ATHENS – Almost all of the focus from Georgia’s 56-7 win over UAB fell on fifth-year senior quarterback Steson Bennett, and rightly so considering his performance and backstory. But it overshadowed a lot of good work being done all around Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
It was a thorough and clean victory for the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs, who continue to thrive despite playing far below full strength. Georgia’s defense and special teams were solid, the Bulldogs were penalized just 4 times for 47 yards and they managed to get 75 different players into the ballgame.
“I thought offense and defense played to our standard most of the time,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s important. … I thought our guys played with connection, they played with toughness, all those DNA qualities, resiliency, they were able to do that. And, you know, the other team was probably overpowered.”
UAB coach Bill Clark wouldn’t argue with that.
“Give Georgia all the credit,” he said. “They are super talented and it was an unreal environment. They have a great defense and their special teams are unreal. There is no doubt they are deserving of that No. 2 ranking.”
The Bulldogs (2-0) will put that ranking on the line next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) against South Carolina (2-0). It’s the SEC opener for both teams.
Here are some things we learned from Saturday’s game against the Blazers:
JT’s status
Smart didn’t shed any light on the details surround quarterback JT Daniels’ injury, thought to be an oblique strain. But he indicated the redshirt junior quarterback is not far from being able to play.
“JT got better as the week went on,” he said. “We didn’t really know anything was wrong with him on Monday. He took the most reps and was fine. But it was bothering him some. Then, as the week went on, Tuesday it was bothering him a little. Today, he was better than he was earlier in the week and actually felt good. Today, was the first day he really got to throw some balls down the field in warmups. So, we hope he continues to improve.”
The 6-3, 210-pound Daniels had started Georgia’s last five games at quarterback. He completed 73% of his 30 passes in the win over Clemson but for only 135 yards as 15 of his 22 completions where on or behind the line of scrimmage.
Bennett started in Daniels’ place Saturday and put explosivity back in Georgia’s offense. He tied a school record with five touchdown passes — all in the first half — and they averaged 48.5 yards per score.
Credit: UGA
Tight End U
For the second straight week, tight end Brock Bowers left Georgia fans thinking, “wow.” The 6-foot-4, 230-pound freshman from Napa, Calif., started for the second straight week and led the Bulldogs in receiving again. This time, he had 107 yards and two touchdowns on three catches, most of that production coming on an 88-yard catch and run in the first quarter.
“You know, his was a very interesting recruitment,” Smart said. “We recruited his mom, his dad, his sister, his whole family. They’re a wonderful family. His mom was a tremendous athlete. His dad’s a football player. We just felt like we had a special player. And once we got him here, we realized it.”
Bowers leads the Bulldogs in overall receiving with 9 catches for 150 yards on the season. Smart is hoping other tight end recruits are taking notice. Georgia is hot and heavy after another great tight end recruit, 4-star prospect Oscar Delp of Cumming.
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
“We need tight ends if we want to be elite; we have to have more guys like him,” Smart said. “And there’s guys out there across the country that we’ve got to get in order to be elite at the tight end position. He’s become a really good weapon and I’m proud of his ability.”
Rookie representation
Georgia is getting a lot of help out of its top-ranked 2020 recruiting class. A total of 75 players got in on the action Saturday, including several first-year freshmen and redshirts who have had little game experience to date.
One of the young players that Smart raved about Saturday was freshman linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Dumas-Johnson had an interception and 20-yard TD return early in the fourth quarter. It was Dumas-Johnson’s first college play from scrimmage.
“My favorite young linebacker, ‘Pop,’ ” Smart said, using the nickname of the 6-1, 235-pound linebacker from Hyattsville, Md. “His first college football play is a pick-six for a touchdown -- just a great story. He’s a kid from a tough background back home and a tremendous family. Didn’t get to play football last year up in Maryland and comes all the way down here and his first play is a pick six.”
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
More important than that was the experience that Dumas-Johnson and all the reserves got while playing most of the second half.
“It does wonders for their confidence, right?” Smart said. “You have to get over the number of times you have to make a mistake in a game to be able to grow. And I thought that some of our young players are starting to grow up. You can only practice so much before they get in the game and have to play.”
Staying defensive
Georgia added three more quarterback sacks, giving them an SEC best 10 after two games. Logging sacks against UAB were inside linebacker Channing Tindall, outside linebacker Adam Anderson and defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse.
Tindall also led the Bulldogs with seven tackles overall.
Through two games, Georgia’s defense has allowed zero touchdowns, three points, 129 yards rushing, 227 yards passing while recording three interceptions, two “pick sixes” touchdowns and 14 tackles for loss.
“We’re just playing to the standard that we established at the beginning of the season,” said junior defensive end Travon Walker, who had four tackles Saturday. “We don’t want to give up any touchdowns and we were able to do that again today.”
Healing up
The good news for Georgia is there were fewer players wearing protective boots on the sideline. Defensive back Tykee Smith and tight end Darnell Washington were both walking on the sideline without crutches and seemed considerably more mobile than they were a week ago when they traveled with the Bulldogs. They both suffered mid-foot fractures the second week of preseason camp and underwent surgical repairs.
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Generally, that injury takes four to six weeks to heal. So, a return for next week’s game against South Carolina would seem unlikely. However, it’s possible they could be back for the Oct. 2 home game against Arkansas, if not the Sept. 25 trip to Nashville.
On Saturday, receiver Arian Smith suffered what was described as a lower-leg contusion, or bruise, and he did not return to the game. The track star had one catch for 61 yards. It went for a touchdown on Georgia’s first offensive play of the second quarter.
Redshirt freshman guard Tate Ratledge had surgery last Wednesday to repair a Lisfranc fracture in this right foot. He attended Saturday’s game on a knee scooter and watched from Georgia’s bench.
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