ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Louisiana at Monroe could not stop the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon, but Mother Nature could.
Lightning strikes within five miles of Sanford Stadium suspended the football game for an hour during the third quarter, and they were detected again with 9:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. Georgia coach Mark Richt and ULM counterpart Todd Berry got together with their athletic directors and decided to terminate the contest, thus resulting in a 51-14 win by the Bulldogs.
“We’re kind of used to this,” Richt said, referencing the fact the Bulldogs are the only Southeastern Conference team without an indoor practice facility. “Back in the day, you would hold a cat out and if the cat didn’t get wet, you would practice. Nowadays you’ve got all this radar, and if lightning strikes within a certain mileage, you’re guaranteed to shut down for 30 minutes.”
Louisiana Monroe running back DeVontae McNeal (28) is brought down by Georgia safety Quincy Mauger (20), defensive lineman John Atkins (97), and linebacker Davin Bellamy (17) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept., 5, 2015, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis) Saturday was Georgia’s first terminated contest of the modern era.
The damage long had been done by the time the game was called, with quarterback Greyson Lambert completing 8 of 12 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns in his Bulldogs debut and tailback Nick Chubb starting his sophomore season with 16 carries for 120 yards and two scores. Lambert threw a 15-yard touchdown to tight end Jeb Blazevich in the first quarter and had a 28-yard scoring strike to Malcolm Mitchell in the third quarter.