Georgia marks return to No. 1 with 55-0 rout of Vanderbilt
ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 15: Dominick Blaylock #8 of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second quarter at Sanford Stadium on October 15, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by (Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Stetson Bennett threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns — his first scoring passes in nearly a month — and Georgia stamped its return to No. 1 with a 55-0 rout of Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Georgia (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) led 28-0 at halftime and blew out the Commodores after three straight weeks of rather lackluster performances.
Bennett was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 18 of 20 for 211 yards. Darnell Washington came up big with four catches for 78 yards, including a one-handed dazzler.
Bennett hooked up with Kenny McIntosh on an 11-yard scoring play — the quarterback’s first TD pass in four weeks — and followed with a 10-yard scoring toss to Dominick Blaylock.
McIntosh added a 7-yard scoring run, while Daijun Edwards powered in from the 1 to spark a second-half exodus for red-clad Georgia fans looking to beat the traffic.
Carson Beck took over for Bennett in the final quarter, throwing two more touchdown passes that merely added to Vandy’s pain.
The Commodores (3-4, 0-3) dropped their 24th straight game in the SEC. They last won a conference game on Oct 19, 2019, beating Missouri 21-14.
At the halftime break, Georgia held a commanding 296-72 edge in total yards and 16-4 advantage in first downs.
The Bulldogs defense posted its second shutout of the season, limiting Vandy to just 45 yards rushing and 150 overall.
Georgia piled up 579 total yards.
The Bulldogs moved back to No. 1 in The Associated Press rankings this week, having spent a single week in the second spot behind Alabama.
After starting the season with three dominant victories, which led some to speculate that this team was better than last season’s national champions, the Bulldogs had a tougher time against Kent State, Missouri and Auburn.
Georgia returned to early season form in its homecoming game against the overmatched Commodores.
That was nothing new in this series. Georgia won 62-0 last year and has outscored Vandy 233-33 over the last four meetings.
The Commodores last scored a TD against Georgia in 2018. They have gone three full games since then without reaching the end zone.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Georgia certainly did nothing to endanger its No. 1 ranking, but the schedule looks a lot tougher the rest of the way. Three of the last five regular-season opponents are ranked in the Top 25.
THE TAKEAWAY
Vanderbilt: Coach Clark Lea keeps talking optimistically about the improvement of his downtrodden program. He’s apparently the only one who can see it. The Commodores went three-and-out on six of their 11 possessions and crossed midfield only two times. One drive ended with a fumble, the other a missed field goal.
Georgia: Sure, the blowout came against the SEC’s worst program, but there wasn’t much for coach Kirby Smart to complain about. All three phases of the game were highly efficient.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt: Hits the road again next Saturday to face Missouri, the last SEC team to lose to the Commodores.
Georgia: Head into an off week that will give the Bulldogs extra time to prepare for their "Cocktail Party" game in Jacksonville against the Florida Gators on Oct. 29.