Georgia Bulldogs vs Vanderbilt Commodores Match Player Stats On Sep 12, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 12, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It is said that Southeastern Conference games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage.

On Saturday, Georgia showed why it's widely considered the favorite to win the league's Eastern Division this year in its 31-14 defeat of Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt Stadium.

Georgia's defense held the Commodores to frewer than five yards per play, and its offensive line opened up some nice holes for Nick Chubb as the 10th-ranked Bulldogs never trailed despite a sluggish start.

Chubb ran 19 times for 189 yards as part of a Georgia ground attack that gained 281 yards. The Bulldogs' defense held Chubb's counterpart, Ralph Webb, to 68 yards on 25 carries.

Georgia ran its record to 2-0 while the Commodores (0-2) remain the SEC's only winless team.

The Bulldogs led only 14-6 at half as Vanderbilt held the ball for 50 plays to Georgia's 23. That's because Georgia couldn't offset its running success with anything through the air as Vandy held the Bulldogs to 2-of-9 passing for 25 yards before the break.

Marshall Morgan's 20-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the third quarter extended the lead to 11. Exactly five minutes later, on a second-and-goal play from the Commodires' 5-yard-line, quarterback Greyson Lambert suckered in the defense on a play-fake and waltzed into the end zone untouched.

Vanderbilt's Johnny McCrary hit Latevius Rayford with a 7-yard scoring toss with 4:33 left in the game. McCrary scrambled for a 2-point conversion, and then Vandy immediately got the ball back at the Georgia 8 after a recovered pooch kick, plus a personal foul penalty to Georgia.

But McCrary threw into coverage two plays later, and was intercepted by linebacker Jake Ganus.

Georgia's Dominick Sanders returned another errant McCrary toss for an 88-yard touchdown on the next drive.

The Bulldogs' Isaiah McKenzie returned a punt 72 yards for the game's first score.

Vanderbilt's Tommy Openshaw put the Commodores on the board with a 47-yard field goal 46 seconds into the second quarter.

Chubb's 21- and 17-yard runs got the Bulldogs in scoring position on the next drive, and Sony Michel broke several tackles on a 31-yard scoring run that put Georgia up, 14-3.

Openshaw connected from 41 with 4:05 left before the break to pull Vandy within eight, but missed a chance to get his team closer when he clanked a 43-yarder off the left upright with nine seconds left in the half.

NOTES: Former Vanderbilt basketball player Festus Ezeli, a member of Golden State's NBA title team this past year, preceded the VU team onto the field holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy. ... Emmanuel Smith, Vanderbilt's starting nickel back, missed the game with an injury. ... Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter was ejected in the first quarter for a hit on VU quarterback Johnny McCrary that was ruled targeting. ... Georgia quarterback Greyson Lambert missed his first seven throws and was briefly benched for Brice Ramsey late in the first half.