Vanderbilt left Athens with the same feeling it’s had too often lately: a game that started with some hope and ended with the other team pulling away. The Commodores fell to No. 2 Georgia, 38-14, on the road, dropping to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in SEC play.
For a half, Vanderbilt made it look like this one might stay interesting. The Commodores were down just 21-14 at the break after hanging around and trading enough punches to stay within a score. Then Georgia shut the door in the second half, outscoring Vanderbilt 17-0 and taking control the way top teams usually do.
Still, not everything in this one was bleak for Vanderbilt. A few players helped themselves, while others left with plenty to clean up as the season moves into its midpoint.
Backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz deserves real credit for keeping the Commodores from spiraling early. Once five-star freshman Jared Curtis was ruled out, it would have been easy to assume the offense might unravel fast. Instead, Berlowitz steadied things.
He didn’t force the issue, and he mostly protected the ball until an interception late in the second half. He also kept Vanderbilt in the fight with a touchdown pass to Junior Sherrill, a well-placed throw even with Sherrill open down the sideline. Berlowitz finished 12-for-23 for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he added 37 rushing yards on eight carries, including a couple of useful scrambles.
It wasn’t a headline-grabbing performance, but it was enough to give Vanderbilt a shot for a while. That alone mattered.
His future role is less clear. If Curtis is back next week, Berlowitz probably won’t be starting again this season.
Even so, there may still be a place for him at wide receiver. However it shakes out over the final seven games, Berlowitz clearly wants to contribute wherever he can.
Ja’Cory Thomas also made a case for more involvement. His final line was modest - two catches for 43 yards - but it was still his best yardage day in a Vanderbilt uniform. More important, he was noticeably more active than he has been in any other game this season.
He nearly added a third catch on a sideline shot for a big gain, but that play was wiped out by pass interference. After the game, Clark Lea said he could feel Thomas’ activity and made it clear he believed it was Thomas’ best outing of the season.
That matters because Vanderbilt needs another receiver to step up alongside Junior Sherrill. Thomas gave the offense something to build on, and that’s why his stock is up.
The offensive line also held up better than many might have expected against Georgia’s front. Vanderbilt was able to generate some push in the first half, and despite trailing, it actually finished with more first-half yards than the Bulldogs. Berlowitz also had decent protection in the passing game before halftime.
The second half was a different story in part because Georgia kept the ball and kept scoring. Vanderbilt ran only 16 plays after halftime, and that had plenty to do with the flow of the game.
But the bigger issue was execution. Even so, the offensive line did enough to count Saturday as a step in the right direction.
Special teams, on the other hand, had a rougher afternoon. Tyler Ebel punted four times and totaled 157 punt yards, with a long of 61 yards and an average of 39.3. Take out that longest kick, and the average drops to 32 yards per punt, which is not what special teams coordinator Jeff LePak wants to see.
There was also a blocked 58-yard field goal attempt from Brock Taylor. Compared with last week, the unit avoided the kind of costly breakdowns that can swing a game, but the punting issues remain something to watch.
Cole Adams had a quiet day that Vanderbilt cannot really afford from one of its portal additions. The former Alabama receiver had no catches and no targets against Georgia, leaving him stuck on three receptions for 32 yards this season. Those three catches all came between the NC State and Auburn games, which means this was his third game without a reception.
With Vanderbilt needing more production from anyone outside Sherrill, Adams has to give the offense more going forward.
The pass defense took a hit, too, and in more than one way. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton had his best game of the season, completing 25 of 32 passes for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Vanderbilt let him operate with too much comfort, and at times Georgia’s receivers simply won contested balls. More often, though, the issue was the coverage itself.
Georgia was able to spread the field and attack the secondary however it wanted. The numbers behind the corners and safeties tell the same story: Cayden Daniels led all cornerbacks with four tackles, Martel Hight had three, and Jordan Matthews finished with two. That kind of production is too light against a top opponent.
Vanderbilt will keep seeing quarterbacks who can stress the defense, starting next week against Ole Miss and Trinidad Chambliss. That makes the next outing a big chance to respond. It also means the pass defense could be under the same kind of pressure again if the problems don’t get fixed fast.
In Other News...
Vanderbilts Arkansas Slot Just Raised The Stakes For Bowl Hopes
Vanderbilts upcoming stretch now has a little more definition, and a little more pressure, after the SEC announced kickoff details for several key late-season dates. The road trip to Arkansas on Oct. 17 is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2, giving the Commodores another prime-time chance to shape a season that still has bowl implications attached to it. The latest schedule update also places Vanderbilt in night-game windows for Kentucky and Tennessee, while the Mississippi State matchup remains a flex game with its start time still to be determined.
Before any of that, though, Vanderbilt has a major test in front of it at home against No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The timing matters because every one of these remaining games carries weight for a program trying to keep its postseason path alive, and the Arkansas date in particular now looks like a spotlight opportunity rather than just another entry on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Now Faces A Much Different Ole Miss Offense
Ole Miss should get a familiar boost back in the backfield this week, with running back Kewan Lacy expected to return against Vanderbilt after missing two games with an injury. Coach Pete Golding said Lacy used the bye week to rest and has already gotten back on the practice field, though only in limited contact, a sign the Rebels are easing him back into the mix rather than rushing the process.
For Vanderbilt, the timing matters. Ole Miss looked less dynamic on the ground without Lacy, and his return gives the Rebels a more complete offense heading into Week 6. Even with the injury layoff, his presence changes how the Commodores have to prepare, because the running game figures to look a lot different than it did over the last two games. [Read more 🡒]