By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Georgia linebacker Azeez Ojulari provided the perfect coda on the fourth-ranked Bulldogs’ stellar first half against Auburn on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium. It was about as good a half as a Georgia team has played in a long time, and wasn’t it nice to see the Bulldogs lined up between the hedges again?

With the Bulldogs leading 24-3 and having punted the ball to the Tiger 15-yard line, and only 18 seconds left in the half, trick-play loving Auburn lined up in the classic take-a-knee formation. So, naturally, the seventh-ranked Tigers tried to catch the Georgia defense off guard, having wideout Anthony Schwartz run around the left side. Or try to, anyway.

Ojulari wasn’t having any of it, stuffing Schwartz for a 4-yard loss — one of his three TFLs in the game. The Tigers called it a half after that. And what a half it was for Georgia.

Georgia led by 21 at the break, but sometimes scores can be misleading. Not this time. The Bulldogs outgained Auburn 288 yards to 81. The Bulldogs earned 15 first downs to the Tigers’ five. Georgia averaged 6.3 yards per play to Auburn’s 3.1. Get the picture?

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Georgia vs Auburn Gameday Guide

The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Auburn Tigers

Game & Broadcast Info

Due to the delayed start of the 2020 season because of the pandemic along with Georgia starting its season on the road, Saturday will mark the Bulldogs’ home opener. The Oct. 3 home opener will be the latest in Georgia history since the 1966 SEC champions made their Sanford Stadium season debut on Oct. 8. It was the fourth game of the year and the Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 9-3.

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The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Auburn Tigers

Game & Broadcast Info

Due to the delayed start of the 2020 season because of the pandemic along with Georgia starting its season on the road, Saturday will mark the Bulldogs’ home opener. The Oct. 3 home opener will be the latest in Georgia history since the 1966 SEC champions made their Sanford Stadium season debut on Oct. 8. It was the fourth game of the year and the Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 9-3.

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The Georgia Bulldogs practiced two-hours Wednesday, Sept. 30, in preparation for the first home game of the season versus Auburn University.

The Bulldogs will kick off against the Tigers in Sanford Stadium at 7:30 p.m., ET, on ESPN. Before practice, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart participated in the SEC Football Weekly Media Teleconference and provided an update on the Bulldogs. Following practice, Kearis Jackson and Justin Shaffer offered these comments on the contest with Auburn.

Selected comments from Smart and the student-athletes follow:

Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
“This is a big game at home. We are excited about College Gameday being here and a top-10 matchup- which is what the SEC is all about. You have an opportunity to play a great program at Auburn. Gus [Malzahn] and them have done a tremendous job—always have. Their kids play with tremendous toughness, very physical team. Every time we play them, although it’s usually later in the year, it’s extremely physical.”

On keeping D’Wan Mathis’ mentally focused this season and an update on JT Daniels…
“Well, with the D’Wan [Mathis] question, he is working. He’s continuing to work. He’s getting better. He’s growing as a player. He has learned from some of his mistakes, and [we’re] trying to get the players around him to play better too so that allows him to have success. Really the same thing with JT [Daniels], he’s continuing to work. He’s doing a great job—glad he’s cleared because he is able to play now. We’re excited to see him and see what he does.”

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By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Lewis Cine graduated from Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, but the Georgia football defensive back is a Boston-area guy at heart. The Bulldog sophomore grew up mostly in Everett, Mass., and that is home, that is the placed that shaped him as a football player and as a man.

Cine (pronounced like “seen”) had six tackles in the Bulldogs’ 37-10 season-opening win at Arkansas on Saturday, and he said during a Quick Chat on Monday that it felt really good to be back playing again after the season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also talked about loving mom’s cooking, how he got into football and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: Just how good did it feel to take the field and play a game Saturday, for the first time in almost 10 months?

Cine: It felt amazing to be back, to actually be able to play against someone other than ourselves. In practice we go against each other a whole lot and to finally play a different team and see something different was a lot of fun.

Frierson: What did you think of the special uniforms?

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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and players Azeez Ojulari and Nate McBride offered the following comments after practice Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Kirby Smart, Head Coach (Full transcript)
On how he felt with Jack Podlesny as kicker going into the first game against Arkansas and how he got the starting job…
“I thought he did a tremendous job. He had a lot of composure. Trust me, it was not easy for him to win that job. There were a lot more intense battles throughout our 26-26 practices for him to get to that point. He’s done a great job. The best thing about him is he’s improved. Rod [Rodrigo Blankenship] was here and he was kicking with Coach [Scott] Fountain and those guys and working each day and didn’t really stand out, and he stood out this year. He’s done a great job. He’s really been impressive with his kick-offs. He kind of won that job first in camp, and then he continued to battle at field goals with Jared Zerkel and Jake Camarta, and he ended up winning the job. He’s a great young man. He does a great job. I know his high school coach [Rocky Hidalgo] really well, and he bragged on him all the time. Rocky Hidalgo told me how good he was, and [Jack] came to us, walked on, and he’s done a great job so far.”

On the performance of UGA’s defensive line and how much freshmen Jalen Carter and Warren Ericson have helped bolster the rotations…
“They’ve both done a good job. They’re a work in progress. Like most freshmen, they’ve had some mistakes. They were able to go in and play and the kid who didn’t get to make the trip based on sheer numbers but is playing really well. The one thing I’ve learned is how much better kids get during the season by going to the scout team. Warren [Ericson] goes down there, Jalen [Carter] goes down there, Naz [Nazir Stackhouse] goes down there. Naz has gotten reps in and is getting so much better by going against Trey Hill and Justin [Shaffer] every day. They just get so much work, and it makes you realize how much faster you can get better. Those guys have helped bolster the rotation for sure.”

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