UGA shuts down FCS opponent Samford as defensive dominance keeps rolling

BY MARC WEISZER • ATHENS BANNER-HERALD

There will probably be some Saturdays to come for No. 2 Georgia where they will have to dig deep, to make a big defensive stop or convert a crucial third-and-long with a game on the line.

There’s no guarantee it will be a cakewalk for the Bulldogs to get back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. Maybe next week’s noon game at South Carolina will offer Georgia its first bit of significant resistance from an opponent this season.

Samford, an FCS team picked to finish sixth in the Southern Conference, certainly didn’t provide much in the Bulldogs’ home opener Saturday.

“Our defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs!” Brook Whitmire announced during the starting lineups.

Georgia has looked the part again with another lopsided win after a 49–3 takedown of a top 15 Oregon team in the opener. Samford held Georgia to just 3 second-half points, but the fourth quarter was shortened to 12 minutes by mutual agreement with the threat of inclement weather a factor.

“They were outmanned and outmatched today,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They played really hard and physical today. They did the best job they could. We’ve got to play better. We didn’t play our best game. We know that. Our kids acknowledge that.”

Here are five takeaways from Georgia’s easy win with a score that wasn’t as big as might have been expected:

Georgia football defense pitches a shutout

Georgia’s defense will head into the road game in Columbia, S.C., still not having allowed a touchdown this season

“We don’t worry about that,” outside linebacker Nolan Smith said. “We just play football. If they don’t score, they don’t win.”

Samford, a team that went to Florida last November and lost a 70–52 shootout, was held to a single first down in the first half and 59 total yards for an average of 2.6 yards per play.

Samford finished with 128 total yards. It was the fewest yards Georgia had given up since holding Vanderbilt to 77 on Sept. 25, 2021.

“You win championships with great