You don’t open up the season with a dominating victory against the Marshall Thundering Herd without a solid team effort. Yet even at that, every Saturday in the fall some Bulldogs distinguish themselves with feats of gridiron glory that stand out above the rest. These are your MVDs, the Most Valuable ‘Dawgs from Georgia’s 45-7 week one win over Marshall.
Offense: Gunner Stockton. Best not to overthink this one. Stockton accounted for four touchdowns (two by land and two by air), and racked up 263
yards of total offense despite only playing three quarters before yielding to Ryan Puglisi. There were some well-thrown balls, though also some that a better defense would make him pay for. But overall a solid first home game.
Defense: It’s a bit of a task to pick a most valuable player from this UGA defense that held the Herd scoreless until the third stringers hit the field, but also didn’t create any turnovers or even a single sack. But from among the many Bulldogs who played consistent if unspectacular defense on the day I’m going with outside linebacker Raylen Wilson. Wilson finished the day with 7 total tackles including 2 for a loss, and also applied some solid pressure on the Marshall QBs.
Special Teams: It was a solid day for the Red and Black special teams. Drew Miller averaged over 48 yards per punt, putting 2 inside the 20. Zachariah Branch had a solid debut returning punts. And Peyton Woodring was predictably flawless in placekicking, hitting all his extra points and his only field goal attempt. But I have to go with sophomore safety KJ Bolden, whose first half blocked punt really put the nail in the Marshall coffin by setting the Dawgs up for the score that made it 21-0.
As always, feel free to include your picks in the comments, and…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!