Georgia beats Clemson 34-3
ATLANTA — Following a tightly contested first half that featured eight punts and only six points, No. 1 Georgia pulled away to defeat No. 14 Clemson, 34-3, in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Linebacker Wade Woodaz led the team with a career-high eight tackles (seven solo, one for loss), while sophomore defensive lineman Peter Woods had 2.5 tackles for loss to lead the Tigers defensively. Antonio Williams highlighted Clemson’s offense with six receptions on seven targets for 76 yards, tying his second-highest receiving yardage total in a game in his career.
The game was scoreless after the first quarter, as the teams traded punts on each of the game’s first five possessions. On the game’s sixth possession, Georgia opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring with 8:49 remaining in the second quarter.
On their next possession, Woodring added a 55-yard field goal to extend Georgia’s lead to 6-0 with 4:16 left in the half. Georgia carried that 6-0 lead into halftime following a first half that featured only 50 combined plays from scrimmage, 10 combined first downs and eight combined punts.
Georgia extended its lead to 13-0 on the opening possession of the second half when Carson Beck found Colbie Young for a seven-yard touchdown. The touchdown marked Georgia’s first offensive touchdown against Clemson in more than 100 elapsed minutes of game play spanning Clemson’s last three meetings with the Bulldogs.
Clemson scored on its first possession of the second half when freshman Nolan Hauser made a 26-yard field goal, the first of his collegiate career, to cut the lead to 13-3. However, Georgia extended its advantage to 20-3 with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter on Nate Frazier’s one-yard touchdown run.
Georgia’s London Humphreys added a 40-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Beck with 9:57 to play in the fourth quarter to make the score 27-3 in favor of the Bulldogs. An interception by Georgia’s Malaki Starks for the game’s lone takeaway set up Cash Jones to cap the ensuing Georgia drive with a 15-yard rushing touchdown, pushing the final score to 34-3.
Clemson will now look ahead to its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 7 against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Kickoff for that contest, which is designated as Football Reunion Day & First Responders Date, is slated for 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network.