Georgia is still unbeaten, but Saturday’s 38-14 win over Vanderbilt gave the Bulldogs something they haven’t had to deal with much this season: real questions.
For the first time this year, Georgia didn’t roll to a victory by at least 28 points. A 24-point SEC win is nothing to shrug at, but for a program that lives with massive expectations, the performance still left room for concern. That’s especially true with Alabama waiting next week on the road.
The biggest issue is Georgia’s health in the backfield. Nate Frazier was back on the field against Vanderbilt after missing last week’s game against Oklahoma, but he was hardly featured, finishing with just two carries for nine yards. Even so, that small workload suggests he may be moving closer to his usual role at the right time.
That matters because Chauncey Bowens also got up slow and limped to the locker room after the final play of the first half against Vanderbilt. Georgia can’t afford to be thin there, and right now Frazier looks more important than ever. If the Bulldogs are going to have their best shot at Alabama, they need him in the lineup and ready to handle a normal load.
There’s also the matter of the defense, which had a rough opening half by Georgia standards. The Bulldogs gave up too many easy wins to Vanderbilt, including comeback routes that repeatedly found space in the secondary. They also piled up missed tackles, committed costly penalties and struggled to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback.
The low point came on a 60-yard touchdown, the longest play Georgia has allowed all season. The defense did settle in after halftime and posted a shutout in the second half, but the first-half lapses were the kind that can get exposed in a much bigger game.
That bigger game comes fast. Georgia heads to Alabama next, and the Crimson Tide are just as hot after a 56-23 win at previously undefeated Mississippi State. Alabama will also be chasing revenge after Georgia beat them in last year’s SEC Championship game.
It’s a matchup with major weight in the SEC race and the College Football Playoff picture. The winner will have the clearer path to Atlanta and a strong playoff position. The loser won’t be out of the mix, but the road gets much steeper from there.
Georgia is 5-0 and exactly where it wants to be in the standings. But Saturday showed that the Bulldogs have some tightening up to do before facing Alabama. Kirby Smart has a week to get them there.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Seemed To Send A Message In Georgias Vanderbilt Win
Jared Curtis did not suit up in Vanderbilts recent meeting with Georgia after the quarterback, who had flipped his commitment from the Bulldogs to the Commodores last year, was injured. Georgia handled the game the way a team trying to stay in the thick of the national title race needed to, while Vanderbilt came away with its season outlook looking far less secure than the one in Athens.
Afterward, Curtis made his way toward Kirby Smart, setting up a moment that drew attention for what happened as much as what did not. Smarts body language suggested he was not eager to linger, and the interaction felt like the sort of understated sideline scene that can say plenty without anyone having to say much at all. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Left Vanderbilt With Two Concerns Alabama Will Test
Georgia left Nashville with a win and a cleaner record, but not a clean bill of health on the details that usually travel with them into bigger games. The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 38-14 to move to 5-0, and Carson Beck turned in another efficient day by completing 25 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Even so, the outing had the kind of uneven stretches Georgia cannot ignore when the schedule sharpens, especially with the ground game not finding much rhythm.
The defense also had its lapses, most notably on third downs, and Alabama is the sort of opponent that tends to expose those cracks quickly. Georgia did settle in after halftime and looked more like itself down the stretch, but next weekend brings a far sterner test of whether those second-half corrections can carry over. For a team that has mostly handled business through September, the trip to face Alabama now feels less like a checkpoint and more like a revealing exam. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Already Pressing Georgia On One Concern Before Alabama
Vanderbilt kept things interesting for a half before Georgia pulled away for a 38-14 win, scoring the final 17 points to close it out. Clark Lea had reasons to point to some progress on the Commodores side, especially in protection and the run game, while Kirby Smart came away talking about the kind of things he likes to see from his own team this time of year: conditioning, execution and the steadier finish that can matter when the schedule tightens.
Smarts focus now turns quickly to Alabama, and it sounds like he is already sharpening one concern before that matchup arrives. Even after a comfortable win, Georgia is still looking to clean up areas that can become costly against a better opponent, and Smart did not hide that there is more work to do before the next test. [Read more 🡒]