Anchored at home: Vandy stuns UGA with first road SEC win in Derek Mason era

With the game on the line, Georgia turned to a personnel grouping that’s rarely worked all year long.

Nick Chubb lined up as a fullback and Isaiah McKenzie motioned as a receiver. The options on this play, in any formation, has been to either run the ball with Chubb up the middle or get McKenzie to the outside. Georgia went with the sweep to McKenzie, who was stopped on fourth-and-1 by Vanderbilt star inside linebacker Zach Cunningham.

Just like that, ballgame.

Vanderbilt picked up its first road SEC win under head coach Derek Mason in 10 attempts by beating Georgia 17-16. The Commodores (3-4, 1-3 SEC) only totaled 173 yards on offense yet came out with the victory over Georgia (4-3, 2-3), which posted 421 total yards.

Four who mattered

Eason: Eason had a bounce-back game against Vanderbilt after a dreadful performance a week ago. Against the Commodores, Eason completed 27 of 40 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown. It also marked the first time in five games he did not throw an interception.

Cunningham: Cunningham was all over the place making plays on the defensive side of the ball. He finished the game with 19 tackles (six solo) and was a force in controlling Georgia’s running game from getting anything going. Cunningham was the one who tackled McKenzie to win the game.

Georgia outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter: Carter had himself a day rushing the passer as he picked up two sacks. Carter now has four sacks for the season, all of which have come in the past three games.

Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb: Webb was bottled up in the running game but had the Commodores’ best play on a 37-yard screen pass. It helped set up the eventual game-winning touchdown. He finished with 48 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards.

Turning point

Struggling all game offensively, and down 16-10, Vanderbilt drove the ball 75 yards down the field to take the lead. On that particular drive, Ralph Webb took a third-down screen 37 yards deep into Georgia territory, which helped set up a 2-yard Khari Blasingame score.

Observations

Killer penalties: Georgia finished the game with eight penalties for 53 yards. It was quite an undisciplined display of football throughout in this department. But the biggest penalty came with just over seven minutes to go in the game. Brandon Kublanow was called for a hold on a play in which Eason would have picked up 20 yards on a scramble. Instead of getting points, Georgia ended up punting to end the drive.

Lack of run game: A week after gashing South Carolina for 326 rushing yards, the Bulldogs were contained to a season-low 75 yards on the ground. This came a week after Kentucky’s rushing attack accounted for 258 yards in a win over the Commodores. Webb out-rushed Nick Chubb 48 to 40 by the end of the game.

Special teams coverage problems persist: Outside of place-kicking, Georgia had a tough time with special teams. On the opening kickoff, Darrius Sims returned the ball 95 yards to the Georgia 4-yard line, which had 2 yards added to the end of the play due to an offsides penalty. Sims nearly had another big return but was tackled by place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. Vanderbilt punter Sam Loy ended up averaging 47.2 yards per attempt on kicks that went low and were avoided. Head coach Kirby Smart was visibly upset with his special teams unit again following the loss.

Worth mentioning

First field goals over 30: Place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship hit field goals from 45, 22 and 36 yards, in that order, against the Commodores. It marked the first time Georgia was able to get a field goal from over 30 yards this season.

Bellamy’s big individual day: Georgia outside linebacker Davin Bellamy tied a career high with eight tackles. This included a shared sack in the fourth quarter alongside defensive lineman David Marshall.

Ledbetter contributes: In his first game since serving a six-game suspension, defensive lineman Jonathan ledbetter posted a career-best four tackles.

They said it

Smart on the loss: “We didn’t play very well. We didn’t coach very well. We didn’t come out with very good passion and energy. I was really disappointed in the start of the game and we lost momentum in the half there.”

McKenzie on losing to Vanderbilt: “We just have to get better. There’s nothing you can do about it. They came out and competed. They won the game and they did their best job. Now we have to go back to practice and do do our job and play the best Georgia football we can play.”

Mason on what the victory’s meaning: “It’s the biggest win that I’ve had probably in my career because I’m the head coach. I’m not an assistant coach. This is a win that I think could help move this program forward. Again, I want our fans to get excited about Vanderbilt football.”

What’s next?

Georgia is off next week and will head to Jacksonville for its annual game against Florida on Oct. 29.

This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Anchored at home: Vandy stuns UGA with first road SEC win in Derek Mason era."