The 2025 college football season started off with a bang for Georgia football. Facing off against the unranked Marshall Thundering Herd, the Bulldogs flexed their might. Their 45-7 win saw the team pull away from the get-go, leading 24-0 at the end of the first half. It was a dominant win for fifth-ranked team in the nation.
After the game, reporter Alison Mastrangelo pointed out that the attendance for Georgia's home opener seemed to taper off in the second half. Head coach Kirby Smart had a vague yet fascinating reply to Mastrangelo's report, saying, “You said it, I didn't.”
I asked Kirby Smart was his thoughts were on fan attendance I said it looked pretty sparse in the second half.
He said “you said it, I didn’t.” #godawgs pic.twitter.com/4xzXCk8v2H— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) August 30, 2025
The official announced attendance count for Georgia vs. Marshall was at 93,033. For context, that's the same as their average attendance through six home games last season. Despite that count, fans noticed that the number of attendees seemed to lessen by the second half. That could perhaps be explained by the fact that Georgia was playing an unranked team and they held a comfortable lead by the end of the first half. Feeling like the game was in the books, fans likely made the business decision to head home early.
First-time starter Gunner Stockton had a great debut for Georgia against Marshall. The junior quarterback completed 14 of his 24 attempts for 190 yards on the day. He also added 73 yards on the run, showing off his ability as a potential dual-threat option at QB. Transferee Zachariah Branch caught three passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Marshall, the reigning champions of the Sun Belt conference, were held to just seven first downs and 207 total yards, struggling heavily against Georgia's vaunted defense. Running back Ja'Shon Barbie scored the Thundering Herd's only touchdown in the waning moments of the game.
Georgia will face off against another unranked team in Austin Peay next week. Following that, they will match up against their first nationally-ranked opponent when they take on 24th-rankedd Tennessee on the road. Their first home game against a ranked team will be against rivals Alabama (eight in preseason rankings) in Week 4.
