Bowers hurt in win over Commodores
NO. 1 GEORGIA 37, VANDERBILT 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 1 Georgia reached its first break of the season, and the timing is perfect after star tight end Brock Bowers hurt his left ankle against Vanderbilt.
Carson Beck threw for 261 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score as the Bulldogs shook off an early kickoff to beat the Commodores 37-20 Saturday.
“I’ve never had a bye week that came at the wrong time,” Coach Kirby Smart said of his Bulldogs having a week off before their next game Oct. 28.
Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) extended its school record and longest active FBS winning streak to 24 consecutive games, and tied the school record for consecutive SEC wins at 23, first set between 1980 and 1983.
The Bulldogs have won 34 straight regular-season games.
Bowers hurt his left ankle midway through the second quarter, not that it mattered as Georgia scored 27 straight points to take control. Smart said X-rays were negative, but Bowers and right tackle Xavier Truss both will have MRI exams for sprained ankles.
“Obviously here at Georgia, next man up mentality,” Beck said of losing Bowers during the game. “We fully expect anybody that’s going to come in behind him to step up and replace him.”
Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4) lost its sixth straight overall and sixth consecutive to Georgia.
The Bulldogs held the ball more than 37 minutes, outgaining Vanderbilt 542-219. Daijun Edwards ran 20 times for 146 yards and a touchdown. Smart credited Georgia fans with making this road trip into a stadium with construction just past each end zone feel like a home game.
“When we came out for the main part of the game, there was a sea of red there as you came across the field and a lot of red on their side,” Smart said.
The Commodores opened the game taking a 7-0 lead with their first touchdown against the Bulldogs under Coach Clark Lea. The score also marked their first points since a 30-6 loss in 2019 in this series. Georgia had outscored Vanderbilt 117-0 combined over Lea’s first two games at his alma mater.
Lea said his Commodores now have to rest up as well and try to finish the final four games strong.
“Our margins are razor thin, and against a team like that, those margins tighten even further,” Lea said of playing the defending backto-back national champs.
Ken Seals, making his third straight start for the injured AJ Swann, connected on all four of his passes on Vanderbilt’s first possession, the last to freshman London Humphreys who went untouched for a 49-yard touchdown raising his right hand in the air as he crossed the goal line.
Beck tied it with a 1-yard keeper, and he put Georgia up 24-7 at halftime with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett in the final seconds after an interception by Tykee Smith. Kendall Milton ran for a 3-yard score, and Peyton Woodring added three field goals.
Beck was picked off to set up Vanderbilt’s final touchdown. Georgia also lost one of three fumbles, though center Sedrick Van Pran recovered one and gained 6 yards.
“I’m really proud of our players being resilient and fighting through some turnovers, some adversity, some sloppy play, some injuries,” Smart said. “But at the end of the day they responded and they got up to play on the road in the SEC.”