ATLANTA — The Georgia Bulldogs opened up the offense in the second half and fireworks ensued.

No. 1 Georgia scored a 34-3 win over No. 14 Clemson, leaving no doubt after taking a slim 6-0 lead into halftime.

It was Georgia’s 40th-straight regular-season win — five short of the all-time record set by 1936 Oklahoma.

“Win the next one,” coach Kirby Smart said, when asked what such an accomplishment meant to him.

Smart was quick to give credit to his staff and players after his ninth-straight season-opening win and 21st victory in a row when having more than a week to prepare for an opponent.

“I liked our adjustments, our coaching staff did a great job offensively, and the defense played relentless.”

Georgia gained 280 of its 447 total yards in the second half while holding Clemson to just 186 total yards.

Smart knew Georgia would be in for a physical battle with the Tigers: three UGA starting defensive linemen were knocked out of the game, Nazir Stackhouse, Warren Brinson and Mykel Williams, with injuries that will be monitored closely as next week’s game with Tennessee Tech approaches.

“You have to out-physical, out-hustle and out-discipline those (Clemson) guys, and we did all three, really proud of these guys.”

Georgia freshmen stepped up big in the victory, including tailback Nate Frazier, who had 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

“He’s got a long ways to go,” Smart said. “We’re not ready to anoint anybody; he had some really good blocking in front of him.”

Smart also singled out walk-on tailback Cash Jones, who had one carry for 15 yards and a touchdown, and two catches for 15 yards.

“Cash Jones had the pickup of the day on a blitz pickup,” Smart said. “And no one is talking about that ... that kid has been in our program four or five years.”

Malaki Starks drew raves for a soaring interception, leading Smart to compare him to former Georgia star and NFL Hall of Famer Champ Bailey.

“That play he made was elite,” said Smart, who slyly slid Starks to the Star position when sophomore Joenel Aguero was a surprise scratch. “I didn’t think he could get there (on the interception) and he found a way to contort his body. It reminds me of Champ.”