NASHVILLE — Daijun Edwards just keeps churning out the tough yards on the ground no matter what the Georgia football situation.
The situation Saturday called for Edwards to take over the game in the final minutes, and the senior tailback did just that.
Edwards gained 111 yards rushing in the fourth quarter and scored a touchdown that enabled Georgia to seal a 37-20 win at Vanderbilt.
“The guy’s got great vision, great toughness, he’s really hard to tackle, his balance is so tough,” UGA coach Kirby Smart said. “Where would be right now without Daijun? I don’t know, because his toughness has won out.”
Indeed, Edwards carried five times in a row on that final touchdown drive that put away the Commodores once and for all.
This, after the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs’ saw their pass game turn shaky when All-American Brock Bowers was forced out with an injury.
It led offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to turn to the ground game in the clutch.
Edwards responded with a career-high 146 yards on 20 carries — the most by a Georgia back since D’Andre Swift rushed for 179 yards against Kentucky in 2019.
“I thought Daijun did a great job all day,” Smart said. “I mean, he runs with such great toughness, great balance. A lot of good perimeter blocking for him to help him out.”
Edwards did much of his work in the final quarter, ripping off a career-long 62-yard run.
Edwards’ dash, to the Vanderbilt 6, led to him scoring the final touchdown in the game on a 1-yard plunge.
“That was huge for us, our offensive line was pushing off the ball and getting good hole separations for running backs,” UGA quarterback Carson Beck said.
“Daijun hitting (the hole) and making a guy miss on the second level, that was huge for us, and we sealed the deal.”
Georgia finished with a season-high 281 yards rushing — 175 of it in the fourth quarter— averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Walk-on Cash Jones also ripped off a big gain, breaking loose for a career-long 57-yard run to the Vanderbilt 11 in the final minute.
Kendall Milton appeared to be the primary weapon early, gaining 53 yards on 5 carries before exiting the game at halftime after aggravating the MCL injury that sidelined him earlier this season.
But by the end of the afternoon, it was Georgia’s “old reliable,” number 30 carrying the ball into the heart of the Vanderbilt defense to seal the win.