The Dawgs finally ended their dreadful two-game losing streak today. Georgia beat Vanderbilt 34-10 in Nashville to stop the losing streak, which included a 20-13 loss to LSU and a 45-19 loss to Tennessee.
In a game that featured Mike Bobo calling plays from the sideline, Joe Cox finally stepped up and showed some leadership. The senior quarterback was 16-for-31 for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The touchdown passes were a screen pass that A.J. Green ran for 65 yards and a screen pass that Caleb King ran 21 yards.
As you might have figured out already, Caleb King also showed some leadership in this game. Even though he had a broken jaw, King rushed five times for 14 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a screen pass from Joe Cox for a touchdown. King was even named the SEC Network's Player of the Game.
Even though King was named the Player of the Game, true freshman Washaun Ealey was the leading rusher. Ealey, who led ECI to the state championship game his senior year in high school, rushed 13 times for 71 yards.
Our defense showed up and played great for only the third time this season (the other two times were LSU and Arizona State). They held Vandy to only 296 total offensive yards (174 passing and 122 rushing). Starting tailback Warren Norman was held to only 52 yards and a 3.7 rushing average.
Georgia's one consistent strength this year has been the special teams, and this held true today. Brandon Boykin returned three kickoffs for 71 yards and a 23.7 average. Prince Miller returned two punts for 95 yards and a 47.5 average. Kicker Blair Walsh was 4-for-4 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 43-yard FG.
Continuing the special teams thought, Drew Butler also performed very well today. Butler, who leads the nation in net punting, punted five times for 235 yards and a 47-yard average. His long for the day was 53 yards.
A few of Georgia's weaknesses showed up again today. One of these was the penalties, as the Dawgs were penalized eight times for 71 yards. However, one of the 15-yard penalties should never have counted. All the receiver did was throw the ball down (not even very hard) after he caught a pretty long pass. The official immediately threw the flag. WHAT DID HE DO WRONG? Again, this was a total BS call by an SEC ref.
The first BCS rankings of the year will be released tomorrow, but we won't be in them. We probably won't even get votes in any of the polls. However, as I am writing this, Florida has a 13-10 lead over Arkansas, but the Razorbacks are in the red zone and getting close to retaking the lead. The Gators might just lose their top ranking at the hands of Arkansas.
