In a wet one in Nashville this past Saturday afternoon, Vanderbilt finally got its first win versus a Top 25 opponent under head coach James Franklin, albeit against a devastatingly injured Bulldog squad. They likely put an end to the Bulldogs’ hopes of a return trip to the SEC championship game as well, snapping a six game home losing streak. Final score, 31-27.
The Commodores (4-3, 1-3) hadn’t beaten a Top 25 team since 2008. Franklin was quoted as saying, “Every win has been unbelievably significant to us and every win should be significant to our fan base, our community and our alumni because it’s an opportunity”.
“At Georgia we stick together” said head coach Mark Richt. This makes two straight losses in the SEC. Despite Aaron Murray becoming the SEC’s career leader in total offense passing Tim Tebow, the Bulldogs blew a 27-14 lead in the second half.
Georgia (4-3, 3-2) had their chances. However, Brendan Douglas fumbled after a catch with 1:59 left in the game and Murray was intercepted on the final play of the game. “It’s hard”, said Murray. Murray had the third lowest passing performance of his career with just 114 yards, due in large part to the Commodore defense. The Bulldogs had three sacks in the contest, but lost defensive end Ray Drew for the game with a little over 11 minutes left in the second quarter, thanks to a targeting flag to the quarterback. Many felt it to be a horrible call.
Vanderbilt rallied after losing Austyn Carta-Samuels in the second quarter with an injured left leg. They had 337 yards in total offense, out gaining the Bulldogs by 116 yards. Jerron Seymour ran for a 13 yard touchdown with 2:53 left. Lucky number 13 had the Commodores erase a 13 point deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Torren McGaster started the comeback by recovering a fumbled punt. Patton Robinette then ran for a 2 yard touchdown and Carey Spear kicked a 40 yard field goal. “We got the W” said Robinette.
