Georgia 33, Samford 0: Get postgame analysis and commentary as the Bulldogs improve to 2-0
No. 2 Georgia easily handled Samford on Saturday in Sanford Stadium, winning 33-0. The Bulldogs led 30-0 at halftime but the offense slowed after intermission.
More on Georgia's win, see the full recap in the link below. Scroll down for game commentary and reactions.
Five takeaways: No. 2 Georgia football's 33-0 shutout of FCS Samford
6:50 p.m. Georgia football improves to 2-0 with 33-0 win over Samford
Georgia piled up 479 yards to Samford's XXX as the Bulldogs easily won its second game of the season. Next week the Bulldogs travel to South Carolina for a noon kickoff.
6:44 Another UGA quarterback enters, Brock Vandagriff gets first snaps of season
Prince Avenue Christian graduate Brock Vandagriff enters with 3:20 to play.
6:22 p.m. Georgia football extends lead with Jack Podlesny field goal in shortened fourth quarter
Podlesney hits a 25-yard field goal and the Bulldogs extend their lead to 33-0 with 11:11 to play. Because of the score, coaches from both teams agreed to a 12-minute fourth quarter instead of a typical 15-minute period.
6:16 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs enter fourth quarter looking to score
With Carson Beck entering at quarterback for the Bulldogs, Georgia has the ball at Samford's 9-yard line looking to score its first touchdown of the second half
6:03 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs come up short on second drive of second half
After missing a 54-yard field goal on its first drive, Georgia football was forced to punt on its second. Georgia leads 30-0 and has allowed just 64 yards of offense to Samford with 4:43 to play in the third quarter.
5:05 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs and Stetson Bennett add another score
Stetson Bennett has completed passes to 11 different Georgia players with 5:01 to go in the first half. He's 16 of 21 for 187 yards. Jack Podlesny's third field goal of 25 yards makes it 23-0 Georgia
4:52 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs freshman WR Dillon Bell gets first college TD
Dillon Bell, a freshman wideout from Houston, caught his first pass at Georgia in the second quarter and then added another this time for a touchdown. Stetson Bennett hit the 6-foot, 210-pound on a 3-yard scoring strike. Georgia leads 20-0 with 8:48 to go in the first half.
4:33 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs QB Stetson Bennett scores on rushing TD
Stetson Bennett hit Ladd McConkey on a deep ball during a scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Bennett to the right side. Georgia leads 13-0 with 22 seconds to go in the first quarter. Kendall Milton has 25 ruys
4:12 p.m. Jack Podlesny field goal puts Georgia Bulldogs up on Samford
Jack Podlesny put Georgia on top 3-0 after a 27-yard field goal. AD Mitchell, the Bulldogs wide receiver, went to the locker room after the kick after going to the injury tent on the drive.
The Bulldogs had scored touchdowns on all six drives with Stetson Bennett at QB in the opener against Oregon. Bennett is 5 of 7 for 41 yards.
4:22 p.m. Georgia football third takeaway of season leads to field goal
Sophomore linebacker Xavian Sorey recovered a Samford fumble for Georgia's third forced turnover of the season. That led to a 25-yard Jack Podlesny field goal. Georgia up 6-0 with 5:34 to go in the first.
4:06 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver AD Mitchell goes to injury tent
Georgia wide receiver AD Mitchell went to the sideline and slumped over a bit after a 4-yard reception on the Bulldogs' first offensive play. Mitchell appears to have a lower body injury. He is in the injury tent.
3:22 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Nyland Green out for Samford game
Backup cornerback Nyland Green isn't with the defensive backs in pregame warmups and looks to be out today. Smart said on his radio show that he sustained a hamstring injury in what appeared to be on kickoff coverage against Oregon.
3:06 p.m. Guess what? Kirby Smart still has areas for Georgia football to improve
Greetings from Sanford Stadium for Georgia’s football home opener.
It figures to be a comfortable win for the nation’s No. 2 ranked team against FCS program Samford. The Bulldogs are a 52 ½ point favorite.
Weather may be less of a factor than it looked yesterday. There’s an 18 percent chance of rain from 4 to 6 p.m, per Weather.com going to 40 percent at 7 p.m.. AccuWeather has it at 56 percent at kickoff time with thunderstorms.
“I hope the weather allows us to have a big home crowd,” coach Kirby Smart said on his radio show Thursday night.
Georgia players had one its worst practices on Tuesday, Smart said, but they insist they are still focused.
“It’s definitely been the same type of vibe like we’re playing Oregon or playing any other team,” running back Kendall Milton said. “One thing we’ve been focusing on at the end of the day we have to uphold our standard at Georgia
Added wide receiver AD Mitchell: “Coach Kirby been preaching the standard doesn’t need motivation. …He’s said it at every team meeting this week. We’re all just buying in.”
Check back here for updates:
3:08 p.m. Guess what? Kirby Smart still has areas for Georgia football to improve
Georgia’s defense didn’t show much drop off last week from its much-heralded bunch from the year before despite major personnel losses. The Bulldogs had two interceptions and limited Oregon to 313 yards, but gave up 140 rushing yards on 31 carries.
“It's something we've actually harped on this week, is how do we play the run better and how do we run the ball better because I still don’t think we're at our best there,” Smart said.
2:42 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs quarterbacks should get a chance to show their stuff
In Georgia’s last game against an FCS opponent against Charleston Southern in a 56-7 win last November, Georgia used three quarterbacks behind starter Stetson Bennett.
So we could see plenty of Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and maybe even Gunner Stockton.
“Carson be ripping that thing, Stet rip that thing, Brock rip that thing, little Gunner rip it, so we got something,” Mitchell said.
Beck went 5 of 6 for 71 yards and a touchdown last week after coming in behind Bennett.
“Carson’s ready,” Kearis Jackson said. “As a quarterback you have those frustrating moments you feel like, man, I just need a shot. I just want to show what I can do. He got his shot on Saturday and he showed coaches what he can do. He threw a touchdown pass, he hit me a couple of times across the middle. He played with poise and confidence.”
Said Smart: “Carson was very calm, cool, and collected. His disposition is such that the moment's not too big for him. Like he's done multiple times before, I thought he did a good job. He made some good decisions and had a couple poor decisions. And I think he'll be the first to tell you that he would like to improve on some of those.”
2:03 p.m. Samford Bulldogs homecoming game in Georgia football's Sanford Stadium
This is a return to the home state for 35 Samford players, only two less than hail from Alabama. That includes defensive lineman Johnerio “JJ "Holt from Athens Academy, a freshman.
“We understand the magnitude of the game and the challenge that’s in front of us,” Samford coach Chris Hatcher said. “I’ve never gotten on a bus when we didn’t have a chance to win. We’re going in there to try to win the game.”
1:44 p.m. Georgia Bulldogs football ticket issues on home opener
Georgia announced via its athletics Twitter account at 1:23 p.m. that fans may not be able to access tickets and parking permits on the UGA app or online due to a disruption of services nationwide from its ticket provider.
Not great timing for the first home game of the season.
Texas A&M and Notre Dame were among other schools that had the same issue.
1:31 p.m. Today's Georgia football-Samford referee and Bulldogs game captains
The referee today is Wayne Winkler. Today’s Georgia game captains: wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, nose guard Zion Logue and offensive lineman Warren Ericson.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Live updates: No. 2 UGA football vs. Samford in Bulldogs home opener
