Gunner Stockton leads Georgia to 38-14 win over Vanderbilt – DawgNation

ATHENS — Georgia kept its record perfect, but it wasn’t always pretty in a 38-14 win over Vanderbilt.
The Bulldogs will quickly turn their attention to their next game at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday at No. 7 Alabama, which routed previously unbeaten No. 16 Mississippi State in Starkville, 56-23.
The Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0 SEC) controlled the action in Athens on Saturday despite not getting their vaunted run game going until late, as Gunner Stockton carried the load completing 25-of-32 passes for a season-high 295 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for 22 yards on seven attempts.
“Gunner played outstanding today, we’ve got one of the toughest quarterbacks in the country, smartest quarterbacks in the country,” Kirby Smart said on his SEC Network on-field interview. “Gunner Stockton did an amazing job, offensive staff did an amazing job, a lot of respect to Vanderbilt and how they played with toughness.”
UGA, which averaged 222.2 yards rushing per game and 6.84 yards per attempt entering the game, finished with 34 carries for 176 yards led by Bo Walker’s five carries for 71 yards, 59 of which came on a carry with 1:12 left before the Bulldogs finished the game kneeling on the ball at Commodores’ 12-yard line.
Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2) countered Stockton with surprise starter Blaze Berlowitz, who got the nod at quarterback instead of celebrated freshman Jared Curtis, who appeared on the SEC injury report this week with a bruised knee.
Curtis, the highest-rated recruit in the Commodores’ school history and a former Georgia commitment, was still expected to start on Friday, per an SEC Network report, but was “not ready to play physically,” during warm-ups, according to Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea.
“Listen, the kid is crushed. Obviously, this was an important game to him.”
Berlowitz, a senior transfer from New Mexico State who backed up Diego Pavia the past two seasons, was 12-of-23 passing for 190 yards with an interception and touchdown and rushed for 37 yards on eight carries.
The Commodores became the first team to score on the Georgia defense in the first quarter of a game this season.
Vanderbilt had a seven-play, 95-yard drive capped by Berlowitz’s 60-yard TD pass to Junior Sherrill with 12 seconds left in the opening quarter after UGA had outscored opponents 63-0 in the first quarter of games.
“When do we ever see Georgia allow touchdown drives of 95 yards and 75 yards?” SEC Network host Chris Doering noted at halftime.
Smart, who has won 53 consecutive games against unranked opponents — the longest active streak in the FBS ranks — tipped his cap to the Commodores during his halftime interview.
“They’re doing a really good job keeping us off-balance, they are converting third downs, they are 5-for-9 on third downs,” Smart said. “They’re running the ball effectively they are doing a good job formation-wise.”
Vanderbilt returns to action with a 3:30 p.m. home game against No. 9 Ole Miss, which was idle on Saturday.

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