ATHENS, Ga. — After a weather delay that turned halftime Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium into a two-hour break, the fourth-ranked Georgia football team had to work to put away Austin Peay in the Bulldogs’ final game before the start of SEC play.
Running backs Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier rushed for a pair of touchdowns each to help lift Georgia to a 28-6 win over the Governors, an FCS program from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Frazier’s second score, a 1-yarder with 5:39 to go in the game, helped seal the 33rd straight win on Dooley Field, extending the longest active streak in the FBS and the longest streak in program history.
The Bulldogs were denied by Austin Peay at the 1-yard line on five straight plays to end the first half, keeping the score 14-3. Late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, Georgia’s defense denied the Governors on a long series of plays inside the 10, keeping the Bulldog lead at 21-6. Georgia then tied a school record with a 99-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Frazier’s 1-yard rush.
The kickoff for Saturday’s game was moved up an hour to 2:30 p.m. due to thunderstorms that were expected to pass through Athens later in the afternoon. Those storms arrived in the region as the first half was ending. Per SEC rules, play was halted for 30 minutes whenever there was a lightning strike within eight miles of the stadium — and the clock reset after each subsequent strike. That turned halftime into the length of a feature film.
The Bulldogs (2-0) finished with a 421-196 advantage in total offense, with 231 coming through the air and 190 on the ground. But a pair of fumbles cut short promising drives and kept the game in reach for the Governors (1-1). Quarterback Gunner Stockton was 26 of 34 passing for 227 yards, and Georgia’s rushing trio of Frazier, Bowens and Dwight Phillips, Jr., combined for 180 yards on 32 carries. Wideout Colbie Young had a game-high seven catches for 76 yards.
Georgia committed its first turnover of the season on its opening drive, a Frazier fumble near midfield that Peay cornerback Ellis Ellis, Jr., recovered. The Bulldog defense quickly forced a punt, so no harm was done, and the Georgia offense got right back to work on its second drive.
Bowens began the possession with a 10-yard rush and ended it with a two-yard touchdown run. It was the first career touchdown for Bowens, a sophomore who had five carries for 24 yards on the 10-play drive that gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
On third down of the ensuing Peay drive, Georgia linebacker Chris Cole got the sophomore’s first career sack, and the Bulldogs’ first sack of the season, for a loss of eight yards. After a nine-yard punt return by Zachariah Branch gave the Bulldogs the ball back at their 44-yard line, the offense gave the ball to Frazier for three straight plays, then Stockton hit wide receiver Talyn Taylor for a 19-yard gain. Later, on second down at the 2, Frazier ran the ball in for his first touchdown of the season and a 14-0 lead with 13:50 to go in the half.
The Governors put together an eight-play drive, highlighted by a 26-yard completion to the right side, and connected on a 44-yard field goal by Carson Smith to cut the lead to 14-3 with 9:08 remaining. Georgia punted for the first time on its next drive, with Brett Thorson making his first boot of the season after returning from a knee injury, and then the Bulldog defense got its first takeaway.
Cornerback Ellis Robinson IV intercepted a tipped pass at the Peay 39, giving the offense great field position with 5:34 to play in the half. But the Governors’ defense sent the Bulldogs backward, and Thorson was soon back on the field, this time pooching a punt that Cash Jones downed at the 4-yard line with 3:08 to go.
Georgia’s defense got a quick stop, and the Bulldogs got the ball back at their 45 with 1:27 on the clock. Stockton led the offense quickly down the field, and on first-and-goal at the 1 with 33 seconds remaining, Georgia later ran five plays from the 1 but was unable to get into the end zone. At the break, the Bulldogs had a 230-80 advantage in total offense but only a 14-3 lead.
That break wound up being much longer than anticipated, but after the two-hour delay, Georgia came out and immediately got a defensive stop, and then the offense drove 60 yards for a touchdown. After completions from Stockton to Young and runs by Frazier moved the ball down to the Govs’ 23, Bowens ran for nine yards to the 14, and then ran the ball in for a 21-3 lead with 10:54 left in the third.
Georgia’s next possession ended with a fumble by wideout London Humphreys, this one also forced by Wiley, after an eight-yard reception. The Govs turned that into a 43-yard field goal, making it 21-6 with 5:51 to go in the third. After the Bulldogs’ big defensive stop inside the 10 late in the third and early in the fourth, Georgia went 99 yards to put the game away on Frazier’s score. Linebackers CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson led the defense with seven tackles each.
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to next Saturday’s SEC opener at No. 22 Tennessee. Georgia has won eight in a row against the Vols, including its last four games in Knoxville.
POST-GAME NOTES
*Winning Between The Hedges: Fourth-ranked Georgia (2-0) extended its home winning streak to 33 games today with a 28-6 victory over Austin Peay (1-1). That is the longest active streak in the FBS. The NCAA record belongs to Miami (58 from 1985-94) while Alabama has the SEC mark at 57 (1963-82). The Bulldogs are 52-4 at home in the Kirby Smart era
*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia tallied 421 yards of offense (190-rushing, 231-passing) in a 28-6 win including a 99-yard TD drive.
*Redshirt junior QB Gunner Stockton completed his first 10 passes today and finished 26-for-34 for 227 yards and no TDs plus had 13 rushing yards on five carries. In the first half, he was 17-for-21 for 139 yards with no TDs.
*On its first possession of the 2nd half, Georgia compiled a 60-yard TD drive on seven plays in 2:41 to take a 21-3 lead. The drive was capped by a 14-yard run by Chauncey Bowens, his second TD of the afternoon. He finished with a career-high 56 yards on 11 carries.
*In the first half, the Bulldogs tallied 229 yards of offense (90-rushing, 139-passing) on 41 plays to jump out to a 14-3 half-time lead. The half ended with AP making a goal line stand as the Bulldogs were stopped four times from the one.
*Georgia won the toss, took the football and gained 28 yards on four plays before the drive ended on a fumble.
*The second drive resulted in a TD and covered 80 yards in 10 plays. Chauncey Bowens (2-yard rush) notched his first career TD..
*The leading rusher was sophomore Nate Frazier with 69 yards on 14 carries with two TDs. He finished a nine play, 56-yard drive early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. Dwight Phillips, Jr. had 55 yards on seven carries.
*Senior Colbie Young led the team with seven catches for 76 yards while junior London Humphreys was next with three for 29 yards..
*On the final play of the first half, freshman TE Ethan Barbour injured his left leg and did not return to the game.
*Going A Record Distance: For the first time since 2022, Georgia tied a school record for longest TD drive, going 99 yards on 17 plays in 8:43. The last time the Bulldogs had a 99-yard TD drive was in 2022 against Ga. Tech. The TD-drive of 8:43 today was the second longest in school history, the record is 8:45 (1998 vs. Tennessee, 19 plays, 87 yards). Nate Frazier scored from one yard out to finish today’s long drive and make it 28-6. Georgia’s other 99-yard TD drives came in 1983 (vs Florida in Jacksonville), 2000 (Tennessee in Athens), 2001 (Arkansas State in Athens), 2008 (Central Michigan in Athens), 2011 (at Ole Miss), 2022 (Ga. Tech in Athens).
*Defensive Review: The Bulldogs held the Govs to a pair of field goals. AP finished with 196 yards on 51 plays (45-rush, 151-passing).
*Georgia had a goal line stand early in the 4th quarter with a 21-6 lead. Raylen Wilson made the 4th down stop on a shovel pass at the 1.
*The Govs managed just three points off two Bulldog turnovers. With 7:48 left in the 3rd quarter, AP (Davion Hood) recovered a fumble at the UGA 31. It led to a 43-yard field goal to make it 21-6.
*In the first half, Austin Peay was held to three points, tallying 80 yards of total offense (11-rush, 69-pass) on 22 plays.
*The Govs hit a 44-yard field goal (Carson Smith) with 9:08 left in the first half to cut it to 14-3.
*The first drive of the day for AP resulted in a three-and-out after gaining seven yards. The Govs got the ball after a Bulldog fumble. In the first quarter, AP had six total yards on six plays.
*Juniors CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson led the team in tackles with seven each. Allen had 1.5 TFL and his first sack of the year.
*Sophomore Chris Cole notched his first career sack while Ellis Robinson IV snagged his first career interception at the AP39.
*Checking In On Special Teams: Junior PK Peyton Woodring tallied four points (4 PATs) plus took care of the kickoffs.
*All-America punter Brett Thorson made his 2025 debut. He had three punts for a 44.3 average with no returns. His second punt was caught by senior Cash Jones at the AP 4 with 3:08 left in the first half. Last week in the opener against Marshall, Drew Miller handled the punting as Thorson still was recovering from knee surgery that ended his 2024 season.
*Junior Zachariah Branch had one punt return for nine yards.
*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Gunner Stockton, Colbie Young, KJ Bolden and Raylen Wilson.
*Georgia won the toss and elected to receive. The first drive ended with a Nate Frazier fumble at the AP 47. It did not lead to any points. Before today, the last time Georgia won the toss and took the ball was in 2023 (Ball State). That drive ended with a missed field goal.
*Sophomore Jahzare Jackson (RT) and redshirt freshman Michael Uini (RG) made their first career start while senior Daylen Everette RCB) returned to his starting spot after missing the opener due to injury. Everette had started 28 straight games before missing last week.
*During halftime, lightning was detected within eight miles of the stadium so per SEC policy, the game went into a delay. With a normal halftime, play should have resumed at 4:16 but actually the game restarted at 6:02, meaning the total delay was one hour and 46 minutes.
*Up Next: No. 4 Georgia (2-0) faces No. 22 Tennessee (2-0) in Knoxville for its SEC opener Saturday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. (ABC).
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kirby Smart
On overcoming the adversity of schedule change and delays due to weather…
“You can use that as an excuse, but the rain was there for both of us. We anticipated it. I don’t think that I’ve ever had a delay that long. I’ve been a part of a couple delays in my career, but that was a long one. We strategically handled that well. I really thought we came out of the delay with some juice. It was cool out, the music was good, the fans were excited, players were excited, it wasn’t near as hot. We came out and got a three-and-out, came down to score, and seized the momentum, so I was really proud of our guys for that.”
On not being able to convert on the drive before halftime…
“Not ideal. We had a great drive. We got the ball back, moved the ball down the field. We had four plays where the ball was inside the one and didn’t score. Over and over and over, we didn’t cash it in. That was frustrating and left a bad taste in our mouth before the break but we needed some adversity and that gave us some.”
On the defensive performance…
“There’s a lot of pride in that red area defense. Coach Schumann takes a lot of pride in that and we work hard on that each week. It’s where points are made and games are won. I thought we did a great job of holding these guys. I thought Austin Peay was a really good team. They have a good offense, they know what they’re doing. I was really proud of how our defense played.”
#14 Gunner Stockton | QB | R-Jr.
On the steps the offense took to gain momentum…
“I think, first and foremost, we learned from when we failed. We corrected our mistakes, try to focus on one thing, and get better every quarter.”
On the 99-yard drive in the 4th quarter…
“It was awesome. Our whole O-line, receivers, everybody pushed the ball down the field, so it was awesome to see.”
#6 Daylen Everette | DB | Sr.
On being back on the field after limited playing time…
“I feel great. It is not always fun being out. When I was not, I always cheered on my teammates. When I got the opportunity to get back on the field this week, I just tried to make the best of it.”
On this week preparation going into SEC play…
“We try to prepare for every game like a championship game. I do not think the plan is going to change anything, we are finally going into SEC play.”
#33 Chauncey Bowens | RB | R-Fr.
On the skills the Running Back room brings…
“We do everything. We got a little bit of power, speed, agility. Really hard working group, we play with a lot of fire.”
On his first career touchdown…
“It is an honor. Something I have dreamed of since being recruited. It is a blessing to be able to come true.”