ATHENS, Ga. – Todd Grantham didn’t get any of these in the NFL.
Georgia played like the team with 30 more available scholarships during Saturday’s 55-7 crushing of Idaho State, a championship level program with struggling Academic Progress Report scores. The Bulldogs had as many interceptions (two) in the first half as Idaho State had first downs, and the Bulldogs held the Bengals to 95 yards through three quarters.
“I wasn’t used to this, trust me,” said a smiling Grantham, who came to Georgia after spending the past 11 seasons in the pros. “That is one difference.”
While the Bulldogs struggled offensively out of the gate, the defense opened and remained stout. After holding the Bengals to one first down and 16 yards in the first quarter, Georgia’s secondary broke the game open in the second quarter with interceptions by Bacarri Rambo and Brandon Boykin.
Rambo returned his pickoff 39 yards for a touchdown to make the score 20-0 with 11:50 left before halftime, and Boykin’s interception occurred 65 seconds later. Boykin returned it 18 yards to the ISU 3-yard line, and the Bulldogs converted on the next play when Aaron Murray threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green.