The Good, Bad & Ugly - Looking at the Georgia Bulldogs' 2026 Season Opener

ATHENS - Each week we look at the good, bad and the good, bad and ugly from each game the Georgia Bulldogs play. This week UGA blew out the Tennessee State Tigers in the 2026 season opener Between the Hedges at Sanford Stadium.

GOOD:

Gunning for Perfection

Gunner Stockton ended his day early throwing at throwing 93.75%, which is a pretty amazing clip - even against a massively overmatched Tennessee State team. Stockton led the Dawgs to touchdowns in all five of the drives he was in the game.

“I think that we have a bunch of guys that can play winning football,” Stockton told Dawg Post. "We have a lot of depth, and that's a plus for a team. When you have that, it's a great thing.”

Nate the Great

Running back Nate Frazier had a huge day - even with limited snaps. His 72 yards and three touchdowns game on only four carries.

“He just hit some big holes, and he did a nice job being explosive through them,” UGA coach Kirby Smart said of Frazier. “He worked really hard this off-season to earn that.”

Frazier scored on runs of 48, 14 and three yards. The last score was the culmination of a six-play, 65-yard drive to give Georgia a 42-3 lead. Frazier’s three touchdowns matches his career high, which came against UMass in 2024.

“He's going to run the ball hard no matter what,” Stockton said. “He’s a great running back, and he's a great teammate. Just to see the joy that everybody has and just to see him have success is awesome.”

BAD:

Too Much Laundry

Georgia had 85 yards in penalties - the most the program has had since also having 85 yards of infractions against during a 31-13 win over Auburn in 2024. One of the penalties was UGA having two players with the same number on the field at the same time.

“We had a guy go down, and we had to put a sub in,” Smart said. “And when you put a sub in, you can't put a sub in with the same number as the snapper, so it's common sense.”

Drop It Like Its Hot

The Bulldogs had a special teams snafu on a field goal attempt - costing the team a chance to continue piling up points later in the game.

“Looked like we dropped it,” Smart said of the hold on the field goal. “I didn't think it was a bad snap. I thought we just dropped it.”

UGLY:

Some Like it Hot

The heat was significant. Temperature at kickoff was recorded at 101 degrees - meaning it was the hottest game on record the Bulldogs have played by nearly nine degrees - most recently a 63-17 win over Murray State in 2019.

“I didn't feel like the heat impacted us,” Smart said of his team. “I thought they beat the heat.”