No. 1 Bulldogs dominate Tennessee Tech for stunning home opener in Athens

ATHENS, Ga. — Carson Beck tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a little more than a half and No. 1 Georgia romped to a 48-3 victory against outmanned Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

With a brief respite in their daunting schedule, the Bulldogs (2-0) breezed past an FCS school that received $550,000 to make the trip to Athens for what amounted to little more than a glorified scrimmage.

Beck completed 18 of 25 passes for 242 yards before calling it a day less than three minutes into the second half. He had scoring throws of 22 yards to Dillon Bell, 6 yards to Colbie Young, 10 yards to Dominic Lovett, 50 yards to Arian Smith and 37 yards to Lawson Luckie.

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Many in the announced crowd of more than 93,000 headed for the exits at halftime on a sweltering day with temperatures in the upper 80s. They didn’t miss much as the Bulldogs pulled most of their starters shortly into the third quarter.

Beck’s five TD passes matched a school record that had been done seven other times, most recently by Stetson Bennett against UAB in 2021.

Tennessee Tech (0-2) started second-stringer Jordyn Potts at quarterback after losing Dylan Laible, a transfer from Missouri, to an injury in the season-opening loss to Middle Tennessee.

The Golden Eagles also gave some snaps to receiver Jordan Yates in a futile effort to bolster the offense, which had only 18 yards passing and didn’t crack 100 yards overall until the closing minutes.

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But, in a moral victory for the visiting team, Tennessee Tech called a timeout with 2 seconds left to allow Hayden Olsen to kick a 32-yard field goal on the final play to break up the shutout.

With the Bulldogs leading 45-0, the fourth quarter was reduced to 10 minutes. Georgia finished with a 498-134 lead in total yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Tennessee Tech: The main benefit for the Golden Eagles was a hefty payday that will bolster their tight athletic department budget. They finally scored for the first time in three meetings against the Bulldogs after losing 67-0 in 1943 and 38-0 in 2009.

Georgia: The Bulldogs got a chance to give playing time to a bunch of backups, which may pay dividends later in the season. Gunnar Stockton took over for Beck and completed 10 of 12 passes for 90 yards. Branson Robinson scored on a 13-yard run.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Nothing in this game will alter Georgia’s status as the No. 1 team in the land.

UP NEXT

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles are off next week, then play Tennessee State in their home opener on Sept. 21.

Georgia: The Bulldogs open their Southeastern Conference slate next Saturday night when they hit the road to face the Kentucky Wildcats.

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