Georgia’s first all-white look on Saturday came with a runaway score, a packed Sanford Stadium and, apparently, a coach who wasn’t eager to make it a regular thing.
The Bulldogs had never gone head to toe in white before - no white helmet, no white jersey, no white pants - until the 70-20 win over Western Kentucky, one of Georgia’s fellow red-and-black teams. Sophomore linebacker Quintavious Johnson said the scene around the stadium made the moment feel right.
"It felt great seeing all the fans out there in the white and not making the game about this uniform but knowing we have support on the outside of the field," sophomore linebacker Quintavious Johnson said.
Kirby Smart, though, wasn’t ready to hand out a full endorsement. Even with Georgia piling up 70 points in its second of three non-conference games, he said the second half left too much to be desired.
When asked whether the white uniforms might return, Smart answered, "I don't know. Time will tell. If we play like we did in the second half, (heck) no."
Georgia’s uniform departures have been rare, and the program’s last major switch came in 2011 against Boise State, when the Bulldogs wore red jerseys, red pants and a silver helmet with a red stripe down the middle. Former wide receiver Tavarres King liked that look at the time, though he’s not as sold on it now, 15 years later.
There have been other one-off experiments along the way, too: the 2008 “Blackout” game against Alabama, the black helmets and pants with white jerseys against Florida in 2009, and the red pants and white jerseys against Arkansas in 2020 that paid tribute to the 1980 national champions. Under Smart, Georgia has worn black jerseys only four times, most recently in the 2020 Peach Bowl.
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Georgia Suddenly Has A Tyriq Green Concern At The Worst Time
Tyriq Greens night ended early after the freshman left the game with an injury on a kickoff return, giving Georgia another health issue to monitor as the season moves into a critical stretch. Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs are still waiting on the full results on Greens status, and the staff will sort out his availability as the week goes on.
Greens situation adds to an injury picture that already has Georgia juggling some missing pieces. Wide receiver Thomas Blackshear and outside linebackers Chase Linton and Amaris Williams are already out, so any setback involving a young contributor on special teams only deepens the uncertainty as the Bulldogs try to stay steady from one week to the next. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Turned Georgias Big Night Into A Warning
Georgias all-white look turned Saturday night into a milestone long before the game got out of hand, as the Bulldogs wore the uniforms for the first time in school history and buried Western Kentucky in a 70-20 win. Gunner Stockton helped make the evening feel even more like a showcase, tying a school record with five passing touchdowns in the first half and giving the home crowd plenty to talk about well before halftime.
Kirby Smart, though, spent the postgame sounding more concerned than celebratory. Even with the score in Georgias favor by a wide margin, he made clear the second half did not meet his standard, turning what should have been a feel-good blowout into a reminder that the Bulldogs still have details to clean up. For a team with bigger goals ahead, that kind of message matters almost as much as the lopsided result. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Blowout May Have Just Settled A Key Quarterback Debate
Georgias 70-20 rout of Western Kentucky did more than pad the record to 2-0. It also gave the Bulldogs a much clearer picture of where the quarterback room stands behind Gunner Stockton, with a handful of young players using a lopsided game to make their case in a meaningful way.
Ryan Puglisi was among the biggest beneficiaries, with his performance strongly suggesting he has moved to the front in the race for the backup job. Tyriq Green also flashed enough to look like a return option worth watching, while Georgia got mixed results from Ryan Montgomery and Lawson Luckie. For a team still sorting out depth in spots, that kind of clarity is part of what made Saturday matter beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]