ATHENS – The Red Team defeated the Black 31-26 in Saturday’s G-Day Game at Sanford Stadium. That means that members of the Black squad will have to eat hot dogs and beans at the team dinner, while the winning team will dine on steak and lobster.
At least, that’s UGA’s long-held tradition. However, with Saturday’s proceedings having to kick off at 4 p.m. due to ESPN2′s national broadcast, no dinner was held afterward. Players were seen departing the stadium carrying Chick-fil-A boxes.
Besides the game -- which featured offensive fireworks in the first half and a defensive struggle in the second half -- the highlight of the day was “collar ceremony.” Georgia’s 10-year-old English bulldog mascot, Que, who has reigned as UGA X since 2015, stepped down to pass on his spiked collar to Boom. Once Athletic Director Josh Brooks accepted the collar from President Jere Morehead and placed the collar around his neck, Boom officially became UGA XI.
In a humorous exchange with reporters after Saturday’s game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked what he knew about the Bulldogs’ new mascot.
“Not much,” Smart said. “I know the name, Boom. I don’t know where that came from. I don’t know long ‘Ten’ was there. I should. It’s an honor to be part of. Maybe I’ll outlast one of them. Hopefully, I can be here as long as Boom.”
Odds are good for that. Entering his eighth season as head coach, the Bulldogs are 81-15 with two national championships, two SEC championships, four SEC title-game appearances and three CFP championship game appearances under Smart.
Here are some other things we learned Saturday:
1. Pretty good crowd considering
Georgia could not have promoted a 93K day if it wanted on Saturday. Due to ongoing construction to the southwest corner of the stadium, the south side of Sanford Stadium was closed except for the Dan Magill Press Box, where media monitored the game.
The rest of the stadium was fairly full, however. With tickets being sold for $5 each, UGA announced the attendance as 54,458 in the 92,746-seat facility.
That’s actually the fourth most since Georgia held its infamous 93K Day in 2016, Smart’s first season. The Bulldogs did not conduct a spring game due to the pandemic in 2020 and limited capacity to 20,524 in 2021.
2. No new injuries
Numerous players missed Saturday’s game due to spring injuries or postseason surgery recoveries, but the Bulldogs did not add significantly to the list.
“We came out relatively healthy, which was big for today,” Smart said. “We didn’t really lose anybody today, which is big when you play tackle football.”
Among the surprise sit-outs were junior linebacker Smael Mondon and sophomore running back Branson Robinson. Both showed up in walking boots and did not participate.
“They’re both dealing with lower extremity injuries,” Smart said. “The severity of that is still yet to really be determined.”
Indications are that both players will be back for preseason camp.
Georgia lost tight end Pearce Spurlin (collarbone), defensive end Mykel Williams (right foot) and running back Kendall Milton (hamstring) to spring-camp injuries. Outside linebackers Marvin Jones Jr. and Jalon Walker are recovering from shoulder surgeries and running back Andrew Paul (ACL) and safety Dan Jackson (foot) are not yet cleared fall surgeries.
3. Low on backs
The injuries to Paul, Milton and Robinson left the Bulldogs unusually light in the offensive backfield. Senior Daijun Edwards (hamstring) was also limited for Saturday’s competition, though he did play. He finished with 6 yards rushing on three carries and 13 yards on two receptions.
Saturday’s leading rusher was true freshman Roderick Robinson of Imperial, Calif. Wearing a No. 0 jersey, the 6-0, 235-pounder had 42 yards on 11 carries for the Black squad and added 24 yards on three catches.
“Roderick Robinson had a good day,” Smart said. “He’s a different kind of back, but he catches the ball coming out of the backfield. He’s big and physical. Guys don’t like tackling him.”
The question is what the Bulldogs might look like this fall. All of the backs except Paul are expected to be available for preseason camp. But the post-spring transfer portal opened up over the weekend and Georgia could decide to access it.
“We have a good group of backs. I feel really confident about the group we have,” Smart said.
One back who got a lot of work Saturday was Cash Jones. The Bulldogs really like the redshirt sophomore walkon from Brock, Texas.
“Dell McGee recruited him, talked to him, met him, felt like he was a good player,” Smart said. “He can run, he’s fast, he wanted to come to Georgia, which is unique. He didn’t shy away from competition. He’s been in that room with some really good backs and has gotten better and better and better. The guy catches the ball out of the backfield really well.”
4. How ‘bout them rings?
Many of Georgia’s matriculated lettermen returned to Athens for Saturday’s proceedings. At the conclusion of the first quarter, they were ushered out onto the northwest corner of Dooley Field to show off the Bulldogs’ new national championship rings.
Created for the second straight year by the jeweler Josten’s, the details therein are very impressive. The most dominant trait of the rings two two gold-tone College Football Playoff trophies over top of Georgia’s iconic “power G.”
Some other details: At the base of each trophy are two round stones, which together represent the Bulldogs’ four consensus national championships. Wrapping it all is the words “NATIONAL CHAMPIONS” within a gold-tone dog collar that features 15 spikes, one for each of the victories last year. A total of 107 white stones decorate the ring top to highlight the total points scored in the playoffs. The left side of the ring displays the recipient’s name and 58 yards of a football field. The 58 represents Georgia’s record point differential in the national championship win over TCU.
5. Where was Rara?
Notably missing from Saturday’s wide receiver rotation was Rara Thomas. A junior from Eufala, Ala., Thomas was Mississippi State’s leading receiver last year and is expected to make a major impact for the Bulldogs at split end this year.
“Rara has some things he has to work on and we’re working on those things,” Smart said. “He was with us and he did some special-teams things, but he did not play on the offensive side of the ball.”
Thomas entered a pretrial diversion program in March to resolve a misdemeanor charge of family-violence battery stemming from an argument he had with his girlfriend at a UGA dorm on Jan. 22. As part of that agreement, Thomas had to take an anger-management course and complete 40 hours of community-service work. If he has no other legal issues over the next 12 months, the charges will be “restricted” (aka expunged) from his record.
The 6-foot-2, 202-pound receiver reportedly has stood out in the Bulldogs’ practices this spring. He led Mississippi state with 44 catches for 626 yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
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