NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A solar eclipse occurred early-afternoon Saturday, and it must’ve been messing with the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, as they played as if under some kind of spell in the first half. But as they’ve been wont to do, the Bulldogs shook off another funky start and pulled away from a peskier-than-usual Vanderbilt team to win 37-20.
The victory was Georgia’s 24th in a row and tied the SEC-games win streak of 23 consecutive previously held by the 1983 team. But this one was costly. The Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC) lost star tight end Brock Bowers to an ankle injury and two other offensive starters in the first half.
Georgia will have next week to heal before resuming play Oct. 28 against Florida in Jacksonville.
“Really proud of our players for being resilient and fighting through some turnovers, some adversity, some sloppy play, some injuries,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “At the end of the day, they responded and got to play on the road in the SEC, so I’m proud of them for that.”
The Bulldogs won this one the old-fashioned way. Senior running back Daijun Edwards fought his way to a career-high 146 yards on 20 carries, including one 62-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter. Cash Jones also had a 57-yard run as Georgia rushed for a season-best 281 yards. Carson Beck completed 29 of 39 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown and one interception.
In total, the Bulldogs rolled up 552 yards and dominated time of possession 37:19 to 22:41. They were 11-for-16 converting third downs. But the Commodores’ three touchdowns and a missed field-goal attempt made the game uncomfortably close until the very end.
“We’ve got to play better as a whole team, as an offense and a defense,” said senior defensive back Tykee Smith, who had five tackles and an interception. “We’ve just got to take this time we have (with the bye week) to grow and get better. We definitely need to get back to the drawing board and get some things cleaned up.”
The game started about as poorly as one can for the Bulldogs. Vandy received the opening kickoff and zipped down the field, scoring on a 49-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes in. Beck was strip-sacked on Georgia’s first offensive possession. The Bulldogs would fumble two more times in the first half but lose neither. One of them center Sedrick Van Pran recovered for a gain of 6 yards and a third-down conversion.
Then Georgia lost Bowers to injury. Then offensive lineman Xavier Truss. Then running back Kendall Milton.
“Obviously here at Georgia we have a next-man-up mentality,” Beck said. “We expected whoever’s coming in behind them to step up and make plays, and they did.”
Slotback Dominic Lovett had nine catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, his first score since transferring to Georgia from Missouri. Cash Jones came off the bench to rush for 65 yards, 57 of them coming on one run. The Bulldogs ended the game in victory formation at the Vandy 12.
The entirety of the third quarter was consumed by one scoring possession for each team, a field goal for Georgia and a touchdown for the Commodores, which actually came three seconds into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs dutifully responded by consuming 5:45 on another field-goal-ending scoring drive.
Freshman place-kicker Peyton Woodring made three field goals, including a career-long 44-yarder into the teeth of a stiff wind in the open-air end of the under-construction stadium. Woodring now has been good on his past eight kicks.
Georgia made things interesting late. Beck’s deflected pass was intercepted by CJ Taylor and returned to the Bulldogs’ 1 – where Beck knocked him out of bounds with a hard hit. The 1-yard TD on the next play would get Vandy within two scores at 30-20 with 6:14 to play.
Georgia responded with an old-school, all-run drive to salt away the game. With Edwards running the ball on all five plays – including one for 62 yards – he scored untouched on a 2-yard play to make the score 37-20 with 3:13 to play.
“We didn’t play bad; we just had some sloppy moments,” Smart said. “I still think this team is growing up, winning an SEC game on the road. We need to play a little sharper. ... But I’m really proud of the leadership in that locker room. And, look, I’m not going to apologize for winning on the road in the SEC. I’m all about it, man.”
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