Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs enjoyed their second signature victory of what is looking like a pretty successful season Saturday night, smothering Mississippi State 31-3 between the hedges of Sanford Stadium in Athens. Smart had lots to say after the victory.

Georgia struck for a 59-yard touchdown on UGA’s first offensive play off a flea-flicker as Nick Chubb tossed the ball back to Jake Fromm, who then found an unattended Terry Godwin all alone for the score.

Chubb ran 15 times for 81 yards and two scores, while Fromm completed his first eight attempts before finishing 9-for-12 with 201 yards passing and two more scores.

No. 17 MSU entered the game averaging 47.7 points and 493 yards per game. Georgia held MSU to just 3 points and 280 yards of total offense, the first time in the Dan Mullen era they’ve been held under 300 yards. In the first half, Georgia limited MSU to only 133 yards and a field goal.

Junior DB Deandre Baker snagged the Bulldogs’ first interception of the year and the third of his career late in the third quarter. His pick led to Georgia’s fourth touchdown of the game to put UGA up 28-3. Senior S Dominick Sanders went airborne to catch his first interception of the year after J.R. Reed tipped a pass on MSU’s next possession. Sanders now has 13 interceptions in his career.

Here is what some of Smart said, some quotes are courtesy of the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network and IMG:

On the win

“We came out and played with a lot of toughness. Our mantra all week was discipline, discipline, discipline. I thought we executed pretty well.”

On the first offensive play of the game:

“I had gone to Jim (Chaney) and told him I’d like to open with that and he said they had been talking about the same thing. We felt like there would be some players peeking in the backfield, and Terry (Godwin) got behind them.”

On the defense

“We finally had a couple of turnovers. It’s been a long time coming. I can’t say enough about our defensive staff. They have worked really hard with the defensive group.”

On Jake Fromm

“The kid is stepping up. He’s starting to play. He’s always had that in him. He’s a good leader. He did a good job managing the game.”

On UGA winning big in its SEC opener

“It’s not going to go away. If we had lost, we’d still have a big game next week. It’s just the way the SEC is. You can’t ride these emotional highs too long. You’ve got to stay disciplined and focus.”

On UGA buying into physical practices

“It’s important to be that way. You can’t act physical. You can’t fake physical. You have to live it. Breathe it. Eat it.”

On the sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium

“The crowd was electric. The fans were really good. I thought the students were awesome. Our students were over there in pre-game warm-ups. It has not been that way in the past. I have seen it at other SEC schools. They’re all there for pre-game warm-ups for the team. That’s intimidating. I thought it was really good that our student section was full. And the student end zone section was full. We’ve got to keep doing that.”