No. 3 Bulldogs Rout Tigers In Season Opener

Saturday, September 5

Athens, Ga.

3:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

1-0 , 0-0

Tennessee State

0-2 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Tennessee St.	0	3	0	0	3
Georgia	28	7	14	14	63

September 05, 2026 | Football

Box Score Game Stats Postgame Notes Game Quotes

GEORGIA FOOTBALL VIDEOS

Highlights

Coach Smart

Players

ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 3-ranked Georgia football team kicked off its season Saturday afternoon with a runaway 63-3 win over Tennessee State at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs got off to a fast start thanks to a 48-yard touchdown run by Nate Frazier on the third play of the game, and they rolled from there.

The temperature was around 100 degrees at kickoff, and Georgia's start was just as hot. At the end of the opening quarter, the Bulldogs (1-0) had a 28-0 lead while the Tigers (0-2) had zero yards of total offense. It was 35-3 at halftime, by which point Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton and several other starters were already done for the day. The Bulldogs finished with 660 yards of offense, to just 109 for Tennessee State, and seven different Georgia players scored touchdowns.

Stockton led the offense for five drives before hitting the bench, and Georgia scored touchdowns on all five. He finished the game 15 of 16 passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns, with completions to nine different receivers. Frazier scored touchdowns on his first two carries of the season and finished a light day with 72 yards and three scores on just four carries.

The game was the first-ever meeting between Georgia and Tennessee State, an FCS program that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, and it was a one-sided affair from the start. Georgia (1-0) got the ball first and wasted little time getting into the end zone.

A screen pass from Stockton to wideout Talyn Taylor on first down went for seven yards, an end-around run by receiver Landon Roldan gained four yards, and then Frazier, on his first carry, took a handoff on the right side and sprinted 48 yards for a 7-0 lead.

After the Georgia defense got a quick three-and-out, with linebacker Raylen Wilson getting an 8-yard tackle for loss on second down, the Bulldogs were quickly back on the attack. A 25-yard catch and run by running back Chauncey Bowens moved the ball inside the Tiger 20-yard line, and Frazier later scored on a 14-yard rush to make it 14-0 with 10:08 left in the first quarter.

Georgia's offense took over at its 37 after another Tiger punt, and Stockton hit Isiah Canion for 15 yards on first down. Taylor ran for 31 on the next play, and then Stockton found tight end Elyiss Williams open on the right side for a 17-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

The Bulldogs made it 28-0 with 2:08 left in the opening quarter when Stockton and Taylor connected on another screen pass on second down at the Tiger 11. Taylor easily ran through some light traffic and into the end zone for the first touchdown of the redshirt sophomore's career.

On Tennessee State's next drive, linebackers Chris Cole and PJ Dean sacked quarterback Daylin Lee for a loss of 13 yards on third down. It was the final play of an opening quarter in which the Bulldogs out-gained the Tigers 228-0.

Stockton was still in the game to start the second quarter and still finding his targets. On Georgia's next drive, he hit Williams for a 19-yard gain; he later hit Craig Dandridge Jr. for 20, and on second down at the Tiger 14, he found tight end Jaden Reddell open down the middle for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead with 10:33 to play in the half.

Tennessee State got on the scoreboard late in the first half, cutting the Bulldog lead to 35-3 on Preston Hurless' 37-yard field goal. At the break, Georgia had a 358-41 advantage in total offense and a 17-5 advantage in first downs. Georgia's defense also produced five tackles for loss in the first two quarters.

Backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi led the Bulldogs on their first scoring drive of the second half. He had completions to Canion, Reddell and Sacovie White-Helton, Reddell also ran for a 29-yard gain, and Frazier scored on a 3-yard run to make it 42-3 with 10:56 left in the third.

Puglisi threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kaiden Prothro with 5:01 left in the third, pushing the lead to 49-3. It was the second career touchdown pass for Puglisi, a sophomore, and the first career touchdown for the freshman Prothro. Puglisi gave way to third-string QB Ryan Montgomery late in the third quarter; Puglisi finished 7 of 13 passing for 109 yards and a touchdown. Montgomery fired a strike to wide receiver Jeremy Bell for a 54-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, making it 56-3. It was the first career TD pass for Montgomery and the first TD catch for Bell.

Freshman running back Jae Lamar scored his first career touchdown with 8:57 left in the game, sprinting into the end zone for an 11-yard score to make it 63-3. Georgia's defense finished the game with seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Freshman linebacker PJ Dean had 1.5 sacks in his collegiate debut.

The Bulldogs are back on Dooley Field next Saturday for a game against Western Kentucky. In 2006, Georgia beat the Hilltoppers 48-12 in their only previous meeting.