With the 24-14 victory over Vanderbilt, Georgia stayed near the top of the SEC East and took down a potential competitor in the process. As Georgia held a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Bulldog head coach Mark Richt told his team what was at stake. “I basically just said, we’ve got 15 minutes and there is a lot on the line,” Richt said. “I wanted to remind them of the Eastern Division race and how crucial this game was.”
Georgia, which improved to 6-1 overall and 3- 1 in the SEC with the win, came out very aggressive, challenging the talented Vanderbilt secondary early and often. On Georgia’s second possession, Matthew Stafford connected with A.J. Green for a 49-yard completion to put the Bulldogs at the Commodores’ 17-yard line. Two plays later, Stafford again found Green, this time for a 17-yard touchdown as the quarterback zipped the ball by the outstretched hands of Vanderbilt cornerback D.J. Moore. “We knew A.J.’s a good deep threat and we had a chance to hit him on a couple of plays and he made some good catches,” Stafford said.
Green also victimized Moore with a 33-yard reception from Stafford in the third quarter. That hook-up set up a Knowshon Moreno 11-yard touchdown run. Moreno appeared to have rushed for another spectacular touchdown on the previous play, but his knee was down and the score was overturned. Moreno rushed for a season-high 172 yards on 23 carries and Green led Georgia with seven catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. “We were just going to do whatever worked,” Moreno said. “We were able to throw the ball well today and run, so that’s what we did.”
For their part, Vanderbilt did not shy away from the Georgia secondary, going after the Bulldogs with mixed results. Free safety Reshad Jones got an interception in the first quarter after a Mackenzi Adams pass was tipped by strong safety CJ Byrd, and Sam linebacker Darius Dewberry also picked off an Adams pass and nearly had another one. Adams completed 16 of his 32 passes on the day for 132 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. “I saw [the ball] in the air and I knew it was my time to make that play,” Jones said. “I just broke on it.”
However, as was the case in their previous two meetings with the Bulldogs, Vanderbilt refused to back down to favored Georgia as the Commodores’ secondary intercepted Matthew Stafford twice as well. Moore recovered after being beaten by Massaquoi to corral an underthrown Stafford ball in the first quarter and a Myron Lewis interception of Stafford in the third quarter led to an Adams 8-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Graham, as Vanderbilt cut Georgia’s lead to 21-14. Georgia defensive backs ended the game with three pass interference calls that aided Vanderbilt’s passing game. “It’s like that sometimes,” said Bulldog cornerback Asher Allen. “Obviously [pass interference] is an opinionated call. We just have to play and keep playing aggressively.”
But this time the Bulldogs defended their home turf, erasing the bitter taste of defeat from two years ago when the Commodores defeated Georgia on homecoming and handing Vanderbilt (5-2, 3-2) its second conference loss. The Bulldogs iced the game with a 40-yard Blair Walsh field goal with :17 remaining. Walsh was 1-for-3 on the day, missing his first two from under 50 yards. “I guess he’s proved he’s human,” Richt said.
Caleb King added 40 yards on 11 carries and the Bulldogs’ offensive line did not allow a sack for the second game in a row. Stafford finished the day completing 13-of-23 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and the two interceptions. “Matthew’s part of the reason for no sacks. He’s done a pretty good job of getting rid of [the ball] on time,” Richt said. “The line is playing good, [but] we’re still having our ups and downs a little.”
The Bulldogs outgained Vanderbilt 425 yards to 245, but were only 1-for-8 on third downs.
Georgia now will get set for a five-game stretch that will keep them away from Sanford Stadium until the regular season finale against Georgia Tech on Nov. 29. “It’s going to be a heck of a stretch. It’s going to be a heck of a run,” Stafford said. “We’ve got some teams that are very capable of beating us. We’ve just got to keep working hard and we will see what happens.”
That run starts next Saturday at LSU and will see the Bulldogs meet Florida in Jacksonville a week later. As of now, the Gators and Georgia are now the only one-loss teams in the SEC East.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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