It was business as usual, but without the fireworks that were on display just a week ago.

Georgia never had to worry about the outcome in Saturday’s 33-0 win over Samford. The Bulldogs had their way with the FCS opponent in what served as a tune-up for next week’s SEC opener against South Carolina. Georgia may not have been as dominant or explosive on offense as it was in last week’s game against Oregon, but it didn’t matter.

The defense stifled Samford, which will certainly do wonders for Georgia’s total defense average. But from an observer's standpoint, the offense seemed to have an easier time against Oregon than against Samford. Georgia was forced to settle for three field goals in the red zone and missed a 54-yard attempt early in the third quarter. With a 30-point lead at the half, quarterback Stetson Bennett stayed in the game, but was unable to lead the offense to any points.

While it didn’t matter, you can bet head coach Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken will harp on that all week leading into South Carolina.

In an unforeseen sense, this type of game could be something Smart uses to his advantage. While Georgia did account for 479 total yards, the red zone issues and lack of scoring will be used as teaching tools. It wasn’t that anything seemed glaringly bad or off. It looked more like an offense that didn’t have the same kind of focus it possessed in last week’s statement win over Oregon.

Bennett finished the day with 300 passing yards and a touchdown while adding another score on the ground as well. But the 17-yard loss on a sack he took in the third quarter can be taken as a learning experience. Not every week will fall perfectly into place the way last week’s win did. For Georgia to have these hiccups on offense, it’s better to occur now than against a conference opponent in a meaningful game.

First career touchdown: With 8:48 to go in the second quarter, Bennett found freshman receiver Dillon Bell for a 3-yard touchdown. With Adonai Mitchell going down with an ankle injury early in the game, Bell could be in line for more playing time if Mitchell is forced to miss any upcoming games.

Moving on up: At the 5:01 mark of the second quarter, place-kicker Jack Podlesny hit a 26-yard field goal that moved him into first place in the all-time field goal kicking percentage category—ahead of his predecessor Rodrigo Blankenship.

Jackson’s big gain: With less than three minutes remaining, Bennett found Kearis Jackson, who turned a completion into a 17-yard gain. Jackson certainly looks like his old self after an injury-plagued 2021 season.

Offense: B

It’s not that the offense was outright terrible. It just didn’t live up to the lofty expectations set a week ago. The sports books that did set a line on this game had it over 50 points thanks to the offensive performance a week ago. Not coming close to that in a shutout win against an FCS team is why the offense gets downgraded.

Defense: A

This unit played like an elite unit. Samford finished with only 128 total yards and three first downs. THREE FIRST DOWNS! That’s exceptionally hard to do. Of that total, Samford could only muster 13 yards on the ground.

Special teams: A-

There were no issues on special teams outside of Podlesny’s miss from 54 yards, which was short. Perhaps the weather had something to do with that. While anything over 50 yards is tough for most college teams, you do want your veteran place-kicker to at least have the distance from inside 55.

Offense: A-

Defense: A

Special teams: A