Georgia 20, Vanderbilt 17

Brandon Coutu kicked a 37 yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia a 20-17 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. This was a big game for the Dawgs because they had not won an SEC Eastern Division game since defeating South Carolina in their first SEC East game in 2006. Since then, they had lost to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee again. Enough was enough.

My preseason prediction was Georgia 42, Vanderbilt 13. At least I got the winner right.

Georgia trailed 17-7 at the half. But the UGA defense shut Vandy down in the second half and came up with a crucial fumble recovery deep in Georgia territory to end the Commodores’ only threat of the second half.

Redshirt freshman running back Knowshon Moreno continued to show that he is the real deal. It looks like he is going to have to be; senior Thomas Brown broke his collarbone last week and senior Kregg Lumpkin, who had already missed several games with a broken thumb, left this game with an ankle injury. Moreno ran the ball 28 times for 157 yards.

Another key to the game was the turnover comparison. Vandy lost two fumbles, including that crucial one late in the game while the Dawgs had no turnovers.

Matthew Stafford continues to be the mixed blessing that you expect a young quarterback to be. As the ESPN2 announcers kept saying, he’s going to have to learn to take something off some of his throws. He has a cannon for an arm but not every situation calls for a missile. Still, he sure seems to keep his cool when the game is on the line; he did a great job of leading the team into position for the game-winning field goal. The Bulldogs just can’t get much of a downfield passing game going, which, considering the strength of Stafford’s arm, is a shame and it’s going to have to change.

Georgia has a week off before taking on the Florida Gators in Jacksonville. They sure need a win in that series.

Excellent score of the week: #17 Kentucky Wildcats 43, #1 LSU Tigers 37 in three overtimes. I’m glad to see the UK program on the rise.