Georgia rolls to 55-9 victory over Charleston Southern
Connect with us

UGA Football

Georgia rolls to 55-9 victory over Charleston Southern

Nick Chubb
Photo: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 9 Georgia football team routed Charleston Southern 55-9 in front of 92,746 fans and a nationally-televised SEC Network audience on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. With the win, Georgia improved to 9-2 on the year, while Charleston Southern dropped to 8-4.

Nick Chubb led the ground game, finishing with 113 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, including a career-long 83-yard touchdown run. It was his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game this season. Brendan Douglas finished with 66 yards on 12 carries. Hutson Mason, Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta combined to go 20-26 with one interception in the passing game. Mason was 10-for-12 for 187 yards and three touchdowns, while Ramsey finished with 92 yards and a touchdown on eight completions. Chris Conley led Georgia’s receiving corps with 68 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions. Jonathon Rumph added 67 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Justin Scott-Wesley also recorded a touchdown catch in the game.

Josh Dawson led Georgia defensively, finishing with eight tackles, including three solo stops. Amarlo Herrera added seven tackles, including four solo tackles and tackle for loss. As a unit, Georgia forced two sacks and had five tackles for loss. Quincy Mauger recorded the team’s only interception.

Charleston Southern received the opening kickoff and moved it down to the 34-yard line. On 3rd-and 1, Damien Swann forced a fumble that was recovered by Ramik Wilson. On the first play after the fumble, Mason found Conley in the end zone for a touchdown that made it a 7-0 game after the Marshall Morgan PAT.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, it took just two plays for the Bulldogs to take a 14-0 lead. Chubb broke free for an 83-yard touchdown run. It was the longest touchdown run of Chubb’s career and the eighth longest in Georgia history. It was also the longest touchdown run since the record of 89 yards was set in 1985.

The Bulldogs kept the pressure on during its third drive of the game, going 65 yards in five plays. During the drive, CSU was flagged for pass interference, giving Georgia a fresh set of downs in Buccaneer territory. A 17-yard gain by Rumph helped set up the 19-yard touchdown catch by Scott-Wesley that gave Georgia a 21-0 lead after the extra point.

The scoring continued when Morgan connected on 53-yard field goal that put the Bulldogs up 24-0. It was the longest field goal of the season for Morgan.

Chubb got his second touchdown of the day that put Georgia up 31-0 after the point after. The touchdown capped off a 12-play, 77-yard drive that took just under five minutes. Highlighting the drive was a pair of first down catches by Conley and Rumph.

After a missed field goal, Charleston Southern took over on downs at its own 32. On the second play of the drive, Mauger intercepted the pass and returned it 13 yards. One the first play after the interception, Mason found an outstretched Conley in the back of the end zone for the touchdown that brought the score to 38-0 after the Morgan PAT.

Charleston Southern avoided the shutout after a 12-play, 47-yard drive resulted in a 45-yard field goal with less than a minute to go in the first half that made a 38-3 game heading into halftime.

The Bulldogs took over on downs with 7:46 left in the third quarter and drove 30 yards on seven plays before Morgan booted a 27-yard field goal that made it a 48-3 game.

Ramsey got the call to start the second half and on Georgia’s opening drive threw a 12-yard touchdown strike to Rumph that increased Georgia’s lead to 45-3. Jeb Blazevich helped set up the touchdown with a 20-yard catch that put Georgia inside CSU territory.

Quayvon Hicks got in on the scoring action with less than a minute left in the third quarter. After a trio of Douglas rushes, Hicks picked up 33 yards on a bruising touchdown run that gave Georgia a 55-3 lead.

Charleston Southern made it a 55-9 game with 9:55 left in the game. The Buccaneers’ scoring drive went 71 yards on six plays in just over three minutes. The drive was highlighted by a 25-yard run before a two-yard touchdown run.

Georgia looked to answer with a score of its own, but a fumble at the Charleston Southern 10 ended the drive. The Buccaneers moved the ball near midfield on the drive, but ran out of time as Georgia sealed its 55-9 win.

Georgia wraps up its regular-season next Saturday, Nov. 29, at noon when it welcomes in-state rival Georgia Tech to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Quick Strike: The Bulldogs scored their first 14 points on their first three offensive plays. Senior QB Hutson Mason connected with senior receiver Chris Conley for a 35-yard TD on the team’s first offensive play. This eight-second drive gave Georgia a TD on its first offensive play for the first time since 2007 (Thomas Brown ran for a 14-yard TD on the first play against Oklahoma State following a botched punt). Mason played just the first two quarters and finished 10-for-12 for 187 yards and three TDs. Sophomore Brice Ramsey relieved Mason and finished 8-for-12 for 92 yards, one TD to Jonathon Rumph, and an interception. That was Rumph’s first TD catch. Faton Bauta (2-for-2, 31 yards) saw action as another signal-caller too.

On the team’s third offensive play and second play on the second series, freshman TB Nick Chubb took off for 83 yards to put the Bulldogs up 14-0. This is the eighth-longest rushing TD in school history, the third longest in Sanford Stadium history and longest since Tim Worley set a school record with an 89-yard score against Florida in 1985. Chubb finished with 113 yards and two TDs on nine carries (12.6 avg.) in just the first half to give him his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game.

Chubb is the first Bulldog in the Mark Richt era to have six consecutive games with 100 yards or more. His second score was Georgia’s 33rd rushing TD, which ranks second in the school history trailing only the 1971 team (39). Georgia went up 38-0 on its second eight-second drive of the game in the second quarter. Following an interception, Mason connected with Conley on a 23-yard TD for Conley’s second TD of the game. Conley now has 19 career TD catches, which is tied for fifth in school history.

*Touchdowns Piling Up: With Georgia’s seven touchdowns today, the Bulldogs have now scored 63 TDs. This trails only the school record of 72 TDs scored by the 2012 team. Last year, the Bulldogs scored 58 TDs. With the latest victory, No. 9 Georgia improves to 9-2 while CSU drops to 8-4.

Georgia came into the game leading the SEC and ranked seventh nationally in scoring at 42.1 points/game. The Bulldogs scored 55 today and finished with 580 total yards. Also, Georgia did not punt today for the second time in the past three games as it didn’t against Kentucky either.

*Stingy ‘D’: The Bulldogs held Charleston Southern to nine points, including just three in the first half. The Buccaneers had only 211 yards, including 72 total yards in the opening half, and failed to advance into the Red Zone. CSU’s only points came on a 45-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the first half and had a TD in the second half. Josh Dawson led the defense with a career-high eight stops while Amarlo Herrera and Damian Swann each forced a fumble, Quincy Mauger had an interception and Ramik Wilson picked up a fumble.

*Points off Turnovers: The Bulldogs scored 14 points off two Buccaneer turnovers and gave up two turnovers of their own. On a 3rd-and-1 situation from the Charleston Southern 34-yard line, senior Damian Swann forced a fumble that senior Ramik Wilson recovered. One play later, Hutson Mason hit Chris Conley for a 35-yard touchdown strike. Late in the second quarter, junior OLB Jordan Jenkins hit the Charleston Southern quarterback Austin Brown threw and sophomore SS Quincy Mauger intercepted the ball. This was Mauger’s fourth pick of the year and fifth of his career. Chris Conley then snagged his second touchdown of the game on a 23-yard strike. QB Brice Ramsey threw a fourth quarter interception, which is the first of his career. Senior TB Kyle Karempelis fumbled late in the 4th quarter and the CSU 11. It led to no points as time expired.
The Bulldogs have a +16 turnover margin. Georgia has scored 90 points off 24 turnovers, while opponents have tallied 12 points off eight Bulldog miscues.

*Connecting From Deep: Junior PK Marshall Morgan drilled a season-long 53-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up 24-0 in the first quarter. He is now 5-for-8 from 50 or longer and this marks his longest kick since his career-long 56 yarder at Tennessee last year. Marshall went 2-for-3 on field goals against the Buccaneers and hit all seven PATs.

*For Starters: Freshman CB Malkom Parrish started his first career game. The Bulldogs have had 14 first-time starters this season. Senior C David Andrews started his team-leading 38th consecutive game. On defense, the Bulldog with the longest starting streak is Amarlo Herrera now at 26, and he’s got 41 career starts. Also of note, freshman TB Sony Michel returned to action after missing the Auburn game with an ankle injury. He missed four games earlier in the year with a shoulder injury.

*Injury Report: Freshman FS Dominick Sanders left the game with a lower left leg injury in the first half.

*Today’s Captains: Seniors David Andrews (C), Amarlo Herrera (ILB), Mike Thornton (N), Kosta Vavlas (ILB) served as the Bulldog captains.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt

On today’s win…
“We talked all week about respecting this opponent and you show that respect by giving them your best shot. We did just that. Our focus was where it ought to be. The energy level was high, the execution was outstanding and we got some breaks with some turnovers. I was proud of the effort. … We had great execution offensively and our defense didn’t give them much hope all day long. The defensive coaches had a great plan and the players did a great job of executing it.”

On so many players getting into the game…
“We had some young men who had never stepped on the field before in the game. They’ve been working their tails off as scouts and they put in the hard work without much glory. To get in and play for the Bulldogs and to play between the hedges was a big thrill for these guys. I’m glad they got this opportunity.”

On preparing for Georgia Tech…
“It’s not easy to deal with their offense and we have a new coaching staff, so it will be a new experience for these guys. It will take a lot of work, a lot of focus this week. It’s a tall order for our scouts to simulate and a tall order for our defense to deal with it, but I have faith in our boys and in our coaches. … (CSU) ran some triple option today. To stop it is assignment football. If you don’t do your job, a big play can occur.”

On Nick Chubb’s long TD run…
“He saw something and bounced it outside and was off to the races. A couple defenders had a chance, but he kept chugging along and pulled away from them. He has good speed, and it was good enough to take it to the house today.”

QB Hutson Mason

On using today’s win to carry momentum into next week’s matchup against Georgia Tech…
“I think this win will definitely help us carry a lot of momentum for the defense since they’ll face a similar offense next week. Anytime you go out and put up a lot of points it feels good for the offense. We were just really able to get the ball rolling today and put up points.”

On managing the game efficiently…
“I just go with the plays that are called. I really don’t have any control over what plays are called or what personnel is in, I just try and execute with what I’m given. I’m not trying to go for big stats or anything. As long as we get it done then it feels good. I just try my best to operate and get it done with the play that’s called.”

FLK Chris Conley

On how the team wants to finish this season…
“There’s a certain way that we want to go out and an impression that we want to make. Now we just have to go out and practice hard this week and get it done.”

On the amount of players getting experience in today’s game…
“It’s good when you can roll a lot of guys out there, guys that don’t have a lot of playing time usually. It gives them some film to watch and things to improve on. It gives our whole team a lot of extra confidence.”

OLB Jordan Jenkins

On if this game can help the team get ready for Georgia Tech’s option-based offense…
“I feel like some of the things [Charleston Southern] did gives us a good idea of what to expect from Tech. The fact that they came out of the shotgun so much kind of contradicts what Tech does, though. This has definitely been a good learning experience for all of the guys on defense in terms of getting hit and blocked like that.”

On making impact plays in today’s game…
“I was just going out and trying to make plays and get it done. The whole team was able to make plays and we played really well as a whole today.”

FS Quincy Mauger

On his interception…
“I was just reading my keys and knowing where to be. Doing my assignments properly has just put me in the right position to make these kinds of plays.”

On the aggressiveness of the defense this year…
“The defensive line has been getting after the opponent every week, and that really helps us. We’ve just been focused and very energetic going after the ball. That’s something the coaches emphasize all week and we just have to go out and execute.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

2024 UGA Football Tickets

Advertisement

More in UGA Football