When asked earlier this week about possibly receiving some reps at running back, sophomore Dillon Bell played it coy.

“Whatever I can do to help the team,” said Bell, a standard response for such questions.

During Saturday’s 45-3 win over Ball State, Bell did indeed receive some snaps in the backfield, and if his performance is any indication, the Bulldogs just might have found some additional backfield juice. Although Bell only carried the football three times, he rushed for 28, including a 21-yard touchdown run.

Bell, who began receiving a look at the position a couple of weeks ago, has not played the position before at Georgia.

“When I first grew up, running back was my first love,” Bell said. “When I went out there, I told myself I can never lose my old running back instincts. I was prepared."

His senior year at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Bell was one of the city’s top all-purpose backs, rushing for 655 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also caught passes for 662 receiving yards and even threw for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

“We didn’t sign him thinking that; he came to camp as a wide receiver,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We liked him at wide receiver, he did some really good things. Even last year as a wide receiver, we never thought of that. We only came up with the situation at running back and he’s provided us some explosiveness.”

Georgia lost safety Javon Bullard in the first quarter to an ankle injury. He did not return to the field.

“It’s an ankle injury,” said Smart, who did not know the extent during his post-game press conference.

In Bullard’s absence, junior David Daniel-Sisavanh took over and played the majority of the remaining minutes in the game.

…Wide receiver Ladd McConkey missed his second straight game due to a balky back.

…Defensive lineman Christen Miller left the game with an undisclosed injury. Smart did not have a report on it when asked.

…Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins was seen wearing a brace on his left knee and riding a scooter.

“He’s really been dealing with a foot injury this entire fall camp,” Smart said. “We shut him down a week before camp, bringing him back about three or four weeks later, but he just didn’t do much. He came back and was functioning well. He felt it a little bit in last week’s game, and we’ve been advised to shut him down (again). We hope to get him back.”

…Defensive back Chris Peal (turf toe) and linebacker EJ Lightsey missed their second straight game due to injury.

…As expected, offensive lineman Austin Blaske missed Saturday’s game with an MCL injury. Smart said he hopes Blaske could be back next week, or the following week against UAB.

…Running back Daijun Edwards dressed out, but did not play.

Mekhi Mews is quickly proving that he could become a bigger weapon for the Bulldogs than perhaps many thought.

His 69-yard punt return went for a touchdown. It was the first punt return for a score since Mecole Hardman brought one back 70 yards in 2018 against Middle Tennessee. Last week, the Cardinals gave up a 99-yard kickoff return against Kentucky.

“I just want to execute,” Mews said. “Everyone has a job to do, and I’m just trying to do mine.”

Mews scored a touchdown last week on a 54-yard grab in the opener against UT-Martin.

“You’re always looking for something. Defense turns to offense. It’s like basketball; when you play good defense, you get transition offense. When you play good defense in special teams, you can transition that to offense,” Smart said. “We started getting momentum there as the defense got stops, and then eventually we got them into a long yardage situation, and we were able to return the punt. That gave the crowd some juice and our players some juice.”

… For the second straight week, top-ranked Georgia blanked its opponent until the fourth quarter. Saturday, Ball State was limited to 68 yards on 26 plays in the first half and finished with 224 yards on 65 plays. The Cardinals avoided a shoutout when they made a 27-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the game to make it 45-3. It capped a 15-play, 55-yard drive in 6:41. Last week, Georgia shut out UT Martin until 6:39 left in the contest when they scored a TD as the Bulldogs won 48-7.

… Georgia’s leading tacklers were junior Smael Mondon and freshman AJ Harris, with four stops apiece. Sophomore Malaki Starks notched his first interception of the season and third of his career. He gave the Bulldogs the football at their own 22 with 12:41 left in the 2nd quarter with Georgia leading 7-0. It led to a touchdown. Later in the quarter, junior linebacker Chaz Chambliss notched his first career interception. That led to a touchdown (two plays, 30 yards in 51 seconds) and a 21-0 advantage. Senior Tykee Smith notched his first interception (on a pass breakup by Daylen Everette) as a Bulldog and fifth of his career. He took it to the Ball State 20, and it led to a touchdown. Georgia scored 21 points off three interceptions. The last time Georgia had three picks in a game was last season in a 48-7 road win over South Carolina.

...Twelve Bulldogs caught a pass Saturday, and the leading receiver was junior Dominic Lovett with four for 29 yards. Senior Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (two receptions, 17 yards, one touchdown) had his first touchdown of the year and fourth of his career, this one covering seven yards. Redshirt sophomore Cash Jones (two, receptions., 32 yards, one touchdown) had his first career receiving TD, a 27-yarder to make it 38-0 with 6:27 left in the third quarter.

… Georgia went 4-for-5 in the red zone with three touchdowns, one field goal (35-yarder), and one missed field goal (28-yarder), while Ball State went 1-for-1 (27-yard field goal).

…Seniors Zion Logue (defensive line), Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (wide receiver), and Tykee Smith (star), along with redshirt sophomore Tate Ratledge (right guard), served as the game captains. …There were no first-time starters on offense or defense.

… Junior center Sedrick Van Pran made his team-leading 32nd career start. Van Pran, normally No. 63, wore No. 77 today in honor of his late teammate Devin Willock. A different Bulldog offensive lineman will be wearing 77 each game this season.

… Georgia scored 21 points off three turnovers (all interceptions).

…Saturday’s victory extended Georgia’s win streak to 19 games. The Bulldogs now have won 29 straight regular-season games.

…Georgia’s longest winning streak is 24 games. After Saturday, the Bulldogs have won 20 straight at Sanford Stadium.

…Saturday’s SEC opener against South Carolina is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

… Sixteen-time hot dog-eating champion Joey Chestnut “called the Dawgs” before the game.

…Georgia went with an unbalanced line during its first drive, with Chad Lindberg posting up alongside left tackle Earnest Greene.

…Pearce Spurlin caught his first career pass late in the game.

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