Georgia vs. Vanderbilt: Dawgs Get Punched, Adjust and Put It Away

by Keegan Shinall

Dawgs OTL Writer/ Bleeds Red and Black

Georgia has spent most of this season beating the brakes off people. Vanderbilt at least made them work for it.

The Commodores came into Athens, landed a couple punches and made Georgia play an actual four quarter SEC football game. The Dawgs answered with 471 yards of offense, a quarterback who looked completely comfortable throwing the football and a defense that gave up just 61 yards in the second half. No Jared Curtis as he was too banged up to play, supposedly. Also, Blaze Berlowitz at times looked like Diego Pavia who was also in Athens to witness the drubbing.

Georgia won 38-14.

It wasn't the prettiest ass kicking we've seen this year. It might have been one of the more useful ones. You don’t want to play Alabama without any sort of stress test.

Vanderbilt Actually Made Georgia Play Football

Georgia took the opening possession 80 yards and Gunner Stockton started the afternoon 8-for-8, finishing the drive with a touchdown to Landon Roldan. Business as usual.

Then Vanderbilt answered.

Blaze Berlowitz hit Junior Sherrill for a 60-yard touchdown on third-and-9, tying the game 7-7 and giving Georgia its first first-quarter points allowed all season. At times the man who steppe

Good. Seriously.

At some point this football team needs somebody to screw up the script. Georgia isn't going to walk through the SEC and eventually the College Football Playoff without getting punched in the mouth. Vanderbilt gave them a little bit of that Saturday. The Dawgs didn't panic. They went back to work.

A Jordan Hall blocked field goal helped swing momentum back toward Georgia, the offense capitalized and the Dawgs went into halftime leading 21-14.

Vandy had made it a football game. They wouldn't score again.

Gunner Stockton Keeps Giving Georgia More Answers

Here's the meat and potatoes.

25-of-32. 295 yards. Three touchdowns.

Gunner Stockton was good. Not "good enough." Good.

Vanderbilt made Georgia work harder for its rushing yards, so instead of repeatedly beating its head against a wall, Georgia put the football in Stockton's hands. He delivered.

Georgia finished with 295 passing yards, 176 rushing yards and 471 total yards.

That's what you want to see.

Everybody loves running the damn ball until somebody loads the box and tells you that you can't. Then what?

Georgia's answer Saturday was to let Gunner cook. Credit goes to Vanderbilt on having effective schemes.

The biggest development with this offense isn't simply the point totals. It's the amount of different things Georgia can throw at you.

Want to play light? They'll run it. Want to load up against the run? Gunner can throw it. Want to bring pressure? Georgia has backs and tight ends that can punish you underneath. Every time we make the tight ends a big part of the plan. It doesn’t matter if they’re blocking, catching passes, running with the ball, or just serving as a distraction- they change the game.

Pick your poison. Now there was some luck involved on Lawson Luckie catching a tipped pass and then run down to the red zone. But what’s that saying it’s better to be Lucky than good?

Georgia's Defense Put Its Foot Down After Halftime

The first half wasn't vintage Kirby Smart defense. The second half was a lot closer.

Vanderbilt finished with just 61 yards after halftime.

That's getting your ass sent to the locker room.

Raylen Wilson and KJ Bolden finished with seven tackles apiece. Ellis Robinson IV grabbed a fourth-quarter interception and Georgia's offense immediately marched 70 yards for another touchdown.

That's complementary football. Defense takes it. Offense makes you pay for it. Next.

Georgia doesn't need this defense to hold everybody to six points and 180 yards like some of those ridiculous units we've watched in Athens.

They need stops when stops matter. They got them Saturday.

Georgia Football Is 5-0 and the Numbers Are Getting Stupid

Through five games, Georgia is 5-0 and 3-0 in SEC play.

The Dawgs have scored 257 points and allowed 67. That's a +190 scoring margin.

Georgia is averaging 51.4 points per game and has scored 59 points off 10 takeaways while carrying a +6 turnover margin.

Those numbers are stupid. But here's the part I truly care about more. Georgia keeps finding different ways to beat people. We’re sharpening the tools in the toolbox.

That's what translates when you get into the meat of an SEC schedule.

Oklahoma Was Domination. Vanderbilt Was Adjustment.

The Oklahoma game showed us Georgia's ceiling. Vanderbilt showed us something about its floor.

Against Oklahoma, everything clicked and Georgia beat the hell out of a team that was supposed to give them their toughest test yet.

Vanderbilt was different. Vandy hit a big play. The running game wasn't completely having its way. The opponent hung around. Georgia had to adjust.

Then the Dawgs won the second half 17-0. That's useful tape.

Because eventually Georgia is going to play somebody with enough dudes to make them uncomfortable for four quarters. That's when this stuff matters!!

This Georgia Team Is Getting Harder to Defend

The scary part about Georgia through five games isn't simply that they're undefeated. It's that they're still adding shit to the toolbox.

Gunner looks increasingly comfortable. The passing game can carry the offense. The running backs can still hammer you. The tight ends are involved. The defense is creating turnovers. Special teams blocked a field goal Saturday.

Georgia can win a track meet. Georgia can play bully ball. Georgia can capitalize on mistakes. And now we've seen them take a punch, make adjustments and completely shut down an opponent after halftime. We are witnessing a football team growing up.

What Georgia vs. Vanderbilt Means Going Forward

There will be Saturdays when Georgia doesn't have 471 yards. There will be Saturdays when Gunner isn't completing nearly 80 percent of his passes.

There will be Saturdays when somebody gets Georgia into the fourth quarter and Sanford Stadium isn't playing "Baba O'Riley" while everybody starts figuring out where they're drinking afterward.

That's coming. And when it does, talent alone isn't going to save you. You need answers.

Vanderbilt changed the picture a little bit and Georgia adjusted. The defense tightened its chinstrap and allowed 61 second-half yards. The offense leaned on its quarterback.

Georgia scored 17 unanswered points after halftime and sent Vanderbilt back to Nashville. No panic. No cute shit. Just adjust and go win the football game.

Georgia is 5-0. They're averaging more than 50 a game. And they're still getting better.

That's a dangerous combination.

Go Dawgs.