Beck throws 5 TD passes and No. 1 Georgia routs FCS school Tennessee Tech

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Carson Beck tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a little more than a half and No. 1 Georgia romped to a 48-3 victory against outmanned Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

With a brief respite in their daunting schedule, the Bulldogs (2-0) breezed past an FCS school that received $550,000 to make the trip to Athens for what amounted to little more than a glorified scrimmage.

Beck completed 18 of 25 passes for 242 yards before calling it a day less than three minutes into the second half. He had scoring throws of 22 yards to Dillon Bell, 6 yards to Colbie Young, 10 yards to Dominic Lovett, 50 yards to Arian Smith and 37 yards to Lawson Luckie.

Many in the announced crowd of more than 93,000 headed for the exits at halftime on a sweltering day with temperatures in the upper 80s. They didn’t miss much as the Bulldogs pulled most of their starters shortly into the third quarter.

Beck’s five TD passes matched a school record that had been done seven other times, most recently by Stetson Bennett against UAB in 2021.

Tennessee Tech (0-2) started second-stringer Jordyn Potts at quarterback after losing Dylan Laible, a transfer from Missouri, to an injury in the season-opening loss to Middle Tennessee.

The Golden Eagles also gave some snaps to receiver Jordan Yates in a futile effort to bolster the offense, which had only 18 yards passing and didn’t crack 100 yards overall until the closing minutes.

But, in a moral victory for the visiting team, Tennessee Tech called a timeout with 2 seconds left to allow Hayden Olsen to kick a 32-yard field goal on the final play to break up the shutout.

With the Bulldogs leading 45-0, the fourth quarter was reduced to 10 minutes. Georgia finished with a 498-134 lead in total yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Tennessee Tech: The main benefit for the Golden Eagles was a hefty payday that will bolster their tight athletic department budget. They finally scored for the first time in three meetings against the Bulldogs after losing 67-0 in 1943 and 38-0 in 2009.

Georgia: The Bulldogs got a chance to give playing time to a bunch of backups, which may pay dividends later in the season. Gunnar Stockton took over for Beck and completed 10 of 12 passes for 90 yards. Branson Robinson scored on a 13-yard run.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Nothing in this game will alter Georgia’s status as the No. 1 team in the land.

UP NEXT

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles are off next week, then play Tennessee State in their home opener on Sept. 21.

Georgia: The Bulldogs open their Southeastern Conference slate next Saturday night when they hit the road to face the Kentucky Wildcats.