No. 1 Georgia held on to defeat Vanderbilt Saturday, pulling away late for a 37-20 victory. While the Bulldogs leave Nashville 7-0 and extend their win streak to 24 straight games, it wasn't always pretty for coach Kirby Smart's squad.
Georgia led 27-7 entering the fourth quarter, but the Commodores scored on the first play of the final frame to cut the lead to 13. The Dawgs then embarked on a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took almost six minutes off the clock and got the ball to Vanderbilt's 12-yard line. Vanderbilt held on third-and-2, though, and forced a field goal to keep the game within two scores.
The Commodores went three-and-out on their next drive, giving Georgia a chance to slam the door. Defensive back CJ Taylor undercut a pass from Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck and returned it to Georgia's 1-yard line, keeping Vanderbilt's hopes alive. The offense responded with a rushing touchdown on the ensuing play to make it 30-20, though the Commodores' 2-point conversion attempt fell short.
Georgia finally slammed the door shut thanks to running back Daijun Edwards, who had 75 yards on five straight carries -- including a career-long 62-yard run -- and the decisive touchdown. Edwards finished the game with 20 carries for 146 yards and the final score.
Carson Beck regresses
Georgia let Beck loose against Kentucky, and he responded with one of the best individual performances of the year with 489 yards and four touchdowns with an 80% completion rate. By comparison, Saturday was an obvious step back.
Beck ultimately did what he had to do to get the win, but his mistakes were still pretty costly. A strip-sack on the first drive was a result of holding on to the ball too long, and Vanderbilt recovered in plus territory. The Commodores were unable to capitalize, however, with a missed field goal.
A few plays later, Beck nearly had another fumble on a dropped snap, which was scooped up by center Sedrick Van Pran and run for a 6-yard gain and first down. Beck threw his only pick of the day in the fourth quarter, which was returned to the 1-yard line by 'Dores defensive star CJ Taylor. (Beck was also nearly picked off by Taylor in the third quarter.) Vanderbilt scored a play later to make it 30-20.
Beck's final stat line of 261 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception isn't awful, but he made some crucial mistakes that better teams down the line will exploit.
Running game breaks out
The silver lining of Beck's subpar game is that Georgia's running attack found its footing. The Bulldogs ranked No. 7 in the SEC in rushing entering Saturday's game, averaging 152.7 yards per game. That's a far cry from their dominating rushing attacks of the past. Part of that can be attributed to injury issues. Kendall Milton finally looked his best with 53 yards rushing and one touchdown on five carries before he got banged up in the second quarter.
Of course, Edwards had the best game of his career and almost single handedly put things away for the Bulldogs. Georgia finished with 281 yards rushing and three of its four touchdowns came on the ground. Maybe it turned a corner in that area.
Bulldogs enter bye banged up
Though Georgia eventually put away the 'Dores for good, Saturday may prove costly down the road. Injuries piled up for the Bulldogs, none bigger than star tight end Brock Bowers, who left the game in the second quarter and did not return. Smart said at halftime that the injury seemed like a minor sprain, which would be ideal with a bye week coming up. One play after Bowers exited, starting offensive tackle Xavier Truss got rolled up on and left the game. He did not return.
Milton also got hurt on the exact same drive, though he remained on the sideline in uniform without his helmet. He had a brace on his left knee. Provided that none of these are serious, Georgia's bye couldn't be coming at a better time.