Georgia extends FBS-leading home win streak in dominant fashion

ATHENS — Gunner Stockton brought a new dimension to the Georgia offense while Kirby Smart’s defense returned to dominant form Saturday.

The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (1-0) extended the nation’s longest active home win streak in the FBS ranks to 32 games with the 45-7 victory over defending Sun Belt Conference championship program Marshall (0-1).

Stockton was 14-of-24 passing for 190 yards and two touchdowns and carried 10 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns before an announced capacity crowd of 93,033 that did not appear to reflect more than 1,000 empty seats in the student section.

“It’s a different feeling when you’re starting, for sure,” said Stockton, a fourth-year junior who made his second career start and first in Sanford Stadium. “It’s a dream come true. I enjoyed it today.”

A reloaded Georgia defense, replacing six players off its front seven who are now on NFL rosters, held an overhauled Thundering Herd team to 207 total yards — 125 in the fourth quarter against UGA’s backups — in coach Tony Gibson’s head coaching debut.

Marshall lost 78 players to the transfer portal after its previous coach, Charles Huff, departed to take over the head coaching job at Southern Miss. The Thundering Herd’s 27% retention rate ranked as the lowest in the FBS ranks, and that was often reflected in the team’s lack of cohesion.

Stockton, meanwhile, showcased the dual-threat ability that led to him setting the Georgia high school record for most all-purpose yards (18,024) at Rabun County High School, early and often.

He converted a fourth-and-2 with a 14-yard run, setting up a 17-yard Dwight Phillips touchdown run that opened the scoring. Stockton converted on another fourth-down run on the Bulldogs’ second possession, tucking the ball on fourth-and-1 for a 13-yard touchdown run.

The Bulldogs continued using the QB run into the second quarter, cashing in three plays after a KJ Bolden blocked punt when Stockton ran the ball in from 11 yards to give Georgia a 21-0 lead with 9:07 left in the first half.

It marked the first time a UGA quarterback rushed for two touchdowns in a game since Stetson Bennett, now with the Los Angeles Rams, scored twice in the Bulldogs’ 65-7 victory over TCU in the College Football Playoff Championship Game following the 2022 season.

Stockton is the first Georgia quarterback to lead the team in rushing with at least 70 yards since Justin Fields had 102 yards on seven carries in a victory over UMass in 2018.

“I’m proud of Gunner — great leader, great competitor, just does it the right way,” said Smart, who is 23-1 in home games against nonconference opponents, his only blemish a 28-27 loss to Georgia Tech during his first season as head coach in 2016.

“(Stockton) got us out of some negative plays, had two or three times that he could have been sacked, but he escaped. He took care of the ball well, made good decisions.”

The Georgia lead was 24-0 at halftime, as Peyton Woodring connected on a 43-yard field goal with 24 seconds left before intermission.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 31-0 on their opening possession of the second half when a well-protected Stockton checked down to receiver Zachariah Branch in the flats, and Branch broke loose down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.

Stockton finished his day with another successful fourth-down conversion on UGA’s 10th offensive series of the game, hitting London Humphreys with a 2-yard touchdown pass that made it 38-0 with 3:51 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs made it 45-0 after backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi, a redshirt freshman, made his debut with an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive capped by his 23-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Elyiss Williams.

Puglisi finished out the game, going 5-of-8 passing for 59 yards in his first collegiate action.

Marshall played three quarterbacks, with Gibson starting freshman JacQai Long before turning the reins over to Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, a former Cartersville standout who began his career at Florida in 2021 before transferring to Syracuse in 2022.

Zion Turner, who started his career at UConn before transferring to Louisville and now Marshall, led the Thundering Herd on their only scoring drive of the game in the fourth quarter.

Marshall went 84 yards on seven plays, scoring on Georgia’s backup defense when Jo’Shon Barbie burst in from the 1-yard line with 10:27 left, cutting the lead to 45-7.

“Zion came in the fourth quarter and brought a little energy to us,” Gibson said. “We finally crossed the 50-yard line and punched one in. He made a couple of good throws.