No. 2 Georgia facing Vanderbilt in football for first time since 2023 – Chattanooga Times Free Press

Jared Curtis was a five-star prospect who had been committed to Georgia for nearly seven months last year before flipping in early December to Vanderbilt — the hometown Southeastern Conference program for the quarterback who led Nashville Christian to back-to-back TSSAA Division II-AA state titles in the BlueCross Bowl at Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium his final two prep seasons.
He signed with the Commodores the next day.
Nearly 10 months later, Curtis is Vanderbilt’s starter and will take the field with the visiting team Saturday in Athens at Sanford Stadium, which could have been his home field.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart still has high praise for Curtis, who initially committed to the Bulldogs in 2024 before decommitting, recommitting and ultimately flipping to Vanderbilt.
“He has tremendous talent and is way better athletically than people give him credit for. I don’t know if one person has tackled him yet,” Smart said Monday. “He’s strong, he’s quick, he’s powerful, and he’s got great arm talent. Everything that everybody thought has been true.”
Curtis is 63-of-98 passing for 746 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions, having also rushed for 133 yards and two scores through four games and two starts. The Commodores were 3-0 before dropping their SEC opener last week at Auburn, 21-15.
Second-ranked Georgia is 4-0 and coming off back-to-back wins to open SEC play, 45-17 at Arkansas on Sept. 12 and 41-13 at home against Oklahoma last weekend.
The visit by the Sooners, who entered the season ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 but tumbled out of the poll even before facing Georgia, didn’t quite provide the challenge some expected for the Bulldogs, whose high-powered offense didn’t falter despite running back Nate Frazier’s absence.
Georgia outrushed Oklahoma 129-65, a performance spearheaded by Chauncey Bowens and Dwight Phillips Jr. Talyn Taylor led the Bulldogs in receiving with 110 yards and a touchdown, offering a good target for Gunner Stockton, who has completed an SEC-leading 74.3% of his passes while compiling 754 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception, which came against a defense that had been a strength for Oklahoma.
Georgia has scored at least 40 points in each of its first four games for the first time since 2018. The Bulldogs last opened a season with 40-plus points in each of their first five games in 2012.
Georgia’s defense had four takeaways last weekend, including three in the first half. Linebacker Chris Cole recovered two fumbles, returning one of them 85 yards for a touchdown, while KJ Bolden added an interception. The Bulldogs turned the four takeaways into 17 points.
Smart said winning the turnover battle has been a huge part of Georgia’s early success.
“Turnover ratio has been better,” Smart said. “It’s probably the biggest difference. We’ve taken more than we’ve given.”
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea hopes to keep opposing defenses off his quarterback by running the ball better. The Commodores’ per-game average of 132.5 rushing yards ranks 106th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
“That run game is going to be really important to us allowing him to be the best he can be over the course of the season,” Lea said of the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Curtis. “So he’s getting better, we’re getting better around him, and I’m excited for that to show up for us on Saturday.”
Sedrick Alexander leads the Commodores in rushing with 165 yards and three scores. The senior recorded his 24th career touchdown run last week, tying with Marcus Wilson for third on Vanderbilt’s all-time list. However, Alexander was held to 16 rushing yards when Georgia and Vanderbilt most recently met in 2023, a 30-21 victory for the Bulldogs in Nashville.
SEC expansion has made what was once an annual meeting less frequent; the Bulldogs have a 61-20-2 all-time record against Vanderbilt, which includes six straight wins dating to 2017. Vanderbilt’s last victory in the series came in 2016, when the Commodores stunned the Bulldogs 17-16 in Athens. Saturday will mark the the first meeting at Sanford Stadium since 2022.
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