University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA
Bulldogs Roll Into Off Week On High Note
October 16, 2022 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Stetson Bennett was feeling it Saturday, firing precise passes near and far as he completed 18 of his first 20 throws during the No. 1-ranked Georgia football team's 55-0 thumping of Vanderbilt at Sanford Stadium.
"I'd say we executed the plan today very well, and I'd say we felt comfortable with it," Bennett said. "But there were a few times that we weren't on the same page and that's got to be fixed. Overall, I'm happy with how we executed, how physical and tough and how hard we played today."
Bennett was sharp, the running game was productive if not explosive (192 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts), the defense was, as usual, determined and disruptive, and all of that added up to an easy win as Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) cruised into its off week undefeated, mostly unchallenged, and with every goal on the board still within the grasp of the defending national champions.
Saturday's game against Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-3) not only showed what the starters could do, but their backups (and their backups), as well.
At quarterback, Bennett wound up 24 of 30 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. After he left the game late in the third quarter, Carson Beck came in and had his best showing as a Bulldog, going 8-for-11 for 98 yards and two touchdowns, a 24-yarder to Dillon Bell and a 4-yarder to Arik Gilbert, seeing his first action since early in the season.
Georgia's quarterbacks finished a combined 32 of 41 for 387 yards and four TDs, And those 41 passes were targeted toward 12 different receivers, with 11 of them making at least two catches. Bell led the way with five for 54 yards, though his best play didn't count.
Late in the first quarter, Bennett hit Bell with a short pass to the right side. At first it appeared that Bell was taken down by a couple of defenders, but his knees never touched the ground, so he popped back up, squirted away from a few more defenders, one of whom managed to take off one of Bell's shoes, and ran the ball in for what was initially ruled a 66-yard touchdown. It was a highlight-reel play, but it was overturned on review after the officials determined that Bell's elbow had hit the ground on the initial takedown.
Bennett's second touchdown pass was a 10-yarder to Dominick Blaylock, making it 28-0 in the second quarter. That doesn't sound like anything special, but there were two things about that play that stood out. The first was the precision of Bennett's pass into a tiny window on the front right corner of the end zone. Blaylock was well covered on the play and Bennett threw it into a small, chest-high space where only Blaylock could grab it.
The other part of that play, the one that had a big smile on Blaylock's face after the game, was what it meant for the junior who has battled knee injuries the past few seasons. That touchdown catch was Blaylock's first since his freshman season in 2019, when he started his career with a bang, including five TD catches.
"Going through such a great journey — I think it's been such a great journey — to get into the end zone, it feels great now," said Blaylock, whose other catch Saturday went for 25 yards.
One thing that stands out about the play of the Bulldogs' receiving corps Saturday, the 11 men that caught passes, is that of their 387 receiving yards, 156 of them were earned after the catch. That's physicality and strength and determination on display.
Georgia's longest play from scrimmage was actually a run, the last big play of the game. Reserve running back Cash Jones, a redshirt freshman from Brock, Texas, only ran the ball once Saturday, but he made it count, taking a handoff and busting free for a 36-yard score. It was the first touchdown of his career, on his third career carry.
Defensively, the Bulldogs dominated up front and that shaped everything else. Georgia held Vanderbilt to 150 yards of offense, and the one time the Commodores were threatening to score, in the second quarter when Georgia led 21-0, the defense took the ball away. Vandy drove down to the 21, where Tykee Smith punched the ball out of running back Jayden McGowan's hands after a short catch, and fellow defensive back Christopher Smith jumped on the loose ball.
"Nobody in our end zone — that's what we look for going into every week and I feel like we accomplished that as everyone can see," said linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who had four tackles.
Vanderbilt ran 23 times for 45 yards and completed 12 of 24 passes for 105, with the Commodores averaging 3.2 yards per play. Georgia averaged 7.3 yards per play.
"The line of scrimmage was the big part of it," coach Kirby Smart said of the defense's success. "We won the line of scrimmage and once they couldn't run the ball, the quarterback struggled. He's a young quarterback, he's a freshman.
"We played well on the back end. I thought we had a couple picks that we should have had and dropped those, but I was really proud of how the defense played."
Entering the off week, when Georgia gets to rest up a bit before an incredibly challenging finish that includes games against Florida (Oct. 29), No. 3 Tennessee (Nov. 5), No. 24 Mississippi State (Nov. 12) and No. 19 Kentucky (Nov. 19), the Bulldogs are one of only three FBS teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense (10th) and scoring defense (2nd).
The other two are No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan — that's very good company. For them and for Georgia.
Staff Writer
Stetson Bennett was feeling it Saturday, firing precise passes near and far as he completed 18 of his first 20 throws during the No. 1-ranked Georgia football team's 55-0 thumping of Vanderbilt at Sanford Stadium.
"I'd say we executed the plan today very well, and I'd say we felt comfortable with it," Bennett said. "But there were a few times that we weren't on the same page and that's got to be fixed. Overall, I'm happy with how we executed, how physical and tough and how hard we played today."
Bennett was sharp, the running game was productive if not explosive (192 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts), the defense was, as usual, determined and disruptive, and all of that added up to an easy win as Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) cruised into its off week undefeated, mostly unchallenged, and with every goal on the board still within the grasp of the defending national champions.
Saturday's game against Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-3) not only showed what the starters could do, but their backups (and their backups), as well.
At quarterback, Bennett wound up 24 of 30 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. After he left the game late in the third quarter, Carson Beck came in and had his best showing as a Bulldog, going 8-for-11 for 98 yards and two touchdowns, a 24-yarder to Dillon Bell and a 4-yarder to Arik Gilbert, seeing his first action since early in the season.
Georgia's quarterbacks finished a combined 32 of 41 for 387 yards and four TDs, And those 41 passes were targeted toward 12 different receivers, with 11 of them making at least two catches. Bell led the way with five for 54 yards, though his best play didn't count.
Late in the first quarter, Bennett hit Bell with a short pass to the right side. At first it appeared that Bell was taken down by a couple of defenders, but his knees never touched the ground, so he popped back up, squirted away from a few more defenders, one of whom managed to take off one of Bell's shoes, and ran the ball in for what was initially ruled a 66-yard touchdown. It was a highlight-reel play, but it was overturned on review after the officials determined that Bell's elbow had hit the ground on the initial takedown.
Bennett's second touchdown pass was a 10-yarder to Dominick Blaylock, making it 28-0 in the second quarter. That doesn't sound like anything special, but there were two things about that play that stood out. The first was the precision of Bennett's pass into a tiny window on the front right corner of the end zone. Blaylock was well covered on the play and Bennett threw it into a small, chest-high space where only Blaylock could grab it.
The other part of that play, the one that had a big smile on Blaylock's face after the game, was what it meant for the junior who has battled knee injuries the past few seasons. That touchdown catch was Blaylock's first since his freshman season in 2019, when he started his career with a bang, including five TD catches.
"Going through such a great journey — I think it's been such a great journey — to get into the end zone, it feels great now," said Blaylock, whose other catch Saturday went for 25 yards.
One thing that stands out about the play of the Bulldogs' receiving corps Saturday, the 11 men that caught passes, is that of their 387 receiving yards, 156 of them were earned after the catch. That's physicality and strength and determination on display.
Georgia's longest play from scrimmage was actually a run, the last big play of the game. Reserve running back Cash Jones, a redshirt freshman from Brock, Texas, only ran the ball once Saturday, but he made it count, taking a handoff and busting free for a 36-yard score. It was the first touchdown of his career, on his third career carry.
Defensively, the Bulldogs dominated up front and that shaped everything else. Georgia held Vanderbilt to 150 yards of offense, and the one time the Commodores were threatening to score, in the second quarter when Georgia led 21-0, the defense took the ball away. Vandy drove down to the 21, where Tykee Smith punched the ball out of running back Jayden McGowan's hands after a short catch, and fellow defensive back Christopher Smith jumped on the loose ball.
"Nobody in our end zone — that's what we look for going into every week and I feel like we accomplished that as everyone can see," said linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who had four tackles.
Vanderbilt ran 23 times for 45 yards and completed 12 of 24 passes for 105, with the Commodores averaging 3.2 yards per play. Georgia averaged 7.3 yards per play.
"The line of scrimmage was the big part of it," coach Kirby Smart said of the defense's success. "We won the line of scrimmage and once they couldn't run the ball, the quarterback struggled. He's a young quarterback, he's a freshman.
"We played well on the back end. I thought we had a couple picks that we should have had and dropped those, but I was really proud of how the defense played."
Entering the off week, when Georgia gets to rest up a bit before an incredibly challenging finish that includes games against Florida (Oct. 29), No. 3 Tennessee (Nov. 5), No. 24 Mississippi State (Nov. 12) and No. 19 Kentucky (Nov. 19), the Bulldogs are one of only three FBS teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense (10th) and scoring defense (2nd).
The other two are No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan — that's very good company. For them and for Georgia.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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