ATHENS, Ga. - Quarterback Jake Fromm was accurate, running back D'Andre Swift was effective and safety J.R. Reed was a defensive menace during Georgia's 23-17 victory over Notre Dame this past Saturday night inside Sanford Stadium.
Yet the star of the show was the new LED lighting system that dazzled the record audience of 93,246.
"I loved it," Reed said. "It's a new tradition, and Georgia always finds a way to bring in a new tradition."
Said Swift: "That stuff got me hyped. You can't help but dance. It was crazy."
While Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and his staff were spending the summer months trying to mold a team that could compete for Southeastern Conference and national championships, Bulldogs athletic director Greg McGarity and his staff were seeking to enhance the stadium experience from a visual standpoint.
"At the end of last football season, we knew our lights were at the end of their life cycle," McGarity said Monday, "and we received approval to move forward after the spring game to install new LED technology that you've seen at SunTrust Park, and we have LED lights at Stegeman Coliseum. We knew there was an opportunity to create something really magical in certain situations at Sanford Stadium.
"You never know until you actually experience the game, and we had one opportunity to get it right the first time. I don't think there is any question it exceeded everything that we thought it would present."
McGarity credited assistant athletic directors Mike Bilbow, Emily Dietz and Melvin Robinson for their roles ranging from selecting an LED lighting vendor to coordinating the lighting and music. He added that the installation project cost $1 million.
There were moments before kickoff and before the start of the fourth quarter when the overhead lights were turned off, leaving a red glow throughout the stadium that resulted in a roar from the Sanford audience.
"I was worried the power went out a couple of times, but I didn't blink," Smart said after the game. "As long as my headphones worked, I was good."
When asked Monday whether the temporary red glow might be a concern for the competing coaches, McGarity said, "I knew we weren't going dark, so as long as there was a level of light that you can function with, that's the critical thing. We rehearsed it a number of times. I knew about the technology and about every facet of what it could do, but I didn't want to see it ahead of time. I wanted to experience it like the 95,000 others experienced it.
"I was blown away by it, but I was also hoping it would always get back to full strength as well."
Georgia inside linebacker Tae Crowder exclaimed afterward that he would love more night games - "It was loud. It was crazy. It was lovely," he said - but starting times are determined by the television networks. The Bulldogs have home contests remaining against South Carolina (Oct. 12), Kentucky (Oct. 19), Missouri (Nov. 9) and Texas A&M (Nov. 23).
The Missouri game would seem to be an excellent candidate for another Sanford spectacle, given that CBS likely will opt for Alabama-LSU as its 3:30 p.m. showdown that day. The Georgia-Texas A&M matchup is by far the best league offering for CBS on that Saturday, and lights certainly will be needed after halftime by late November.
Odds are this past Saturday wasn't the last light show that Bulldogs coaches, players and fans will experience this season.
"All 14 SEC schools are signed up for the TV packages that ESPN and CBS afford us," McGarity said, "and everybody gladly accepts the excess of $40 million annually to provide the content for the networks. We've had our share of noon games, and the league tries to balance it the best they can, but you're at the discretion of the networks.
"There is a segment of our fans that loves night games, and there is a segment that doesn't, so it's hard to please everyone, but this past Saturday was a magical night and an exceptional experience we will always remember."
Next up, Knoxville
Georgia is off this week and next plays Oct. 5 at Tennessee, with that game scheduled for ESPN with a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Bulldogs and Volunteers have met 48 times, with their all-time series deadlocked at 23-23-2.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.