ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The Mailman delivered for Georgia in his first faculty begin, teaming with a dominant protection to guide the Bulldogs to an eye-opening victory within the first Prime 10 matchup of the faculty soccer season.

Stetson Bennett threw for 240 yards and a landing, solidifying his maintain on the quarterback job as No. four Georgia romped previous No. 7 Auburn 27-6 Saturday night time.

The Bulldogs (2-0) buried Auburn (1-1) with a 24-Zero blitz within the first half, getting a pair of 1-yard TD runs from Zamir White to increase their domination of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry.

”Fairly cool” was the best way Bennett described it.

”It is really easy to play soccer,” he stated, ”when the protection performs in addition to they did, whenever you run the ball in addition to we did, and the blokes on the surface are making performs like they did,.”

Even with a catchy nickname, which he picked up throughout his highschool days after he wore a U.S. Postal Service cap in an effort to get seen, Bennett was by no means considered as a beginning candidate for the Bulldogs.

He initially walked on at Georgia, left for a junior faculty hoping to spice up his probabilities of taking part in elsewhere, and solely returned to the Bulldogs final season after they desperately wanted an skilled backup behind Jake Fromm.

Over the summer time, Bennett was far down the depth chart. Jamie Newman and JT Daniels have been transfers who had began at different colleges. Redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis was considered as a proficient prospect.

Even when Newman opted out of the season, Bennett was left to take snaps with the third staff.

”He got here to me and requested the place he was and why he was not getting extra snaps,” coach Kirby Good stated. ”However he did not cry about it, he did not go away or switch, he did not have his dad and mom name. He simply saved working and dealing and dealing. When he received a chance, he took benefit of it.”

After Mathis struggled within the season opener at Arkansas, and with Daniels nonetheless not cleared to play after present process main knee surgical procedure, Bennett got here on to throw a pair of TD handed that sparked the Bulldogs to a 37-10 victory.

That earned him a begin in opposition to Auburn.

The chance could have been a very long time coming, however Bennett positive took benefit of it earlier than a socially distanced crowd of 20,524 at Sanford Stadium.

”My aim was at all times to begin right here,” the fourth-year junior stated. ”That is why I got here right here within the first place.”

Bennett did not make any main errors whereas finishing an environment friendly 17 of 28 passes, together with a 21-yard landing to George Pickens.

Kearis Jackson was Bennett’s favourite receiver, hauling in 9 catches for 147 yards.

Auburn was held to a pair of discipline objectives. The offense merely by no means received going behind Bo Nix, who accomplished simply 21 of 40 passes for 177 yards. The working sport was no assist in any respect, held to 39 yards and a 1.8-yard common per carry.

Nix’s run of 251 consecutive passes with out an interception was snapped with a third-quarter decide by Mark Webb, ending the second-longest lively streak in faculty soccer behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.

”They performed about nearly as good as they might play, and we performed in regards to the worst we might play, and it confirmed on the sector,” Nix stated. ”We simply received beat.”

Georgia rushed for 202 yards. White led the best way with 88 yards on 19 carries.

NEW DATE

The groups had historically performed in November, however a revamped Southeastern Convention schedule on this pandemic-affected season moved the sport as much as Week 2. It was their earliest assembly for the reason that very first sport within the collection was performed in February 1892.

Regardless of the time of yr, Georgia saved the higher hand with a fourth straight victory over Auburn. The Bulldogs have received 13 of the final 16 conferences.

THE TAKEAWAY

Auburn: Coach Gus Malzahn is bound to face renewed criticism after his offense turned in one other depressing efficiency in opposition to the Bulldogs. The Tigers have scored a complete of 37 factors within the final 4 video games within the collection.

”They received the road of scrimmage,” Malzahn stated. ”We actually received whipped in all three phases. We received outcoached.”

Georgia: Good was keen to play a number of quarterbacks in opposition to Auburn, but it surely wasn’t obligatory with Bennett’s efficiency.

The Mailman is quickly changing into one among faculty soccer’s feel-good tales of 2020, although Good will not hesitate to show to Mathis or Daniels if the offense bogs down.

Story continues

”Stetson has received to get higher. We have to get higher,” Good stated. ”However he isn’t a type of youngsters who thinks he is arrived. I am positive he’ll be proper again in right here working to get higher for subsequent week.”

EJECTED

A security from every staff was ejected due to focusing on.

Auburn’s Smoke Monday was tossed for a success on Jackson within the first quarter. Georgia star Richard LeCounte received the boot within the second interval for a helmet-to-helmet collision with Auburn receiver Shedrick Jackson.

INJURY REPORT

After dashing for 41 yards on 5 carries, Georgia working again James Prepare dinner left the sport within the second quarter with an injured proper shoulder. Good downplayed the damage, saying Prepare dinner might have come again within the sport if wanted.

UP NEXT

Auburn welcomes Arkansas (1-1) to Jordan-Hare Stadium subsequent Saturday. The Razorbacks will probably be coming off a 21-14 upset of No. 16 Mississippi State.

Georgia hosts its second straight ranked opponent when No. 21 Tennessee (2-0) visits Sanford Stadium.

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Comply with Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963. His work will be discovered at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry

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Extra AP faculty soccer: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Prime25