It would have been hard for the Bulldogs to impress the pollsters against their Southern Conference visitors anyway. But there was little of distinction done by Georgia in building a 30-0 halftime lead on three field goals and three touchdowns. And when Bennett took a 17-yard sack in the third quarter, leading to a missed 54-yard field goal, Georgia had only its second empty offensive possession.
Bennett’s day again ended early. He was 24-of-34 passing for 300 yards and one touchdown, with one TD rushing.
Carson Beck took over at the 2:34 mark of third quarter, and it was more of the same. His first offensive series ended in 25-yard field goal. That was the fourth of the day for Podlesny.
Georgia’s defense did distinguish itself. It gave up zero points, one first down and only 59 yards on 23 plays in the opening half. As the Bulldogs posted their third takeaway of the season — on a Dan Jackson hit and Xavian Sorey fumble recovery in the first quarter – Georgia posted an eighth first-half shutout in the past 17 games.
The rest of the game — which included a fourth-quarter shortened to 12 minutes by head coaches’ agreement — was a blur of meaningless possessions and wholesale substitutions. The Bulldogs dressed 100 players and played most of them. But, in the grand scheme of a long season, such shared workloads can be beneficial.
But the highlight-reel plays that were so prevalent with Georgia’s presence a week ago won’t be Saturday night.
