Georgia football takes on the Commodores in their final home game of 2020.
Its Senior Day Saturday night and Georgia football honors its Seniors last game in Sanford Stadium. Even though some may be back next season due to the extra season of eligibility offered because of COVID 19, most will not be. This will most likely be the last time Ben Cleveland, Monty Rice, Malik Herring, DJ Daniel, Mark Webb, and Devonte Wyatt wear the red and black in Sanford.
This is a statement game for Georgia. If the Bulldogs could hold the Commodores under 20 points and put up 50 points themselves it would go a long way to show this Georgia team is a long way away from the Georgia team that played Arkansas. It would also appease those fans that were upset that Kirby Smart elected to kneel at the end of the South Carolina game rather than put 50 on Bobo and the Gamecocks.
This will be Georgia football’s 77th matchup with Vanderbilt. Georgia has dominated the series in every way possible.
Overall series: Georgia leads, 57-17-2
Record when both teams are ranked: Georgia leads, 1-0-0
Record when only Georgia is ranked: Georgia leads, 30-3-1
Longest winning streak by Georgia: 11 games
Longest winning streak by Vanderbilt: 3 games
Most points scored by Georgia: 62 (1984-10-20)
Most points scored by Vanderbilt: 46 (1912-10-19)
Largest margin of victory by Georgia: +45 (1976-10-16)
Largest margin of victory by Vanderbilt: +46 (1912-10-19)
Georgia football vs South Carolina in 2020
Georgia football rediscovered its running game last week against South Carolina. Now with a legit threat on the ground and through the air, Georgia’s offense is making some noise. Over its last two games, Georgia’s offense is averaging 38 points a game. A nice jump up from the 29 points they were averaging before JT Daniels took over at quarterback.
Daniels has completed 38 of his 54 passing attempts for 540 passing yards, six touchdowns, and one touchdown (that was a deflection off a receiver). Daniels has been the spark that Georgia’s offense has needed and he is getting better each week. Even though Daniels only threw for 139 yards last week his ability to get the ball down the field is one of the big reasons that Georgia was so successful on the ground.
This passing attack doesn’t give other teams the ability to stack the box against Georgia’s rushing attack. That is exactly why Georgia’s running backs went off for 332 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Led by James Cook going off for 104 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Zamir White added 84 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
As long as Georgia football has balance like this on offense they are going to be tough to stop. Expect Vanderbilt’s defense to struggle to contain this newfound explosive element to Georgia’s offense. The Commodores have one of the worst defenses in all of the FBS. This is the perfect matchup for Georgia’s offense to make a statement.
Rushing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 172.63 (No. 57)
Vanderbilt – 117.25 (No. 107)
Passing Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 224.5 (No. 74)
Vanderbilt – 217.3 (No. 79)
Total Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 397.1 (No. 64)
Vanderbilt – 334.8 (No. 109)
Scoring Offense (National rank):
Georgia – 31.3 (No. 50)
Vanderbilt – 14.5 (No. 125)
Georgia football’s defense is struggling this year. Even though they have only allowed two teams to rush for over 100 yards this year they are allowing 263 passing yards a game over their last two games. They did slow down South Carolina’s passing game though, holding them to 190 yards passing. Vanderbilt has one of the worst rushing attacks in the FBS, but their passing attack could be a problem if Georgia’s secondary allows it to be.
Georgia’s secondary has really struggled this season. Eric Stokes has been the lone bright spot and the loss of Richard LeCounte, the quarterback of the defense, has crippled Georgia’s ability to match up against some of the best passing attacks in the SEC. Georgia’s No. 95 passing defense rank is their lowest in the Kirby Smart era. Last year was the defense’s first year not being top 20, finishing No. 31 in the nation. Smart has got to get his secondary back to playing better.
Vanderbilt was only able to muster 103 passing yards on Missouri’s defense. However, they put up 319 passing yards on Florida the previous week. The Commodores can move the ball through the air if given the opportunity. Georgia’s secondary is going to be on its Ps and Qs if they want to stop Vanderbilt’s air attack.
Vanderbilt’s offensive line is giving up two sacks a game so that could help Georgia’s secondary. If Georgia can get pressure from Azeez Ojulari, Jermaine Johnson, Nolan Smith, and Adam Anderson they could force some turnovers on top of getting a few sacks.
Rushing Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 75.25 (No. 3)
Vanderbilt – 188.38 (No. 88)
Pass Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 262.9 (No. 95)
Vanderbilt – 292.5 (No. 119)
Total Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 338.1 (No. 23)
Vanderbilt – 480.9 (No. 116)
Scoring Defense (National rank):
Georgia – 20.6 (No. 20)
Vanderbilt – 36.8 (No. 110)
Georgia football should have no problem rolling over Vanderbilt in this one. It should be an exciting 2020 finale in Sanford Stadium with the Dawgs coming out on top. Hopefully, the next time we see the Bulldogs (in 2021) come back out the tunnel it will be to a stadium that is filled to capacity with fans repping the team in their red and black.