Report Card: Georgia handles Samford 33-0

Georgia’s first game in Sanford Stadium since winning the National Championship didn’t go as well as it would have hoped. The Bulldogs won, as they always should against FCS and non-power-five teams, but it was an unfocused effort overall.

Execution was lacking on the offensive side of the ball and, at the end of the day, it’ll serve as a teaching tool for the UGA staff going forward. After multiple looks at the game, DawgsHQ is ready to hunker down and evaluate the performance. We hand out grades to each position group in our weekly report card.

Georgia quarterbacks

Stetson Bennett IV, Carson Beck, and Brock Vandagriff all got into the game. Bennett didn’t struggle by any means, throwing for 300 yards and a score, but he wasn’t sharp. UGA had to settle for field goals on its first two possessions because Bennett was unable to connect on multiple touchdown opportunities. But he went on to make some really nice throws in the game and didn’t make any huge mistakes. Beck was solid when he came in while Vandagriff misfired on his only pass attempt. Grade: B-

UGA running backs

Kendall Milton was Georgia’s leading rusher for the second straight game. Kenny McIntosh was the leading receiver for the second straight game. Those two guys have strong performances in those respective areas. But outside of Milton, the Georgia running backs didn’t really get more than what was there from the blocking. If UGA’s offensive line created four yards, that’s pretty much what the running backs got. Grade: B

Georgia receivers and Tight Ends

Brock Bowers had a couple of really nice catches and helped the Bulldogs bite of chunks of yardage. Ladd McConkey also did some really nice things in the passing game and had an opportunity to do more had Bennett been a little more on target. The same can be said for Darnell Washington. Dillon Bell caught his first touchdown but also had one or two chances that he would like to do over. Grade: B+

UGA offensive line

There were times when the offensive line got movement in the trenches. They also did a nice job of protecting the passer at times. They could not, however impose their will. They should have been able to against Samford. UGA couldn’t run the ball in the red zone or short yardage. The o-line also had a couple of key penalties. Grade: C

Georgia defensive line

It was dominance from start to finish. Nazir Stackhouse, Jalen Carter, and Tramel Walthour really flashed at times. Mykel Williams got his first sack. Not much to say other than that. Grade: A

UGA linebackers

The outside guys didn’t have a massive impact on the game due to how quickly Samford was trying to get rid of the football. Kirby Smart pointed out after the game that Samford wasn’t going to let UGA rush the passer much because it wanted to keep its quarterback healthy. Robert Beal made a nice play in space on a screen. Nolan Smith had a tackle for loss. Both were heavy-handed on the edges.

The inside linebackers were much more productive than a week ago. Smael Mondon led the way in tackles and had 1.5 tackles for loss. Jamon Dumas-Johnson was also flying around. Grade: A

Georgia defensive backs

Javon Bullard got his second start at STAR and he stood out in real time. He also stood out in the rewatch. Bullard was all over the field and broke up a pass on fourth down. Tykee Smith also did a good job at STAR when he was in the game. The safeties didn’t have a huge impact on the game other than Dan Jackson’s forced fumble. The cornerbacks weren’t challenged much either but Daylen Everette got a ton of run and finished with three solo tackles. Grade: A

UGA special teams

Jack Podlesny was called upon early and often and did a nice job on the short field goals, hitting all four of the ones inside the 10-yard line. He had a miss from 54 yards out that came up woefully short. It was a sloppy-looking operation in general. Brett Thorson punted three times with a long of 48 and one short pooch punt that was hauled in inside the 20-yard line. The coverage was good on all of the punts and Podlesny had a good day kicking off. McConkey came close on a couple of punt returns with a long of 21 yards. Grade: B+

Overall

It was a sloppy effort on offense. That’s all there is to it. Georgia looked prepared and it executed fairly well early on. The red zone performance was hard to watch at times. Good teams usually do a good job down close to the goal line. Georgia has to clean that up going forward. The defense played hard and the young guys who played in the second half did a really good job. The game was never stressful because of how the defense played but the Bulldogs will want to play much better down the line. Grade: B-