ATHENS, Ga. — After a weather delay that turned halftime Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium into a two-hour break, the fourth-ranked Georgia football team had to work to put away Austin Peay in the Bulldogs’ final game before the start of SEC play.

Running backs Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier rushed for a pair of touchdowns each to help lift Georgia to a 28-6 win over the Governors, an FCS program from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Frazier’s second score, a 1-yarder with 5:39 to go in the game, helped seal the 33rd straight win on Dooley Field, extending the longest active streak in the FBS and the longest streak in program history.

The Bulldogs were denied by Austin Peay at the 1-yard line on five straight plays to end the first half, keeping the score 14-3. Late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, Georgia’s defense denied the Governors on a long series of plays inside the 10, keeping the Bulldog lead at 21-6. Georgia then tied a school record with a 99-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Frazier’s 1-yard rush.

The kickoff for Saturday’s game was moved up an hour to 2:30 p.m. due to thunderstorms that were expected to pass through Athens later in the afternoon. Those storms arrived in the region as the first half was ending. Per SEC rules, play was halted for 30 minutes whenever there was a lightning strike within eight miles of the stadium — and the clock reset after each subsequent strike. That turned halftime into the length of a feature film.

The Bulldogs (2-0) finished with a 421-196 advantage in total offense, with 231 coming through the air and 190 on the ground. But a pair of fumbles cut short promising drives and kept the game in reach for the Governors (1-1). Quarterback Gunner Stockton was 26 of 34 passing for 227 yards, and Georgia’s rushing trio of Frazier, Bowens and Dwight Phillips, Jr., combined for 180 yards on 32 carries. Wideout Colbie Young had a game-high seven catches for 76 yards.

Georgia committed its first turnover of the season on its opening drive, a Frazier fumble near midfield that Peay cornerback Ellis Ellis, Jr., recovered. The Bulldog defense quickly forced a punt, so no harm was done, and the Georgia offense got right back to work on its second drive.

Bowens began the possession with a 10-yard rush and ended it with a two-yard touchdown run. It was the first career touchdown for Bowens, a sophomore who had five carries for 24 yards on the 10-play drive that gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.

On third down of the ensuing Peay drive, Georgia linebacker Chris Cole got the sophomore’s first career sack, and the Bulldogs’ first sack of the season, for a loss of eight yards. After a nine-yard punt return by Zachariah Branch gave the Bulldogs the ball back at their 44-yard line, the offense gave the ball to Frazier for three straight plays, then Stockton hit wide receiver Talyn Taylor for a 19-yard gain. Later, on second down at the 2, Frazier ran the ball in for his first touchdown of the season and a 14-0 lead with 13:50 to go in the half. 

The Governors put together an eight-play drive, highlighted by a 26-yard completion to the right side, and connected on a 44-yard field goal by Carson Smith to cut the lead to 14-3 with 9:08 remaining. Georgia punted for the first time on its next drive, with Brett Thorson making his first boot of the season after returning from a knee injury, and then the Bulldog defense got its first takeaway.

Cornerback Ellis Robinson IV intercepted a tipped pass at the Peay 39, giving the offense great field position with 5:34 to play in the half. But the Governors’ defense sent the Bulldogs backward, and Thorson was soon back on the field, this time pooching a punt that Cash Jones downed at the 4-yard line with 3:08 to go.

Georgia’s defense got a quick stop, and the Bulldogs got the ball back at their 45 with 1:27 on the clock. Stockton led the offense quickly down the field, and on first-and-goal at the 1 with 33 seconds remaining, Georgia later ran five plays from the 1 but was unable to get into the end zone. At the break, the Bulldogs had a 230-80 advantage in total offense but only a 14-3 lead.

That break wound up being much longer than anticipated, but after the two-hour delay, Georgia came out and immediately got a defensive stop, and then the offense drove 60 yards for a touchdown. After completions from Stockton to Young and runs by Frazier moved the ball down to the Govs’ 23, Bowens ran for nine yards to the 14, and then ran the ball in for a 21-3 lead with 10:54 left in the third.

Georgia’s next possession ended with a fumble by wideout London Humphreys, this one also forced by Wiley, after an eight-yard reception. The Govs turned that into a 43-yard field goal, making it 21-6 with 5:51 to go in the third. After the Bulldogs’ big defensive stop inside the 10 late in the third and early in the fourth, Georgia went 99 yards to put the game away on Frazier’s score. Linebackers CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson led the defense with seven tackles each.

The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to next Saturday’s SEC opener at No. 22 Tennessee. Georgia has won eight in a row against the Vols, including its last four games in Knoxville.