The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs will meet the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday, September 10. Below you can find live updates, injury news, practice news and more for the Week 2 game.
Georgia eliminated the No. 11-ranked Oregon Ducks 49-3 in their first game of the 2022 season. The Bulldogs haven’t lost a home game since losing to South Carolina in 2019.
Georgia football-Samford live updates, practice notes for Week 2 game
12 pm, September 5 update: Georgia coach Kirby Smart speaks to reporters.
- Smart begins his press conference by wishing Vince Dooley a happy birthday, as the trainer turned 90 on Saturday.
- “They have a lot to improve. We call them WTF, there are a lot of them. The biggest growth for those guys is game 1, 2, 3.” — Kirby Smart on young gamers.
- He’s been held since he’s been here. He was Camarda’s alternate starter. We lost the guy before, so let’s go to the next best starter. It’s important that the kicker feels comfortable with the starter.” — Smart on Stetson Bennett as the team’s starter.
- “You are constantly on a search for the. top five guys. How will they perform today, how will they fare when the going gets tough? We didn’t see that. We will figure it out as things progress.” — Smart on Georgia’s offensive line.
- “The experience of those guys is fundamental. I think early in the season, the conditioning level of those guys is good to have three guys playing those positions.” — Smart on Amarius Mims and the depth of the offensive line.
- “I think there is something good and bad in both. Everyone loves change and it’s on a continuum. I really don’t understand if it will be beneficial or not.” — Smart in the 12-team playoff.
- Smart emphasizes the importance of FCS programs, saying that programs cannot survive without these types of games.
- “Carson was very calm, cool and collected. I thought he did a good job. I think he would be the first to tell you that he had a chance to improve on some of those things.” — Clever on Carson Beck.
- “You base yourself on who practices better. His work ethic and his humility have been off the charts. He has to play well and play big for a guy who is 260, 265”. — Clever on Mykel Williams.
- “We had a plan all along in terms of how he practiced and how he grew. That plan can change in the game. The plan was to catch him early. He made some mistakes and made some plays.” — Clever about Malaki Starks.
- “Being loud and wrong is better than quiet and correct.” — Smart about the importance of playing with confidence.
- “I’m focused on us. That’s going to be critical, how mature our team is. Standards don’t need motivation.”
- “I have never seen any of your TikToks.” — Kirby Smart on Nazir Stackhouse. “He has worked hard to get in better shape. He needed development. He wasn’t the player he is today when he got here. If he continues to improve, he will allow us to have a really physical presence there.”
- “When you feel relieved, you become complacent.”
- “I thought both guys had to get in the game. I think the sky is the limit for both guys.” — Clever on Oscar Delp and Arik Gilbert
11am, September 5 update: After destroying the Oregon Ducks last weekend, No. 3 Georgia will have its first home game on Saturday against the Samford Bulldogs. Both teams are coming off opening week victories as Georgia won 49-3 while Samford beat Kennesaw State.
Georgia was an offensive juggernaut in the win over the Ducks racking up 571 yards of offense. The Bulldogs won mostly through the air, as quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for a career-high 368 yards.
The beauty of Georgia’s offense, however, is that this week the Bulldogs could lean on their running game. Or just air it again to push even further back against the negative recruitment narrative.
“We want people who want to come play in this offense, and I think when you see what they did today, if you watch it from home, you say, man, I would love to play in that offense.” Kirby Smart said on Saturday. “They throw the ball, they throw it, 30 for 37 for how many yards? I don’t know, but he threw the ball very well. Passing, he threw a lot of passes for a lot of yards. I think that’s a credit to the offensive personnel or the planning they had.”
The Samford game should give Georgia a chance to play several young players, with the Bulldogs being an FCS foe. Samford gave Florida a scare last season, with the Gators posting a 70-52 victory.
Georgia started freshman Mykel Williams at defensive end against Oregon, while freshman safety Malaki Starks made the play of the game with a jumping interception on a Bo Nix pass.
Expect even more freshmen and sophomores like Brock Vandagriff and Branson Robinson to see plenty of runs in the game against Samford.
This will also be Georgia’s first home game since winning the national championship last season. The game is scheduled for a 4 pm ET kick-off, with the SEC network broadcasting the game.
Georgia football injury report for Week 2 game against Samford
- Andrew Paul (out, knee)
- Arian Smith (out, ankle)
- Chris Smith (questionable, shoulder)
- Tykee Smith (knee, likely)