NASHVILLE – When somebody goes down, somebody else has to step up.

Saturday against Vanderbilt, two Bulldogs freshmen—offensive lineman Monroe Freeling and tight end Lawson Luckie—did that, playing key roles in Georgia’s 37-20 win.

"Proud of them. There's no message. They go into the game ready to play. I didn't say a word to them. They understand,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We do a million walk-throughs and practices, and I've been telling Stacey (Searels) and those guys, 'You've got to put Monroe in there. You can't just put him in the game. Put him in there with the ones and let him practice, let him see what it's like to go against our guys.' That moment came, and it wasn't too big for him. I thought he did a good job."

When Brock Bowers went down in the second quarter with what’s being described as a sprained ankle, Luckie saw his reps increase alongside Oscar Delp.

Although Luckie didn't catch a pass, he played a key role in the success of Georgia’s running game as the Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 281 yards.

“We truly expected the next guy to step up and make plays,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “Obviously, it sucked not to have him out there, but I thought everyone did a good job.”

Freeling, meanwhile, was charged with the task of replacing starter Xavier Truss after the senior left in the second quarter with an ankle injury of his own.

“I thought he played well,” Beck said. “Obviously, we’ll have to go back and watch the film, but from my perspective, he did a good job.”

According to Smart, next week’s bye week will come at an opportune time. But not just for the reasons you might think.

"I've never had a bye week that came at the wrong time. I feel great about the bye week. I'm glad it's here. We'll try to get better,” Smart said. “People don't understand what a bye week really is. I mean, it's an opportunity-for-growth week for me. It's not a bye week. I don't look at it as time off. We've got some players that need it, and we're a banged-up football team. We've still got guys that are missing practice and missing time, and then try to go out there and play. We'll try to get them healthy."

Center Sedrick Van Pran has his hands on the ball every snap. But not as a runner.

On Georgia’s second possession in the first quarter, however, that’s exactly what happened when a bad exchange between Van Pran and Beck suddenly turned the center into an impromptu running back.

Fortunately for Georgia, he did. Van Pran picked up the loose ball and fell forward for six yards and a first down.

Four plays later, Beck leaned in from the 1-yard line to tie the game.

“It was just a mistake on my part, but Sedrick made a great play,” Beck said. “But obviously, we don’t need that to happen again.

Tykee Smith’s interception right before half was his fourth of the year, tops in the SEC.

The play set up Georgia’s third touchdown, which Dominic Lovett scored on a 4-yard pass from Beck.

"Yeah, Tykee's been really solid for us. He had a huge interception before the half. We talked about the middle eight going into the game. The middle eight is one of the most critical times in a game—the last four and first four. We talked about it yesterday actually,” Smart said. “Mykel (Williams) came over and said, 'We just won the middle eight, Coach.' We got 14-0. That was a huge swing of momentum there before we went in for the half. And then to come out the second half and take care of the first four, we only got three points for it. So, it ended up being 17-0 there.

Smith had four interceptions with West Virginia before transferring.

…On the win: “Well, once again we come to Nashville and it feels like a home game. We had a lot of UGA red in the stands. I thought when we came out for warm-ups it was not as crowded, and then when we came out for the main part of the game there was a sea of red there as we came across the field, and a lot of red on their side,” Smart said. “I was really appreciative of our friends making it like a home game, and I'm really proud of our players being resilient and fighting through some turnovers, some adversity, some sloppy play, some injuries. But at the end of the day, they responded, and they got up to play on the road in the SEC, so I'm proud of them for that."

…On the fumble to start the game followed by the three-and-out and missed field goal by Vanderbilt: "Yeah, it's sudden change. We talk about a lot. I don't know what makes a team good in sudden change or bad in sudden change. You're either good on defense, or you're not. It doesn't matter when you go out there. Sudden change is critical. That was a big stop,” Smart said. “That end of the field was kicking right into the teeth of the wind. I didn't think he could make that field goal, and we chose not to take a field goal down there because we had to be able to go for it. It was a pretty strong wind."

…On how Ladd McConkey came out of the game: "He seems fine. The deal with Ladd, gets tight at halftime. You know, he stiffens up and has to try to stay loose,” Smart said. “A little bit of stamina, because he doesn't get to practice as much as the other guys. But I didn't think anything happened to set him back."

…Smart’s evaluation of Beck: “I want to reserve judgment until I watch it. I was frustrated by some decisions, taking a sack that almost knocked us out of field goal (range). Peyton (Woodring) went out and knocked it, but that was just not smart. If it's not there, throw it away, let's get the three points and let's go. I think everything for him has to be, 'I want to get a completion. I'm going to run for it.' It's okay,” Smart said. “We've got a good defense, we don't have to score every possession. Be smart with the ball, don't give it back to them. I want to watch it and see how he played.

I thought he made a couple of throws there, and he made a couple of nice throws that we didn't catch, but there were a couple of shots—the Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint one down the middle, Rara's down in the end zone that was near the ground; there were a couple that I thought he could have back. I'll watch it and see how he did, but I'm certainly proud of his composure. He doesn't lose his composure much."

… Micah Morris, who saw extensive action at left guard, lined up at fullback on the play when Daijun Edwards scored from 4 yards out.

…With the 37-20 win, top-ranked Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) has extended its school record for consecutive victories now to 24. The streak began during the 2021 season (Dec. 31) when the Bulldogs beat No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in a CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. This streak ranks as the fourth longest in SEC history.

…Georgia now has tied a school record with its 23rd consecutive regular-season SEC victory, dating to a 31-24 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020. Also, Georgia won 23 SEC games in a row during a stretch from 1980-83. The 23-game streak ranks third in SEC history.

…The Bulldogs extended their school record for consecutive regular season wins to 34, which leads all of FBS. This streak began during the 2020 season with a 31-24 win over Miss. State. on Nov. 21.

…Georgia improved to 7-0 for the fourth time in the Smart era (now 88-15 overall), joining the 2017, 2021 and 2022 clubs.

…With the latest victory over Vanderbilt, Georgia now holds a 61-20-2 edge in series history including winning the past six meetings.

…Junior Carson Beck went 29-for-39 for 261 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

…Senior Daijun Edwards rushed for a career-high 146 yards on 20 carries including a career-long 62-yard gain in the 4th quarter. Edwards had the most rushing yards by a Bulldog since D’Andre Swift went for 179 against Kentucky in 2019.

…The Bulldogs had a season-high 281 rushing yards on 39 attempts for a 7.2 average.

…For the game, the Bulldogs had 542 yards on 78 plays with 37:19 in time of possession.

…Following an interception by senior Tykee Smith, Georgia went 55 yards on four plays for a touchdown in 25 seconds, the quickest touchdown drive of the year.

…Junior Dominic Lovett had a team-high nine catches for 72 yards and registered his first touchdown as a Bulldog (a four-yard catch) and fourth for his career (previous three at Missouri).

…Junior wide receiver Ladd McConkey had a season-high 58 yards on four catches in the first half.

…Vanderbilt tallied 219 yards of offense on only 44 plays, the fewest plays ever in an SEC game in the Smart era.

…Junior Smael Mondon had a team-best six tackles, plus notched his 2nd sack of the year and fourth of his career.

…The Commodores had 18 rushing yards on 15 attempts.

…Freshman kicker Peyton Woodring made a 30 and 31-yarder and a career-long 44-yard FG plus was 4-for-4 on point after attempts for 13 points. The 44-yarder came on a 19-play, 60-yard drive to open the second half that chewed up 8:30.

…Georgia went 7-for-8 (four touchdowns, three field goals, 1 Kneel down at the end of the game) in the Red Zone while Vanderbilt was 2-for-2 (2 TDs).

…Georgia scored a touchdown off one interception; Vanderbilt had two touchdowns off a Bulldog fumble and an INT. Georgia is even in turnover margin.

…Senior Kendall Milton (RB), redshirt sophomore Tate Ratledge (RG), senior Zion Logue (DL), and sophomore Malaki Starks (S) served as the game captains. Georgia won the toss and elected to defer the ball until the second half. Junior center Sedrick Van Pran made his team-leading 37th career start. There were no first-time starters.

…Senior Xavier Truss (RT) wore No. 77 today in honor of his late teammate Devin Willock. A different Bulldog offensive lineman will be wearing No. 77 each game this season.

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