Nicholls St. vs. Georgia 2016 final score: 3 things we learned in Bulldogs’ 26-24 win

The No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs narrowly avoided a major upset with a 26-24 win over Nicholls State in Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason made his first career start for the ‘Dawgs and it couldn’t have started any better. On UGA’s first drive, Eason completed his first two passes for a combined 48 yards. Star running back Nick Chubb finished off the drive with a six-yard touchdown scamper.

Then, everything went downhill.

Georgia’s offense stalled and the Colonels took a 14-13 third quarter lead before the Bulldogs rallied to score a pair of touchdowns and take control of this one.

So, what did we learn from this one?

1. Georgia’s offense isn’t quite ready for prime time: Eason had some good moments in this one. The first drive was good and he also hit Isaiah McKenzie for a long touchdown. However, at times he seemed rattled and did throw his first career interception. The great thing for Eason—and Georgia—he gained some valuable experience and fought through adversity.

2. Sony Michel made his debut: Chubb is the star, but fellow junior running back Sony Michel isn’t too bad either. Michel, who missed the opener, saw some time against Nicholls State and failed to make an impact. Michel caught two balls for five yards and ran the ball three times for three yards. Georgia needs both running backs moving forward and getting Michel back in the fold is a good sign for an offense that gained just 373 total yards against an FCS team that won only three games a year ago.

3. A win is a win: It was ugly, uninspiring, boring and pretty much any other negative adjective you want to use, but Georgia won this game. That’s all that matters. The ‘Dawgs won a big one last week and fell asleep a bit at the wheel against a team everyone thought they’d beat by 40 points or more. It’s OK. The students will party tonight and Georgia is still undefeated heading into next week’s SEC opener at Missouri.