ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Justin Fields had productive perfomances as the No. 3 Bulldogs opened their season Saturday afternoon with a 45-0 drubbing of Austin Peay before a sellout crowd of 92,746 at Sanford Stadium.
The fourth quarter was shortened from 15 to 10 minutes.
Fromm, the Southeastern Conference newcomer of the year in 2017 who guided Georgia to its first league championship in 12 years, began his sophomore season by completing 12 of 16 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Fields, the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 signing class, entered for the first time early in the second quarter and wound up 7-of-8 passing for 63 yards and a score.
Fields also rushed three times for 33 yards.
A 12-yard touchdown pass from Fields to tight end Isaac Nauta with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter put the Bulldogs up 45-0. Third-string quarterback Matthew Downing, a preferred walk-on, took over after that.
Georgia will open SEC play next Saturday afternoon at South Carolina in a game that will be televised by CBS at 3:30. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the SEC East race after finishing in that order last year.
For more information, check back later and read Sunday’s Times Free Press.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.