Stats Crunch: Some Impressive Numbers

The Bulldogs are 6-0 for the fourth time in seven seasons under Kirby Smart. Prior to that, Georgia started 6-0 just four times from 1972 to 2015. The Bulldogs have had a lot of success against the Commodores, but it wasn’t always like that.

Vanderbilt was actually Georgia’s fourth ever opponent (November 7, 1893) and it was the first time the team left the state to play a game.

Vanderbilt used to be really good—no joke. Dan McGugin led Vanderbilt to a 197-55-19 record from 1904 to 1934. The Hall of Fame head coach is fifth in wins by coaches in SEC schools (one place behind Vince Dooley’s 201). In another fun fact, Vanderbilt is 21-21-1 all-time against Auburn.

Georgia has a 59-20-2 record against Vanderbilt. One more victory would make 60 and would make Vandy the fourth team that Georgia has at least 60 wins against (Georgia Tech – 69, Auburn – 63 and Kentucky – 61).

Last season, the Bulldogs shut out the Commodores 62-0. The 62 points was the largest margin by Georgia over Vanderbilt in series history.

Now, about last week. The Bulldogs’ 32-point victory last week may not have excited every Dawg fan, but winning that much in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is rare.

One of the biggest plays of the game was Stetson Bennett’s 64-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The longest ever run by a Georgia quarterback in a game is by Kirby Moore who ran 87 yards for a score against South Carolina in 1967 (third longest rush in team history). In data going back to 1990, Bennett has the longest by a Bulldog signal-caller.

While he ran well, throwing the ball seemed to be an issue.

Last week, Bennett threw for a season-low 208 yards. The 208 was good enough to move him pass the 6,000-yard mark in his career (6,045). He is the eighth quarterback in Georgia's history to reach the 6,000-yard mark.

For the season, Bennett is completing 69 percent of his passes. His percentages get better as the game goes along.

The Bulldogs had six touchdown runs in the games. It was the first time the Dawgs had six in a game since 2018 against UMass. It was also the first time against an SEC opponent since 1996 when UGA had six against Auburn as well.

Georgia is tied for the nation’s lead with 21 rushing touchdowns this season (Ole Miss). Last season, the bulldogs had 29. The most touchdown rushes in a season for the Bulldogs is 42 set by the 2017 team. Georgia is also tied with Illinois for allowing the fewest rushing touchdowns this season with one. So, there is no surprise that Georgia leads the FBS in rushing touchdowns differential this season.

Daijun Edwards had a career-high three touchdown rushes last week. Since 1990, many different Dawgs have scored at least three rushing touchdowns in a game, but Edwards was the first since Sony Michel in the 2018 Rose Bowl.

A few surprising names off that list were Garrison Hearst and Nick Chubb – They never reached three rushing touchdowns in one game. One guy that did prior to this list was Herschel Walker. Herschel had four touchdown rushes in a game twice and three in a game five more times. One of the games that he had three was against Vanderbilt in 1980. In that game he set a Georgia record by rushing for 283 yards (a record that stands today).

Branson Robinson set career-highs in attempts (12), yards (98) and scored his first touchdown. His 98 yards in a game is tied for the fourth most by a freshman in the SEC this season. He is one of five Dawgs with 100 yards rushing this season (four running backs and Bennett). Only two teams in the FBS have more than five players. Here is a breakdown on all five Georgia players with more than 100 yards rushing this season.

While McIntosh has 26 receptions, players like Ladd McConkey (25) and Brock Bowers (22) are not far behind. While Bowers and Darnell Washington get most of the props among the Georgia tight ends, it was actually Oscar Delp (3) who had the most receptions last week in that position group with three. If you combine last season and this season, the Georgia tight ends are among the leaders in almost every category.

Switching back to defense, Georgia allowed 10 points to Auburn last week. The Bulldogs have held the Tigers to ten or fewer points in ten of their last 13 meetings.

The Dawgs also held the Tigers to 93 yards on the ground including 19 by Tank Bigsby. Since 2019, Georgia has held its opponents to under 100 yards rushing 33 times. That is by far the most in the nation with Wisconsin being next at 25 times. When you look at the conference ranks during that same time period, Georgia has at least doubled 12 of the other 13 teams in the SEC.

In terms of special teams, Jack Podlesny has 278 total points (47 field goals, 137 extra points). He needs four more points to tie Kanon Parkman for sixth place on Georgia’s all-time list.