Freshman Orientation Ran Long in Athens

Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.

GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Georgia played eleven true freshmen for 1,039 snaps against Oklahoma, and Kirby Smart explained the whole business in two words.

ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk

My mama used to say you find out who somebody is when the grown-ups leave the room. Georgia got its answer last Saturday. The Bulldogs played 11 true freshmen against Oklahoma for 1,039 total snaps, the most of any top-10 team, 247Sports reported. When Kirby Smart was asked why so many babies got into the game, he didn't give a speech about player development or building for the future. He said it was "the lead." Coaches spend all week saying nothing, and every so often one of them gets the whole truth into two words.

Consider who got fed. Zykie Helton, a true freshman, started at right guard and played 49 snaps, which is a lot of Saturday for somebody who was probably worrying about a prom date last spring. Defensive tackle Valdin Sone made three tackles in 21 snaps, which is an honest day's work in anybody's ledger. Nickel Blake Stewart broke up a pass against a Southeastern Conference offense. None of them will be on a magazine cover this week. All three of them will remember the day they were first trusted.

Coaches spend all week saying nothing, and every so often one of them gets the whole truth into two words.

But you don't get to empty the bench unless somebody fills the scoreboard first. The final was 41-13. Georgia's defense forced four turnovers, and the offense turned them into 17 points. It held Oklahoma to 1.9 yards a carry on 35 rushes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and linebacker Raylen Wilson made 11 tackles, a sack among them, and forced one of the fumbles. That made four straight games of 40 points or more to open a season, and the 219 points are Georgia's most after four games since 1910. The freshmen were playing with house money.

The house may be less generous Saturday. Vanderbilt comes to Athens at 3-1 for a 12:45 kickoff on the SEC Network, and Smart told reporters the Commodores are "a physical football team, made in the same mold with a defensive coach as us." He called Clark Lea "one of the best voices in our room," and when a coach praises the other fellow that warmly, he usually means it and he's usually worried. Smart also said the improved turnover ratio is "probably the biggest difference" in the 4-0 start. Turnovers built that lead. If there aren't any Saturday, the freshmen will be watching.

And somebody down in Gainesville has been paying attention. Florida, ranked 21st, beat fourth-ranked Ole Miss 52-28 in front of a sellout crowd. Jadan Baugh ran 29 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns. It was the Gators' highest-ranked win in 11 years, and they jumped to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, their highest ranking since 2020. Georgia people have spent a good while treating Florida as a nuisance rather than a rival. An unbeaten Florida ranked eighth in the country ends that. The Gators have finally given everybody in Athens something to worry about.

The Notebook

• CIRCLE THE DATE: The SEC has put Georgia at Alabama on Oct. 10 in Tuscaloosa, 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Saturday Down South called it the league's biggest heavyweight matchup.
• THE BACKUP DELIVERS: After Dante Moore went down on a targeting hit, Oregon backup Dylan Raiola went 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and the 20th-ranked Ducks won 41-27 at No. 12 USC, NBC Sports reported.
• DEACONS BLOCK THE DOOR: Wake Forest came in a two-score underdog and beat No. 16 Louisville 30-27, holding a run game that had averaged 229 yards a game to 75. Gabe Kirschke blocked a 57-yard try with 15 seconds left.

Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.

Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.