10 Thoughts From Another Warm-Up Win

Another week, another overwhelming win for Georgia. This time, the roadkill was Western Kentucky in a 70-20 win in a day mixed with rain and sunshine Between The Hedges.

Here are 10 thoughts from all that shook out on Saturday in Athens.

1. Even when Georgia has had some very good teams, there have been times where it has slopped around the not started games very crisp, to say the least. If there is one thing that stands out from these first two games against very underwhelming opponents, its that the Bulldogs – at least their first-team level of the depth chart, have been ready to play. The latest? A 14-0 lead Saturday after only four offensive plays. Yes, both Tennessee State and Western Kentucky are putrid. But the way that the focus has been sharp early on the past two games says a lot about the upper-end of the roster.

2. But…lot was also on display about the lower end of the roster. When you give up two second-half touchdowns, even if they are backups, that’s not good. Was Kirby Smart trying to send a message when he said that some players were ‘not ready to play’ after Saturday’s win? Perhaps. But it also says that at some point, these reserves will be needed to step up. Injuries and adversity? Those things happen during a season. It may seem a long way off for these reserves to step in…but that plan goes out the window when injuries happen. To quote Jerry Reed, these young players “have a long way to go, and short time to get there.”

3. All of that said, we still don’t know how well this team can handle the fire of adversity. Arkansas will be toughest game so far next week, and there is a worry of sleepwalking for a midway game in the CST, but the Razorbacks are not very good. Oklahoma? It could not beat a Michigan team that needed creative timekeeping to beat Western Michigan. If you want a true test for this team, it may not be until a trip to Tuscaloosa. 

4. SEC play starts next week, so at some point Georgia will need to loosen up opposing run defenses with the deep ball. After limiting the pass game to short and mid-range last week, it was good to see Mike Bobo go anti-vanilla and stretch the pass game deep early on. 

5. Was the opponent inferior? Yes. But Gunner Stockton setting a career high for touchdowns is a career high. And five touchdowns in one half? That’s a thing of significance. If players in other conferences can get Heisman numbers gassed up by beating up on lesser teams, there is no reason that Stockton cannot. 

6. Oh yes, the uniforms. Even if you are a stubborner to change, even if you dislike the NIL premise of them, the white uniforms looked great. The next step? Break those things out for a night game. 

7. Georgia fans take it for granted, but despite all of Saturday’s rain, you would have hardly known it based on how well the Sanford Stadium turf played. If you believe that Georgia’s team that keeps this playing surface in top shape is among the best of the best, then Saturday proved it. 

8. In the world of ‘where did that come from,” Ryan Puglisi showed off some sneaky speed on his 70-yard touchdown run. It was the first time seeing that Between The Hedges since…Stetson Bennett drained Auburn’s soul in 2022. 

9. Prather Hudson became a cult-like hero a few years ago, because when he lined up a running back, it meant a big walkover Georgia win. Now, that role may belong to Dwight “Peanut” Phillips, Bo Walker, and Nick Peal. All three showed an aggressive style of running Saturday, combining to rush for 59 yards. 

10. After the Orange Bowl and now Saturday, Brock Gleen is liable to be having nightmares about Georgia’s defense for the rest of his living days.

Go Dawgs!