Georgia Bulldogs cruise over Appalachian State, 45-6

Nov 9, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley (3) tries to avoid an Appalachian State Mountaineers tackler during the second quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

In the midst of what turned out to be an incredibly easy victory for the Georgia Bulldogs, senior quarterback Aaron Murray stole the national headlines by setting a special milestone during the 45-6 win.

At the 11:28 mark of the 2nd quarter, Murray found Michael Bennett for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give Georgia a 14-6 lead, and with that, he broke the SEC career record for touchdown passes with 115. The company that Murray joined with his 1st TD of the game (a 35-yarder to Rantavious Wooten) and exceeded with the pass to Bennett is absolutely elite, as Wuerffel was the 1996 winner of the Heisman Trophy while at Florida.

In terms of Saturday’s action, Murray had a very nice game on the whole with 281 yards and those 2 touchdowns, but in the midst of team success, he was able to take the 4th quarter off and allow Hutson Mason to light it up to the tune of 160 yards and a touchdown (and an interception) on 11 for 16 passing. Bulldog fans had been eagerly awaiting a look at Mason in preparation for next year, and his showing was certainly an encouraging sign.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was a positive showing despite some minor early struggles. Appalachian State notched 6 points in the opening frame on 2 field goals from Drew Stewart, but that was the extent of the scoring. The Mountaineers did rack up 256 total yards in the game, however, and 221 of those came through the air thanks to ASU being thrust into desperation mode.

Todd Gurley was his usual, fantastic self in limited action during the game. Gurley carried the ball 13 times for 75 yards before exiting on account of the time and score, but he was visibly limping at times, and is clearly not 100% at this stage. However, it certainly didn’t matter here, as he was able to display more than enough explosiveness to get things done against the App State defense.

Overall, it was a dominant effort from Georgia, and despite some early “struggles” that caused worry among Bulldog Nation, it was the type of comfortable win that everyone (including Las Vegas) expected. Now, the focus shifts to next week’s road trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium, as the Bulldogs face-off with Auburn in what should be a highly entertaining game. Stay tuned.