Bulldogs' offense shines in win over Commodores
Bulldogs' offense shines in win over Commodores
ATHENS — No. 1 Georgia had no problem moving the ball against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The Bulldogs compiled a season-high 579 yards of total offense en route to a 55-0 victory over the Commodores. They scored on four of their five drives in the first half. Their offense also moved the ball fluidly, totaling 295 yards through the first two quarters.
“They had good focus during the week. We had good practices Tuesday and Wednesday,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about the offense in a post-game press conference. “I told the team afterward that I thought the maturity in terms of practicing physical and not worrying about who we played. We just had good practices. “That does not always equate to playing well, but sometimes you peak too early in the week and I was worried about that. I thought Wednesday we got after it and had a really good practice. We had a good practice Tuesday, too, and played well today.”
Georgia senior quarterback Stetson Bennett was nearly flawless, completing 24-of-30 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions with an 80 percent completion rate. His valiant effort helped the Bulldogs jump out to a large first-half lead.
“He made some better throws early. I thought he played well. He just hasn’t made the throws early,” Smart said of Bennett’s performance. “That one over the middle to Marcus early really helped him. He had the one high one to Darnell over the middle. Outside of that, I thought he had a good game. He did a good job throwing into the zone.”
Georgia's first scoring play was when Kenny McIntosh was motioned to the right and Bennett hit him in the flat. The senior running back then made a few shifty moves, evading several defenders on his way to the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown. He scored his second touchdown on a seven-yard rush toward the end of the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs led the Commodores 14-0 towards to the end of the first quarter. Their offensive surge continued into the second period as Vanderbilt couldn’t keep them off the field.
A Daijun Edwards’ one-yard touchdown run, plus a 10-yard passing connection from Bennett to Dom Blaylock highlighted the scoring in the second quarter. The Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders, especially on defense in the first half. They limited the Commodores to 105 yards of total offense, with only four of them coming on the ground.
Things didn’t get any easier for Vanderbilt in the second half, either.
The Commodores stunted Georgia’s first two possessions by forcing field goals from placekicker Jack Podlesny, but he was able to connect from 28 yards and 35 yards, respectively.
UGA backup quarterback Carson Beck took over for Bennett at the start of the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound signal-caller threw two touchdown passes to Dillon Bell and Arik Gilbert in the fourth quarter. Beck completed 8-of-11 for 98 yards and two scores
The Bulldogs totaled 189 yards on the ground against Vanderbilt. Edwards led in rushing with 49 yards on 10 attempts with a touchdown. McIntosh totaled 43 yards and a score on nine rushes. Cash Jones scored Georgia’s final rushing touchdown late in the game.
Even though the Bulldogs’ offense showed out against the Commodores, but they did show some flaws; however, it’s hard to know that because they were 7-of-7 in their red zone trips.
“I don’t know what’s ahead, it depends on how we keep going,” Bennett said. “I’d say we executed the plan today very well and I’d say we felt comfortable with it. But there were a few times that we weren’t on the same page and that’s got to be fixed. Overall, I’m happy with how we executed, how physical and tough, and how hard we played today.”
Georgia averaged 7.3 yards per play in the victory. The passing game totaled 379 yards combined between Bennett and Beck against Vanderbilt’s secondary, which gave up 12.1 yards per completion in the game. The pairing completed passes to 11 different pass-catchers.
Bell hauled in a game-high five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Washington led the team in receiving yards with 78 and totaled four catches. Ladd McConkey had four receptions for 49 yards, and Brock Bowers had as many grabs for a total of 15 yards.
“We’ve got to keep getting better. We’ve gotta get better,” Smart said about Georgia’s wide receiver room and its progress. “We’ve got to win more 50-50 (balls), make the big shots when we get downfield, we’ve got to make those count, and we’ve got to be more explosive.”
Georgia will have a bye next week before traveling to Jacksonville to play Florida on Oct. 29 at TIAA Bank Field. The kickoff between the Bulldogs and the Gators will be at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.