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Despite playing each other 71 times dating back to 1903, Georgia and Vanderbilt can’t exactly be dubbed a rivalry — especially when you consider that the Bulldogs have won 75 percent of the contests (53-16-2) between their neighbors to the north. That’s not to say the Commodores haven’t given Georgia a few scares over the years.
Georgia head coach Mark Richt doesn’t have to rack his brain too hard to recall the last time Vandy stunned the Bulldogs.
“We have had really rough days there,” Richt said of Vandy via his Week 1 postgame press conference. “We’ve had great battles and that’s just the way the series has gone. We have a lot of respect for them. We’ve got to have a great prep week and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Bulldogs return to Nashville in Week 2 for the first time since Jerron Seymour and the Commodores came from behind to stun No. 15 Georgia by a 31-27 score in 2013.
But that was seemingly a lifetime ago for Vanderbilt under James Franklin. The former coach posted his second-straight nine-win season that year for the Commodores before jumping ship to Penn State. Derek Mason has struggled to replicate that same level of success, winning just three games during his inaugural season in Nashville.
Georgia, conversely, is heading in the opposite direction, believing it has what it takes to compete for an SEC title. The Bulldogs convincingly won their opening game 51-14, in a weather-shortened affair over Louisiana-Monroe, while Vanderbilt faltered at home; losing 14-12 on a failed two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 33 seconds to play.
A look at the offensive numbers from Week 1 for the Bulldogs and Commodores, respectively:
| UGA vs. UL-Monroe* | Vanderbilt vs. W. Ky. | |
| Total Offense | 435 yards | 393 yards |
| Rushing Offense | 243 yards, 4 TDs | 176 yards, 0 TDs |
| Passing Offense | 192 yards, 3 TDs | 217 yards, 1 TD |
| Third Down Conversions | 5-of-9, .556 | 7-of-18, .389 |
*game called due to weather with 9:54 left to play
Both teams are breaking in quarterbacks who weren’t their starters to open the 2014 season. Greyson Lambert managed the Bulldogs offense admirably in his first start since transferring to Athens from Virginia last year where he was a team captain. And the while the numbers are modest (141 passing yards, 2 TDs), the junior drew praise from Richt for his poise — and from his teammates for treating them to ice cream for not yielding a sack.
“Greyson did a very nice job of handling everything that was put on him,” Richt said during his postgame presser. “There were at least two or three balls that he needed to throw away and he made wise decisions. Our guys gave him great protection and he put the ball on the money.”
Johnny McCrary appears to have a hold on the Commodores starting job after outlasting Wade Freebeck in fall camp. McCrary, who started the final five games of 2014, was able to move the ball thanks to 217 yards passing and another 66 rushing. The redshirt sophomore struggled, however, in the red zone, coming away with points in just two of five trips. Fortunately, for McCrary and the Commodores, one of those scores (a 2-yard pass to Trent Sherfield) came with 33 seconds to play, pulling them within a two-point conversion of tying the game.
The Georgia defense, conversely, allowed Louisiana-Monroe offense just one trip inside the red zone, in which the Warhawks capitalized with a touchdown.
This game should be controlled by both run games, pitting Vandy’s Ralph Webb (70 rushing yards vs. Western Kentucky) against Georgia’s three-headed monster in Nick Chubb (120 yards, 2 TDs vs. UL-M), Keith Marshall (73 yards, 2 TDs) and Sony Michel (41 yards).
Georgia might not want to take the Vandy defense lightly. The Commodores held Western Kentucky to 37 total rushing yards — the same Hilltoppers team that finished No. 6 in the nation last year in total offense and returns leading rusher Leon Allen (1,542 rushing yards, 13 TDs) and senior quarterback Brandon Doughty.
Richt pointing out that Georgia playing on the road at Vanderbilt is something he has;t quite figured out yet. #UGAvsVandy
— Logan Booker (@LoganMBooker) September 8, 2015
UGA coach Mark Richt says Western Kentucky staff visited at Georgia in offseason. WKU just played Vandy in week one. — Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) September 8, 2015
Vanderbilt has more players from Georgia on its roster than it does from Tennessee. Should make for an exciting game, according to Richt.
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) September 8, 2015
That’s true. The Vanderbilt roster currently has 18 players that hail from the Peach State, as opposed to 17 Tennessee natives. Another stat that might concern Derek Mason and the Commodores is that Vanderbilt has won just twice over Georgia in the last 20 years.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES CLOSER LOOK
Top returning player, offense: Ralph Webb, RS So., RB – Webb broke just about every freshman rushing record the Commodores have, including rushing yards (907) and attempts (212). Only one other freshman in the SEC had more rushing yards … Georgia’s Nick Chubb (1,281).
Top returning player, defense: Stephen Weatherly, RS Jr., OLB – Weatherly registered 55.0 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss to lead the Vanderbilt defense. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior is part of a deep linebacker corps for head coach Derek Mason.
Top returning player, special teams: Darrius Sims, Jr., KR – Sims became the first player in SEC history to return two kicks for a touchdown in the same game, accomplishing the feat last year against South Carolina. The junior averages 24.5 yards per return, while also seeing action at tailback and wide receiver on offense, and at nickelback on defense.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
