Stats Crunch (Marshall Game)
The Georgia Bulldogs open their 2025 campaign with a showdown against the Marshall Thundering Herd. The Dawgs have an overall record in season openers of 101-27-3 including 11 straight wins and a perfect 9-0 record under Kirby Smart. Georgia’s first-ever season opener happened back in 1892, on January 30th, no less. Georgia defeated Mercer 50 to 0 that day. This will be the first time that the Bulldogs will be starting off in August since 2019, when they defeated Vanderbilt. Here are some other quick notes that you may not have known about Georgia and its season openers…
| Season | Result | |
| Last Win at Home | 2023 | def UT-Martin 48-7 |
| Last Win on Road | 2020 | def Arkansas 37-10 |
| Last Win at Neutral Site | 2024 | def Clemson in Atlanta 31-3 |
| Last Win vs Ranked Team | 2024 | def #14 Clemson |
| Last Loss | 2013 | lost to Clemson 38-35 |
| Last Shutout Win | 2018 | def Austin Peay 45-0 |
| Last Time Shut Out | 1962 | lost to Alabama 35-0 |
| Last Time Scoring 40-49 Points | 2023 | def UT-Martin 48-7 |
| Last Time Scoring 50-59 Points | 2015 | def Louisiana-Lafayette 51-14 |
| Last Time Scoring 60+ Points | 1941 | def Mercer 81-0 |
The 81-point romp was a lot in 1941, but did you know that Georgia won a season-opener 108-0 against Alabama Presbyterian in 1913? Head coach W.A. Cunningham led Georgia. Cunningham was a perfect 8-0 in season openers and his teams outscored their opponents a combined 487-0 in those games. The great Vince Dooley was 18-5-2 in season openers with ties against Tennessee in 1968 and Pittsburgh in 1973.
I mentioned that the first game that Georgia played was in January, but strangely enough, the first time that Georgia began a season in September was in 1911 (September 30). The first game in August for the Bulldogs was in 1991.
Kirby Smart was 3-1 as a player in season openers. He had a memorable one in his first-ever game back in 1995 when he sacked South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill three times. As a head coach, Smart is a perfect 9-0 and has dominated more times than not.
| Result | Pts (UGA vs Opp) | Yds (UGA vs Opp) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | def North Carolina (n) | 33-24 | 474-315 |
| 2017 | def Appalachian St (h) | 31-10 | 368-284 |
| 2018 | def Austin Peay (h) | 45-0 | 508-152 |
| 2019 | def Vanderbilt (a) | 30-6 | 479-225 |
| 2020 | def Arkansas (a) | 37-10 | 387-280 |
| 2021 | def Clemson (n) | 10-3 | 256-180 |
| 2022 | def Oregon (n) | 49-3 | 571-313 |
| 2023 | def UT-Martin (h) | 48-7 | 559-260 |
| 2024 | def Clemson (n) | 34-3 | 447-188 |
| Totals | 9-0 record | 317-66 (35.2-7.3) | 4,049-2,197 (449.9-244.1) |
This year’s season opener is Marshall. Georgia has played Marshall just once, back on September 18, 2004. The Bulldogs won 13-3 as neither team did well on conversions. The Bulldogs were 3-of-14 on third down (1-of-2 on fourth), and the Thundering Herd was just 1-for-12 on third (0-for-2 on fourth). The only touchdown scored in the game was a 2-yard run by Michael Cooper. Andy Bailey had two field goals and an extra point for the rest of Georgia’s points.
Georgia does have another tie with Marshall as former Bulldog head coach and UGASports podcast favorite Jim Donnan led the Thundering Herd for six seasons and to a Division I-AA National Championship in 1992. When he took over the reins in Athens in 1996, he brought in a few coaches and two dynamic players, Olandis Gary and Jermaine Wiggins. Another important player on Donnan’s first three teams for the red and black was none other than Kirby Smart.
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One major emphasis on this season’s team is to run the ball. In 2024, the Bulldogs ranked 102nd in the nation, averaging 124.4 yards per game on the ground. That was by far the lowest per-game total in the Smart era.
| Rush Yards Per Game | SEC Rank | |
| 2016 | 191.2 | 9th |
| 2017 | 258.4 | 1st |
| 2018 | 238.8 | 1st |
| 2019 | 185.1 | 5th |
| 2020 | 174.2 | 5th |
| 2021 | 190.9 | 6th |
| 2022 | 205.3 | 4th |
| 2023 | 191.2 | 3rd |
| 2024 | 124.4 | 15th |
The 124.4 rush yards per game was Georgia’s lowest since 1993. Two of the running backs that might be leaned upon to improve on this stat are sophomore Nate Frazier and Illinois transfer Josh McCray. Frazier led the Bulldogs in yards rushing with 671 and was second in rushing touchdowns with eight. McCray led Illinois last season with 609 rush yards and added 10 big scores on the ground. Here is a breakdown of how both of these players were used carrying the ball in 2024.
| Nate Frazier | Josh McCray | |
| 1st Quarter | 24 att, 79 yds (3.3) – 1 TD | 22 att, 110 yds (5.0) – 2 TD |
| 2nd Quarter | 25 att, 103 yds (4.1) – 0 TD | 31 att, 168 yds (5.4) – 1 TD |
| 3rd Quarter | 43 att, 205 yds (4.8) – 4 TD | 24 att, 104 yds (4.3) – 2 TD |
| 4th Quarter | 40 att, 282 yds (7.1) – 3 TD | 40 att, 227 yds (5.7) – 5 TD |
| Overtime | 1 att, 2 yds (2.0) – 0 TD |
In terms of the passing game, Gunner Stockton will be the guy behind center to begin the game. He has appeared in nine career games with one start. He has completed 68.7 percent of his passes in his career and was over 70 percent last season. Big numbers are nothing new for him. At Rabun County, he threw for 13,652 yards and rushed for 4,372 more. He had 177 passing touchdowns and 77 rushing touchdowns.
Back to his college numbers… here is a career breakdown of his passing numbers by downs.
| 1st Down | 21-for-31 (67.7), 274 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| 2nd Down | 25-for-31 (80.6), 222 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT |
| 3rd Down | 10-for-19 (52.6), 92 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT |
| 4th Down | 1-for-2 (50.0), 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT |
| 3rd and 0-2 yards | 2-for-2 (100.0), 33 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT |
| 3rd and 3-7 yards | 5-for-11 (45.5), 17 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT |
| 3rd and 8-10 yards | 2-for-3 (66.7), 28 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT |
| 3rd and 11+ yards | 1-for-3 (33.3), 14 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT |
But who will he or backup Ryan Puglisi throw it to? Georgia boasts a wealth of experienced players. Here is a breakdown by position of career receptions and touchdown receptions. These are statistics accumulated during their time as a Bulldog and at other schools.
| RB – Cash Jones | 37 receptions | 5 TD receptions |
| Josh McCray | 25 receptions | 1 TD receptions |
| Nate Frazier | 12 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| Dwight Phillips, Jr | 2 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| Roderick Robinson II | 2 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| TE – Oscar Delp | 50 receptions | 8 TD receptions |
| Lawson Luckie | 26 receptions | 4 TD receptions |
| Jaden Reddell | 2 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| WR – Dillon Bell | 92 receptions | 9 TD receptions |
| Colbie Young | 90 receptions | 12 TD receptions |
| Zachariah Branch | 78 receptions | 3 TD receptions |
| Noah Thomas | 73 receptions | 15 TD receptions |
| London Humphreys | 37 receptions | 6 TD receptions |
| Cole Speer | 5 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| Sacovie White-Helton | 4 receptions | 0 TD receptions |
| Luke Bennett | 1 reception | 0 TD receptions |
Of course, some of those players’ stats have come with other teams. One of those players, Noah Thomas (from Texas A&M), has another milestone to try to achieve. He is just 16 yards away from 1,000 yards receiving in his career.
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Georgia has had 30 defensive players drafted in the last five years including 11 in the first round, but Georgia has a ton of talent still on that side of the ball. The Bulldogs return many of their top tacklers from a season ago. Here is just a sample…
| CJ Allen | 76 | 2nd |
| KJ Bolden | 59 | 5th |
| Daylen Everette | 58 | 6th |
| Raylen Wilson | 47 | 8th |
| Christen Miller | 27 | T-10th |
| Joenel Aguero | 26 | 13th |
| Daniel Harris | 22 | T-14th |
This list includes tacklers that are supposed to make an impact this season in Chris Cole and Justin Williams.
One stat that Georgia struggled with a season ago was interceptions. A quarterback’s quick release or a defensive style may be a part of this equation, but for numbers’ sake, Georgia’s total is quite low. Here is a list of the fewest interceptions by a Georgia defense in the 2000s.
| 2004 | 12 games | 5 Interceptions |
| 2013 | 13 games | 7 |
| 2018 | 14 games | 8 |
| 2019 | 14 games | 8 |
| 2024 | 14 games | 8 |
| 2020 | 10 games | 9 |
Returning corner Daylen Everette led the Dawgs last season with three. He has four career picks, and three of them have come against Texas.
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On special teams, the status of punter Brett Thorson remains unknown, but if he does punt, look out! 33 of his 110 career punts have gone for 50 or more yards. His 45.6-yard career average is the second-best in school history behind Jake Camarda’s 45.8.
In terms of placekicking, Peyton Woodring has been dominant. He had 21 made field goals as a freshman in 2023 and 21 more as a sophomore in 2024. He is one of five Georgia kickers to have 20 or more field goals in a season, a feat achieved in more than one season.
| Blair Walsh | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Billy Bennett | 2002 | 2003 | |
| Rodrigo Blankenship | 2017 | 2019 | |
| Jack Podlesny | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Peyton Woodring | 2023 | 2024 |