Bulldogs muzzle Tigers in kickoff win

ATLANTA, Ga. — Led by a stifling performance from its defense, the top-ranked Georgia football team opened its 2024 season Saturday with a dominant 34-3 win over No. 14 Clemson in the Aflac Kickoff Game at a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Bulldogs (1-0) were leading 20-3 in the fourth quarter when quarterback Carson Beck hit sophomore wide receiver London Humphreys for a 40-yard touchdown to lift much of the crowd of 78,827 to its feet and blow the game open with 9:57 remaining. Beck finished 23 of 33 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns, the Georgia offense racked up 447 yards, and the Bulldog defense, which got an interception from safety Malaki Starks in the fourth quarter, held the Tigers (0-1) to just 188 yards.

The Bulldogs opened their season with a win for the 11th year in a row. The last time they failed to prevail in their opener was a 38-35 loss in a thriller at Clemson in 2013. This was the 66th all-time meeting between Georgia and Clemson, with the Bulldogs now leading the series 44-18-4.

In 2021, the Bulldogs pulled out a 10-3 win over the Tigers in Charlotte, N.C., to open the season. Safety Christopher Smith returned an interception 74 yards for the game’s only touchdown, lifting Georgia to the win and beginning the march to the program’s first national championship since 1980.

Not unlike that defense-dominated matchup in 2021, neither offense got much going early Saturday, and the game was scoreless after the opening quarter. In the second, Georgia’s offense continued what became a methodical, 12-play drive that ended with a 30-yard Peyton Woodring field goal and a 3-0 lead with 8:49 left in the half.

After Georgia forced another Clemson punt, Beck on first down connected with tight end Lawson Luckie for 31 yards up the left side, down to the Tiger 37-yard line. The drive stalled there, but Woodring blasted a career-long 55-yard field goal to make it 6-0 Georgia with 4:16 to play in the quarter. That remained the score at halftime despite Georgia out-gaining the Tigers 160-76; both teams were 1 of 6 on third down in the first two quarters.

Georgia got the ball to start the second half and quickly went to work. Receiver Arian Smith ran the ball for seven yards on first down and then had a 32-yard reception on the next play. Wideout Dillon Bell ran for 27 yards up the left side, and soon after, Beck hit receiver Colbie Young for a seven-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 12:01 to play in the third.

Clemson put together its best drive on the ensuing possession and had a first down at the Georgia 7. But the Bulldogs held the Tigers to a 26-yard Nolan Hauser field goal that cut the Georgia lead to 13-3 with 6:34 to go in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs responded with another touchdown drive. This one began with a short pass from Beck to tailback Nate Frazier that led to a 24-yard gain — and ended with a 1-yard Frazier run for the score and a 20-3 lead with 3:15 remaining in the quarter. Georgia also got a 23-yard completion from Beck to wideout London Humphrey on third-and-10 to keep the drive going.

Early in the fourth, Beck found Humphrey for the 40-yard score that made it 27-3. Later in the period, after Starks’ interception, Cash Jones ran the ball in from the 15 to push the lead to 34-3.

Nine Bulldogs caught at least one pass, with Smith leading the way with five receptions for 56 yards. Frazier paced the ground attack with 1 carries for 83 yards and the 1-yard score. Linebacker Jalon Walker led the defense with six tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and five other Bulldogs tallied for stops.

Eight years ago, in 2016, Georgia’s Kirby Smart made his head-coaching debut in the Aflac Kickoff Game, with the Bulldogs beating North Carolina 33-24. In 2022, Georgia hammered Oregon 49-3 in the Kickoff Game to begin an undefeated run to a second straight title. Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney are the only active head coaches who have won multiple FBS national championships.

Former Georgia coach Mark Richt gave the invocation on the field before kickoff Saturday, while legendary kicker Kevin Butler was the Bulldogs’ honorary captain. Clemson won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball to start the game.

The Bulldogs open their six-game home schedule next Saturday against Tennessee Tech at Sanford Stadium (2 p.m.). Georgia has won a program-record 25 straight games on Dooley Field.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Season Openers and Series History: With today’s 34-3 win over No. 14 Clemson, top-ranked Georgia (1-0) now has won 40 straight regular season games dating back to the 2020 season. The Bulldogs are 47-2 in their last 49 games.

*The Bulldogs are 101-27-3 in season openers including 9-0 in the Kirby Smart era. The Bulldogs have won 11 straight openers. Smart’s career record is 95-16. Today marked the 13th time in school history that the Bulldogs opened the season with a top 25 matchup and Georgia is now 10-3 in these matchups including winning the past five.The Bulldogs extend their series lead over Clemson to 44-18-4 including 8-1-1 in neutral sites.

*Defensive Review: The 14th-ranked Tigers were limited to just three points, tallying 188 yards of total offense on 52 plays.

*The Tigers hit a 26-yard field goal with 6:34 left in the 3rd quarter on a 12 play, 66-yard drive in 5:27 to cut it to 13-3.

*Clemson finished the first half with no points on 76 yards of offense, running 20 plays.

*Last season, Georgia posted a pair of first half shutouts, and they came in the first two games versus UT Martin and Ball State.

*The Tigers won the coin toss and chose to take the football. On their opening drive, they finished with a net of two yards on three plays including a key stop by freshman KJ Bolden to force a punt.

*Georgia’s leading tackler was junior Jalon Walker who had six tackles and 1.5 sacks with a host of Bulldogs next with four tackles apiece.

*In the 4th quarter, junior Malaki Starks snagged his first interception of the season and sixth of his career. It was similiar to the first of his career, here in this building in the season-opening win over Oregon in 2021. Georgia eventually turned today’s pick into a TD.

*In the first quarter, Clemson had 61 yards on 13 plays including a 36-yard catch by Antonio Williams.

*Clemson was 1-for-6 on 3rd Downs in the first half and finished the day 4-for-13 plus 0-for-1 on 4th Down.

*A Look At Beck’s Performance: Senior QB Carson Beck delivered another victory against a ranked opponent, going 23-for-33 for 278 yards and two TDs. He is now 14-1 as a starter in his career including 6-1 against ranked opponents.

*Beck directed a six play, 75-yard TD drive to open the 2nd half, capped by a seven-yard strike to senior transfer Colbie Young, his first as a Bulldog to put Georgia in front 13-0 following the PAT. Later in the 2nd half, he connected with London Humphreys for a 40-yard TD strike and a 27-3 advantage for Humphreys’ first score as a Bulldog. Following a turnover by the Tigers, Georgia went 78 yards on five plays for a 34-3 lead.

*After a Tiger field goal cut it to 13-3, Beck moved the Bulldogs 75 yards in eight plays for a TD and a 20-3 lead with 3:15 left in the 3rd quarter.

*In the first half, Beck was 15-for-19 for 126 yards in directing Georgia to a 6-0 halftime lead. His accuracy has been a trademark as he ranked fifth nationally last season with a school record 72.4 Completion Percentage. On 3rd-and-10 of the opening possession, he converted the first down by scampering 13 yards. He had an impressive 23-yard completion to junior Dillon Bell on Georgia’s first scoring drive of the game.

*An Array Of Targets: Nine different Bulldogs had a reception today. Senior Arian Smith picked up an 11-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage and ended the day with a team-best and career-high five catches for 56 yards. Junior Dillon Bell was next with four catches for 32 yards. Sophomore TE Lawson Luckie (2-for-37 yards) had a career-long 31-yard catch. Sophomore transfer London Humphreys snagged a 40-yard TD catch to put the Bulldogs up 27-3 as he finished with two receptions for 63 yards.

*Summary Of The Offense: Bolstered by 28 points in the second half, Georgia posted a 34-3 season-opening win over #14 Clemson. The Bulldogs had 447 yards of total offense on 60 plays, gaining 169 on the ground and 278 through the air.

*Georgia scored its first TD of the 2024 season to open the second half, driving 75 yards on six plays in 2:59 for a 13-0 advantage.

*In the first half, the Bulldogs scored six points (two field goals) on 160 yards of total offense, running a total of 30 plays. Georgia tallied eight first downs and went 1-for-6 on third downs. The first field goal drive covered 68 yards on 12 plays in 6:26 while the second was just 31 yards on five plays in 2:05.

*Running Backs Share The Load: Georgia finished with 163 rushing yards on 24 attempts (6.8 avg.) and were led by freshman Nate Frazier (11-for-83 yards, 1 TD.) His first career carry covered three yards and resulted in a first down. He had a career-long 24-yard catch in the second half and his first career rushing TD, a one-yard to cap a 75-yard drive. Frazier finished with a team-high 107 all-purpose yards (83 rush, 24 rec.).

*Special Teams Highlights: Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring tallied 10 points (4 PATs, 2 Field Goals), making a 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 edge with 8:49 left in the 1st half. He booted a career-long 55-yarder with 4:16 left in the first half to make it 6-0. Woodring’s previous long was 48 yards.  It marked the longest field goal by the Bulldogs since Rodrigo Blankenship hit a 55-yarder versus Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl win. Also, Woodring handled kickoffs.

*Junior P Brett Thorson tallied a 48.0 average on four punts with a long of 57 yards. His first one covered 36 yards and was downed at the Tiger 5. The second punt covered 43 yards and was fair caught at the Tiger 15. His final one of the half went 57 yards with no return. He had a 56-yarder in the 2nd half that was fair caught. Georgia did not allow a punt return last year, the only team in the FBS to accomplish that.

*Sophomore Anthony Evans had three punt returns for 23 yards.

*Captains, Coin Toss and For Starters: Senior Carson Beck (QB), Tate Ratledge (OL) plus juniors Jalon Walker (LB) and Mykel Williams (DL) served as the game captains while College Football Hall of Fame placekicker Kevin Butler was Georgia’s honorary captain. Clemson won the toss and elected to receive. The Bulldogs had six first-time starters, three each on offense and defense: Christen Miller (DL), Julian Humphrey (DB) and JaCorey Thomas (Star) plus Branson Robinson (RB), Jared Wilson (C) and Lawson Luckie (TE).

*Up Next: The top-ranked Bulldogs (1-0) welcome Tennessee Tech to Athens for their home opener Saturday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. (SECN+). The Golden Eagles face Middle Tennessee tonight at 7 p.m.