The #1 Georgia Bulldogs defeated the #14 Clemson Tigers 34-3 in the 2024 season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This marks Coach Smart’s 40th consecutive regular season win and the program’s 11th straight season-opening win.

In the first quarter, the Bulldogs struggled to get the ball moving due to Clemson’s stout defensive front that limited their rushing opportunities. Fortunately for Smart, his defense matched Clemson’s dominance and limited the Tigers to 61 total offensive yards in the quarter.

It wasn’t until the second quarter that Georgia’s offense had success moving the ball down the field, but had to settle for two field goals from Peyton Woodring to take a 6-0 lead into the locker room.

Out of halftime, highlighted by a 32 yard reception from Arian Smith and a 27 yard rush from Dillon Bell, quarterback Carson Beck led his offense straight down the field to an eventual touchdown reception by wide receiver Colbie Young to give the Dawgs a 13-0 lead. This was Young’s first touchdown in the red and black after transferring from Miami-FL this past offseason.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik put together a solid drive of his own, marching all the way down to the UGA 6 before being stopped short of the goal line yet again by the Bulldogs’ resilient defense and ultimately settling for a short field goal.

With the momentum kept on their side, Georgia stormed right back into Clemson territory led by 29 offensive yards from freshman running back Nate Frazier, who punched in his first collegiate rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 17-point advantage with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Struggling to get pressure on the Tigers quarterback for the majority of the game, Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker got home for a 12-yard sack of Klubnik and another sack accompanied by Raylen Wilson on third down to force Clemson to punt once again.

With ten minutes to go in the game, Beck found former Vanderbilt wide receiver London Humphreys for his first Georgia touchdown on a 40-yard pass on third-and-nine to seal the deal for the Bulldogs. Running back Cash Jones would find the end zone shortly after on a 15-yard rushing touchdown to give Georgia a 34-3 victory.

Prior to the game, question marks surrounded Georgia’s rushing attack with word of running back Trevor Etienne missing the opener due to off the field issues. Not many folks considered the outbreak of Frazier to be a huge part of the Bulldogs offensive unit yesterday.

After the game, Coach Smart commented on the leading rusher’s character:

“He’s a great kid. He got an opportunity; he seized the moment. A lot of people locked in front of him.”