DALLAS (FWAA) – The Georgia Bulldogs outlasted Tennessee in overtime Saturday, rolling up more than 500 total yards to remain undefeated on the season and win in SEC opener. Drew Bobo was the stalwart up front at center, guiding an offensive line that plugged some injury holes in its starting lineup and still cranked up multiple rallies in the win, including in overtime. For his efforts, Bobo has earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 13, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the third season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA's weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 21, 2026.
The weekly winners, including Bobo this week, are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Georgia has a recent Outland Trophy winner with defensive tackle Jordan Davis earning the award in 2021, and defensive tackle Bill Stanfill won it in 1968. Jalen Carter (2022) and Andrew Thomas (2019) are recent Outland finalists.
Georgia trailed in overtime 41-38 beginning its first possession. On its first play, Bobo and the line created space for Nate Frazier to break loose for 21 yards and set up first-and-goal. Josh McCray added three more and then speared into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Bobo, a 6-5, 305-pound redshirt junior from Athens, Ga., led the Bulldogs to 502 total yards, 198 of it on the ground. Bobo’s presence up front helped quarterback Gunner Stockton to win his first career road start at Georgia with a career-high 304 passing yards while adding two touchdowns without an interception. He added 13 carries for 38 yards and a score.
The steady protection up front allowed Stockton to complete his most important pass. Late in the fourth quarter facing 4th-and-6 at the Tennessee 28 with Georgia trailing 38-30, Stockton hit a sharp strike to London Humphreys in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, then connected with Zachariah Branch for a two-point conversion, finishing a nine-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game and set up overtime.
Bobo’s line play guided Georgia to a 5-for-5 effort in the red zone, adding three field goals by kicker Peyton Woodring. Stockton is the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Week and Woodring is the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week. Bobo helped set up both for success.
Bobo also gave leadership to true freshman Dontrell Glover, a true freshman who got his first career start at right guard on Saturday. Glover is the third true freshman to start for Georgia this season, including another offensive lineman, Juan Gaston Jr., who started in the opener.
The win gave Georgia a ninth straight win over Tennessee dating to 2017, and Kirby Smart is now 10-0 in SEC openers coaching the Bulldogs.
No. 6 Georgia (3-0) is idle Saturday while preparing for its Sept. 27 clash in Athens against Alabama, a 7:30 p.m. ET primetime viewing on ABC.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are a part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends are not eligible.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 80 years since its founding, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since. Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
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The Greater Omaha Sports Committee, founded in 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, consisting of more than 1,300 men and women from the City of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and others. The Committee serves to communicate, develop, initiate and promote sports activities in the Greater Omaha sports area. In addition to the Outland Trophy Award Events and Dinner, the Greater Omaha Sports Committee promotes high school, college, and professional sports in the Greater Omaha area and the Midwest. For more information contact Bob Mancuso Jr., Chairman at bmancuso@showofficeonline.com or see showofficeonline.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.