Top ranked Georgia scored 31 points in the second quarter en route to a 45-3 win over Ball State Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

Mekhi Mews’ 69-yard punt return for a touchdown with 14:32 left in the first half started the scoring for the Bulldogs, who have now won a school record 19 straight games.

It was the second straight week that Mews scored a long touchdown. Last Saturday against UT-Martin, Mews caught a 54-yard TD pass in the third quarter for his first career score.

After Mews’ TD, the Bulldogs scored on their next four possessions to build a commanding 31-point halftime lead.

Malaki Starks, Chaz Chambliss, and Tykee Smith all recorded second quarter interceptions that led directly to Bulldog touchdowns.

“You’re always looking for something. Defense turns to offense,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. “It’s like basketball, when you play good defense, you get transition offense. When you play good defense in special teams, you can transition that to offense. We started getting momentum there as the defense got stops and then eventually we got them into a long yardage situation and we were able to return the punt. That gave the crowd some juice and our players some juice.”

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck hit Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint on a seven-yard scoring strike with just over ten minutes remaining in the half before the Bulldogs turned the game into a rout with rushing touchdowns by Dillon Bell and Kendall Milton.

Beck played the first three quarters and finished 23-30 for 283 yards and two touchdowns. His second TD came in the third quarter, a 27-yard toss to redshirt-sophomore running back Cash Jones.

“I mean, the big thing is our defense giving us good ball positioning on the field,” Beck said. “Starting on the plus 40, inside the 50, the confidence just kind of exudes from that but also just feeling each other out, getting the chemistry and just keep working and getting better.”

The Georgia defense turned in another strong performance limiting the Cardinals to just a fourth-quarter field goal. Linebacker Smael Mondon and freshman defensive back AJ Harris led the Bulldogs with four tackles apiece.

The Bulldogs are now 2-0 on the season and get back in action next Saturday playing host to South Carolina in the SEC opener for both teams. Kickoff is set for 3:30.

©2023 Cox Media Group