much about becoming the first team in the College Football Playoff Era — and just the sixth in more than 50 years — to repeat as champion as it was a coronation, the crowning of the sport’s undisputed and undefeated king.

According to ESPN research, Georgia’s 58-point margin of victory is the largest in the history of bowl games, bypassing the 56-point margin set by LSU (2022), Army (2018), Tulsa (2007) and Centre, Ky. (1920).

While the Bulldogs’ title last season was about ending 41 years of frustration, this year’s triumph proved that top-ranked Georgia (15-0) wasn’t a one-hit wonder or a one-off champion, but the sport’s new standard-bearer.

The Bulldogs’ win over the third-seeded Horned Frogs (13-2) was their 29th in 30 games the past two seasons, tying the college football record for the most in a twoyear span. Georgia joined Alabama (2011-12), Southern Cal (2003-04), Nebraska (1994-95), Alabama (197879) and Nebraska (197071) as the only back-to-back champions in college football’s modern era.

“They had a will to work and didn’t listen to what everyone said about them,” said Smart, whose team is just one of five schools in major college football history to go 15-0 or better in a season. “Everyone doubted

them to start the year and that chip on their shoulder was just big enough to create an edge for our team.”

The Bulldogs’ path to immortality will resonate for generations, having transformed Georgia to college football royalty, with the rest of the sport now looking up to the Bulldogs whose reign will last for at least another year.

Make no mistake, what transpired in California was the Hollywood ending the Bulldogs and their fanbase had been clamoring for since the season’s outset.

Nine days after Georgia survived fourth-ranked Ohio State’s missed field goal in the final seconds to win its semifinal game, the Bulldogs’ dominated the Horned Frogs from the opening kickoff en route to scoring the most points in a championship game in the BCS/CFP eras dating to 1998.

Stetson Bennett went 18for-25 passing for 304 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions after being pulled with 13:25 left game.

Smart called a timeout so Bennett could walk off the field for the final time as a

Bennett, who was named the Offensive MVP for this fourth consecutive playoff game, also rushed for 39 yards and two scores on three carries to cap a career in which he went from joining Georgia as a walk-on to leading it to back-to-back national championships.

“I didn’t dream this,” Bennett, whose six total touchdowns tied quarterback Joe Burrow of LSU’s CFP record, said. “I was just trying to do my job and we ended up here.”

Brock Bowers finished with seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, with Ladd McConkey adding five receptions for 88 yards and two scores.

Kenny McIntosh rushed for a game-high 50 yards on eight carries, with Branson Robinson (7 carries, 42 yards, 2 TDs) and Kendall Milton (10 carries, 33 yards, TD) also gashing the Horned Frogs on the ground.

The Bulldogs outgained the

Horned Frogs 589-188, including 254-36 on the ground, and scoring nine touchdowns and a field goal on their 11 possessions before taking a knee on their final drive. The Bulldogs averaged a whopping 8.2 yards per play.

Georgia took a 7-0 lead it wouldn’t relinquish on its first possession following a TCU punt, when Bennett’s 21-yard run up the middle capped a five-play, 57-yard drive with 11:01 left in the first quarter.

After Georgia recovered a TCU fumble, Jack Podlesny’s 24-yard field goal extended the advantage to 10-0 with 6:51 left in the quarter.

TCU pulled to within 10-7 on quarterback Max Duggan’s 2-yard run less than two minutes later. But the Bulldogs scored the game’s next 58 points, starting with Bennett’s 37-yard touchdown pass to McConkey for a 17-7 lead with 2:43 to go in the quarter.

After a TCU punt, Georgia scored on its fourth straight possession, with Bennett running untouched six yards around the left end for a 24-7 advantage with 8:30 left in

the half.

The Bulldogs, following Javon Bullard’s interception, pushed their lead to 31-7 on Milton’s 1-yard run with 1:19 to go in the first half.

Two plays after Bullard’s second interception gave Georgia the ball on TCU’s 22-yard line, Bennett threw a 22-yard scoring strike to Adonai Mitchell with 26 seconds left before halftime.

“We had things go about as bad as they could go in the first half,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said at halftime. “We turned the ball over three times, we gave up big plays. I think early on our guys were a little wide eyed.”

Georgia’s statistics in the first 30 minutes resembled more of a video game than a national championship game against a TCU squad seeking its first national title since 1938.

Bennett went 14-for-18 passing for 223 yards with two touchdowns and added 39 yards and two rushing scores. The Bulldogs outgained the Horned Frogs 354-121, averaging a whopping 9.3

yards per play, with their 38 points a first-half CFP title game record.

The Bulldogs didn’t let up in the third quarter. Bennett’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Bowers, followed by Podlesny’s extra point, gave Georgia its 45th point on its 45th play of the game with 10:52 remaining in the quarter.

Bennett threw his fourth touchdown pass with a 14yard toss to McConkey for a 52-7 lead with 2:17 left in the third quarter.

Branson Robinson’s 1-yard run capped a nine-play, 54yard drive for a 59-7 advantage with 9:24 left.

Smart called timeout to let Georgia’s veteran players, including defensive back Christopher Smith, tackle Jalen Carter and cornerback Kelee Ringo walk off the field together, the next crop of Bulldogs continued to sack Duggan, who was dropped five times.

Robinson’s 19-yard touchdown run made it 65-7 with 7:23 remaining after the missed extra-point.

Bulldog amid cheers from Georgia’s fans who made the trip west.

usa Today sports - Jayne Kamin-Oncea

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is greeted by coach Kirby Smart as he comes out of the game in the fourth quarter of Monday’s championship game against TCU. Bennett, who began his Bulldog career as a walk-on before transferring to a junior college and returning to Athens far back on the depth chart, punctuating his second straight national title campaign with an emphatic victory, solidifying his status among Georgia’s all-time greats in the process.

usa Today sports Gary a. Vasquez

Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard (22) celebrates after intercepting a pass against TCU during the first half.

SEC, Georgia still on top of rapidly changing landscape

By Scott M. Reid Los Angeles Daily News

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Georgia was carried to LAX and its national title defense last week by a Delta plane whose fuselage bore the signature of the man who built the Bulldogs’ first dynasty—Vince Dooley.

Bulldogs’ final preparations in recent days also included a video of Dooley, who died on October 28, his words both haunting and familiar.

“It’s easier sometimes to try and get there then try to be there and hold onto it and defend,” Dooley said in the video. “You better get ready, you better buckle up your chinstrap.”

The Bulldogs were more than ready.

Georgia, buckling up and hunkering down, continued its reign over college football’s ever-changing landscape with a 65-7 rout of Cinderella TCU Monday night, capping perhaps the most seismic season in the sport’s history with 60 devastating minutes of certainty.

In keeping the national title between the hedges to become the first school to successfully defend its crown since Nick Saban’s Alabama did so in 2012, Georgia’s triumph in the College Football Playoff championship game before 72,628 at SoFi Stadium served as a reminder that even in the sport’s most transformative decade one thing remains constant — the season ending with an SEC school lifting the national title game’s gold trophy into a downpour of confetti.

“When entitlement creeps in your program you’re in trouble. We don’t have any of that here,” Smart said.

“Our kids don’t run from work. As long as you don’t have entitlement in your program, you got a shot.”

Completing a perfect 15-0 season, securing its 17th consecutive win, Georgia captured the SEC’s fifth consecutive national championship with the most lopsided victory in the game’s history.

The SEC’s 12th title in the last 16 years was never really in question.

By halftime up at St. Simons and Jekyll Island, in Statesboro and Lawrenceville, Dacula and Valdosta, Bainbridge and Moultrie, Dawg fans already had plenty to celebrate.

Stetson Bennett’s precision passing and timely running and an overpowering defense that has been a trademark of Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart’s seven seasons at his alma mater Georgia led 38-7 after 30 minutes.

Bennett threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more and the Bulldogs forced three Horned Frog turnovers in a first half that left TCU completely overwhelmed.

“We had things go about as bad as they could go in the first half,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said.

“We turned the ball over three times, we gave up big plays. I think early on our guys were a little wide eyed.”

The view from the TCU sideline didn’t get any better in the second half. Bennett, a 25-year-old former walk-on nicknamed the “Mailman” because he always delivers, completed 18 of 25 passes for 305 yards and four TDs on the night. He was responsible for 36 Georgia points, equaling a national title game record. The Bulldogs rolled up 589 yards total offense, 485 in the first three quarters.

“What he did tonight was truly amazing,” Smart said. “What he did tonight was probably his best game.

“He’s got G.O.A.T. status in Athens, Georgia. That’s for sure.”

“He’s a legend in college football,” Dykes said. “When you think about Stetson Bennett you will always remember that he won two straight national titles.”

The laying of the foundation of a Georgia dynasty and the SEC’s continued dominance of the nation’s second most popular sport belied the uncertainty and unprecedented change rumbling through what has become a $4 billion industry.

The scramble to secure slices of nine- and 10-figure media rights deals amidst a decades-long arms race has dramatically changed the game’s topography, diminished one-time New Year’s Day icons like the Rose and Orange Bowls to the undercard to a College Football Playoff that will expand to 12 teams in 2024, tore apart the 118-year-old Pac 12, and threatened to reduce the sport’s Power Five conferences to a Power Two.

All of which leaves many in the sport convinced that college football has never been more popular—and never more rudderless.

“I just feel that college football right now, who are the leaders?” said Kirk Herbstreit, the former Ohio State quarterback and longtime ESPN analyst. “Who’s making the decisions to ultimately try to have those kind of conversations? It’s most definitely not the NCAA. I’m very anxious to see where our future goes as we get ready for this 12-team playoff as we still wait for more realignment. There are so many unknowns right now in college football.”

USC and UCLA, having limped across the finish line of their 2022 seasons, are headed in 2024 to the 14-member Big Ten, a conference that supplied half of this season’s CFB Playoff final four, chasing the riches of the conference’s $7-billion, seven-year media rights deal, trading Saturdays against longtime rivals on The Farm or the shores of Lake Washington for road trips to the Ann Arbor’s Big House and as college football

wastelands like New Brunswick, New Jersey and College Park, Maryland.

Texas, which already has its own television network, and ancient foe Oklahoma are taking their Red River Rivalry to the SEC.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff will pour an additional $1.9 billion into the sport.

The schools aren’t the only ones on the move or following the money.

When Georgia and TCU kicked off Monday there were 1,746 Division I football players in the NCAA’s transfer portal. Bennett won the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback job a month into the 2021 season after former Mater Dei star J.T. Daniels, who had transferred from USC, suffered an oblique injury. Daniels spent this season at West Virginia. Next fall he is expected to take snaps at Rice, his fifth university.

“Look, we were preparing this week for a national championship game and we had six transfers on campus on an official visit,” Dykes said. “And you’re just kind of like, really? I mean, are we really doing this?

The vast migration of tailbacks and free safeties is as much about Name, Image and Likeness deals as it is playing time. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in June 2021 that the NCAA could not legally limit any education-related payments to students. TCU was on the verge of emerging as a Top 10 contender in 1985 when then Horned Frog head coach Jim Wacker learned of and then reported to the NCAA that players were receiving cash and other benefits in violation of NCAA rules.

Despite Wacker’s forthrightness, TCU received NCAA penalties that it took it decades to overcome. Among the charges that TCU players had $700 busboy jobs at a pizza parlor owned by a Horned Frog alum.

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers was one of nine college football players with NIL valuations over $1 million. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, another former Mater Dei standout, has earned a reported $3.2 million. Texas running back Bijan Robinson’s $1.7 million NIL evaluation includes a deal with Lamborghini.

“So right now, I think it’s just a mess,” Herbstreit said. “I think the sport of college football across the board is a mess in a lot of different areas,”

For 60 convincing minutes Georgia provided a respite from uncertainty. At one of SoFi’s end zones, high winds blew a cold rain beneath the stadium’s roof into the stands, drenching hundreds of fans. Below them Georgia, yet another SEC champion, celebrated under a shower of red and white confetti.

The downpour showed no sign of letting up.

Bulldogs headline early top 25 for 2023 season

By Matt Murschel Orlando Sentinel

As the college football season comes to an end with the National Championship Game Monday night, it’s never too early to look ahead and predict which teams could wind up back in the top 25.

1. Georgia (15-0): It’s been an incredible run for Georgia and coach Kirby Smart and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The roster is loaded with talent and will add more with the No. 2 recruiting class. The biggest question is replacing Stetson Bennett at quarterback, with backups Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff battling for the job.

2. Michigan (13-1): After back-to-back semifinal appearances, the biggest question facing the Wolverines this offseason is where to go next. Jim Harbaugh is reportedly flirting with the idea of returning to the NFL, leaving the program in some flux. The roster remains solid, with quarterback J.J. McCarthy expected back and tailback Blake Corum could decide to return. Couple that with a top transfer class and things could be right for another run at a Big Ten title and playoff run.

3. Ohio State (11-2): The Buckeyes were a missed 50yard field goal away from playing in the National Championship Game. Yet despite pulling off their fourth double-digit win season in the past five years, some critics have wondered if there needs to be a change at the top. Ohio State finished in the top 15 in offense and defense and returned a share of experience but must find a replacement for C.J. Stroud and could do so through the transfer portal.

4. Alabama (11-2): The Crimson Tide missed the Playoff semifinal only the second time in the last eight seasons. The last time that happened, Alabama went on to win the national championship the following year. The roster is bound to suffer through attrition, with quarterback Bryce Young, tailback Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Will Anderson already set to leave for the NFL. But the Tide have the top recruiting class and plenty of firepower to make another run at the playoffs.

5. Utah (10-4): The Utes are coming off back-to-back Pac-12 championships as Kyle Whittingham continues to reshape the program into a perennial conference power. Utah signed a top-25 recruiting class and with the return of quarterback Cam Rising, the roster should be loaded with enough talent an depth to make a run at a third conference championship.

6. TCU (13-1): It was a

magical year for the Horned Frogs, who went from being picked to finish 7th in the preseason Big 12 media poll to playing in the national championship. The challenge for first-year coach Sonny Dykes comes in 2023 with high expectations and a roster that will need to be retooled. Quarterback Max Duggan, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist, is leaving for the NFL and the roster will have some other attrition to account for. Even so, TCU should be a Big 12 contender.

7. Florida State (10-3): Few teams have as much momentum heading into next season as the Seminoles, who capped off a turnaround season that saw them win 10 games for the first time since 2016. FSU won six straight at the end of the season and returns a wealth of talent and experience with quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson and receiver Mycah Pittman among others. Another top transfer class should help address any other concerns on the roster.

8. Notre Dame (8-4): The Fighting Irish rebounded from a disappointing 0-2 start to win eight of their last 10 games, including a thrilling win over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. Marcus Freeman’s first season was an advent, ure but despite the struggles, Notre Dame secured another top-10 recruiting class and could be on the verge of signing one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal in Sam Hartman.

9. Clemson (11-3): Despite an 11-win campaign that included their eighth ACC title under Dabo Swinney, the Tigers face an offseason of questions. Clemson failed to qualify for the Playoff semifinals for the second consecutive season and the offense, albeit improved from 2021, still struggled. D.J. Uiagalelei’s departure clears the way for Cade Klubnik to assume the starting role at quarterback and another top-10 recruiting class should help keep the program atop the conference.

10. Oregon (10-3): Dan Lanning’s first season with the Ducks was a relative success and that momentum carried over into recruiting (No. 11 class) and through the transfer portal (No. 13 class). Bo Nix’s return gives Oregon an experienced quarterback to guide the offense, which ranked No. 5 in the country, but it will be the defense that needs to improve after a season that saw the team give up nearly 28 points and 382 yards per game.

11. Penn State (11-2): The Nittany Lions quietly put together an impressive 11win season, the fourth under coach James Franklin since

his arrival at Penn State in 2014. The roster will undergo some changes, particularly on offense, with the departure of quarterback Sean Clifford. The defense should benefit from the return of seven possible starters and couple with another top-25 recruiting class, the Nittany Lions could find themselves back in the top 10.

12. LSU (10-4): Brian Kelly led the Tigers to a bounceback season in 2022, capped off by an SEC West divisional crown and a spot in the Citrus Bowl. Kelly tapped into the transfer portal to rebuild the LSU roster, bringing along more than a dozen new players led by quarterback Jayden Daniels. The dual-threat Daniels helped guide a resurgent offense that returns a lot of pieces next season, coupled with a top recruiting class (No. 7) and another top transfer class (No. 3).

13. USC (11-3): Few teams enter the 2023 season with more to prove than the Trojans, who, despite coming off their first 11-win season since 2,017 finished on a disappointing note with back-to-back losses in the Pac-12 Championship and Cotton Bowl. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams will once again power the offense at quarterback. Still, it will be the defense that faces the toughest scrutiny after finishing ranked No. 101 in total defense.

14. Kansas State (10-4): The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 before the season started but instead wound up winning their first conference title since 2012. The program should carry some momentum into 2,023, even after losing running back Deuce Vaughn to the NFL draft. Kansas State signed a top-30 recruiting class and continues to fill holes on the depth chart through the transfer portal.

15. Tennessee (11-2): The Volunteers were one of the biggest surprises of 2022, winning 11 games for the first time since 2001. Much of the success centered on the offense, which led the country in scoring (46) and total offense (525.5 yards per game). Joe Milton appears set to step in at quarterback for Hendon Hooker, who finished fifth in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting, but the most significant offseason project could be improving a defense that finished No. 93 in the country.

16. Washington (11-2) 17. North Carolina (9-5) 18. UCLA (9-4) 19. Texas (8-5) 20. Oregon State (10-3) 21. South Carolina (8-5) 22. Tulane (12-2) 23. Troy (12-2) 24. UTSA (11-3) 25. Wisconsin (7-6)

usa Today sports - Mark J. rebilas

Georgia offensive lineman Jared Wilson reacts after a play against TCU during the second quarter of Monday’s CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium.

usa Today sports Mark J. rebilas

Freshman running back Branson Robinson, who scored a pair of late touchdowns Monday, is among the players expected to return for Georgia in 2023 as it chases a third straight title.

usa Today sports - Kirby Lee

SoFi Stadium is awash in a cloud of confetti following Georgia’s romp of TCU in the CFP national championship game Monday night.

uGa sports Communications - Kayle renie; usa Today sports - Kirby Lee, Gary a. Vasquez, Mark J. rebilas

above: Fans cheer Stetson Bennett’s first touchdown run during a watch party inside Stegeman Coliseum on the Georgia campus in Athens. Left: Georgia receiver Ladd McConkey gets a lift from offensive lineman Tate Ratledge after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. Below: Georgia tight end Brock Bowers makes a touchdown catch over TCU safety Abraham Camara in the second half. Bottom: Georgia’s Redcoat Marching Band performs before the game.

Johnson & Alday Congratulates the Georgia Bulldogs GOOOOOOO DAWGS!

GO DAWGS

SEPT. 3 — GEORGIA 49, OREGON 3

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s message to his third-ranked Bulldogs before their 49-3 demolition of No. 11 Oregon couldn’t have been simpler.

“We’re going to play connected, we’re going to play aggressive,” he said before adding, “we’re going to be a hunter.”

Georgia (1-0) certainly bagged the Ducks (0-1) in the teams’ college football season opener in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in MercedesBenz Stadium on Saturday.

The Bulldogs scored a touchdown on each of their first seven possessions and overwhelmed Oregon defensively en route to their largest win over an AP-ranked team in school history.

If Georgia has room for improvement, which Smart insisted after the game it does,

it’s difficult to see what areas the Bulldogs need to address heading into Saturday’s home opener against Samford (1-0).

As good as Stetson Bennett was at the end of last season, he was even better against Oregon.

He went 25-for-31 (80.6 percent) for a career-high 368 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 201.7 passer rating in just 2 1/2 quarters before Carson Beck was called in for mop-up duty.

“It’s probably the best game I’ve played,” Bennett, who also ran for a touchdown, said.

In his past three games against some of the best teams in college football — the College Football Playoff championship game against Alabama, the Orange Bowl against Big Ten champion Michigan and Saturday’s Chick-game against Oregon — Bennett is 62-for-87 (71.3 percent) for 908 yards with

seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

“There’s something to him being the starting quarterback the whole time, right?,” Smart said. “You take what the defense gives you, right? If they’re willing to give you a chance to make those plays and throw the ball around, we think Stetson does it well.”

But Bennett wasn’t a oneman show against the Ducks, who were expected to be one of the Pac-12’s top teams this season.

Ten Bulldogs caught at least one pass, led by Kenny McIntosh (nine receptions, 117 yards), Ladd McConkey (five receptions, 73 yards, TD) and Adonai Mitchell (four receptions, 65 yards TD).

“Whenever you know that your brother next to you is thinking the same way you do, then you trust him,” Bennett said. “You worry about your job and you execute your job

and they execute their job, and it just is a domino effect.”

Kendall Milton also had eight carries for 50 yards and a score and McIntosh added a one-yard touchdown run, as the Bulldogs ran for 132 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries.

“Scoring points is the name of the game,” Smart said before turning his postgame press conference into a recruiting pitch.

“We want people that want to come play in this offense, and I think when you watch what they did today, if you’re watching from home, you’re saying, man, I’d love to play in that offense.”

But Georgia’s offense wasn’t the only aspect of the Bulldogs that was must-see TV.

Ducks quarterback Bo Nix went 21-for-37 passing for 173 yards with two interceptions that were each thrown deep in Georgia territory.

SEPT. 10 — GEORGIA 33, SAMFORD 0

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Georgia threw for more than 350 yards, scored on its first six possessions, had 15 receivers catch at least one pass and didn’t let an opponent in the end zone for the second straight week in a 33-0 win over visiting Samford on Saturday in Athens.

But Kirby Smart wasn’t impressed, even if the performance vaulted the Bulldogs to the No. 1 ranking atop the college football world, flipping with Alabama after the Crimson Tide’s lackluster performance in a 20-19 win at unranked Texas on Saturday.

“We’re not really mature yet,” Smart, whose team opens Southeastern Conference play at South Carolina (1-1) on Saturday, said. “You know the goal is to come

out and show some maturity and come out play with composure, and we really didn’t play very well, especially in the second half.”

While Georgia was far from perfection considering Jack Podlesny kicked four field goals shorter than 28 yards because the Georgia’s failed to consistently finish drives in the end zone, its victory was never in doubt.

“Through two games, I feel like we still have room for improvement,” tight end Darnell Washington said. “We have more room to grow. We can be 10 times better than what we are now.

Georgia has outscored it first two opponents by a combined score of 82-3, representing its largest margin of victory through a season’s first two games since 1941. Still, Smart really wasn’t that impressed by the

Bulldogs’ performance in a game Georgia was favored to win by 52.5 points.

“We didn’t score touchdowns,” he said. “You come off a week like Oregon where every opportunity to score a touchdown, we score a touchdown. And then we take a huge step back and have to kick field goals. Good teams, you can’t do that. You have to be able to execute well. We have to do a better job.”

Stetson Bennett threw for a touchdown and ran for another in less than three quarters. He finished with 252 yards on 24-for-34 passing for 300 yards before being replaced by Carson Beck with 2:34 left in the third quarter and Georgia up 30-0.

“I’d hope that we know that it’s not going to be handed to us, but if we didn’t know then I’m sure this is going to be a good reminder we’re

going to have to get back on Monday,” Bennett said. “We still had around 500 yards of offense, we didn’t punt in the first half, we still had a good day. But, it was not our day; it was not the day we wanted to have. We’re going to get that fixed on Monday.”

Kenny McIntosh had five receptions for 61 yards, while tight end Brock Bowers caught three passes for 57 yards. Kendall Milton rushed for 85 yards on 10 carries and Daijun Edwards added 23 yards on six attempts, while Beck went 5-for-7 for 52 yards. Podlesny’s lone miss was from 54 yards.

“Going through this week, we knew we were going to have to run the ball,” Milton said. “We actually were expecting it to be a rainy day so we were kind of already expecting for it to be a big running day.”

uGa sports Communications - Tony Walsh

special - Craig Cappy

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Georgia has won each of its first three games by at least 33 points and the 10 total points it has allowed are the Bulldogs’ fewest for a season’s first three games in 95 years.

The Bulldogs forced six turnovers and have yet to commit one. The lone touchdown they yielded came in the final minute, against reserve players, when South Carolina was trailing 48-0.

The Bulldogs opened the season by blowing out thenNo. 11 Oregon, then shut out Samford before going on the road and opening their SEC schedule by manhandling South Carolina this past Saturday.

“We’re going to have to play a four-quarter game at some point. We’re going to have to stay in shape,” Georgia quarterback Bennett said. “This isn’t going

to happen every week.”

Georgia’s next four opponents, beginning with Saturday’s home game against Kent State (1-2), have a combined record of 8-5 with none of their wins coming against teams from Power 5 conferences.

After that, the Bulldogs head to Jacksonville to face No. 20 Florida (2-1), which struggled to beat South Florida on Saturday, and plays at No. 11 Tennessee (3-0) this week. If the Gators, who have yet to throw a touchdown pass this year, lose to the Vols, who are favored by 10 points, they’ll likely fall out of the rankings.

Georgia might not play a ranked team until the Bulldogs welcome Tennessee to Sanford Stadium on Nov. 5 — after Tennessee has played a slate that includes No. 8 Kentucky and No. 2 Alabama.

In short, there’s a chance Georgia might not play a ranked team until the SEC Championship Game, should

the Bulldogs win their fifth SEC East Division title in the past six seasons.

But Georgia coach Kirby Smart isn’t focused on the future; he’s too concerned with the present. He’s been adamant that last year is a memory, that winning the program’s first national title in 41 years won’t help this year’s team win another.

“I’ve said all year we have good football players,” Smart said. “We just have to play well, and they have to buy in to being selfless and helping each other. This team’s way different than last year. We don’t have 15 guys who are going to be drafted next year. We don’t. But we’ve got a lot of guys who are tough, they’re physical and they like practice. They buy in to being around each other, they’re connected, they like to compete with each other.”

The Bulldogs haven’t competed so much as they’ve dominated in all facets.

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Georgia will head into Saturday’s game at Missouri as the nation’s top-ranked team, even if it didn’t play like it in its win over Kent State.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over three times after not committing one in their first three games combined.

Georgia, which gave up 10 points in its first three games combined, allowed 13 in the first half against the Golden Flashes and 22 for the game. The Bulldogs were burned for a fake punt and didn’t complete a pass longer than 23 yards.

“I don’t know if we were awake at the opening kickoff,” quarterback Stetson Bennett said. “We had a good day, but we had three turnovers, almost consecutively and all in the first half, you just can’t have that.”

In the end, Georgia won,

39-22, against a team it was favored to beat by 44.5 points but only led by 10 with less than 12 minutes remaining before putting the game out of reach.

“Our team got better today,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose team hadn’t allowed that many points in a regular-season game since a 31-24 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020. “That was the key for me to say, did our team get better today, and I can honestly say we played a good opponent and we got better.”

But it wasn’t all bad for Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC). The Bulldogs outgained Kent State 529-281 and never punted, and had it not been for the Bulldogs’ miscues, the narrative coming out of the victory would have been much different.

“It was what we needed, a hard-fought football game,” Smart said. “I thought their

kids fought hard and ours did, too. They are executing well, (but) we can’t turn it over. That’s the Achilles heel in any game.”

Bennett went 27-for-36 passing for 272 yards with an interception, but he added a 1-yard touchdown run. McConkey finished with a team-high six catches for 65 yards and the Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 257 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries, an average of 6.3 yards an attempt. Jalon Walker also blocked a punt that bounced out of the end zone for a safety.

But no Bulldog played better than tight end Brock Bowers. On the second play of the game, he took a handoff and raced 75 yards untouched down the sideline into the end zone. He also added a two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and finished with five catches for 60 yards.

CONGRATULATIONS to the GEORGIA

Georgia lost more than just its No. 1 ranking this week after learning it will be without standout defensive tackle Jalen Carter for a week or two as he recovers from a knee injury sustained in the Bulldogs’ sloppy, 26-22 win at Missouri on Saturday.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to be,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose team fell a spot in the AP rankings, said. “But it doesn’t look good for this week.”

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Georgia’s next three opponents, beginning with Saturday’s home game against Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC), are struggling. The Bulldogs

(5-0, 2-0) host Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1) on Oct. 15 before an open week and the annual showdown against the Florida Gators (3-2, 0-2) on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville.

But replacing the absence of Carter, a 6-foot3, 310-pounder who is expected to be among the first players taken in next year’s NFL Draft, is a tall order for a defense that gave up 294 yards and 22 points to Missouri (2-3, 0-2).

Carter injured his medial collateral ligament when a Missouri offensive lineman tried to block Carter by crashing into his left knee. There was no penalty called on the play.

“I talked to the official during the play,” Smart said.

“He felt comfortable about the play. We talked about it before the game. They have a lot of backside cuts. A lot of teams use the same methods. Hopeful that they keep our players safe and do what it is within the limits of the game and the rules.

“It does not really matter what I think about the block What does it matter? It matters what the official thinks and what the review thinks.”

Carter had already been dealing with a nagging ankle injury that has limited his playing time, as he was sidelined for precautionary reasons against Kent State on Sept. 24.

Junior Warren Brinson and freshman Christen Miller will replace Cater, who has

five tackles, six quarterback hurries and one pass breakup so far this season.

The loss of Carter overshadows an otherwise poor performance by the Bulldogs, who trailed by 10 points with 14:09 remaining after Harrison Mevis’ 56-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 2212 lead.

“It was a great opportunity to see what we’re about,” Smart said. “I don’t know if you could find any greater adversity than be down 10 points to in the fourth quarter.”

The Bulldogs’ 10-point deficit marked just the first time since trailing 10-0 to Missouri in 2016 — Smart’s first season — that Georgia had fallen behind by double digits to an unranked team.

OCT. 8 — GEORGIA 42, AUBURN 10

Georgia didn’t play like a football team worthy of being called the nation’s top-ranked team for much of its 42-10 victory over Auburn, but the Bulldogs did enough to prove they merited a return to the top of the poll.

Second-ranked Georgia slogged through the first half en route to taking a 14-0 halftime lead against visiting Auburn before blowing out the Tigers in the second half to win the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry for the 15th time in the past 18 meetings on Saturday.

“We continue to grow and

get better,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “This team has proven its resilience. They’re tough, but we’ve got a lot of things we can clean up. We didn’t play as well as we could have, but I want to say I’m very proud of the way our team went after it and attacked.”

Georgia (6-0, 3-0 SEC) had no trouble beating Auburn (3-3, 1-2) for a schoolrecord sixth straight time, enabling them to supplant Alabama atop the AP poll when the Crimson Tide struggled throughout a 24-20 win over visiting Texas A&M (3-3, 1-2).

“Every game is a rivalry game, and we wanted to shut Auburn out,” Georgia

linebacker Jamon DumasJohnson said.

The Bulldogs received 32 of the 63 first-place votes, to move ahead of the Crimson Tide, (6-0, 3-0 SEC), who fell to third, while Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten), received 20 first-place votes and moved from third to second.

Georgia will look to maintain the top spot, which Smart said is irrelevant at this point in the season, when it hosts Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-2).

The Commodores squandered a 10-point secondquarter lead in a 52-28 loss to then-No. 9 Ole Miss (60, 2-0) on Saturday.

The Bulldogs have

aP for uGa athletics L.G. Patterson

completely dominated Vanderbilt in recent years.

Georgia has won the teams’ past four meetings by a combined score of 178-33, including a 62-0 win last season in Nashville. Georgia has won 12 of the teams’ past 14 meetings dating to 2007.

Georgia likely can’t afford to keep being so one dimensional on offense if it is to win its fifth SEC East title in the past six years and if it’s to defend its national title.

Stetson Bennett failed to throw a touchdown pass for the third straight week and hasn’t completed a pass longer than 34 yards since a 48-7 win over South Carolina on Sept. 17.

Georgia

“It’s tough,” Bennett said. “We are not King Kong standing atop the Empire State Building. We’ve gotta work and execute each week, go out there and expect a dog fight until it’s not one.”

Georgia didn’t get much of a fight from Vanderbilt in a 55-0 drubbing on Saturday. But the Bulldogs’ upcoming competition will be much stiffer than what it got from

uGa

VANDERBILT

OCT. 15 — GEORGIA 55, OCT. 1 — GEORGIA 26, MISSOURI 22

the Commodores, who have lost 24 straight Southeastern Conference games.

After a much-needed bye week, the Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC) face rival Florida (4-3, 1-3) on Oct. 29 before closing with perhaps the hardest stretch of any team in the country.

The Bulldogs host No. 3 Tennessee, which just beat then-No. 3 Alabama for the first time in 15 years, on Nov.

5. Georgia then travels to No. 24 Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2) on Nov. 12 and to No. 19 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) on Nov. 19.

The Bulldogs close against visiting Georgia Tech (3-3, 2-1 ACC), which has won two straight games, on Nov. 26.

“Are we gonna cash our chips

in after so-and-so games,” Bennett said after going 24-for-30 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns against Vanderbilt. “Or, are we gonna keep going, keep going, and know this isn’t over until it’s over?”

The Bulldogs are undefeated at this point in the season for the second straight year, even if they’ve struggled at times against opponents they’ve been favored to beat by several touchdowns. But Georgia coach Kirby Smart isn’t worried about the past, or the possibility of winning a fifth SEC East Division title in the past six years.

“I’m looking solely at one thing. It’s not Florida, or anyone else. It’s us,” Smart said. “I’m gonna dig and claw to

get every player on our roster better. Because one of those guys is gonna be counted on to make a play in a tough game.

“We just need keep getting better — that’s the ultimate goal. What’s the end goal? We’re trying to look at tomorrow. We talked about what we’re going to do tomorrow. I’m focusing on that. I’m not worried about Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I’m worried about tomorrow and how much rehab we can get and how much recovery we can get.”

Georgia can’t play much better than it did against the Commodores (3-4, 0-3), which mustered just 45 yards in the second half and was outgained 579-150.

OCT. 29 — GEORGIA 28, FLORIDA 20

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Georgia coach Kirby Smart called it the drive of the year.

The Bulldogs had possession after yielding a 78yard touchdown pass that had pulled Florida to within 28-20 after opening the third quarter with 17 straight points, largely in part of two Georgia turnovers.

The Bulldogs’ 28-3 halftime lead was now in jeopardy when they took possession on their 22-yard line with 3:25 left in the quarter on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

But instead of collapsing, the Bulldogs drove 78 yards in just six plays, with Daijun Edwards’ 22-yard burst up

the middle pushing the lead to 35-20 with 35 seconds left in the quarter.

The Bulldogs ran the ball five times for 57 yards, as quarterback Stetson Bennett’s lone pass a 19-yard completion over the middle to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

“We faced resiliency, stared it in the eye and we didn’t blink,” Smart said. “There was a time there when we lost momentum. That’s happened to us more this year than it did last year. We bounced back. I was really proud of the players.

“There’s two things (that happen) when adversity hits: you fracture or you connect. Our team connected.”

And connect they did — the

Bulldogs forced Florida to turn the ball over on downs on its next possession before driving 49 yards in just eight plays, with Kenny McIntosh’s 4-yard run with 11:44 left in the game punctuating a 42-20 win.

In its fifth win over the Gators in the past six years, Georgia rolled up 555 yards of total offense, its most ever against the Gators, eclipsing the 502 it amassed in 1976.

The Bulldogs are 8-0, marking the first time in school history they’re unbeaten through eight games in consecutive seasons.

They’ve won 23 straight regular-season games, including their last 16 SEC games.

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But what does that mean going forward? Very little if the Bulldogs fall to No. 2 Tennessee (8-0, 4-0) with first place in the SEC East Division on the line on Saturday in Athens.

“We know it is going to be a big game, but we can’t treat it like it is the last game of the season,” Georgia defensive lineman Zion Logue said. “We have to treat it like it is another game. Prepare like any other week and not stress anything and not override anything.”

Georgia has dominated the Volunteers recently, winning the teams’ past five meeting by an average of 28 points, including a 41-17 beatdown in Knoxville last year.

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

The Georgia Bulldogs made their point perfectly clear.

Go ahead and rank the Bulldogs No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, even if they’re defending champions and undefeated, as well as regarded as the best team by the media in the AP poll.

But no, go ahead and rank Tennessee No. 1 in the initial CFP rankings. The Volunteers have a terrific offense that has put up a lot of points against other top teams. But not against Georgia, which is why oddsmakers favored the Bulldogs by more than a touchdown entering their game against Tennessee. All the talk about how

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Tennessee’s high-flying offense was going to light Georgia up like a jack-o’lantern has been silenced.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to discuss regarding the 27-13 beatdown the Bulldogs administered in their school-record sixth straight win over Tennessee on Saturday.

“Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide — that was our theme,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We told them we wanted to play right here in our box.”

Georgia (9-0, 6-0 SEC), which will in all likelihood will supplant Tennessee (81, 4-1) when the new CFP rankings are released on Tuesday, simply dominated the Volunteers in a game

that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-3 lead and outgained Tennessee 387-289. The Vols entered the game leading the country in points (49.4) and yards (553) per game.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 195 yards and was sacked six times. He failed to throw a single touchdown pass for the first time in 21 games. It took Tennessee 55:45 just to find the end zone — and after they were trailing 27-6.

The Volunteers were held to 2.2 rushing yards per carry after entering averaging 4.5. Georgia held a Tennessee offense that had averaged 6.5 touchdowns to just one. Tennessee, which went 2-for-14

on third-down conversions, averaged 11.2 passing yards per attempt against its first eight opponents but just 5.9 against Georgia. The Bulldogs averaged 6.2 yards per play, compared to Tennessee’s 3.9.

Tennessee was held to just one passing play longer than 17 yards and didn’t have a run longer than 11.

“Georgia is definitely way more physical than Alabama,” said Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick who was held to six catches for 63 yards.

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0

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

quarterback Stetson Bennett knows what to expect when top-ranked Georgia enters the final stretch of the regular season that includes three ranked teams among its final five opponents.

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

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By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

What does clinching topranked Georgia’s fifth SEC East Division title in the past six years with a 45-19 win over Mississippi State on Saturday mean to head coach Kirby Smart?

“It says we are now one week away from playing Kentucky,” he said. “And humility is a week away.”

Smart has been steadfast in keeping the top-ranked Bulldogs’ focus on their next opponent, not the more marquee games that may lie ahead.

The Bulldogs are 10-0 for the second straight season for the first time in school history and 7-0 in league play. They are among four

undefeated FBS teams, along with No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 TCU, who are all 10-0.

But Georgia is looking toward playing at Kentucky (6-4, 3-4 SEC) in Lexington, Ky., not gazing at a future date with SEC West champion and No. 7 LSU (8-2, 7-1) in the SEC title game on Dec. 3 in Atlanta.

“Why would anybody think that we’re going to talk or even think about them (LSU),” Smart said. “We have two games to play, right? That’s the furthest thing from my thought process. All I can think about is how fast I can get on that plane to get rest so I can ready for Kentucky.”

Georgia and Kentucky meet heading in completely

opposite directions.

While the Bulldogs dominated Mississippi State from the opening kickoff, Kentucky played one of its worst games of the season, squandering a four-point lead in the final five minutes of a 24-21 loss to lowly Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5).

Stetson Bennett threw for 289 yards on 25-for-37 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions and added a rushing touchdown.

Ladd McConkey had five catches for 71 yards and a score, as well as a 70-yard touchdown run, while Brock Bowers had five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. Darnell Washington had five catches for 60 yards and a score.

Will Rogers went 29-for51 passing for 261 yards and a touchdown, while Rufus Harvey had six receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown for Mississippi State, which lost to Georgia for the 13th time in the past 14 meetings. Mississippi State rushed for 47 yards on 15 carries.

“They have all five-star players. They’re pretty good on defense and Coach Smart does a really good job,” Rogers said. “They had a really good scheme for what we were doing and it’s hard to finish drives on a good team.”

With Georgia leading 1712 entering the second half, McConkey took a pitch and raced 70 yards for a 24-12 lead on the second play of the third quarter.

249 yards rushing on 44 carries.

Powered by a dominant rushing attack, the No. 1-ranked Georgia football team held off Kentucky, 16-6, on a cold Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field.

With the win, the Bulldogs clinched a second straight undefeated run through their SEC regular-season schedule. It was Georgia’s 13th win in a row over the Wildcats.

Kenny McIntosh led the way on the ground, rushing for a career-high 143 yards and a 9-yard touchdown on 19 attempts. Georgia (110, 8-0 SEC) outgained the Wildcats 365-289, gaining

While producing consecutive 12-0 seasons for the first time in school history is a significant accomplishment, the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs aren’t measuring themselves by what they do from September to November.

“It is special,” Bennett said about the Bulldogs’ regularseason success that has also seen them win 27 straight games. “But we didn’t enter this season trying to go 120. We wanted to go 15-0.”

Georgia became the first team to notch consecutive undefeated regular seasons since Clemson in 2018-2019.

usa Today sports Jordan Prather

But if the Bulldogs are going to complete their hat trick of going undefeated in the regular season, winning the SEC title and claiming a second straight national title by going 15-0, Georgia is going to have to play much better than it did in a 37-14 win over Georgia Tech.

Georgia trailed 7-0 after the Yellow Jackets (5-7) scored on their opening drive before rattling off the next 37 points until Georgia Tech scored with less than three minutes remaining to provide the final margin.

The Bulldogs, who pounced on Georgia Tech from the start in last year’s 45-0 rout, weren’t nearly as efficient as they were

a year ago. They gave up some big passing plays — and would have given up more had Georgia Tech’s receivers not dropped some wide-open passes — and had to settle for field goals twice in the red zone.

Still, Georgia knocked off its in-state rival for the fifth straight year and for the 18th time in the past 21 meetings, even if the Bulldogs didn’t play nearly as well as they did in wins over then-No. 11 Oregon, then-No. 1 Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina earlier this season.

“We probably didn’t start as fast today as we have in the past,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You’re not going to start every game guns blazing,

Kentucky (6-5, 3-5) got the ball first and drove down to the Georgia 31-yard line. The Bulldog defense stuffed the Wildcats on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs. Georgia’s offense then drove down to the Wildcat 10 before settling for a 27-yard Jack Podlesny field goal and a 3-0 lead with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Kentucky moved the ball deep into Georgia territory again on its second drive, but on third-and-12 at the UGA 18, cornerback Kelee Ringo intercepted Will Levis’ pass near the goal line and returned it 45 yards.. The

Bulldogs quickly drove inside the 10-yard line, but the drive stalled there. Podlesny’s 24-yard field goal pushed the lead to 6-0 with 3:40 left in the first half.

Georgia’s defense forced a three-and-out on Kentucky’s next possession, giving the offense the ball back at the UGA 24 with 2:03 left on the clock. Bennett led the Bulldogs down to the Kentucky 20, and Podlesny put Georgia up 9-0 at the half with a 37-yard field goal as time expired. It was the fifth time this season that the Bulldogs didn’t allow any points in the first half.

Kentucky picked off a Bennett deep ball on Georgia’s drive to open the second half,

and we had to respond to some adversity again. We probably should have had a bigger lead at half, but the way things fell, it just didn’t happen. They actually did a good job of shrinking the game as well.”

Stetson Bennett went just 10-for-18 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, while Kenny McIntosh rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and caught two passes for 91 yards.

Daijun Edwards ran for 62 yards on 8 carries, while Kendall Milton rushed for 56 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown run, on just four carries as Georgia amassed 269 yards on 41 carries, an average of 6.6 yards per attempt.

Top-ranked Georgia’s 5030 throttling of then-No. 14 LSU in the SEC title game was a microcosm of the Bulldogs’ football season that has them 13-0 for the first time in school history.

“Our team kind of played this game like they played the whole season,” coach Kirby Smart said. “We were unbelievably well in spurts and unbelievably poor in spurts and answered the bell when they had to.”

With the score tied 7-7 after Jayden Daniels’ 53-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte with 2:21 left in the first quarter, Georgia just

didn’t answer the bell — the Bulldogs delivered a knockout punch.

The Bulldogs scored the game’s next 28 points before an LSU field goal on the final play of the first half made it 35-10.

When LSU (9-4) cut the lead to 42-23 late in the third quarter, Georgia scored on its ensuing possession, with Kenny McIntosh’s 8-yard run capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive with 13:13 left in the game.

“I don’t want one kid to walk out of our program without an SEC championship ring in their careers,” Smart said.

While Georgia’s offense put up video-game stats, the Bulldogs’ defense didn’t

special nicole seitz

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

Of all the gaudy statistics, both good and bad, that can be associated with top-seeded Georgia’s 42-41 victory over fourth-seeded Ohio State as New Year’s Eve turned into New Year’s Day, the Bulldogs’ biggest advantage wasn’t a number, but a word.

“Our guys are extremely resilient,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.

If there’s any word that best summarizes Georgia’s win in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, “resilient” should be it.

What other word better describes a win in which Georgia trailed by 14 points in second, third and fourth quarters?

What other word better describes a win in which Georgia’s vaunted defense got gashed for 467 yards and 41 points?

What other word better describes a win in which Georgia played perhaps its worst game of the season for most of the game yet still beat one of the country’s best teams?

What other word better describes a win in which Georgia’s ticket to the national championship game was punched after Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles pulled a 50-yard field goal wide left with three seconds left after making one from two yards closer only three minutes earlier?

Make no mistake: Georgia

didn’t play like a defending national champion for much of Saturday’s game.

But the Bulldogs never lost their resiliency or championship mentality.

That’s why they are 14-0 for the first time in school history and will face thirdseeded TCU (13-1) for the national title on Jan. 9 in Inglewood, Calif., and Ohio State (11-2) must wait for next year.

“If we want any chance of winning the national championship, we’ve got to play a lot better football than we played tonight, but we’ve got to keep our resilience,” Smart said.

There’s that word again, “resilience.” Smart has used it all season.

The Bulldogs’ resiliency was full on display in the fourth quarter.

After Jack Podlesny’s 31yard field goal pulled Georgia to within 38-27 with 10:14 remaining, Stetson Bennett continued to add to his lore.

He threw a 76-yard touchdown to a wide-open Arian Smith, who ran his route so fast he caused Lathan Ransom to stumble to the ground, to make it 38-35 with 8:41 to go after Bennett’s twopoint conversion pass to Ladd McConkey.

“That one was just run fast, and he did, and he made the dude fall,” Bennett said of Smith. “Dude can do things that people can’t do. He can run like people can’t run, and he can go get the ball.”

look like one of the nation’s best for stretches of the second half.

Stetson Bennett went 23for-29 passing for 274 yards and four touchdowns, Kendall Milton rushed for 113 yards on just eight carries and McIntosh added 55 yards and two scores on 14 carries. The Bulldogs rushed for 255 yards on 44 carries — a whopping 5.8 yards an attempt.

Brock Bowers had six receptions, including a 3-yard touchdown catch, for 81 yards, while Ladd McConkey had five catches for 69 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown.

Each of Georgia’s five trips inside LSU’s 20-yard line

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taking over at the Wildcat 11. The Bulldog defense pushed the Wildcats backward on the ensuing drive, forcing a punt from the end zone.

Georgia started its next drive from its 42 and used its running game to get into the end zone for the first time. Kendall Milton ran for a combined 28 yards on the first three plays, Daijun Edwards had an 8-yard run, followed by a 4-yard reception, and then McIntosh did the rest. An 8-yard McIntosh run gave Georgia first-and-goal at the 10, and two plays later, he ran the ball in for a 9-yard touchdown and a 16-0 lead with 6:22 remaining in the third.

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ended in the end zone.

“I’ve got good players around me. I’m not that bad at football, either,” said Bennett, who threw a touchdown pass to four different receivers. “We’ve got a good team.”

But the Bulldogs were shredded by Daniels and backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who combined to throw for 502 yards, the second-most ever by a Georgia opponent.

Kentucky’s Jared Lorenzen threw for 528 yards in Georgia’s 34-30 win over the Wildcats in 2000.

“We didn’t play real good defense tonight,” Smart said after the game. “But there were some opportunities that they didn’t just make plays, we just didn’t make plays.”

DEC. 31 — GEORGIA 42, OHIO STATE 41 (CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL)

DEC. 3 — GEORGIA 50, LSU 30 (SEC CHAMPIONSHIP)

NOV. 19 — GEORGIA 16, KENTUCKY 6

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

By John Frierson Staff Correspondent

By Jon Gallo Staff Correspondent

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