ATHENS — The perfect tonic for a struggling pass game will come packaged in back and gold next Saturday.
Georgia trots out its new No. 1-ranking in the AP Poll when it plays host to Vanderbilt at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday at Sanford Stadium looking to move to 7-0 and get its passing game on track.
The Bulldogs are a 37-point favorite over the Commodores, who rank 130th out of 131 teams with 324 passing yards allowed per game this season.
Playing Vanderbilt is good news for quarterback Stetson Bennett, who hasn’t thrown a TD pass in the past three games and has only five all season.
Bennett missed connecting with open receivers in a 42-10 win over Auburn.
“Those are the worst ones,” said Bennett, who threw for just 25 yards in the first half against Auburn before heating up in the second half to finish 22-of-32 passing for 208 yards.
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“When you see them open and you throw it, and you think you’re throwing it well and then they don’t hit, we’ve got to fix that.”
According to Bennett, the Bulldogs were trying too hard -- pressing -- instead of just having fun.
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Bennett did produce a highlight-friendly 64-yard touchdown run to ignite a 21-point fourth quarter.
But if Ole Miss’ 52-28 win over the Commodores is an indicator, the easiest yards next Saturday will come through the air.
Rebels’ quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for a career-high 448 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win, and receiver Jonathan Mingo had a school-record 9 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns as Ole Miss came from 20-10 down in the second quarter.
Tight end Brock Bowers is UGA’s leading yardage receiver with 378 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 catches this season, while running back Kenny McIntosh has a team-high 26 catches for 250 yards and Ladd McConkey leads the receivers room with 25 catches for 313 yards and one TD.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs need to get more help for Bennett, which could come in the form of receiver A.D. Mitchell getting back to 100 percent after playing limited snaps against Auburn in his first game back from a Week 3 ankle injury.
The Commodores, who did not show up in Athens the last time they were scheduled to be there in 2020 — canceling twice amid COVID restrictions — have lost 23 consecutive SEC games.
Georgia was a 35-point favorite in the teams’ meeting last year in Nashville, ultimately winning 62-0.
Other SEC Games:
Alabama -8 at Tennessee
Arkansas at BYU -3
Auburn at Ole Miss -14
LSU at Florida -3
Mississippi State -3 at Kentucky
