Special teams give Bulldogs a boost

By Dean Fox

For the AJC

NASHVILLE -- Blair Walsh was just happy for a second chance. Prince Miller made the most of two chances.

Walsh kicked a pair of field goals, and Miller had a pair of long punt returns Saturday as Georgia’s special teams shined in the Bulldogs’ 34-10 victory over host Vanderbilt.

Walsh had a 57-yard field-goal attempt blocked right before halftime, but the Commodores’ John Stokes was penalized for leaping, nullifying the miss and giving Walsh another chance.

“You can jump straight up and you can jump a little bit out, but you can’t leap over the line like he did,” Walsh said. "I don't know if it would have been good or not; it felt pretty good.”

The second chance resulted in a 42-yard field goal for Walsh and gave Georgia a 17-3 lead at the half.

“I just ran up and jumped for the ball and blocked it,” Stokes said. “The official told me I took too many steps before I jumped. I don’t think I landed on anybody.”

Walsh added a 43-yard field goal with four minutes left in the third quarter, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 20-10. He is 11-for-12 on the year.

"We're very in synch as a field-goal unit,” Walsh said. “I haven't one bad snap or one bad hold all year.”

Miller helped extend the Bulldogs’ lead even further, returning a punt 40 yards to the Vanderbilt 30-yard line early in the fourth quarter. That good field position led to a Georgia touchdown that made the score 27-10.

"The punter it hit pretty good, and guys were just staying on blocks and I was just trying to make something happen for the team,” Miller said. “We got some home-run blocks, and it was just guys playing hard and playing to the whistle."

“It was poor coverage on our part,” Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. “That was a killer, the last time they had a big return. It’s too much to ask of your defense to go out there and not give up a field goal.”

Earlier in the day, Miller had a 55-yard return. On the next play, however, Georgia quarterback Joe Cox was intercepted in the end zone.

Still, it was a great day for Miller, who had been averaging only 7 yards per return.

"Guys took it upon themselves to just go out there and have fun today,” Miller said. “That's something we've missing: going out and having fun. We just went out there and played hard and came out with a win."