Following No. 2 Georgia’s 62-0 victory over Vanderbilt this afternoon, postgame comments made by Commodore head coach Clark Lea and a couple of his selected players mostly consisted of coach- and player-speak, while suggesting the blowout result was more about what Vanderbilt did not do rather than what Georgia did.
“We came out flat, we turned the ball over, we made mistakes in the special teams area,” Lea said. “Look, it doesn’t matter who you play against, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. So, for me, this isn’t about [Georgia]. It’s about us. It’s about how we perform. It’s about the things we can do.”
Lee added that Georgia was a “good” team, and deservingly ranked high, but the head coach was only interested in how his team could “find our highest level of performance.”
Speaking of a high level of performance, the Georgia offense totaled 532 total yards, 208 of which were gained in the first quarter alone. The Bulldogs’ 241 rushing yards were their most since having back-to-back 300-yard rushing games against South Carolina and Missouri last season.
Still, the Commodores were not necessarily focused on anything Georgia accomplished against them.
“The focus is about us, as a defense as a whole,” said senior defensive end and captain Elijah McAllister, who totaled three tackles. “It’s really nothing [Georgia] did super-crazy [on offense]. It was just really all about us and our execution on defense.”
Vanderbilt had a difficult time executing on offense as well, against what is considered perhaps the top defense in college football.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Lea said when asked about Georgia’s dominating defense. “They’ve done a good job building that roster and coaching that roster to a high level—and obviously they earned it today.”
Some defensive numbers from today: The Bulldogs, which have now yielded just one offensive touchdown in four games, allowed Vanderbilt just 77 total yards, marking the first time in a dozen years (Tennessee Tech in 2009) a Georgia opponent totaled fewer than 100 yards. In addition, the Bulldogs yielded just four first downs while forcing three Commodore turnovers.
“All respect to [Georgia]. They played a good game. We always respect every opponent we play,” said sophomore right tackle Bradley Ashmore. “But, Elijah [McAllister] said it earlier: it defaults to what we did."
The 62-0 score ranks as Georgia’s 15th biggest margin of victory in its history, including its second largest margin against an SEC opponent, trailing only a 75-0 win over Florida nearly 80 years ago in 1942.
Yet, although they might have given the Bulldogs a little credit for their historic defeat, the Commodores primarily felt like the rout was all “about Vanderbilt.”
“Credit to Georgia. But, also, we have to find a way to measure our process and stop playing according to what the opponent does,” Lea said. “It’s about Vanderbilt.”
