Georgia rolls past Vanderbilt 34-10

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

NASHVILLE -– It was a game the Georgia Bulldogs had to win, if only because of how ugly things would have gotten if they had lost.

"I don't even want to know what it would have been like," quarterback Joe Cox said, "if we had come out and lost a third game in a row and had an off-week to think about it."

Georgia averted that scenario Saturday, breaking a two-game losing streak and perhaps temporarily tempering the fan furor with a 34-10 victory over Vanderbilt.

"We really feel like a weight has been lifted," linebacker Rennie Curran said moments afterward.

The weight had been heavy since the previous week's blowout loss at Tennessee –- a loss that dropped the Bulldogs to 3-3 for the first time in 13 years and ignited a firestorm of criticism. And while Saturday's breakthrough came against a Vanderbilt team that is winless in the SEC this season, the Bulldogs found comfort in it.

With offensive coordinator Mike Bobo calling plays from the sideline rather than the press box for the first time, Georgia scored more points and gained more yards (399) than any other opponent had accumulated against Vanderbilt this season. And the defense shut down the Commodores  (2-5, 0-4 SEC) pretty much as every other SEC opponent has done.

But for Georgia, the main point of Saturday's victory was simply that it was a victory, a much-needed victory.

The win sends the Bulldogs into next week's open date, which precedes the Oct. 31 game against Florida in Jacksonville, with a 4-3 record (3-2 SEC) and some good cheer.

The win was Georgia's 50th in 70 games against Vanderbilt, 41st in the past 46 meetings and 14th in the past 15. Few, if any, were needed worse.

"They were emotionally ready to play this game," coach Mark Richt said of his players afterward. "It's hard to do sometimes after having a 3-3 start. ... I'm talking about being able to battle through a week of a lot of outside things happening that can take your focus off and maybe even take your heart.

"They really had great spirit in the locker room before the game. ... I felt their energy. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to get them fired up or get them jacked up. They got me fired up."

All week -- amid calls for coaches to be fired and such -- Richt kept changing the subject back to the Vanderbilt game.

"I really for the most part don't pay attention to what's going on [externally]," Richt said. "[But] when you get a bunch of text messages and you get people just swarming to support you, then you know it's kind of rough out there.

"I knew Saturday of last week, as I got about an hour and a half of sleep, that the ... most effective thing we could do at this point was put the blinders on and prepare. The most positive thing that could happen for Georgia football was to have a good performance, and we were able to do that."

Georgia scored first when A.J. Green turned a short pass from Cox into a 65-yard touchdown late in the first quarter,  and for the first time in seven games this season, the Bulldogs never trailed.

Their 17-3 halftime lead was cut to 17-10 on Vanderbilt's opening drive of the second half, but Georgia dominated thereafter, adding Blair Walsh's second field goal of the day in the third quarter and two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

"I'm sure the whole team feels like a weight is off us," cornerback Brandon Boykin said. "I didn't want to imagine [the fallout from another loss]. Nobody wanted to imagine. That's why we played so hard. Not to say we don't play hard every game."

Said Curran: "We came in with the mind-set that there was no other option -- we had to get this win. We had to get back on track."