Vanderbilt and #3 Georgia will square off in the season opener for both teams Saturday night August 31st at 6:30 pm CDT. The game can be seen live on SEC Network and the network’s pregame show, SEC Nation, will be on campus at 9 am Saturday morning. Saturday’s meeting will be the 80th time that the ‘Dores and the ‘Dawgs have squared off in a series that began back in 1893. Georgia leads the all-time series 57-20-2. The hometown Commodores last victory over the ‘Dawgs was in 2016 when they defeated Georgia in Athens 17-16. Before that the ‘Dores defeated the ‘Dawgs in 2013 by a 31-27 margin. Both teams hope to get their season started on a high note.
Offensively
The visiting Georgia Bulldogs are led by third year starter Jake Fromm. Fromm is 23-5 as a starter and is coming off a 2018 season in which he competed 67.3 percent of his passes. Much like Vanderbilt, Georgia returns their leading rusher. D’Andre Swift. Unlike last year, Swift, does not have Elijah Holyfield to spilt carries with. Vanderbilt’s defensive line and linebacking corps will have to concentrate on bottling Swift up at the line of scrimmage. If not it will be a long night for the ‘Dores. Georgia returns three of their five starters along the offensive line. These players include Isaiah Wilson, Cade Mays, and Andrew Thomas. While Georgia has experience returning at the two back spots and along the offensive line, experience among receivers and tight ends is very much in the air. Gone are Riley Ridley, Mecole Hardman, and Terry Godwin. According to GeorgiaDogs.com, junior Demetrius Robinson, redshirt sophomore Matt Landers, graduate transfer Lawrence Cager, and redshirt freshman Kearis Jackson are among those vying to see the field out wide. None of these young receivers saw the field in last year’s contest with the ‘Dores. At tight end, Georgia has senior Charlie Woerner to fill the loss of graduating senior Issac Nauta. The senior only has 23 catches for 271 yards in his career. Tennessee transfer Eli Wolf also has an opportunity to make an impact for the Bulldog offense. Fromm is not perfect and the inexperience of these young Georgia receivers should provide the Vanderbilt secondary ample opportunities to break up passes and also get some interceptions.
Defensively
The Bulldogs return a ton of experience along the defensive line. Seniors Tyler Clark, Julian Rochester, David Marshall, and graduate student Michael Barnett provide leadership for the ‘Dawgs 2019 defensive line unit. Georgia also returns freshman all-American Jordan Davis. Clark and Rochester led the Bulldog defense in tackles in 2018 with 31 each. This defensive line unit will look to keep pressure on the Commodores new starting quarterback and slow down explosive running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. The Bulldog linebacking core is led by three experienced veterans in Tae Crowder, Monty Rice, and Walter Grant. The trio of Crowder, Rice and Grant combined for a total of 133 stops in 2018. In the defensive secondary, Georgia returns fifth year senior J.R. Reed and his 66 tackles from 2018. Reed will be joined in the secondary by Richard LeCounte, Tyson Campbell, and Eric Stokes. The Georgia secondary will be tasked with slowing down Vanderbilt’s Kalija Lipscomb, Jared Pinkney, Cam Johnson, Chris Pierce, and C.J. Bolar.
Special Teams
The Georgia Bulldogs return perhaps the best place kicker in the nation. Rodrigo Blankenship finished the 2018 season second in the SEC with 122 points scored. The senior has successfully connected on 154 consecutive PATs, which ranks fourth in the SEC all-time. His 82 touchbacks in 2018 ranked second in the SEC. The ‘Dawgs also return sophomore punter Jake Camarda. In 2018, the young punter average 42.6 yards per punt with 16 fair catches and 10 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Mercer University graduate transfer Steven Nixon is expected to handle the long snapping duties for Georgia.
Offensively
The visiting Georgia Bulldogs are led by third year starter Jake Fromm. Fromm is 23-5 as a starter and is coming off a 2018 season in which he competed 67.3 percent of his passes. Much like Vanderbilt, Georgia returns their leading rusher. D’Andre Swift. Unlike last year, Swift, does not have Elijah Holyfield to spilt carries with. Vanderbilt’s defensive line and linebacking corps will have to concentrate on bottling Swift up at the line of scrimmage. If not it will be a long night for the ‘Dores. Georgia returns three of their five starters along the offensive line. These players include Isaiah Wilson, Cade Mays, and Andrew Thomas. While Georgia has experience returning at the two back spots and along the offensive line, experience among receivers and tight ends is very much in the air. Gone are Riley Ridley, Mecole Hardman, and Terry Godwin. According to GeorgiaDogs.com, junior Demetrius Robinson, redshirt sophomore Matt Landers, graduate transfer Lawrence Cager, and redshirt freshman Kearis Jackson are among those vying to see the field out wide. None of these young receivers saw the field in last year’s contest with the ‘Dores. At tight end, Georgia has senior Charlie Woerner to fill the loss of graduating senior Issac Nauta. The senior only has 23 catches for 271 yards in his career. Tennessee transfer Eli Wolf also has an opportunity to make an impact for the Bulldog offense. Fromm is not perfect and the inexperience of these young Georgia receivers should provide the Vanderbilt secondary ample opportunities to break up passes and also get some interceptions.
Defensively
The Bulldogs return a ton of experience along the defensive line. Seniors Tyler Clark, Julian Rochester, David Marshall, and graduate student Michael Barnett provide leadership for the ‘Dawgs 2019 defensive line unit. Georgia also returns freshman all-American Jordan Davis. Clark and Rochester led the Bulldog defense in tackles in 2018 with 31 each. This defensive line unit will look to keep pressure on the Commodores new starting quarterback and slow down explosive running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. The Bulldog linebacking core is led by three experienced veterans in Tae Crowder, Monty Rice, and Walter Grant. The trio of Crowder, Rice and Grant combined for a total of 133 stops in 2018. In the defensive secondary, Georgia returns fifth year senior J.R. Reed and his 66 tackles from 2018. Reed will be joined in the secondary by Richard LeCounte, Tyson Campbell, and Eric Stokes. The Georgia secondary will be tasked with slowing down Vanderbilt’s Kalija Lipscomb, Jared Pinkney, Cam Johnson, Chris Pierce, and C.J. Bolar.
Special Teams
The Georgia Bulldogs return perhaps the best place kicker in the nation. Rodrigo Blankenship finished the 2018 season second in the SEC with 122 points scored. The senior has successfully connected on 154 consecutive PATs, which ranks fourth in the SEC all-time. His 82 touchbacks in 2018 ranked second in the SEC. The ‘Dawgs also return sophomore punter Jake Camarda. In 2018, the young punter average 42.6 yards per punt with 16 fair catches and 10 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Mercer University graduate transfer Steven Nixon is expected to handle the long snapping duties for Georgia.
