Stetson Bennett is still struggling to find his rhythm passing, but the walk-on can still run.

A dominant defensive performance, an effective running game and a 64-yard touchdown run by the super senior quarterback gave Georgia a dominant 42-10 victory over visiting Auburn on Saturday afternoon in the 127th meeting between the teams.

The Bulldogs were looking for a rebound of sorts after back-to-back flat performances in wins over Kent State and Missouri, and they went back to a tried-and-true method that won it a national title a year ago: safe, efficient offense and suffocating defense.

The Georgia defense shut the Tigers out in the 1st half and only allowed its first points following a fumble by Bennett. Bennett’s turnover gave Auburn the ball in the Georgia red zone, but the Tigers gained just 7 yards to the 12-yard line before kicking a field goal for their first points of the game with 11:51 left in the 3rd quarter. Auburn finally reached the end zone with 9:51 left in the game, after Georgia was safely ahead 35-3.

Bennett’s fumble was a rare blemish Saturday for Georgia on a day that its defense allowed just 258 yards and 5 of 17 3rd-down conversions. And while the stat sheet might not show a litany of sacks for the defensive front, the Bulldogs were regularly in the Auburn backfield on 3rd-down plays, forcing Tigers quarterback Robby Ashford out of the pocket and into incompletions.

It was a welcome sight for a defense that had struggled at times over the past 2 weeks.

The offense did just enough, though it still exhibited many of the shortcomings that have plagued it in recent weeks.

Georgia enjoyed a more effective running game, spreading carries between Daijun Edwards, who scored 3 rushing touchdowns, Kenny McIntosh, who ran 1 in, and freshman Branson Robinson, who had 1 run of 23 yards and averaged 8.2 yards per attempt while adding a late 15-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on the victory. The team’s leading rusher this season, Kendall Milton, missed most of the game because of an injury.

After failing to score in the 1st quarter, the Bulldogs finally got on the board with a 1-yard score by McIntosh with 11:42 left in the 2nd. After relying heavily on the pass in the first 5 games of the season — to the tune of over 300 passing yards per game for Bennett — the Bulldogs regained some success on this drive with 6 carries to 1 pass.

On its next possession, Georgia started at the Auburn 31-yard line and moved to the 8 on a drive-opening, 23-yard run by Robinson. Two plays later, Edwards ran it in for a 1-yard score and a 14-0 lead.

Bennett essentially put the game on ice on the first play of the 4th quarter, keeping the ball and running untouched up the middle for a 64-yard score and a 28-3 lead.

Still, the passing game was mostly lost in the 1st half for Georgia. Bennett completed just 7 of 13 passes for 25 yards. He missed on 3 straight attempts downfield near the end of the 2nd quarter, one of which would have gone for a walk-in touchdown to tight end Brock Bowers.

The 2nd half was much more successful, as Bennett finished 22-of-32 for 208 yards to go with his rushing touchdown. Still, he had his fewest yards passing of the season and failed to record a passing touchdown for the 3rd consecutive game.

The win kept Georgia undefeated at 6-0 as it prepares for Vanderbilt next Saturday. Following that game, it will have a bye week before beginning a 4-game, season-defining gauntlet against Florida, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 23 Mississippi State and No. 13 Kentucky.

Auburn, now 3-3, will have another difficult top-10 matchup against Ole Miss next week.