ATHENS - Georgia got the win it needed, but Vanderbilt left enough behind for Kirby Smart to spend the week digging into the tape.
The No. 2 Bulldogs finished strong for a 38-14 victory, scoring the last 17 points after Vanderbilt had managed to keep things close enough to make it a one-score game at halftime. For Clark Lea, that first half offered real proof that his team could hang around with Georgia for stretches, even if the final margin eventually widened.
“We were able to play within a possession there, at the half,” Lea said. “I thought we needed a stop coming out, it was a third-and-5 (pass) that got deflected and fell into the hands of their tight end (Lawson Luckie), obviously that was a big moment.”
That play flipped the afternoon. Georgia turned the deflection into a 43-yard gain for Luckie, then found the end zone six plays later to push the lead to 28-14. Lea pointed to that sequence as a turning point, but he also said the Commodores had another chance to change the story and let it slip.
“I was proud of the way our defense fought for every blade of grass to finish that drive, obviously it ended in a touchdown,” Lea said.
Then came the next shot at momentum: a fourth-and-2 at the Georgia 40 on Vanderbilt’s following possession. The Commodores didn’t get it.
“We failed to convert on the fourth down,” Lea said, “and that was that.”
Even in defeat, Lea saw signs his team held up better than it had in some of the same trenches. Vanderbilt finished with 293 total yards, Blaze Berlowtiz was sacked only twice, and the Commodores turned it over just once, on an interception. They also converted 5 of 12 third downs.
“It felt like we protected better today, it felt like there was a little more space in the pocket,” Lea sad, “it felt like the run game was able to get going, I think that’s a really good defensive front.”
He doubled down on that point afterward.
“It just felt like there was cleaner play today up front,” Lea said. “That’s a really good defensive front and it felt as though we were holding up in protection and we were creating space for the running backs.”
Georgia did get sacks from Gabe Harris and Justin Williams, but Vanderbilt’s offense was at least able to keep the pressure from becoming a full-blown collapse.
For Smart, the afternoon brought a different kind of value. Georgia had to answer some questions, and with a 7:30 p.m. game at Alabama coming Saturday, the staff will have plenty to sort through.
“There a lot of things we can do to improve,” Smart said. “At the end of the day, you know, you’ve got to have an identity on third down, and they did a good job executing on third down.”
Smart also said the conditions mattered as the day wore on.
“The heat took its toll on them, we were able to stay fresh on defense,” Smart said.
He gave credit to his offensive line, too, while noting how Vanderbilt tried to create problems with unusual looks and pressure.
“I thought our offensive line played really well today. Vanderbilt presents a lot of problems defensively and they brought some guys in unorthodox positions.
They had some timely pressure calls. We took advantage of those and Stockton didn’t make, you know, the catastrophic mistake.”
Georgia’s run game did most of its damage late, with 122 of its 176 rushing yards coming in the final score. Smart said the Bulldogs needed exactly the kind of fight they got.
“We really needed this kind of game - tough, physical, hard fought,” Smart said. “Punch, punch back, punch, punch back because that’s how you play in the SEC, so I was proud of our guys for that.
“Probably played the most complete game we’ve played so far in terms of all the way around and responded well in the second half.”
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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 🡒]
Georgia May Be Catching The Worst Possible Version Of Alabama
Alabamas offense has been looking more like the force Georgia expected to see all along, and Keelon Russell is a big reason why. Against Mississippi State, he threw three touchdown passes, added a score on the ground and finished with 301 total yards in a 56-23 win, continuing a stretch that has turned him into one of the most dangerous players in the country.
For Georgia, the timing is what makes this so tricky. Russell has piled up 970 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions over his last three games against Power 4 competition, and he is now the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy at FanDuel Sportsbook. If that version of Alabama shows up, the Bulldogs may be facing far more than just a familiar rivalry game. [Read more 🡒]