Georgia sticks at No. 1 in Week two coaches poll

Kirby Smart‘s eight Georgia football team was far from perfect in its 2023 season opener but that wasn’t enough for college football coaches to move it out of the No. 1 spot. The Bulldogs are holding atop the rankings for week two according to the latest release from USAToday.

Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, and Florida State, after it’s impressive win over LSU on Sunday, round out the top five in that order. USC comes in at No. 6 followed by Penn State, Washington, Tennessee, and Texas to round out the top 10.

Georgia took on UT-Martin in week one and came away with a 48-7 win thanks to a 31-point second half. The Bulldogs had just 17 points at the break after some miscues in the first two quarters. But they turned it on with 14 points in the third quarter and 17 more in the fourth to run away from the Skyhawks.

Carson Beck made his first collegiate start and shook off some early jitters to finish 21 of 31 passing for 294 yards and one touchdown. He added a rushing touchdown. Brock Bowers led all receivers with five grabs for 77 yards. He opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with a four-yard run on the second possession.

“I was very proud of Carson in his first start,” Smart said after the game. “I thought he had great composure. Really that was the epitome of every scrimmage he had. He threw the ball away when he had to, he hit spots when he had to, he made good decisions, he didn’t put us at risk, he made good checks. He did some really good things, and I’m proud of him. We’ve got to get some more help around him with weapons, get some guys healthy, but I’m proud of what he did. 

Walk-on wideout Mekhi Mews also had a big day, catching three passes for 75 yards and his first career touchdown while also handling kickoff and punt return duties. Redshirt freshman C.J. Smith also had a productive day with two catches for 57 yards. True freshman running back Roderick Robinson also scored his first career touchdown while Oscar Delp got in on the action with a 21-yard touchdown catch from Brock Vandagriff.

“I thought CJ Smith and (Mekhi) Mews were two guys that stepped up tonight,” Smart said. “Those are two guys that had outstanding camps, and it rolled over into opportunities. Those two guys had never really made a play in the game, and they went out there and did that. That’ll pay dividends down the road.”

Next up for Georgia is a matchup with Ball State. The Cardinals lost their week-one matchup with Kentucky by a score of 44-14. The Bulldogs are aiming for their 19th straight win with kickoff set for 12 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

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