Riding Home: Georgia Gives Vanderbilt Historic Beating
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NASHVILLE - Dean Legge, Matt DeBary and Ryan Kerley talk about the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart‘s 62-0 win over Vanderbilt.
Here are some news and notes from the victory...
Another Shutout By The Defense: Georgia posted its sixth shutout in the Kirby Smart era and the fourth in an SEC game with today’s 62-0 victory. Today marked Georgia’s second biggest margin of victory ever in an SEC game, trailing only a record 75-0 win over Florida in 1942. VU finished with 77 yards on 46 plays. At halftime, VU had 50 yards on 25 plays as the Bulldogs led 38-0. It marked the third time this year that Georgia has blanked a team in the first half. Coming in today, Georgia ranked second in the SEC, allowing just 7.7 points per game. Today was Georgia’s first shutout since blanking Missouri 27-0 in 2019.
Huge Margin Of Victory: The 62-point margin of victory was the largest since 2014 when Georgia blanked Troy 66-0. The Bulldogs have won their last three games by at least 27 points, marking the first time they have done that since the 2017 season when they did it six times.
Pair of Bulldogs With Rushing & Receiving TDs: Freshman TE Brock Bowers had four catches for 69 yards with 2 TD receptions plus one TD on the ground. Bowers’ first career rushing TD was a 12-yarder on his first career carry while his TD catches covered 25 and 29 yards. He is the second Bulldog to have a rushing and receiving TD in the same game this year, joining James Cook who did it versus USC last week. Then, they were joined by redshirt freshman Ladd McConkey who did it as well today in the first half. He notched his first career TD, a 12-yard catch and then his first career rushing TD, a 24-yarder. McConkey ended up with four catches for 62 yards, both career-highs, all coming in the first half. Also, he had two punt returns for 19 yards today.
Quick Strike For Offense and Day For Daniels: In the first quarter, Georgia QB JT Daniels finished 9-for-10 for 121 yards with 2 TDs to help build a 35-0 lead and was done for the day, improving to 7-0 as a starter at UGA. He had a 25-yard TD pass to freshman Brock Bowers on third down and eight. His lone incompletion was a drop. Georgia’s 35-point outburst in the first quarter was the most points scored in a quarter since tallying 42 in the second quarter against New Mexico State in 2011. Senior QB Stetson Bennett played most of the rest of the game until giving way to Carson Beck. Bennett ended up 11-for-15 for 151 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. The offense tallied 326 yards on 43 plays in the first half and finished the game with 524 yards on 76 plays.
Points Off Turnovers: Georgia scored 14 points off three turnovers while the Commodores got no points off one Bulldog INT. There was a VU fumble on a kickoff forced by Jaylen Johnson, recovered by Daijun Edwards who returned it to the VU 4. Georgia’s Christopher Smith notched his 2nd INT of the year and returned it to the VU 21. Freshman Kamari Lassiter got his first career pick, making a diving catch at the UGA 1.
Special Teams Summary: Senior punter Jake Camarda had two punts for a 35.0 average and handled all but one of the kickoffs. Junior Jack Podlesny was 8-for-8 on PATs to improve to 22-for-22 in PATs this season plus he made two field goals covering 31 and 36 yards and took care of one kickoff. He is 4-for-6 in FG this year.
For Starters & Game Captains: Georgia had one first-time starter today in freshman Kelee Ringo (DB). The captains were senior Jake Camarda (P), junior Nolan Smith (LB) and junior John FitzPatrick (TE). Georgia won the toss and elected to defer the football until the second half.
Series History & Up Next: With the 62-0 win, Georgia now has a 59-20-2 edge in the series history including 28-12-2 in Nashville. Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC) returns to action Saturday at home against Arkansas. Kickoff will be at Noon ET (ESPN).
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