ATHENS — A refreshed Georgia football roster opened with the “Fire, Passion and Energy” Coach Kirby Smart had preached of Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium en route to a 45-7 victory over Marshall.
Fourth-year junior quarterback Gunner Stockton was an efficient 14-of-24 passing for 190 yards and two touchdowns and was even more impressive running the ball, leading the Bulldogs’ ground game with 73 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
The Georgia defense, meanwhile, held Marshall’s overhauled roster — 78 players left from last year’s Sun Belt Championship team via the transfer portal — to 207 yards, with the majority of those and the Thunder Herd’s only score coming in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs extended their home win streak to 32 games — the longest active streak in the FBS ranks — with the season-opening win.
STOCK UP
Gunner Stockton: Stockton converted on three fourth-down plays, setting up the opening touchdown with a 14-yard run on a fourth-and-2, scoring the Bulldogs’ second touchdown with a 13-yard run on a fourth-and-1 and finishing his day with a fourth-down 2-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys.
Dwight Phillips Jr.: The 5-foot-10, 175-pound sophomore tailback was UGA’s second-leading rusher with 5 carries for 60 yards including the first score of the game on a 17-yard TD run.
Zion Branch: The transfer from USC led the Georgia receivers with three catches for 95 yards, his first two coming on third-down conversion receptions, and his third a 47-yard touchdown catch that saw him catch the ball in the flats a yard behind the line of scrimmage before out-racing the defense down the sideline.
Ryan Puglisi: The back-up quarterback’s snaps were limited, but Puglisi looked sharp when afford the opportunity to throw the ball, finishing 5-of-8 passing for 59 yards with a 23-yard TD pass to Elyiss Williams.
STOCK EVEN
Nate Frazier: The Georgia starting tailback had 11 carries for 47 yards, breaking tackles while running into a stacked front. Frazier, however, failed to convert on a third-and-1 run.
Peyton Woodring: The reliable UGA kicker hit a 43-yard field goal and made all seven of his extra points.
Raylen Wilson: The Bulldogs inside linebacker had seven tackles, including two tackles for loss.
STOCK DOWN
The Georgia Havoc-Rate on defense was missing impactful plays ,as the Bulldogs failed to record a sack or force any turnovers against Marshall.
The explosive element of the Bulldogs offense was lacking, as UGA had only one play of more than 25 yards, a short pass that Branch caught 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage before taking it to the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown.
Georgia’s short-yardage offense was 1 of 4 converting on third-and-3 runs of 3 yards or less, an indication UGA will continue to work on executing in that area.
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