It’s not often that you can blast an opponent 51-14 and still be far from satisfied.

That Georgia coaches, players and fans alike probably feel as much to varying degrees following Saturday’s weather-shortened season opener “between the hedges” against overmatched Louisiana-Monroe speaks to the great promise and lofty expectations surrounding the Bulldogs this year.

The Dawgs were very impressive, but there’s plenty room for the kind of improvement they’ll need if they hope to reach the heights of which they’ve dreamed.

Here’s a closer look back at Saturday’s victory.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

  1. Georgia’s stable of quality tailbacks will pay big dividends this year: Nick Chubb did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances, totaling 120 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries for his ninth consecutive game of at least 100 yards rushing. But Sony Michel and a revitalized Keith Marshall were both effective as well as the Bulldogs chewed up 243 yards on the ground to wear down the Warhawks defense. Michel added a 31-yard scoring reception from quarterback Brice Ramsey, while Marshall tallied two touchdowns for his first rushing scores since the 2013 Clemson game.
  2. QB Bryson Lambert consistently made good decisions: The Virginia graduate transfer was impressive in his Georgia debut, completing 8 of 12 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he made good decisions all afternoon and avoided the ill-timed mistakes that had plagued him in Charlottesville. Lambert will start again at Vanderbilt next week and could be the Bulldogs’ permanent starter with another strong performance like this one.
  3. Special teams played a huge role in the victory: The Dawgs blocked two punts in a game for the fifth time in school history and nearly got a third to directly lead to two touchdowns and a safety. Senior punter Collin Barber was brilliant, dropping two punts inside the 20-yard line while averaging nearly 44 yards per kick. Barber also handled kickoff chores, sending four of his six into the end zone for touchbacks that kept ULM pinned deep inside its own territory. Kicker Marshall Morgan was good on all seven PATs to match a school record.
  4. Georgia’s defensive front seven is as good as advertised: Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Lorenzo Carter again proved there was more to them than just hype. Floyd tied safety Quincy Mauger with a team-high eight tackles and added 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack to limit the Warhawks to 251 yards of total offense on 55 plays. Jenkins recorded a sack to go along with seven stops, while Carter blocked one punt and nearly had another.
  5. We still won’t know more about Georgia after next week: The Dawgs will be traveling to Nashville for their SEC opener against Vanderbilt, but are unlikely to get much of a test from a struggling Commodores team that managed all of 12 points in Thursday’s home loss to Western Kentucky. The Sept. 19 date with visiting South Carolina will be the most telling game yet.

REPORT CARD

Offense: B+ — Georgia racked up 435 yards of total offense, including 243 on the ground, and consistently kept the chains moving by converting on 5 of 9 third-down attempts. More importantly, the Dogs managed all this without committing a turnover. But this is what one would have expected against an inferior Sun Belt Conference opponent.

Defense: B- — The Bulldogs yielded just 251 yards of total offense, but no doubt drew the ire of their coaches after seemingly losing their focus and allowing ULM to score on consecutive possessions midway through the game.

Special teams: A+ — It’s hard to envision how Georgia’s special teams could play much better after registering two blocked punts and nearly getting one-third to directly lead to points for the Dawgs. Senior Collin Barber was spectacular as both the punter and kickoff man to help his team dominate the critical field position battle. Reggie Davis fared well as a return man in place of Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring), averaging better than 12 yards per punt return and 20 yards per kickoff return.

Coaching: B- — Perhaps worried about asking too much of Lambert, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was extremely conservative at the game’s outset, but appeared to gain more confidence in his quarterback as the game wore on. There was never much of a consistent vertical passing game, but it’s understandable when you boast the stable of quality running backs like Georgia has. The Dawgs lost their focus midway through the game, but appeared back on track after the first weather stoppage to end the game on a strong note.

Overall: B — The bottom line is that Georgia handled its business and did what it was supposed to do while escaping without any major injuries. It’s hard to gauge any more than that from an opponent as hopelessly overmatched as ULM was.

GAME PLAN

  • The decision to slowly work in quarterback Greyson Lambert was the correct one and Georgia coaches savored the results. Lambert’s decision-making at Virginia had been suspect, but he appeared very poised and fully in control during his Georgia debut. Having a powerful running game behind him seemed to only boost his confidence and increase his accuracy. It didn’t hurt that a dominant offensive line kept Lambert clean and upright all day.
  • Georgia’s running back-by-committee approach wore down the Warhawks, but they will hardly be alone in that category for the year is over. Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall are all future pros and they collectively are going to beat down a lot of opposing defenses.
  • A powerful running game perfectly set up the play-action game as ULM paid the price for over-focusing on Chubb and the rest of the backfield. Sophomore tight end Jeb Blazevich was the biggest beneficiary, hauling in Lambert’s first touchdown pass as a Bulldog when they hooked up from 15 yards out in the first quarter to put the hosts ahead, 14-0.
  • Depth was a contributing factor as Georgia played 23 newcomers for the first time, including 19 true freshmen. The total represented the highest number of true freshman to play in a season opener in the 15 years coach Mark Richt has been in Athens. The previous high came in 2012 when 13 true freshmen who saw action against Buffalo.

GAME BALLS

  • RB Nick Chubb: Totaled 120 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries and has now eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in nine consecutive games. Chubb is already one of the nation’s elite backs, but just seems to be getting better each week.
  • QB Greyson Lambert: From the outhouse to the penthouse. A year ago, he was starting for one of the worst teams in the ACC in Virginia, but he’s now the trigger man for a talented Georgia team that looks to contend for the SEC title and beyond. Lambert looked good in competing eight of 12 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he did so without making any egregious mistakes.
  • RB Keith Marshall: The return to previous form by Marshall was the day’s feel-good story. A torn ACL in 2013 and various ailments from last year have curtailed what could have been a special career, but Marshall showed he’s not through yet by a longshot with his 73 yards on 10 carries. His two touchdowns on the day were his first rushing ones in nearly two years and got the Georgia faithful applauding in appreciation.

INJURY UPDATE

  • WR/KR/PR Isaiah McKenzie played sparingly at receiver and did not return kicks as he continues to mend from a hamstring injury.
  • ILB Reggie Carter did not play because of a shoulder injury, but is expected to return against Vanderbilt this coming week.