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No. 2 Georgia defeated Vanderbilt 38-14 on its home turf. Vanderbilt entered the contest as heavy underdogs, and had some good moments, especially in the first half, but ultimately were outclassed by one of the best teams in the nation.
Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC) travelled from the “Athens of the South” to the actual town of Athens, Georgia, to take on the Bulldogs of (5-0, 3-0 SEC) on Saturday, Oct. 3.
The conditions for the game were gloomy for the Commodores to begin with — not only was there an 85 percent chance of rain throughout the contest and a daunting (+25.5) spread, but star quarterback Jared Curtis was ruled out minutes before kickoff with a lower-body injury.
Despite an uncomfortable drizzle, Sanford Stadium was filled to the brim with Red and Black as the homecoming weekend crowd filled the arena to its 93,033 fan capacity. From the get-go, this bunch and the noise they made had its impact on the game.
First quarter
Once the two teams entered onto Dooley Field between the hedges, Georgia — sporting red — won the coin toss, electing to defer possession to the second half.
The white-shirted Commodores received the opening kick, which resulted in a touchback. With Blaze Berlowitz, who started Vanderbilt’s first two games, taking the snaps, the ’Dores started off the game by throwing a deep pass to Junior Sherrill that was broken up but called a pass interference on the Dawgs.
Berlowitz and Sedrick Alexander then rushed for four and eight yards, respectively, resulting in Vanderbilt moving into enemy territory. Georgia’s pressure on the quarterback forced two incompletions in a row, and Vanderbilt punted from the Bulldog 45-yard line.
Bulldog quarterback Gunner Stockton started off his day with a six-yard swing pass to tight end Jaden Riddell before a holding on Vanderbilt’s Cayden Daniels moved the chains for the other team. Stockton then made an elusive four-yard run to escape a potential sack, and on a 3rd-and-4, he found wideout London Humphreys open down the middle.
Stockton and Humphreys connected for another first down on an 11-yard pass, and the Dawgs kept rolling — getting first downs on three-straight plays and ending up on the Vanderbilt 14-yard line. The home team finished off its drive with a two-yard play-action pass to Landon Roldan just as the sun began to emerge from the grey skies — and they led 7-0 with 6:57 left in the quarter.
MK Young started off Vandy’s second possession with a three- carry, but two quick incompletions to Sherrill sent punter Tyler Ebel back onto the field. The punt was chipped, and Georgia got the ball on its own 45-yard line.
Vanderbilt quickly forced a 4th-and-3, which, after a Georgia delay of game, resulted in a punt for UGA. Alexander made an 11-yard sprint on a draw play, and a trick-play run to freshman skill-player Evan Hampton went for five yards. On a crucial 3rd-and-3 with 3:13 left in the period, a Berlowitz scramble for 16 yards took the ’Dores further down the field.
Georgia’s Khalil Barnes then stuffed Young for a one-yard loss, but Vanderbilt ended possession with a 60-yard heave to Sherrill down the sideline for his third touchdown of the year on a go-route. A Brock Taylor extra point made it 7-7, but the final play of the quarter was a Stockton chuck to Elyiss Williams for 19-yards.
Second quarter
Georgia began period No. 2 with the ball on its own 44-yard line — and then Stockton found Roldan with a step on cornerback Jordan Matthews for a 55-yard gain on the cross-route. Roldan was ruled down at the 1-yard line, so running back Chauncey Bowens pushed the Red and Black into the end zone to re-take the lead 31 seconds into the period.
On a 3rd-and-2 the next set, Vanderbilt’s center Gunner Givens was flagged for a false start in part due to the raucous crowd. Yet, Berlowitz found tight end Cole Spence over the middle for a 15-yard moving of the chains in spite of it. The Dawgs forced another punt a couple minutes later as Berlowitz sailed a 3rd-and-5 ball way over Spence’s head.
The punt was a good one, though, as Ebel pinned Georgia on the 8-yard line, where star safety CJ Heard strip sacked Stockton, who recovered the ball on the 1-yard line. After the Red and Black punted from their own end zone on 4th-and-16, Vanderbilt got the ball on the UGA 42-yard line — its best starting field position yet.
Hampton got another handoff to start Vandy’s drive and was pulled down for a four-yard loss by linebacker Chris Cole. A Berlowitz first-down scramble was called back for a blindside block by Tristen Brown. That effectively ended the possession, as Vanderbilt could not come back from a 2nd-and-28, but was able to advance the ball enough for Taylor to attempt a 58-yard field goal, which was blocked. Thus, Georgia got the ball back on its own 48-yard line with 7:33 remaining in the half.
Stockton got out of a pinch on a 3rd-and-7 with a dart to Thomas Blackshear, and then Bowens ran through a gap for a pickup of six yards. Tailback Dwight Phillips Jr. was soon after found on a dump-off which he took for 31-yards to the 1-yard line. Jaden Reddell then ran it into the house on a trick-play — making it 21-7 in favor of the Dawgs.
Berlowitz found Brown on the left-hand sideline for a 17-yard first down to start the next series and then struck Ja’Cory Thomas deep which was called back for offensive pass interference. Stuck in a 1st-and-20 situation, Sherrill got open for an 11-yard haul-in. Before 3rd-and-9, Georgia called a timeout, but Thomas snagged in a 27-yard ball on a similar route as before.
Vanderbilt had a 1st-and-10 on the Georgia 30-yard line at the two-minute warning, which was an incomplete pass. Jack Elliott then played a snap at quarterback — a carry of no-gain. After an Orion Irving false start, the ’Dores persevered as Thomas got open and got 16-yards on a pass-and-catch from Berlowitz.
Vanderbilt got a 1st-and-goal on the 2-yard line after Sherrill drew another pass interference call, and head coach Clark Lea called a timeout with 35 seconds before halftime. Alexander then punched in a touchdown run to make it a one-possession game once more.
Stockton and Co. came out and ran two short plays before heading into the locker room up 21-14.
Third quarter
Georgia received the ball to start the second half, and star running back Nate Frazier subbed in for the Red and Black after being a gametime decision due to injury — his first carry was a five-yard dash. Then, Daniels tipped a pass by Stockton, which was snagged by Georgia’s Lawson Luckie and ran for 43 yards to the Vanderbilt 14-yard line.
The Dawgs culminated the drive with an eight-yard rush from Stockton and, after three failed attempts to score, the QB found Williams in the corner of the end zone for six. On this sequence, though, Blackshear came off with an upper-body injury and would miss the remainder of the game.
Berlowitz and Co. took the field with 8:41 on the clock, and Alexander started off hot with a seven-yard thrust down the middle. The next play, the quarterback found a way to scramble for nine yards after bobbling the snap. Berlowitz was then brought down by Gabe Harris Jr. for the Dawgs’ first sack of the contest, but when faced with similar pressure on 3rd-and-16, found Sherrill for 15 yards. The two linked up again to convert a 4th-and-short the next snap.
Alexander was pushed out-of-bounds by Cole two plays later, setting up a 3rd-and-6, where the halfback gained 4 yards. Vanderbilt then went for it on fourth down again as the crowd erupted, leading to Lea taking a time out with 1:37 left in the quarter. That 4th-and-2 was a buttonhook to Sherrill, who made a grab that was overturned by video review as the ball hit the ground before being fully reeled in.
Humphreys made a 11-yard carry to start the next series for the home team, and the period ended with Stockton making a jump-pass to Reddell for another 11-yard gain — advancing the Bulldogs to Vanderbilt’s 37-yard line with a 28-14 lead.
Fourth quarter
Bowens started off the final period with a short-reception and truck of Vandy’s Mason Lewis for an eight-yard gain. The ’Dores got strong and made a few big stops — leading to UGA’s Peyton Woodering knocking down a 39-yard field goal.
Vanderbilt now got the ball in a 17-point deficit, and Berlowitz threw the ball up to Sherrill in a one-on-one situation, which was intercepted by Ellis Robinson IV of the Bulldogs. So, with 12:16 remaining in the contest and a 31-14 lead, Stockton and Co. began a slow drive towards victory.
Phillips began this charge with a pair of five-yard runs, and then Bowens took off for a gain of nine. With 9:23 remaining, Phillips dashed for 14 yards up the middle to the Commodore 34 mark. Stockton continued to punish Vanderbilt’s run defense with a nine-yard first-down scramble soon after. The series ultimately ended with a 12-yard short pass from Stockton to Phillips towards paydirt.
Berlowitz, now in a 24-point hole, was subbed out for third-stringer Whit Muschamp. Muschamp on his first snap caught his own deflected pass — then running with it for eight yards. Sherrill and him connected for a 10-yard pass, but eventually Ebel punted with 3:05 remaining.
Backup QB Ryan Puglisi subbed in for the Dawgs, and led his team to one first down. The Dawgs’ Bo Walker broke away for a 59-yard run before Georgia knelt out the clock en route to its fifth-consecutive victory.
Vanderbilt will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m. CDT versus Ole Miss at FirstBank Stadium.
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