The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogswalked out of Sanford Stadium with a comfortable 63-3 win vs. the Tennessee State Tigers in their home opener. The Tigers are out of the Ohio Valley Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), so it wasn't expected to be a close contest.
However, Georgia still overachieved. They scored 63 points for the first time since the Orange Bowl victory against Florida State in 2023, and they didn't need any interceptions or fumbles to do it. They were up 28-0 by the first quarter, so there was thought they could win by more. With Georgia's previous struggles covering against FCS opponents, they came through in this game too, even with the line being set at over 55.5. Before Georgia plays another non-Power Four
opponent, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, here are three takeaways from the game against Tennessee State.
Three takeaways from Georgia's Week 1 win
Offensive creativity
One thing that stood out to me was the creativity on offense. It wasn't your typical run-it-up-the-gut offense against an FCS opponent. Bobo's playbook really got to shine in this win.
There was a cool play design on the Talyn Taylor touchdown in the first quarter to make it 28-0. On that play, Georgia lined up Taylor behind the left tackle, and he motioned behind Stockton when he took the snap. When Stockton faked the handoff, tight end Elyiss Williams, who was right behind the left guard, sprinted ahead of Taylor, who caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage.
Thomas Blackshear was lined up in the slot, so with just two defensive backs guarding the right side of the field, he and Williams had to just block those two, and Taylor used his speed to scamper into the end zone from 15 yards out.
Really like this design from Mike Bobo
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) September 6, 2026
Orbit Motion and Split Flow Bluff to Lead the Screen on the backside of Wide Zone.
Nice way to split the defense in half. pic.twitter.com/0eNIPvBx5d
There were several plays where they used a ton of misdirection. It isn't a new tenet of Mike Bobo's offense, but it seems sharper than in past seasons. Hopefully, the execution is more on point against SEC opponents, but it's a good start.
Young talent came to play
The Bulldogs had the No. 9 recruiting class of 2026. Usually, freshmen take time to play important parts of the roster and make marquee plays. However, yesterday was full of marquee plays from freshman.
Defensive tackle P.J. Dean had 1 1/2 sacks, and linebacker Elijah Littlejohn had one as well. Running back Jae Lamar, wide receiver Jeremy Bell, and tight end Kaiden Prothro scored touchdowns. Harran Zureikat had a chance to make his first extra point. Ekene Ogboko led all offensive linemen in snaps (42), and Zykie Helton played an important role too.
If this is the contribution Georgia gets from their freshmen, then this recruiting class could keep Georgia's title window open for a while. Georgia has one of the most shrewd and smartest recruiting teams in the league, and they should hold their heads high over what they saw from the class of 2026.
Many capable running backs
The running game was incredible, with 272 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries. That's an average of 10.1 yards per carry.
That's awesome, but what really stood out to me was the number of runners. Nate Frazier led the day with 72 yards and three touchdowns on four carries, but Bo Walker (35 yards on five carries), Dwight Phillips (three carries for 25 yards), Chauncey Bowens (four carries for 24 yards), and Jae Lamar (three carries for 15 yards) also had at least three carries. All of them had over five yards per carry.
That's a great sign for Georgia's running game, which has been the backbone of their offense since the Mark Richt era. Georgia should once again have a strong running game, with Frazier leading the way and several contributions behind him.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Three major takeaways from Georgia's 63-3 win over Tennessee State
