Georgia Three Keys: Vanderbilt

Three-keys-Georgia

The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs host Vanderbilt on Saturday in an SEC East clash. Head coach Kirby Smart will be hoping for a repeat performance from the 38-12 win over Tennessee, a game that Georgia controlled from the outset and never looked like losing.

By Steve Wright

Here are the three keys:

Avoid the trap

Nick Saban may have called Alabama’s clash with Arkansas a trap game, but this matchup between Georgia and Vanderbilt feels much more like your classic trap than anything going on in Fayetteville on Saturday.

The 5-0 Bulldogs have been largely untested to this point – they basically sleepwalked against Tennessee – and there is a monstrous looking game against LSU coming up in next week. That would make it easy to overlook a Vanderbilt team that doesn’t have a gaudy record in 2018, but that has the scoring power and the defense to trouble Georgia if the minds of the players are not properly focused on the task at hand.

Vanderbilt also has previous history here. It was only two years ago that the Commodores stole a victory 17-16 in Athens as 14 point road underdogs. While the line is almost double that in 2018, it would be wise of Georgia to put Vandy to the sword early and dash any thoughts of an upset.

Don’t let Kyle Shurmur go off

Vanderbilt has a passing game that can challenge Georgia if the Bulldogs are a little bit off. He was shut down against South Carolina, but he bombed for 326 yards against Notre Dame in a game that the Commodores could easily have won. Shurmur is coming off of almost 300 yards and three touchdowns against Tennessee State, so he is going to be confident of moving the ball against Georgia.

If the pass rush isn’t in the face of the Vanderbilt quarterback then he has the arm talent to keep drives moving. Shurmur is much less comfortable out of the pocket, so the Bulldogs counter this threat by rushing the passer and forcing him to throw while on the move.

Run the ball

Football – whatever the level – still starts with the running game. Vanderbilt is a team that can be run on as seen by Notre Dame and South Carolina rushing for over 500 yards combined against a Commodores defensive front that is a little undersized at this level.

Georgia rushed for five yards per carry against Tennessee, with the developing running game having its best outing of the year. While there was no ball carrier over the 100 yard mark, it was a platoon effort with Elijah Holyfield, Brian Herrien, and D’Andre Swift all going over 50 yards on the day.

Another outing like this to compliment the passing game will put Georgia in a good position against Vandy.

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