ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Poor ol’ Vanderbilt. The Commodores sure have a lot to live up to each week.
Without fail, the opposing coach wonders if his team will be able to stop that dynamic offense, or score any points against such a hard-hitting defense, or cope with all the brilliant strategies sure to be unveiled by the Vandy staff.
Just listen to Georgia coach Mark Richt.
‘‘Vanderbilt very easily could be 5-1 right now,’’ he said, a tinge of fear in his voice. ‘‘We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. I have a high regard for Vanderbilt, what they’re doing and what their coaches are doing. We’ll try to find a way to win.’’
OK, back to reality.
No. 16 Georgia (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t lost to Vandy since 1994. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 47-17-2 lead in the series, which is even more lopsided when one considers that only four of those losses have come since 1960. Richt’s teams have won five straight over the Commodores by an average margin of more than 22 points.
Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3) is well on its way to a 24th straight losing season, though this is probably as good a time as any to catch the Bulldogs.
Halfway through the season, Georgia is still trying to sort out the quarterback position; Joe Tereshinski will start Saturday, but freshman Matthew Stafford also is expected to play.
The Bulldogs must overcome the hangover from a 51-33 loss to Tennessee, which became just the second visiting team to put up 50 points at Sanford Stadium. And there won’t be nearly as much emotion for an early afternoon kickoff against Vandy as there was for the night game against the Volunteers.
In fact, Richt made a plea for Georgia fans to turn out early for the ‘‘Dawg Walk’’ — the team’s processional into Sanford Stadium about two hours before kickoff.
‘‘If y’all could be there, we sure would appreciate it,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sure our guys are going to need a lift.’’
It isn’t just coach-speak to say that Vanderbilt has been more competitive than the record would indicate.
The three SEC defeats have been a combined total of 12 points, including a 13-10 setback at Alabama and a 21-19 home loss to Arkansas, which leads the Western Division after a 27-10 rout of then-No. 2 Auburn.
‘‘The thing that kind of scares you is watching what Arkansas did to Auburn,’’ Richt said. ‘‘That was no fluke. Arkansas got after them and beat them pretty good. Well, Vandy played (Arkansas) to 19-21, and that was a game Vandy easily could have won.’’
The Bulldogs will be presenting another episode of ‘‘As The Quarterback Turns.’’
Tereshinski, one of three QBs to start this season, will get the nod for the second game in a row. But the senior hardly has an iron grip on the job after his second-half performance a week ago: two interceptions and a fumble, all of which led to Tennessee touchdowns.
‘‘The job is never going to be secure,’’ said Tereshinski, who missed three games with an ankle injury. ‘‘That was my mind-set going into it. I was going to play the best I could. I felt like I gave a lot of effort in the Tennessee game. I did the best I could, but I did make some mistakes. Now, I’m just going to have to compete with the other guys to stay number one.’’
Vanderbilt is still kicking itself for letting its first SEC win get away. Last Saturday, the Commodores dominated Mississippi on the stat sheet, piling up a 400-179 advantage in total yards, but were doomed by six turnovers and a terrible day in the kicking game.
In addition to a pair of missed field goals, Vandy fumbled a punt return and took a sack by the punter that led to a touchdown in the Rebels’ improbable 17-10 win.
‘‘Obviously it’s hard, because we shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times,’’ center Hamilton Holliday said. ‘‘But those are things that are easily corrected. It’s kind of both ways — we lost, but it’s something that’s an easy fix. You move on from it, move on to next week and forget about it. We still have a second half of the season left.’’
Sophomore Chris Nickson is expected to start at quarterback for the Commodores, even though a bruised thigh knocked him out of last week’s game in the second quarter. Jay Cutler’s replacement has thrown for seven touchdowns and is the team’s second-leading rusher with 285 yards and three TDs.
Unlike the Bulldogs, Vanderbilt has no plans to use more than one quarterback, assuming Nickson is healthy enough to make it through the entire game. The backup is redshirt freshman Mackenzi Adams, who threw an interception inside the Ole Miss 10 on the final play of last week’s game.
‘‘Mackenzi was a little shaky at first,’’ Holliday said. ‘‘Once he settled down, he started playing some good ball. Mackenzi has that experience in a high-pressure situation under his belt now, so whether or not Chris can go, it’ll be good.’’
Without fail, the opposing coach wonders if his team will be able to stop that dynamic offense, or score any points against such a hard-hitting defense, or cope with all the brilliant strategies sure to be unveiled by the Vandy staff.
Just listen to Georgia coach Mark Richt.
‘‘Vanderbilt very easily could be 5-1 right now,’’ he said, a tinge of fear in his voice. ‘‘We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. I have a high regard for Vanderbilt, what they’re doing and what their coaches are doing. We’ll try to find a way to win.’’
OK, back to reality.
No. 16 Georgia (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t lost to Vandy since 1994. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 47-17-2 lead in the series, which is even more lopsided when one considers that only four of those losses have come since 1960. Richt’s teams have won five straight over the Commodores by an average margin of more than 22 points.
Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3) is well on its way to a 24th straight losing season, though this is probably as good a time as any to catch the Bulldogs.
Halfway through the season, Georgia is still trying to sort out the quarterback position; Joe Tereshinski will start Saturday, but freshman Matthew Stafford also is expected to play.
The Bulldogs must overcome the hangover from a 51-33 loss to Tennessee, which became just the second visiting team to put up 50 points at Sanford Stadium. And there won’t be nearly as much emotion for an early afternoon kickoff against Vandy as there was for the night game against the Volunteers.
In fact, Richt made a plea for Georgia fans to turn out early for the ‘‘Dawg Walk’’ — the team’s processional into Sanford Stadium about two hours before kickoff.
‘‘If y’all could be there, we sure would appreciate it,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sure our guys are going to need a lift.’’
It isn’t just coach-speak to say that Vanderbilt has been more competitive than the record would indicate.
The three SEC defeats have been a combined total of 12 points, including a 13-10 setback at Alabama and a 21-19 home loss to Arkansas, which leads the Western Division after a 27-10 rout of then-No. 2 Auburn.
‘‘The thing that kind of scares you is watching what Arkansas did to Auburn,’’ Richt said. ‘‘That was no fluke. Arkansas got after them and beat them pretty good. Well, Vandy played (Arkansas) to 19-21, and that was a game Vandy easily could have won.’’
The Bulldogs will be presenting another episode of ‘‘As The Quarterback Turns.’’
Tereshinski, one of three QBs to start this season, will get the nod for the second game in a row. But the senior hardly has an iron grip on the job after his second-half performance a week ago: two interceptions and a fumble, all of which led to Tennessee touchdowns.
‘‘The job is never going to be secure,’’ said Tereshinski, who missed three games with an ankle injury. ‘‘That was my mind-set going into it. I was going to play the best I could. I felt like I gave a lot of effort in the Tennessee game. I did the best I could, but I did make some mistakes. Now, I’m just going to have to compete with the other guys to stay number one.’’
Vanderbilt is still kicking itself for letting its first SEC win get away. Last Saturday, the Commodores dominated Mississippi on the stat sheet, piling up a 400-179 advantage in total yards, but were doomed by six turnovers and a terrible day in the kicking game.
In addition to a pair of missed field goals, Vandy fumbled a punt return and took a sack by the punter that led to a touchdown in the Rebels’ improbable 17-10 win.
‘‘Obviously it’s hard, because we shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times,’’ center Hamilton Holliday said. ‘‘But those are things that are easily corrected. It’s kind of both ways — we lost, but it’s something that’s an easy fix. You move on from it, move on to next week and forget about it. We still have a second half of the season left.’’
Sophomore Chris Nickson is expected to start at quarterback for the Commodores, even though a bruised thigh knocked him out of last week’s game in the second quarter. Jay Cutler’s replacement has thrown for seven touchdowns and is the team’s second-leading rusher with 285 yards and three TDs.
Unlike the Bulldogs, Vanderbilt has no plans to use more than one quarterback, assuming Nickson is healthy enough to make it through the entire game. The backup is redshirt freshman Mackenzi Adams, who threw an interception inside the Ole Miss 10 on the final play of last week’s game.
‘‘Mackenzi was a little shaky at first,’’ Holliday said. ‘‘Once he settled down, he started playing some good ball. Mackenzi has that experience in a high-pressure situation under his belt now, so whether or not Chris can go, it’ll be good.’’
