ATHENS, Ga. - After the defense dominated in Georgia's season-opening 30-6 win at Vanderbilt, the offense erupted for 561 yards during Saturday's 63-17 trouncing of Murray State.
Georgia's special teams were quietly stout in both games.
Fifth-year senior kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, sophomore punter Jake Camarda and Georgia's coverage teams have fared well in the 2-0 start for the No. 3 Bulldogs, and that should come as no surprise. Kirby Smart had a disappointing debut showing in football's third phase during the 2016 season, but there has been more of a focus and more talent in that area since.
"It's our standard, and it's what we do," Smart said Saturday night. "We open our season with meetings about special teams, and I don't ever miss a special-teams meeting. I may miss some meetings, but I'm not missing special-teams meetings, because they're too important.
"Our players see me in there, so they know they're going to be held accountable before they ever play on offense or defense."
Blankenship is 3-for-3 this season on field-goal attempts and 12-for-12 on extra-point tries. His nine extra points against Murray State tied his career high and improved his career total to 166 without a miss.
Former Auburn and current Oakland Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson holds the Southeastern Conference record with 198 consecutive extra points.
Camarda, an SEC All-Freshman selection last year after averaging 42.6 yards per punt, has averaged 51.0 yards this season. Two of his four punts have been placed inside the 20-yard line.
Senior receiver Tyler Simmons had a 27-yard punt return against Vanderbilt and a 42-yarder against Murray State. Simmons and freshman Dominick Blaylock handled punt returns Saturday in the absence of Kearis Jackson, who broke a hand in the opener.
Georgia's most impressive special team to this point may be its kickoff coverage unit, which has allowed three returns that have averaged just 14 yards.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.