Did UGA Do Enough? Grading Georgia Football's win over Vanderbilt – Sports Illustrated

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the Vanderbilt Commodores in what was sort of a slow-burn victory in Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The final score was 38-14. 
Kirby Smart was in a noticeably calmer mood than he was in any other postgame press this season. There was no snapping at reporters or big time coaches when answering questions. He was pleased with the way the Dawgs fought. 
It seems like he was happy that it wasn’t easy for Georgia against Vanderbilt. The Dawgs were only up by a touchdown at halftime. Let’s break down all three phases of the game for Georgia in the win and hand out some grades. 
I can’t give it higher than a B. Georgia did not run the ball well. The majority of the running production came in the fourth quarter when the Dawgs were trying to run the clock out. You can look at it from the lens of that being a part of the game and that they were able to close. 
But, 54 rushing yards through three quarters is not good enough and that is not Georgia’s standard. Bo Walker’s 59-yard garbage time run when Georgia was trying to run the clock out really inflated the numbers as well. The Dawgs finished with 176 yards on the ground.
The passing game was a bright spot. Gunner Stockton played the best he has all year and made several impressive throws. He threw for three touchdowns and almost 300 yards on a very nice 78% completion rate that was hurt by a couple of dropped passes.
Even an average running game for Georgia through the majority of the game would have helped earn the squad a higher grade. Plus, this is the first time this season that Georgia didn’t reach the 40-point mark. 
This was tough, because it was certainly a tale of two halves for Georgia’s defense. Blaze Berlowitz was slinging the ball to Junior Sherrill all over the Dawgs’ secondary in the first half. Vanderbilt kept the game tight with two first half touchdowns.
Then they completely turned it around. Georgia shut out the Commodores in the second half. The finesse has teetered off toward the fourth quarter this season for the Dawgs, but this was a complete second half that included a forced turnover by way of a very impressive Ellis Robinson IV interception. 
Georgia finished with just two sacks and tackles for loss, which are not great numbers, but the pressure on the quarterback was fairly consistent, and the run game was held in check for the most part. 
This was a game that I predicted a possible shut out. That didn’t happen, but the adjustment showed that it very well could for Georgia at some point this season. 
Peyton Woodring made all five of his extra point attempts, extending his streak to 206 consecutive makes. He also knocked in his sole field goal attempt from 39 yards out. He did his job, per usual.
This grade is helped by a blocked field goal. Jordan Hall got his hands on a 58-yard field goal attempt from Vanderbilt’s kicker in the second quarter. Again, Georgia made an impactful special teams play, which Smart was very proud of.
“So, so proud. He played with so much effort. He's one of our inspiration leaders. It matters to him. He cares. Uh, you know, chose to come here from out of state, and he plays really hard and competes really hard. So happy he got his, his finger on that,” Smart said. 
Drew Miller only averaging 44 yards per punt was the only thing holding the special teams back from getting an A+. He has had games where he has averaged over 50 yards per kick and pinned offenses close to their own goal line. 
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Ryan Kerley began his journalism career in the throws of COVID in 2020 – complicating the start of his career in the space. A year later Kerley reported from Athens to Miami to Indianapolis as the Bulldogs won the program's first national title since 1980. Kerley has covered SEC Championships, Peach Bowls, Orange Bowls, Sugar Bowls and College Football Playoff National Championship Games. In addition to his duties at Dawg Post, Kerley is an accomplished play-by-play voice for both football and basketball. Kerley graduated from the University of Georgia in 2024 with a degree in Journalism. Kerley is a native of Cleveland, Georgia.
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