ATHENS — Georgia football opened the season with a dominant 45-0 win over Austin Peay on Saturday.
The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs used starting quarterback Jake Fromm for less than a half en route to the win over the FCS-level Ohio Valley Conference Governors in both teams’ opening game at Sanford Stadium.
Georgia built a 38-0 halftime lead and didn’t use Fromm [12-of-16, 157 yards, 2 TDs] beyond the second quarter.
Bulldogs freshman Justin Fields played two series in the third quarter before coming out. Fields was 7-of-8 passing for 63 yards.
Fields’ second half 12-yard pass to tight end Isaac Nauta closed the game’s scoring with 5:44 left in the third quarter.
Georgia, which plays at South Carolina at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday, out-gained Austin Peay 508-152 yards.
FINAL
FOURTH QUARTER
– Austin Peay coach Will Healy and Georgia coach Kirby Smart have agreed to play a 10-minute final quarter.
THIRD QUARTER
Georgia 45, Austin Peay 0, 5:44
• Isaac Nauta 12-yard pass from Justin Fields (Blankenship kick), five plays, 60 yards, 2:46
HALFTIME
Georgia 38, Austin Peay 0
SECOND QUARTER
Georgia 38, Austin Peay 0, 1:28
• Mecole Hardman 59-yard pass from Jake Fromm (Rodrigo Blankenship kick), four plays, 70 yards, 1:10
Georgia 31, Austin Peay 0, 4:50
• Elijah Holyfield 17-yard run, (Blankenship kick), nine plays, 69 yards, 4:39
– Deangelo Gibbs cleared to play, enters the action
Georgia 24, Austin Peay 0, 10:29
• Demetris Robertson 72-yard run, (Blankenship kick), three plays, 79 yards, 1:10
– Freshman QB Justin Fields enters game, 11:39 mark
Austin Peay kicker Logan Birchfield misses 37-yard field goal, 11:39
FIRST QUARTER
Georgia 17, Austin Peay 0, 2:41
• D’Andre Swift 8-yard TD run, (Blankenship kick), one play, 8 yards, five seconds
– Natrez Patrick forced fumble, D’Andre Walker recovers at Austin Peay 8-yard line at 2:46 mark
Georgia 10, Austin Peay 0, 3:27
• Riley Ridley 10-yard TD pass from Jake Fromm, (Blankeship kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:50
Georgia 3, Austin Peay 0, 10:42
• Rodrigo Blankenship 34-yard field goal (Scoring drive: 10 plays, 41 yards, 4:18)
— Freshman Cade Mays lines up as H-Back/Fullback
— James Cook first play, goes in motion and catches swing pass for 6 yards
— Austin Peay wins the toss, Georgia will receive, Mecole Hardman is the deep man
RELATED: Georgia football pregame injury report for Austin Peay
Georgia is wplaying without leading returning receiver Terry Godwin, who missed the start of fall camp with a knee injury, and has since suffered a strained camp.
The Bulldogs are also without defensive back Tyrique McGhee, among others.
High expectations
Georgia opens the season with high expectations after the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship Game last season en route to a runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia is ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll, and No. 4 in the Coaches’ Poll. It’s the highest preseason ranking for the Bulldogs since 2008, when Georgia was the preseason No. 1-ranked team.
The Bulldogs opened last season No. 15, rising as high as No. 2 in the human polls despite spending two weeks at No. 1 according to the College Football Playoff Committee.
The only pollster to vote Georgia No. 1 on their preseason ballot was 2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Reggie Williams of the FWAA-NFF Super 16 poll. Williams played college football at Dartmouth before his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bulldogs were selected the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC East Division at SEC Media Days in Atlanta in July, but two-thirds of the voters picked Alabama to win the SEC Championship this season.
About Austin Peay
The Governors were one of the bigger success stories in the FCS ranks last season, snapping a 29-game losing streak en route to an 8-1 mark against schools in the same classification.
Austin Peay finished second to Jacksonville State in the Ohio Valley Conference, 8-4 overall and 7-1 in league play in 2017. The Governors finished last season on a three-game win streak but missed the FCS playoffs.
Austin Peay played three FBS opponents last season, losing 26-14 to Cincinnati in last year’s season-opening game, and falling 31-10 to Miami (Ohio) and 73-33 to UCF.
Quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall was the OVC Freshman Offensive Player of the Year last season, and he was selected as the 2018 Media Preseason OVC Offensive Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Oatsvall was efficient under center, setting a school record with 8.1 yards per pass attempt and a 135.8 pass efficient rating, second-highest in school history.
Austin Peay also ranked sixth in the FCS ranks in rushing offense with 258.8 yards per game last season.
DawgNation Kroger Kickoff Show