Kirby Smart challenged his team to have the “mental edge” over Vanderbilt with Saturday’s early kickoff time, and his Georgia players responded.
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The No. 2 ranked Bulldogs were better mentally, physically, spiritually and in any other dimension imaginable Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
The Bulldogs led 35-0 after one quarter.
“It was an overall team win,” Smart said. “Offense came out fast, and defense played with a lot of energy.”
It could have been an even bigger blowout had Smart not pulled out JT Daniels after the first quarter and Jordan Davis played more than 9 snaps on defense.
As it was, it marked Georgia’s second-biggest margin of victory in an SEC game with only the record 75-0 win over Florida in 1942 more dominant.
Here are three more takeways from the Bulldogs’ 62-0 win over the Commodores.
JT Daniels locked in
Daniels was perfect, the only incompletion in his passing line — 9 of 10, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns — was a dropped pass.
The Georgia quarterback said earlier in the week he was still rehabilitating a strained oblique, which might explain the early hook.
Daniels’ ability to read defenses and make the proper adjustments — and then execute with pinpoint passing — bodes well for the Bulldogs with a more challenging October slate ahead.
The fact UGA scored 35 points with Daniels in the first quarter — and 3 with Stetson Bennett in the second — was telling.
Emerging stars
Brock Bowers entered the game leading Georgia in receiving, but the freshman tight end from California took it to another level with his three-touchdown performance.
Bowers caught all four targets thrown his way for 69 yards and two touchdowns, and he also rushed for a touchdown on a 12-yard end-around.
But Bowers wasn’t the only young star shining brightly abasing Vanderbilt.
Second-year receiver Ladd McConkey was on fire himself, reeling 4 catches for 62 yards and a TD on his four targets in addition to gaining 24 yards on a run and returning 2 punts for 19 yards.
Georgia receivers George Pickens (knee) and Dominick Blaylock (hamstring) remained sidelined, along with tight end Darnell Washington (foot).
Defense, ‘nuff said
Georgia recorded the third-largest road shutout in SEC history with the 62-0 victory (71-0 Alabama over Vandy, 1945, (65-0 Tennessee over Vandy in 1994, and in 1958, LSU beat former SEC member Tulane 62-0).
The Bulldogs defense was absolutely smothering, to the extent Vanderbilt managed just 77 total yards in the game, 50 yards coming in the first half.
It was the first shutout of the season, but the third time in the four games that Georgia held the opponent scoreless through the first 30 minutes of action.
Nolan Smith was the leading tackler with three stops -- the Bulldogs had 26 different players make tackles against the Commodores.
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