ATHENS, Ga. – The starting time of Saturday’s game between Middle Tennessee State University and host Georgia changed, but the expected outcome didn’t.
Entering the nonconference clash as 34-point favorites, the No. 3 Bulldogs built a 35-point halftime lead and cruised to a 49-7 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 92,746 at Sanford Stadium.
Roughly half of those fans remained for the second half of a game that was originally scheduled to kick off at 7:15 p.m. but was moved Thursday morning by officials of both schools to noon due to concerns about the possible impact of Hurricane Florence, which has soaked the Carolinas.
“You always concern yourself with distractions, but at the point they made the decision, it didn’t affect us,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after his Bulldogs improved to 3-0 this season and 16-2 since the start of last year. “Our kids were prepared to do anything. We would have gone to a movie, but we didn’t go to a movie. We would have had a walk-through on Saturday, but we had it on Friday.
“It moved some things up for us, but our kids understand it, and our kids embrace playing in the heat. They think it’s an advantage for them.”