ATHENS, Ga. — It’s debatable how high the bar was for Georgia in its season opener Saturday. The Bulldogs are coming off consecutive national championships, they’re ranked No. 1 again and they paid $500,000 to open against an FCS opponent that sounds like a second-tier lounge act: “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm Biloxi welcome to Tennessee Martin!”). Given that backdrop, they could’ve won 7,000-0 and somebody would’ve declared that they didn’t stomp on enough buildings.

Advertisement

Instead, it was only 48-7. They were only as dominant as they had to be, and this is where we are in Athens. The Bulldogs can win by 41 points, but when fans and media are so laser-focused on what might go wrong in the postseason months from now, it’s going to be easy to nitpick, whether it was quarterback Carson Beck’s first start since high school four years ago, or Mike Bobo’s return as play caller, or the lack of an inside push in the running game.

“I was kind of saying that on the sideline — you can get off to a slow start and still beat the team easily but some people aren’t going to be happy,” tight end Brock Bowers said.

Coach Kirby Smart acknowledged the Bulldogs “set a standard for how we play the games, and we probably didn’t meet that.” That won’t matter for a while. Georgia can fall well short of its standard and still beat most, or all, of the teams on the schedule, continuing next week against … Ball State.

But there was one absolute positive to come out of Saturday night. It was simply that Georgia was playing a football game. It was needed therapy after a mostly miserable eight months since winning the national championship over TCU. The offseason has been one negative headline after another. The program often was cast in a negative light, and while some of the stories were less than accurate, there also was real tragedy. A horrible early morning crash killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and athletic department staffer Chandler LeCroy in January, hours following a team celebration. In addition, several current and former players were involved in speeding and street racing incidents.

When Georgia players ran out of the tunnel onto the Sanford Stadium field just before kickoff, they had Willock and LeCroy on their minds.  The school opted not to have another stadium-wide moment of silence, as it did in April at the spring game, but the players decided to have their own tribute. They ran to the opposite end of the field, kneeled in unison and prayed. Leading them down the field was senior offensive lineman Xavier Truss, who wore Willock’s No. 77 jersey. The two players were close friends and roommates.

Advertisement

The Dogs’ offensive linemen decided “just a day or two ago” to rotate the honor of wearing Willock’s jersey each week, Truss said,

Bulldogs Left Guard Xavier Truss who usually wears number 73 is wearing number 77 today honoring his friend and former teammate Devin Willock. #godawgs pic.twitter.com/x0FNDpRWR5

— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) September 2, 2023

“It feels amazing,” Truss said afterward, still wearing the jersey. “It’s like having him back here. When we came out I felt a little sad, but I got on my knees and said a little prayer. I started talking to him and I had a little tear in my eye. It’s tough waking up every day and having my roommate not be there.”

This will be a storyline all season and for possibly years, if for no other reason than ongoing litigation. The fact that Georgia was in the news too often this offseason for all of the wrong reasons raised legitimate questions as to whether it would impact their preparation or mindset for the season.

It’s way too early to judge that. The Bulldogs didn’t appear distracted and Smart praised the players for how they prepared. There were just some hiccups in their performance. They lost 4 yards on a screen pass on their first offensive play, went three-and-out on their first possession and punted on three of their first four drives.

Their running struggled early, especially between the tackles. Their defensive front also got punched early by UT Martin’s running game. Georgia was favored by 44 1/2 points. But it led only 17-0 at halftime.

Beck looked just OK. He admitted he had some nerves early and it was the second quarter before he “started to settle in.” What did he miss by not starting since his senior year of high school?

“Just the feel of the game,” he said. “In practice, we don’t get hit, so understanding when I can move, when I can run, when to extend a play or not extend a play. Just getting a feel for the game again.”

Advertisement

Beck’s final numbers (21-for-31, 294 yards) were good. But he missed a couple of throws to open receivers and the best pass of the night actually was thrown by backup Brock Vandagriff, a 56-yard post to Rara Thomas.

Let’s not start the controversy talk. It’s too early.

Georgia was a preseason No. 1 for the first time since 2008. Early that season it won unimpressively over Georgia Southern and South Carolina and tumbled to No. 3 despite a 4-0 start. Then came blowout losses to Alabama and Florida. So maybe some emotional scar tissue lingers.

Last season, the Dogs were coming off a national title and opened against Oregon. They scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions. It’s fair to say that’s what most expected against UT Martin. Didn’t happen.

“I’m never going to apologize for a win,” Smart said. “I’m ecstatic. We have a lot to work on, though.”

They welcome this storyline.

(Top photo of Carson Beck celebrating after a touchdown: Steve Limentani / ISI Photos / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k3FpcW5mZnxzfJFsZmlxX2WAcLPEqKmgoZFir7a4y52moKtdqbKvusSsqp6dXaKus8DIp2Y%3D