Georgia offense finally reaches benchmark under Kirby Smart and Jim Chaney
ATHENS — When D’Andre Swift darted around the defense and into the end zone on Saturday night, it marked a new accomplishment for Georgia in the Kirby Smart-Jim Chaney era.
For the first time in their tenures, Georgia reached the 40-point mark. It only took until the 16th game.
Swift’s 11-yard touchdown run, with 1:27 left in the third quarter, gave Georgia a 42-7 lead over Samford, an FCS opponent.
It had been nearly two full years — Sept. 26, 2015 — since Georgia reached the 40-point mark. That came in a 48-6 win over Southern, which followed Georgia wins of 52-20 over South Carolina, 31-14 at Vanderbilt and 51-14 over Louisiana-Monroe. But the Bulldogs only scored 30 points once more the rest of the 2015 season.
Smart was hired as coach after that season and brought in Chaney as offensive coordinator.
Georgia set school and SEC scoring records from 2012-14, scoring more than 40 points six times in 2014, six times in 2013 and eight times in 2012.
The most points Georgia scored last year was in a 35-21 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, in the second-to-last game of the regular season. The 2016 scoring average of 24.5 points per game was the lowest at Georgia since the 12-game season came into effect.
On Saturday night, Nick Chubb had 2 touchdown runs, and Terry Godwin had 2 touchdown catches. Mecole Hardman also had a touchdown catch. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm had 3 touchdown passes.
