The Georgia Bulldogs picked a very bad time to play their worst game in years.
Three disastrous special-teams breakdowns, an anemic offensive effort and a couple of wickedly-timed targeting penalties sent the Bulldogs’ season into the ditch. Vanderbilt, which hadn’t beaten Georgia here in 22 years and only once anywhere in the previous 17 seasons, took full advantage of all the miscues for a 31-27 victory at Vanderbilt Stadium.
The loss essentially slams the door on any chance the Bulldogs might have had to return to the Georgia Dome as SEC Eastern Division champions for a third year in a row. Making it even more painful is the loss came on a day when Florida and South Carolina also went down in divisional games.
And to add injury to insult, wide receiver Chris Conley, one of the Bulldogs’ last remaining offensive playmakers to avoid injury, hurt his right ankle on the game’s final play and left the locker room on crutches.
“It hurts. It hurts everybody,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said as Vanderbilt’s postgame celebration could still be heard. “But you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, and that’s the job Vanderbilt did. The sun’s going to come out tomorrow, and we’ll reassess everything. But the main thing is we’re going to stay together.”
The No. 15-ranked Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2 SEC) have a bye next weekend before resuming play against Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 2. After starting the season ranked No. 5, they will not be represented when the first BCS standings are released Sunday.
It was the first SEC victory of the season for the Commodores (4-3, 1-3 SEC), whose football program has been rocked by a rape investigation that resulted in five dismissed players.
“We persevered,” Vanderbilt coach James Franklin said. “We’ve persevered all year long. We’ve persevered as a campus. We’ve persevered as a community. I’m happy for our kids and our program.”
Special-teams breakdowns were again the chief culprit for Georgia. The Bulldogs allowed a touchdown on a fake field-goal play, fumbled a punt return and saw yet another snapper send the ball over the punter’s head. All three plays led directly to Vanderbilt touchdowns.
But that wasn’t the only area in which there were struggles.
On a day when quarterback Aaron Murray became the SEC’s all-time leader in total offense, the senior managed only 114 yards on 16-of-28 passing and threw an interception. Georgia’s offense was limited to 221 yards overall — only 80 in the second half — and the Bulldogs had three three-and-outs with the game on the line late.
Meanwhile, despite Vanderbilt losing starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels in the first half, the Commodores outgained Georgia by 116 yards, had 21 first downs and maintained possession of the ball for more than 35 minutes.
Nevertheless, Georgia held a 27-14 lead more than four minutes into the fourth quarter.
“We thought we had it won. We should’ve won,” said Bulldogs’ outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who had two sacks in the game. “Some important things happened today. We just have to come back and lay the wood.”
“Laying the wood” cost the Bulldogs’ dearly Saturday. Linebacker Ramik Wilson was flagged for a violation of the targeting rule when he broke up a pass intended for Jonathan Krause on what appeared to be a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on a fourth-and-4 play.
A video replay reversed the automatic ejection that comes with the penalty. But the damage was done, and Vanderbilt was awarded a first down at the Georgia 15. The Commodores would score a few plays later to close within 27-21.
Defensive end Ray Drew was less fortunate. He was ejected in the first half because of a high hit on the Vanderbilt quarterback.
Wilson’s penalty might never have taken place had the Bulldogs been able to make a routine special-teams play. With Georgia leading 27-14 with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter, cornerback Damian Swann muffed a fair catch on a punt return. Vanderbilt’s Torren McGaster recovered at the Georgia 36, and the Commodores scored in nine plays to make it a game.
But the play that decided the game came with 3:05 remaining. Georgia was lined up to punt on fourth-and-3 at its own 32. The snap from Trent Frix went over the head of punter Collin Barber, who had no choice but to fall on it at the 13-yard line.
Vandy took over and scored on the first play, a 13-yard run by Jerron Seymour. That gave the Commodores a 31-27 lead with 2:53 to play.
Georgia had a chance to answer. But freshman tailback Brendan Douglas fumbled the ball away after what appeared to be a first-down reception. Vandy’s Andre Hal recovered, and the Commodores closed out the game.
“We’ve got to figure this out, do some soul-searching and really figure out what we need to do individually and as a team to get better,” Murray said. “There are still a lot of great games left, a big game versus Florida in a couple weeks. We’ve got to put this one behind us, get back to work and find a way to get better.”
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