Georgia 45, Marshall 7

 

Fist and foremost, we have to say this: any doubts we might have had about Gunner Stockton were laid to rest in the first quarter alone. He drove the Dawgs down the field for two touchdowns on the first two possessions, scoring the second TD himself with a 13-yard run. He scored another rushing TD in the second with an 11-yard run and finished the game with a team-leading 73 total rushing yards. In addition, he threw for 190 yards on 14-for-24 passing and threw for two TDs in the third.

Backup QB Ryan Pugliosi threw for 59 yards and one TD in the fourth quarter and rushed for 13. In summary, it looks like this season's Bulldogs have a pair of dual-threat QBs. 

Nate Frazier rushed for 47 yerds on 11 carries, while Dwight Phillips, Jr. got 60 yards on five carries. The o-line wasn't everything a championship-caliber line should be, but it was just the first game of the season and they played well enough that there were no sacks and managed to open some holes for all those Stockton runs.   

Georgia missed covering the 38½-points spread by a mere half point.

Meanwhile, as predicted here, No. 3 Ohio State knocked off No. 1 Texas, 14-7, limiting Peyton Eli Archie Arch Manning to a single TD. No. 2 Penn State easily won, 46-11, over unranked Nevada, so it remains to be seen if the Nittany Lions take the No. 1 spot or if the great Buckeye hype machine gets OSU elevated to No. 1. 

The other question is how far Texas will fall in the rankings and if Georgia will get a chance to move up from their current No.5 spot. Friendly reminder that Georgia beat Texas twice last season, in Austin and in the SEC title game. Assuming No. 4 Clemson isn't upset by No. 9 LSU tonight (a big "if"), I would rank the Top 5 Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia, followed by Texas at No. 5, but what do I know?

Also, another bonus: No. 8 Alabama was upset, 31-17, by unranked Florida State, the laughing stock of the 2024 season. Who's laughing now, Crimson Tide? It makes no immediate difference to the Bulldogs, but it's always nice to see Alabama lose.   

Georgia's next opponent will be the Austin Peay Governors of Clarksville, Tennessee, who are leading Middle Tennessee State, 21-0, at the moment.