Live Updates: Georgia 39 - Kent State 22 -- FINAL

ATHENS, Ga. — It’s Saturday in the Classic City where the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs will play host to Kent State (1-2). So far, so good in regards to UGA’s National Championship defense.

Georgia has played in three games and it has won each by 33 points or more. The Bulldogs have outscored the likes of Oregon, Samford, and South Carolina by a combined score of 13-10.

Standing in the way this week are the Golden Flashes, a team that has played a tough slate already this season. They have played games at Washington and at Oklahoma, losing both but gaining some valuable experience along the way. Georgia is favored by 41 points in this one but Kent State has the full attention of Kirby Smart.

“Yeah, they’ve got a really good football team,” Smart said on Monday. “They’ve got a quarterback that I didn’t know a lot about who is, No. 1, a tremendous athlete. No. 2, he makes a lot of people miss. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hand. He’s made some wild throws. You’re going to hear about this guy. He’s had some 60, 70-yard passes that are incredible. They have some really good wideouts.

“They’re a talented team. You go and watch them on defense, they do enough different defensively that it can create issues for you because it’s not what you see every day. It’s a little more new-aged defense, which people are playing to affect teams that are on the perimeter more, second level, fitters able to disguise a little more. I know you guys don’t ever listen to anything we say in here, but this is a really good football team and they have played two really good football teams. And you watch the first half of the Oklahoma game, you have no question how good they are. They, really, played Washington well outside of a couple of drives. Washington scored on them. But outside of that, they went toe to toe with Washington.” 

While Georgia is taking this week’s opponent as seriously as possible, it’ll serve as the team’s final tuneup before the slate turns to league play. Georgia will play seven straight SEC teams before closing the 2022 regular season out vs. Georgia Tech.

Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. That’s not the only way to follow the action. Below, DawgsHQ provides links for you to stream the game, listen in, or follow live stats.

How to watch Georgia vs. Kent State: STREAM | LISTEN | STATS

But there’s one more way to follow along. In the space below, DawgsHQ will be providing news, scores, highlights and more from before and during the game. Just use the refresh button on your browser to see those updates as they role in.

***Georgia salts the final few minutes away with the run game and comes away with the 39-22 win over Kent State.

4th Quarter

TOUCHDOWN (5:30): Georgia gets back in the end zone with a 12-play, 75-yard drive. The Bulldogs go for it on 4th and goal from the one-yard line and Kendall Milton punches it in. Podlesny’s PAT gives the Bulldogs a 39-22 lead.

TOUCHDOWN (12:13) Kent State extends a the drive with a fake punt, getting it into Georgia territory. The Golden Flashes go on to score their second touchdown of the day with Marquez Cooper punching it in from a yard out. Kent State goes for two but fails. Georgia leads 32-22.

3rd Quarter

FIELD GOAL (1:48): Georgia has to settle for three again. The Bulldogs take it inside the red zone but a 15-yard penalty was too much to overcome. Warren McClendon was flagged for hands to the fast on 1st and 10 from the 15-yard line. The Bulldogs get back to the 15 but no further. Podlesny hits from 32 yards out to give Georgia a 32-16 lead.

FIELD GOAL (5:12): Kent State comes right back down the field and gets those three points back. The Golden Flashes drive it to the Georgia one-yard line but a false start penalty and a third down stop forces the field goal. Glass connects from 22-yard out to make the score 29-16 in favor of Georgia.

FIELD GOAL (10:41): Georgia bites off chunks of yardage to get into the red zone but the drive stalls at the 14-yard line. Podlesny comes on and hits a 31-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 29-13 lead.

Halftime

2nd Quarter

TOUCHDOWN (0:08): Georgia’s offense works its way back down the field and Bennett punches it in from a yard out. He dropped back to pass with approximately 12 seconds left in the half and decided to keep it, reaching the ball over the goal line as he was tackled. The play was reviewed and the ruling was upheld. Podlesny’s PAT gives Georgia a 26-13 lead with just eight seconds left in the half.

FIELD GOAL (3:39): Kent State has some more success against this Georgia defense, traveling nine plays on 47 yards. The big play was a 27-yard screen pass that got the Golden Flashes into scoring position. Glass comes on and hits a 45-yard field goal to cut the Georgia lead to 19-13.

TOUCHDOWN (8:15): Georgia answers right back with a seven-play, 67-yard drive with Bowers punching it in again on the ground. He takes a jet sweep handoff and runs around right end for a two-yard touchdown. Jack Podlesny’s PAT puts Georgia up 19-10.

TOUCHDOWN (11:30): Kent State scores two plays after the turnover. Collin Schlee hits Devontez Walker for a 56-yard touchdown and the PAT cuts the Bulldog lead to 3 at 12-10.

FUMBLE (11:58): A bad day for McConkey has turned to worse as the redshirt sophomore catches a short screen pass and fumbles at the end of the play. Kent State takes over at its own 39-yard line.

1st Quarter

FIELD GOAL (1:07): Georgia uses 12 plays to travel 36 yards and has to settle for three. Bennett gets sacked on third down and Podlesny comes on to hit a 39-yard field goal. Dawgs lead 12-3.

SAFETY (6:51): Georgia’s defense forces another three and out, forcing Kent State to punt from its own five-yard line. This time special teams comes up with a big play as freshman linebacker Jalon Walker breaks through and blocks the punt. It rolls out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Georgia now leads 9-3.

INTERCEPTION: Georgia is marching it again on its second drive but Stetson Bennett IV throws his first interception of the season. Kent State gets the ball at its own five-yard line.

FIELD GOAL (10:55): The Golden Flashes take minimal advantage of the short field. The defense knocks Kent State back three yards but Andrew Glass comes on and hits a 45-yard field goal to shrink the UGA lead to 7-3.

MUFFED PUNT (12:47): Georgia’s defense forces a three and out on Kent State’s first possession. The Golden Flashes punt it but it’s muffed by Ladd McConkey and recovered by Kent State at the UGA 25-yard line. It’s UGA’s first turnover of the 2022 season.

TOUCHDOWN (14:41): No slow start for Georgia. The Bulldogs score on the second play of the game as Brock Bowers runs it 75 yards for the score. Jack Podlesny’s PAT gives Georgia a 7-0 lead.

Pregame…

***Kent State wins the toss and defers to the second half. Georgia will take the game’s opening kickoff for the first time this season.

• Carter participated in defensive line drills during pregame warm up. He did not, however, take any reps when Georgia went to 11-on-11 work for a few plays.

• Sophomore wideout AD Mitchell does not appear to be dressed out for this game. He sustained an ankle injury on the first play of Georgia’s 33-0 win over Samford. He did not travel last week to South Carolina.

• As expected, junior defensive tackle Jalen Carter is dressed out for this game. He has been limited the past two games with an ankle injury sustained in the season opener vs. Oregon. Carter has played fewer snaps the past two weeks combined than he did in the opener.

• DawgsHQ’s Palmer Thombs has confirmed that Arian Smith will dress out for this game. It’s highly unlikely that he plays but it’s the first time Smith has dressed for a game this season.

• Wide receivers Arian Smith and AD Mitchell and tight end Arik Gilbert are working with head strength coach Scott Sinclair before the game. Smith and Gilbert are donning football pants but Mitchell is not. When players work with Sinclair prior to a game, they typically don’t play in the game. Smart has said recently that he isn’t sure when Smith will be back, that he’s hopeful on Mitchell, and that Gilbert is dealing with some personal issues.

• Georgia has put out a depth chart for the Kent State. It does not include sixth-year senior defensive back William Poole, who Smart says is no longer on the team.