This wasn’t a fair fight.
From the opening kickoff it looked like a game between an actual college program and a JV high school squad. Vanderbilt was completely outmatched by Georgia in every phase, resulting in the Bulldogs pulling away with a 62-0 victory.
Georgia scored 35 of those points in the first quarter.
It was easy work for quarterback JT Daniels, who played one quarter and completed nine of 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
The backups received a lot of playing time, with quarterback Stetson Bennett taking over in the second quarter. Bennett threw for 151 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
The star of the afternoon was none other than tight end Brock Bowers, who has emerged as Georgia’s go-to passing target. Bowers’ day concluded with four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Of note: Georgia outgained Vanderbilt in yardage, 524-77.
What it means
Georgia is where it wanted to be four weeks into the season. The only true test came in the opener against Clemson, which was obviously expected. The Bulldogs held on to a win then, and have since received three consecutive tune-up games, which is great timing, considering the second third of the schedule will be much tougher.
The Bulldogs’ next four games will be against Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, and Florida. It also means the Vanderbilt win is likely to be the last time the backups get this much work in a game for a considerable amount of time.
To date, Georgia has looked like the No. 2 team in the country. The world will learn a lot more about the Bulldogs in the coming weeks as to how good this team truly is.
Three important plays
Bowers’ touchdown run: Georgia forced a three-and-out on Vanderbilt’s first possession, which set the offense up with great field position. From there, it only took five plays for the Bulldogs to score the game’s first points. And the play was quite remarkable, considering it was a jet sweep to Bowers.
At this point, what can’t Bowers do? Bowers is familiar with carrying the ball, as he ran it some in high school. Clearly the UGA coaching staff is more than comfortable with his speed in this sort of situation. Bowers took the handoff and sprinted to the right edge, before diving into the end zone. Bowers continues to look like the tight end Georgia has been clamoring for, for many years.
Special teams fumble: With a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Vanderbilt's James Ziglor III took the ensuing kickoff out of the end zone on the return. That turned out to be a horrible move, as Jaylen Johnson forced a fumble from Ziglor, with Daijun Edwards returning the football to the Vanderbilt 4-yard line. That set up a Zamir White rushing touchdown two plays later, which put the game out of reach with only 7:11 left to play in the first quarter.
McConkey’s second score: Receiver Ladd McConkey has seen a lot of playing time to start the year due to injuries at the position. He certainly made the most of this opportunity against the Commodores.
After high-pointing a ball for his first-ever receiving touchdown with 6:42 left in the first quarter, he was given another chance to produce a big play with less than four minutes to play in the first quarter. After running some toss plays out of the shotgun, the Bulldogs showed it again, but with McConkey running the reverse.
As the Vanderbilt defense sucked in on the run to the right, McConkey took the toss from Daniels and turned it to the opposite side of the field. He was able to run untouched into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown. This put Georgia up 35-0, with the Bulldogs beginning to pull the starters out little by little.
Grading Georgia
Offense: A-
The Bulldogs got out to as fast a start as possible with 35 first-quarter points. However, the second quarter, with a mix of first- and second-teamers, was a bit sloppy at times. On Bennett’s first drive, receivers dropped two passes, with the second-stringer throwing an interception to end the series. There was also a botched handoff between Bennett and running back Kenny McIntosh, too. But at this point, it’s nitpicking. The first team came out on fire and did whatever it wanted, which is why the grade remains as high as it is.
Defense: A
The one series where Vanderbilt had any sort of success against Georgia's first-team defense ended with a missed 49-yard field goal. The Bulldogs were once again lights out on defense. Christopher Smith recorded his second interception of the season, with the secondary locking down Vanderbilt's pass catchers all game. At the same time, this is the kind of game everyone expected all week.
Special teams: A
Johnson’s forced fumble recovered by Edwards helped set the tone early for the Bulldogs. And with this being a tune-up game, Georgia worked on defending some returns, with Jake Camarda hanging his kickoffs inside the 10-yard line. Jack Podlesny kept his NCAA record extra-point streak alive and made two field goals—his first from 31 yards out and the second from 36 yards.
Coaching: A
Georgia was well-prepared for this one in each phase. If not for some offensive mishaps in the second quarter, this could have been an even bigger blowout.
Season grades to date
Offense: B
Defense: A
Special teams: A-
Coaching: A-
