It will be a refreshed D’Andre Swift who takes the field for Georgia when the Bulldogs host Notre Dame next Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.

For two straight game, Georgia’s ability to build big early leads has meant an early exit for Swift, who has been able to take the second half off against both Murray State and Arkansas State.

He’s not complaining.

“I’m good, I’m ready to go,” Swift said after Saturday’s 55-0 win over the Red Wolves. “When the offensive line is able to start off fast, the whole offense is going to start off fast.”

Obviously, Swift deserves his share of the credit, too.

Against Murray State, the junior rushed six times for 67 yards and two touchdowns followed by an effort Saturday against Arkansas State that saw him rack up 130 total yards (66 rushing, 64 receiving) with a touchdown on a career-best 48-yard catch and run.

“A lot of teams don’t cover the guy out of the backfield, and it’s easy to get the ball out there in the open space and run,” fellow running back Brian Herrien said. “If we catch the ball as a running back, it’s not d-lineman, just linemen and DBs and that’s hard for them.”

Head coach Kirby Smart said Swift – who for the year has rushed for 283 yards on 29 carries – is just as valuable for what he does off the field as on.

“He’s always had this skill set of making people miss, he’s fast, he’s elusive, he’s running with more power now but his biggest skill set, making sure that other people are buying into the principles, values of the organizations,” Smart said. “That means that if we’re going to a pregame meal, or if we’re going somewhere to a walkthrough, or we’re going to a meeting, or we’re on the sideline, his impact is much more important there than just what he does with the ball because he’s always been able to do that with the ball. His ability to tell a young player that’s not how we do things is way better than me telling them that. When Swift does that, that has a huge impact on the confidence of our team.”

Of course, he’s not bad with what he does on it, either.

Swift needs just 50 more rushing yards to reach 2,000 for his career and now has 52 catches for 523 yards.

“I love running and catching,” Swift said. “As long as I’m getting in the end zone to help my team win, I don’t care how I do it.”

Bulldog receiver Tyler Simmons had to come out of the game with what was described as a shoulder injury.

How serious was it? Smart didn’t sound exactly sure.

"I'm not sure on Tyler. We'll have to see on Monday,” Smart said. “We think he's going to be okay. He bumped his shoulder on the sideline. I couldn't see it from where I was, but how the crowd responded, it looked like it was late or something. I think he's going to be fine. I think he could have played if he had to have.”

…Wide receiver Demetris Robertson dressed out but did not play. “D-Rob, had some nagging injuries that had bothered him,” Smart said. “He wasn't able to finish out.”

…Cornerback Tyson Campbell left the game with a foot injury. His status moving forward is unclear.

…Wide receiver Kearis Jackson (broken bones in hand) did not play, but at least he has ditched the club that was on his left hand.

…Redshirt freshman wide receiver Tommy Bush (groin) missed his second straight game.

…Right tackle Isaiah Wilson (sprained ankle) missed his second straight game but appeared to be putting ample weight on his injured ankle and moving around much better than he was last week.

…Backup defensive lineman Michail Carter missed Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury.

With both Robertson and Jackson out, freshman Dominick Blaylock received most of the reps at slot and came through with the biggest game of his young career.

Blaylock led the Bulldogs with four catches for 112 yards and a touchdown after taking a mid-range throw from Jake Fromm and turning it into a 60-yard scoring play. Fellow freshman George Pickens had five grabs for 84 yards.

“Dom did a great job. All week in practice like dang, you know this guy’s going out here making plays. He’s really taking his job seriously,” Fromm said. “He’s not having a whole lot of mental errors. You don’t have to worry about him at all. He’s a guy that’s going to do what he’s told and do it really good. He came out and he got rewarded for it today. It’s awesome to see for him.”

Smart agreed.

“"Dominick didn't do anything different leading up to Vanderbilt than he's doing now. It's just opportunity. He's getting the opportunity to play more. I think I've said it before, he was very deserving to play at Vanderbilt,” he said. “We just didn't get an opportunity during the game to get him in there. He's taking advantage of his opportunities. Dom works every day so hard. He catches the balls thrown to him. He's got a compact body type that's hard to tackle. He's a very savvy route runner and he's got great hands."

…The Bulldogs scored 21 points at Vanderbilt in the first half and then 42 in the first two quarters against Murray State before piling up 34 points against Arkansas State to start Saturday’s game. Georgia scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the third straight game following a six‐play, 60‐yard drive at the 9:02 mark in the first quarter. As he has the first two games, Herrien scored with a 3‐yard run to put the Bulldogs up 7‐0.

…Georgia finished today with 656 yards of total offense (5th best in school history) on 66 plays. Fromm completed the game 17‐for‐22 for 279 yards and three touchdowns while Swift led the ground attack with 76 yards on nine carries, including a 39‐yard scamper in the second quarter that set up UGA’s third touchdown. Swift reached the end zone on that drive with a career‐long 48‐yard catch, which was the fifth receiving touchdown of his career. He had two catches for 64 yards. Also, on the ground, sophomore tailback James Cook had a career‐long 37‐yard touchdown run and finished with 51 yards on three carries.

…The Bulldogs upped their lead to 55‐0 at the 9:07 mark in the fourth quarter on a six‐play, 98‐ yard drive. This was the longest TD‐drive since going 98 yards in 11 plays against Auburn in 2014 that made it 34‐7 Bulldogs. Freshman tailback Kenny McIntosh went 62 yards for a touchdown on the drive, marking the first score of his career.

…Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship collected 13 points, drilling field goals of 29 yards and 41 yards (season long) plus had seven point after attempts. Blankenship is now 5‐for‐5 on the year in FGs. He is second in SEC history for Career Consecutive PATs made with 173. The SEC record is 198 held by Daniel Carlson (Auburn). Blankenship already owns the Bulldog record.

…For the third straight game, Georgia’s opponent was held under 300 yards of total offense. ASU finished with 220 on 68 plays. The leading tacklers were Robert Beal, Jr., and Tyler Clark with five apiece. Clark registered his first sack of 2019 and the fifth of his career. Sophomore OLB Quay Walker also had his first career sack as the Bulldogs had four.

…Junior Malik Herring (DL) started his first game of the year and the second of his career. Lawrence Cager got the start for the first time in his Bulldog career after starting a total of 18 games at Miami. While sophomore Cade Mays moved from RG to RT, junior Ben Cleveland started at RG, marking his first start of 2019 and 10th of his career. Jake Fromm started his 31st straight to lead the offense while graduate J.R. Reed (S) now leads the defense with 32 in a row.