Shockley a big reason why Bulldogs sit atop SEC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Stopping the Georgia Bulldogs these days is about as easy as keeping D.J. Shockley in the pocket.

Shockley proved as dangerous with his legs as with his arm Saturday night, throwing for 298 yards and three touchdowns that kept the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs perfect this season with a 34-17 victory over Vanderbilt.

The senior quarterback's record as a starter matches Georgia's 6-0 record this year, and he is a very big reason why the Bulldogs are atop the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division with a 4-0 mark and a two-game lead.

"Without him we don't win this game," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

The Bulldogs came out flat with the Commodores (4-3, 2-2) playing their best in an attempt to notch the best start in school history with a victory. They didn't score in the first quarter, so Richt called three straight pass plays to help settle Shockley.

Shockley responded by hitting Kenneth Harris on third-and-10 with a 31-yarder on a corner route. Shockley then hit Martrez Milner for 20 more, and the Bulldogs scored two plays later for a 7-0 lead.

That was the first of five straight possessions that ended with Georgia scoring, and the SEC's top offense nearly matched its average with 446 yards. Shockley was 15-of-30 for 298 yards and officially ran only eight times for 22 yards.

But he did much more damage when he scrambled on each of his TD passes, buying time before first finding Brannan Southerland on a 10-yarder, Mohamed Massaquoi on a 6-yarder and lastly, Bryan McClendon for an 18-yarder in the fourth quarter that survived a review.

"If D.J. doesn't find anything on his first read, he can move around and get another read or two," McClendon said. "He is strong and athletic. He is a great player, and great players make great plays even when they look like they are going down."

Vanderbilt came close to sacking Shockley a handful of times only to see him escape and complete a pass.

"You know that's going to be a problem," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "We tried to do the best we could, and probably pressured him more than we thought we would, just trying to keep him in the pocket. He's a good player, and that's why he's playing quarterback for Georgia."

Shockley completed passes to 10 different Bulldogs, although the Commodores managed to knock down several passes to tight end Leonard Pope. Southerland, Massaquoi and McClendon each caught their first career TD passes.

"It is always good when you can get a lot of guys to catch a lot of balls," Shockley said. "It is hard for the defense to key in on one or two guys."

Now the Bulldogs head home after a three-game SEC road swing for homecoming against Arkansas on Saturday, leaving Vanderbilt still two victories from being bowl eligible for the first time since 1982.

"We still have to go out and play hard," Shockley said. "Anything can happen in this league."