Georgia football cruised to another win once again in week two, beating Samford 33-0 behind the leg of kicker Jack Podlesny.
The Dawgs racked up 479 yards of offense on the day and possessed the ball for over 40 minutes. The matchup provided some perspective into what the team will have to improve moving forward, though, as the red zone offense left something to be desired.
Since Georgia didn’t score on offense, it worked out in Podlesny’s favor as he took advantage of the stalled possessions and put points on the board himself. While team MVP is voted on through Twitter, we felt Podlesny earned it this week, even though he was not included in the options — though he should have been because he played exceptionally.
Georgia football kicker Jack Podlesny earns week two MVP honors.
Podlesny followed quarterback Stetson Bennett’s outstanding week one MVP performance with a kicking masterclass. The senior made all three of his point-after-attempts, as well as four of his five field goal attempts, only missing from 54 yards out.
He accounted for 15 points himself, nearly half of Georgia’s 33 total points.
His performance prevented Georgia from wasting possessions and coming up empty without points when the offense stalled. In a game against an FCS opponent, contributions come from a variety of players as a result of an influx of reserves seeing the field. It’s unusual for kickers to be as vital in these types of games, but with the way it unfolded and the struggles the offense had to punch the ball into the end zone at times, Podlesny was a critical part of the team’s success.
He was recognized as one of the Lou Groza Award’s Stars of the Week, and if he can continue to produce at such a high level as the season progresses, he could be in line to take home the yearly Groza award.
Dawg fans have been fortunate to watch such accurate kickers in succession. Podlesny’s career field goal percentage currently stands at 81.3%, right behind Georgia’s all-time leader Rodrigo Blankenship at 82.5%.
Having such accurate kickers is a major weapon for the Dawgs, and Podlesny proved that once again on his way to earning MVP honors against Samford.