Georgia football easily rolls past Samford in 2nd blowout victory

Georgia football handled its business and took Samford to the woodshed as the Dawgs won 33-0, earning their second-straight blowout victory.

Head coach Kirby Smart was not happy with the performance because of the second half, but that is who he is. That standard is high, and it should be. If Georgia wants to be great, they have to play well in all 15 games, and that second half was not even close to being the best.

However, many players got playing time, and the defense pitched its first shutout of the season and second game without a touchdown, so there are far more good things to take away from this than bad.

There was no reason to do anything fancy against this opponent. Win in a big way and move on to the next game — Georgia did just that.

Georgia football easily moves to 2-0 on the season.

Mostly, it was a vanilla game, but there is no reason to give opponents much film from this game. Georgia could score on Samford easily, and while in the second half, the offense stalled, it can work itself out with a little extra work moving forward.

This defense did a great job shutting down Samford regardless of who was in the game, and that is one of the biggest wins from this matchup. Seeing that defense grow is what matters in the long run.

Georgia’s offense wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible, either. Last week was a much more complete effort, but this week wasn’t nearly as efficient. Those ups and downs are good for a program to keep them humble and avoid complacency.

As a whole, Georgia recorded 479 yards of total offense. The Dawgs saw 352 yards through the air and 127 yards on the ground. Georgia went 5-of-13 on third downs, and that is probably the most disappointing stat from the offense.

Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett finished the game with his fourth straight 300-yard game, as he went 24-of-34 for 300 yards and one touchdown. He also had one rushing score.

Both sides of the ball did their jobs, and while we all wanted to see Georgia hang 50-plus points on the Bulldogs, the amount of players that got on the field is far more important.

Georgia used four running backs, with Kendall Milton leading the pack at 10 carries for 85 yards. Kenny McIntosh scored the second rushing touchdown, collecting seven carries for 15 yards.

Through the air, Georgia used 15 different receivers. Yes, you read that correctly — 15 guys made at least one catch. McIntosh led the way once again with five catches for 61 yards. Brock Bowers had three catches for 57 yards, and Kearis Jackson saw two grabs for 33 yards.

You cannot tell me this wasn’t a recruiting pitch to those recruits in Athens. Seeing them spread their wealth around and use so many guys through the air was great. Not to mention, true freshman Dillon Bell caught the lone receiving touchdown as he had three catches for 22 yards.

Defensively, those  Dawgs shut down Samford. Georgia held the Bulldogs to 109 yards through the air and 19 yards on the ground for a grand total of 128 yards on offense.

This defense also allowed three total first downs and one third down conversion as Samford went 1-of-13. It was a dominating performance from this defense as these young guys continue to prove themselves.

Smael Mondon led the Dawgs with four tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Mykell Williams earned his first career sack, and it was just a strong day for that side of the ball.

Georgia’s kickers got a lot of love on Saturday, and that is good for the Dawgs because it gives them game reps too. Jack Podlesney scored 15 points today, kicking four field goals and three PATs. Bret Thorson had three punts on the day and averaged 48 yards.

The Dawgs didn’t have the prettiest win, but a 33-point victory is one you will take, especially when other SEC teams around you are struggling with their opponents. Georgia heads into SEC play to take on a South Carolina team that fell to Arkansas this week, so it will be a scrappy showdown in Columbia.