ATLANTA – Get in and get out. No mess, no fuss.

That’s just what head coach Kirby Smart was hoping for Saturday against Georgia Tech, and with the exception of a rib injury to wide receiver Kearis Jackson, the plan went as he hoped it would.

The Bulldogs’ decisive 45-0 victory over the Yellow Jackets enabled Georgia to finish undefeated in a regular season for the first time since 1982. Georgia also posted a 12-0 for the first time since 1980. The win now allows Smart’s squad to turn its full attention to Saturday’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium—and the anticipated matchup against Alabama.

“I thought our guys started fast, and we challenged them to start fast. I was pleased with that. I was pleased with no penalties,” Smart said. “We had some sloppy series offensively and defensively. But all in all, the guys came out and executed to a standard, and they didn’t play the scoreboard—they played to our scoreboard, and I was proud of what they were able to do.”

Quarterback Stetson Bennett and tight end Brock Bowers were the offensive stories for Georgia.

Bennett completed 14 of 20 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Bowers, who led all receivers with three catches for 100 yards.

Ten different receivers caught passes for the Bulldogs.

Defensively, Georgia posted its third shutout and finished the regular season allowing a nation’s best 6.08 points per game.

“We get the Governor’s Trophy, which is a great honor. Our expectation was to come in here and win this game. And that’s the enjoyment, is enjoying the game, and the second half, and seeing the other guys playing,” Smart said. “The last two weeks we’ve been trying to be ascending. We’ve tried to get some guys back healthy. And that’s going to be the focus this week, nobody trying to do more than they should. We just need to be at our best, and we need to play one of our best football games. They’ve (Alabama) got a really talented, talented football team.”

As expected, neither offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer nor safety Christopher Smith dressed out.

Salyer re-aggravated his foot injury earlier in the week, while Smith missed his second straight game after his knee “buckled” during practice the week of the Charleston Southern game.

“It was not precautionary. We tried to get both of them ready to go. They were both fighting back. We thought Jamaree was back, and he had a little setback, I don’t know if it was Tuesday or Wednesday,” Smart said. “It wasn’t the same injury he had before. It was some scar tissue. But we’re hoping we’ll be able to get him back, and hopeful for Chris, too.”

Broderick Jones once again started in place of Salyer.

With Smith out, Dan Jackson started at safety, with Latavious Brini at star.

… Running back Kendall Milton (MCL) dressed out but did not play.

… Jackson left the game in the first quarter with a rib injury he suffered while returning his second punt. He did not return.

“I thought he was going to be able to go back. It’s a little bit of a rib injury,” Smart said of Jackson. “I don’t know how different it is from the one he had from a while back. I asked him, and he said it was pretty painful. I didn’t think he could go, so held him out at that point.”

Bowers etched his name in the Georgia record books by setting a new mark for most receiving yards by a Bulldog tight end.

That was not all.

With two touchdown catches bringing his season total to 10, Bowers ranks second in school history behind former Bulldog Terrence Edwards, who caught 11 in 2002.

“First of all, he’s one heck of an athlete, and I think what his body can do is special. The game just moves so slow for him,” quarterback Stetson Bennett said. “As a freshman, that’s impressive to see. It’s easy to trust somebody like that when you know where he’s going to be and how he’s going to run his routes. And then obviously, he’s a freak athlete, just took that ball and ran with it 77 yards. That was pretty cool to watch.”

After making three catches for 100 yards, Bowers now has 37 receptions for 652 yards through 12 games, breaking the Georgia mark of 574 set by Orson Charles in 2011 (on 45 receptions).

Bowers did it in grand fashion, taking a pass over the middle from Bennett and splitting four defenders en route to a 77-yard score.

From a penalty flag standpoint, Saturday’s win was the cleanest for Georgia in two years. The Bulldogs were not called for a single penalty during their win against the Yellow Jackets. Ironically, the last time had no penalty yardage was in the 2019 game against the Yellow Jackets.

Of course, the 2019 game is when George Pickens exchanged blows with Trey Swilling. However, since the penalties were off-setting, no penalty yardage was assessed.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever really looked at it. You only look at it when it’s bad, right? If it’s a bunch of them, you’re oh man, that’s a lot of penalties, but I didn’t even know it,” Smart said. “Somebody came over and told me after the game and said we didn’t have any penalties. I was like, 'Wow.' That can be good and bad. That’s one of those, are you being aggressive enough, are you blocking aggressive enough? You want to press the limits of what you can do.

“But I’m very pleased with that. We count them and watch them in practice, and we harp on not being penalized. However, we certainly want to be aggressive.”

Smart was prouder of the fact that his offense did not turn the football over, something he hopes will continue Saturday against Alabama.

"It's big. It's one of the big things that we've been focused on. We don't focus much on the penalties; we focus on the no-turnovers. I thought Tech was ripping and tearing at the ball on our ball carriers, who protected it well,” Smart said. “Stet had one or two that were dangerous. That's a big part of the decision-making. Going to the right place with the ball, and when it's not there, tuck it and run and get what you can get, and try to keep us out of long-yardage situations. I was proud that we did not turn it over."

… Thoughts on the undefeated regular season and what it means: "I hate to just demean it. It's a big deal. It's an honor. It's great, but it's the next step in the process for this group. This group has had a single-minded focus. It never said, 'Hey, let's go 12-0.' It just said, 'Hey, let's beat everybody we play,' and let's focus on one game at a time and try to dominate who we play, and they've done that. Our prep has been better some weeks than others, but I can't say that we've had a down week of practice. If there's anything close, it was probably Charleston Southern, and I feel like this week they had good focus and good energy and the same will be required. I think it's something we'll look back on and be really proud of, but a lot more is going to be judged based on what we do in the future."

… On if the Bulldogs are playing their best football: “I think they’re hungrier to play their best, you know? We’re still getting better. What excites me is the strength of our team is our team. That is what excites me. It’s not like the strength of our team is this or that, it’s the leaders. The players on the team are the strength of our team. They came in and said the things that needed to be said to the players about this week and how it’s going to go. When they speak, people listen. I think we’re getting better. I think you’re also getting towards the end of the year when sometimes things get sloppy. I’m talking about tackling, wrapping up, blocking on the perimeter. You’ve got to really stay locked into those things.”

… The Bulldogs played three quarterbacks Saturday, with JT Daniels and Carson Beck also seeing action. Daniels replaced Bennett with Georgia up 38-0. He didn't throw a pass.

… With Saturday’s 45-0 victory, Georgia improves to 12-0 for the first time since 1980, when the Bulldogs finished with that mark as consensus national champions. This is Georgia’s first undefeated regular season since 1982 (11-0). This is the fourth time in school history that Georgia has completed a perfect regular season with double-digit victories (1946, 1980, 1982). Georgia extended the nation’s longest active winning streak in the FBS to 16 games. This streak ranks as the second longest in school history. The Georgia record is 17 games, set during a three-year stretch from 1945-47.

… Georgia posted its third shutout this year to retain the Governor’s Cup Trophy. It was the first in the Tech series since 1964 (7-0 in Athens) and the first in Atlanta since 1957 (7-0). Opponents have scored just 83 total points on the Bulldogs this year. Georgia collected eight tackles for loss and had three sacks. The leading tackler was junior Nakobe Dean with six, while Quay Walker and Lewis Cine had five. Tech finished with 171 yards of total offense.

… Bennett finished the day 14-of-20 passing for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns, and improved to 12-2 as a starter, including 9-0 this year. His first nine completions went to nine different Bulldogs, including touchdowns to Jermaine Burton and Ladd McConkey. He completed a 25-yard scoring strike to Burton to cap an 80-yard drive; the one to McConkey covered 11 yards to complete an 87-yard drive. He fired a 77-yarder to Bowers for a 24-0 lead. Bennett marched the team 75 yards in nine plays, culminating in a nine-yard touchdown to Bowers that made it 31-0.

… In the first half, nine different Bulldogs caught a pass as there were 10 completions for 226 yards.