Kirby Smart shows his Georgia team plenty of football game tape, but a kickoff at 11 a.m. local time called for inspirational highlight tape from an earlier era.
“We played videos of Mike Tyson,” Smart said, referring to one of heavyweight boxing’s more barbaric icons of the past. “We talked about starting fast and playing to our standard, and I thought they did that.
“The defense got a three-and-out, and then the offense came down and scored, and then we got a turnover.”
It was a knockout.
“If you are going to be elite,” Smart said, “you’ve got to be elite all of the time, not some of the time.”
The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs scored a 62-0 victory and totaled 524 yards - despite gaining only 31 yards in the fourth quarter, relying exclusively on the run with no passes thrown the final 15 minutes.
Georgia had scored on its first five possessions in the game with JT Daniels at quarterback, racing out to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter.
Daniels finished 9-of-10 passing for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns in his second game back from the strained oblique muscle that led him to miss the second game of the season, a 56-7 win over UAB two weeks ago.
Smart indicated Daniels’ health didn’t factor into the decision, so much as it was wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to get other quarterbacks work.
“It was a situation we felt we could get Stetson some reps, and things kept rolling, so we’ll see how it is with all three of those guys,” said Smart, who entered redshirt freshman Carson Beck into the game in the third quarter.
“All three of those guys have done a good job, and I have a lot of confidence in all three of them.”
Smart said the only thing that wasn’t up to standard in the first quarter was a kickoff that didn’t go out of the end zone, enabling Vanderbilt to set up a return.
The Bulldogs, however forced a fumble on the return and set up shop at the Commodores’ 4-yard line, punching the ball into the end zone two plays later.
“Maybe (Jake) Camarda was a lot smarter than me, because of the fumble off the kickoff that wasn’t a touchback,” Smart said tongue in cheek. “I guess I need to commend him for that.”
Georgia rushed for a season-high 241 yards despite missing Kendall Milton from its quartet rotation. Smart said the dynamic sophomore from California had suffered a shoulder injury last Saturday against South Carolina and was held out as a precaution.
Zamir White led the UGA backs with 48 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while Daijun Edwards had 46 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Kenny McIntosh finished with 36 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries.
Bennett, who was 11-of-15 passing for 151 yards with a TD and an interception, had 37 yards on 5 carries.
Brock Bowers continued to lead Georgia receivers with 4 catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns and Ladd McConkey had 62 yards and a touchdown on 4 catches.
“They loaded the box on us, and when teams load the box you have to be willing to throw it and spray it around,” Smart said. “Some of the time we tried to block it and got 4- and 5-yard runs, and some of the time we threw it because of the number of guys in the box.
“They were dictating to us that they were not going to let us run the ball, they were going to make it difficult and make us throw the ball, and we did. We hit some explosive plays because of the way they are playing the run.”
Georgia’s defensive recorded its first shutout of the season despite clearing the bench, to the tune of 24 different players making tackles.
Vanderbilt quarterbacks combined to go 5-of-18 passing for 24 yards with 2 interceptions, while the run game netted 53 yards on 28 attempts.
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