Three storylines
Staying on a roll. A victory would be the fifth in the row for the Bulldogs (4-2, 3-1 SEC), who are tied with South Carolina (5-1, 3-1) atop the SEC East. With the Gamecocks facing a tough road test at Mississippi State on Saturday and with Florida at Auburn, a win could put Georgia in control of the division heading into a week off.
Replacing Mitchell. Saturday will be the first time Georgia has had to play without dynamic freshman Malcolm Mitchell. The Bulldogs' leading receiver (438 yards, three touchdowns) was lost to a hamstring injury during a 126-yard performance at Tennessee last week. Tavarres King, Marlon Brown and Michael Bennett will look to pick up the slack for a thin unit that has been depleted by injuries.
Throwing up goose eggs. Vanderbilt has scored three points in its past two SEC games, and the Bulldogs will look to continue that trend. Georgia has allowed two touchdowns in its past 16 quarters while allowing an average of 33 yards rushing. They've also sacked opposing quarterbacks an average of four times per game in the past three SEC contests.
A Georgia win would ...
- Set up a monumental matchup with Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 29.
- Be its 10th in a row over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
A Vanderbilt win would ...
- Improve its record to 4-0 at home this season.
- Be its first over Georgia since 2006.
Keep an eye on ...
For Georgia: Michael Gilliard. Since being inserted in the starting the lineup in the third game, the junior inside linebacker has led the Bulldogs in tackles in all four games. He had 12 tackles and a sack in last week's 20-12 win over Tennessee, which fetched him SEC Player of the Week honors. He has also forced a fumble, broken up two passes and had 17 quarterback pressures.
For Vanderbilt: Jordan Rodgers. The junior quarterback is best known for being the brother of Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Jordan Rodgers is expected to get his first career start for the Commodores on Saturday. A junior college transfer who sat out last season as a redshirt, Rodgers relieved injured starter Larry Smith (ankle) on Saturday against Alabama and recorded career highs in attempts (18), completions (11), passing yards (104) and rushing yards (23)
The numbers game
14 Interceptions by Vanderbilt, which leads the nation
3 Trips into the red zone by Georgia's opponents in the past 4 games
The history book
Series record: Georgia leads 51-18-2. The Bulldogs have two losses and one tie in Nashville over the past 52 years.
The last time: Quarterback Aaron Murray passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and Georgia's defense held Vandy to 140 yards in a 43-0 whitewash at Sanford Stadium on Oct. 16, 2010.
The bottom line
College football fans scoff at the notion that this is a dangerous game for Georgia, but this is no ordinary Vanderbilt team. The Commodores, under first-year coach James Franklin, have one of the SEC’s best defenses, leading the league in interceptions and red-zone efficiency and ranking third in tackles for loss and fourth in rush defense. They also have a plus-5 turnover margin, which is second-best in the league. So while the Bulldogs have the overall edge in talent, they must win or at least tie the turnover battle to avoid what would be a devastating upset.
