Actions speak louder than words. While the world asked about a three-peat, Kirby Smart quickly dismissed that talk in the offseason. Smart set the tone back in July at SEC Media Days. “I don’t care about the three-peat. I care about complacency.” The message for the 2023 season was simple: Better Never Rests. Georgia battled complacency in its 48-7 defeat of UT-Martin. While most teams might be happy with a 41-point mean, Smart wanted more. Smart’s assessment of his team’s performance between the third and fourth quarters shows the team still has more work to do. “I don’t know how hungry we are tonight. We still need to show we can compete,” he said in the postgame press conference. Brock Bowers helped get Georgia started with his first-half performance.
Brock Bowers Shines in the First Half
Georgia scored touchdowns on its first six drives last year in its opening win against Oregon. That wasn’t the case Saturday night. Whether you call it complacency or nerves, Georgia started slowly. After a slow start on their first drive, Bowers kicked things into gear for the Bulldogs on their second possession. First, he caught a screen pass and took it 23 yards helping them avoid another short possession. Facing a 3rd and 2 at the three-yard line later in the possession, Bowers stepped up again and took a hand-off on an end around three yards for Georgia’s first touchdown. Bowers led all Georgia receivers with 5 receptions for 77 yards. Georgia held up relatively well on defense. In the first half, Bowers’ main focus was supporting his young quarterback in finding his footing and confidence on the field.
Beck’s First Half Performance
Carson Beck looked like he was still learning in his first game as Georgia’s starter. Beck was rushing throws early and throwing behind his receivers. With help from Bowers, Beck started to find his groove and confidence as he went on in the second quarter. Beck then led Georgia again deep into UT-Martin territory, and it looked like he was about to throw his first touchdown of the season when Domic Lovett was left uncovered. Unfortunately for Beck, Lovett could not hang onto the ball as the defender raced over and knocked it out of his hands.
Beck pointed out earlier in the week, how one of the biggest lessons he learned from Stetson Bennett was his ability to put bad plays behind him. He did that, putting Lovett’s drop behind him and scrambling into the end zone for his first touchdown. The young quarterback led Georgia 75 yards down the field in the final two minutes to set up Peyton Woodring’s first field goal and extend Georgia’s lead to 17-0 lead going into halftime.
Beck with a little shimmy to the 🏠
Watch live on SEC Network+#GoDawgs | @carsonbeck01 pic.twitter.com/te5qSn1KFR
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 2, 2023
Georgia Finds Its Second Half Mews
Georgia’s offense continued to progress in the second half, largely thanks to Redshirt Sophomore Mekhi Mews. After going three-and-out to start the second half, Georgia started its second drive from the two-yard line. Beck hit C.J. Smith and Dillon Bell to help bring Georgia out of the shadow of its endzone. Enter Mews. Mews was seen mainly coming into the year as a return man but sought to make his mark in the second half. He helped his cause on the drive. Mews took Beck’s pass 54 yards into the endzone to push Georgia’s lead to 24-0. His catch seemed to continue to spark Georgia’s offense.
One to remember for @mekhi_mews_21
Watch live on SEC Network+#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/LMVHyChSw7
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 3, 2023
Beck continued to show his growing confidence on Georgia’s next possession. He hit Smith for a 47-yard pass, and after an incompletion, found Mews again for a 25-yard gain to take Georiga inside the ten-yard line. Roderick Robinson II showed off his tough running and extended Georgia’s lead to 31-0. Beck would give way to Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton for the rest of the game. Murray graded Beck as a C/C+ during the telecast. That might be a bit harsh. Beck showed off his scrambling ability, and his arm was as good as advertised. He finished the game 21 of 31 for 294 yards and two touchdowns, one rushing and one throwing.
3 Stars and A Question
Star 1: Defense continues to shine
Georgia held up relatively well on defense. UT-Martin found a few gaps for some big runs in the first half, but the defense forced three-and-outs on four of their six first-half possessions. UT-Martin picked up their first third-down conversion a minute into the fourth quarter. Malaki Starks led Georgia with 8 tackles. Kyron Jones capped off the game with a 26-yard pick-six late in the fourth quarter.
Star 2: Caden Woodring
The Louisiana freshman made all his extra points and kicked two field goals. He also handled all of the kickoff duties.
Star 3: Backup Quarterbacks
Vandagriff and Stockton got to take some snaps once the game was in hand. Vandagriff showed off his running and throwing ability. The highlight for Vandagriff was his 56-yard pass to Rara Thomas to set up a 21-yard touchdown pass on the next play. Stockton showed off his arm and led Georgia to a field goal.
Question: Where is the running game?
Georiga rushed 30 times for a meager 159 yards, far below the Georgia standard. Kendrick Milton is still returning from a hamstring injury and rushed nine times for 54 yards. Robinson looked to be the strongest back, if under-utilized. Robinson had eight rushes for 50 yards. Mike Bob has plenty of talent at quarterback and receiver, but it would be nice to see the running backs get more work and take some of the pressure off Beck and company.
Photo courtesy: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
