With Arkansas State suffering its first shutout since 2008, and its worst defeat since losing to Ole Miss in 2003 by the same 55-0 score, one would think the Red Wolves would have nothing positive to take away from their blowout defeat this afternoon against Georgia.
On the contrary. What resulted on the gridiron is forgettable for head coach Blake Anderson and his players, yet the show of support for one of their own by Bulldog fans in the stands will never be forgotten.
Anderson’s wife Wendy succumbed to breast cancer roughly a month ago. Planning for days to help show support, tens of thousands of Georgia fans wore pink at Sanford Stadium in memory of her.
“Publicly, I would like to say, it was one of the classiest moves I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to truly prepare for something like that,” said Anderson, as he started to choke up during his post-game press conference. “I would like to say thank you for all who showed up today wearing pink, or thinking pink. Those [Georgia fans] didn’t know my wife, and they don’t know me. They didn’t have to do it, and I’m very grateful, honored and, honestly, overwhelmed.”
On the field, Anderson and his Red Wolves were overwhelmed as well. The third-ranked Bulldogs jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead before tacking on three more touchdowns in the second half, while the Georgia defense pitched its first shutout of an FBS opponent in two years (41-0 over Tennessee in 2017).
“I wish the game would have gone differently. I think we have a lot of work to do,” Anderson said. “Georgia is obviously a solid team, and they didn’t make mistakes today. We needed our guys to be thinking ahead and playing their best. I thought Georgia played a very solid football game, and just really never gave us a chance to get involved.”
Facing an up-tempo offense, which entered having averaged 36.5 points and 456 total yards per game, Georgia allowed Arkansas State to gain just 220 yards, nearly half of which was gained in the final quarter against the Bulldogs’ reserves. Notably, the Red Wolves’ offense got beyond Georgia’s 30-yard line during just one of its 13 possessions.
“Everybody has to make plays, including me—I missed a few out there today that I cannot miss,” said junior quarterback Logan Bonner, who completed 20 of 35 passes, but for a paltry 124 yards, and was sacked three times. “We've just got to execute better, and it starts with me.”
On offense, Georgia was held to field goals on its second and third possessions before going on a scoring spree, beginning with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Dominick Blaylock on the first play of the second quarter. For the game, the Bulldogs gained 656 total yards—the fifth-most in school history for a single game—while averaging a staggering 9.9 yards per play.
“It was 13-0 in the first quarter, and we were actually feeling pretty good,” said senior safety B.J. Edmonds, who was second on the team with eight tackles. “But after they hit that long touchdown (Fromm to Blaylock), it really started shifting the momentum their way.”
Still, despite the one-sidedness of the football game, Arkansas State leaves Athens with nothing but admiration for Georgia, which left a lasting impression on a group of opposing players and, more so, their persevering head coach.
“It’s bigger than football. Georgia didn’t have to do that—and it just shows Georgia fans have big hearts,” said junior starting center Jacob Still. “For what they did, it meant a lot to me and my teammates, but some people may never understand what it meant for Coach Anderson. I know, I’ll be rooting for Georgia for the rest of my life.”
