The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BENNETT MAKES MOST OF HIS ROLE
Filling in for injured starter JT Daniels, the senior lights up Blazers with breakaway passing.
ATHENS — All the quarterback uncertainty seemed silly in the afterlight of Georgia’s 56-7 win over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
Once it was determined that quarterback JT Daniels was going to be unable to play, the debate over who would or should start in his absence was intense.
Entering Saturday’s game, there were conflicting reports whether redshirt freshman Carson Beck or senior Stetson Bennett would start.
It was Bennett, and it took all of two offensive plays to know that was the right choice.
On the second play from scrimmage, Bennett connected with flanker Jermaine Burton on a 73-yard bomb down the hash marks nearest the Georgia bench. Thirty-eight seconds in, Georgia led 7-0.
Bennett was just getting started. He led the Bulldogs to scoring drives on six of the first
seven offensive series that he oversaw. As a result, Georgia flew to a 42-0 lead in the game’s first 37 minutes. Bennett was 10-for-12 passing, finishing with 288 yards and five touchdowns. Here’s how it happened: Bennett led the Bulldogs on a comparatively modest 55-yard scoring drive on the second offensive possession. This one ended with his 12-yard touchdown pass to Kenny McIntosh off a play-action fake.
Beck came in on the third possession following a Lewis Cine interception. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on three running plays.
Bennett came back in on the fourth series, and this time he hit tight end Brock Bowers on a sideline route that Bowers used his speed to turn into an 89-yard TD and a 21-0 lead with 1:14 still remaining in the first quarter.
Bennett added a 61-yard touchdown when he hit Arian Smith in stride down the Georgia sideline for a 28-0 lead 51 seconds into the second quarter.
Beck came in again on the next possession, and his throw for an open Smith deep over the middle was underthrown and broken up. The Bulldogs had to punt again.
Georgia punted for the first time behind Bennett on the next possession. But on the seventh offensive series of the half, Bennett was back in after a Kearis Jackson punt return put the Bulldogs at the UAB 17.
On third-and-goal from the 9, Bennett fired a strike to Bowers in the end zone for 35-0 lead.
With 1:13 left in the half, Bennett had an otherworldly 566.8 quarterback rating on 8-of-9 passing for 269 yards and five touchdowns.
The Bulldogs outgained the Blazers 298-98 in the first half.
Bennett’s day was done after his 20-yard scramble on third down set up the seventh touchdown, a 14-yard James Cook run. That handoff would be Bennett’s last play.
Beck finally got on track after that. He hit Adonai Mitchell for
a 32-yard gain in the third quarter. On the same drive, he and wideout Justin Robinson each got his first career touchdown when Beck hit him on a 12-yard pass to make the score 49-0 with 7:11 remaining in the quarter.
Beck stayed in until late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 88 yards on 4-of-10 passing, but UAB’s Keondre Swoopes turned Beck’s interception late in the game into the first touchdown scored against the Bulldogs this season on a 61-yard return.
Georgia’s defense was dominant for the second consecutive week. The Bulldogs’ defense has not allowed a touchdown. As for criticism, coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia defense probably weren’t happy with the Blazers going over 100 yards rushing by early in the third quarter. They finished with 108.
And while the Bulldogs had 539 total yards, they managed only 163 rushing, and were stuck at 86 through three quarters when a lot of the starters were still in the game.