NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart respects Clark Lea and the work he is putting into his alma mater at the Southeastern Conference’s only private and smallest university.
“I think he has the right approach,” Smart said of the Vanderbilt coach. “He knows the area. He knows that state. He knows the institution, which institutional knowledge is powerful information.”
That doesn’t mean Smart plans on taking it easy on Vanderbilt when his top-ranked Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0 SEC) kick off against the Commodores on Saturday morning. They’ve won by a combined 117-0 score over the past two seasons.
Now the back-to-back defending national champs go from playing between the hedges to between the construction cranes in Nashville. The Commodores are playing through Vanderbilt’s first major renovation of its football stadium since 1981.
Georgia’s pregame plan includes an early wakeup call Friday with steak and eggs for breakfast Saturday and go play.
“We’ve done it before, and we got do it again,” Smart said. “We’ll do some biorhythm prep the day before and try to get them up early on consecutive days and get them used to it. They’re young, and they can handle it.”
Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-3) has lost five straight and is back home after a 38-14 loss at Florida.
“There is frustration is based off what our expectations were, and so right now we’re just shifting focus back to improving our team and identifying the areas where we can push forward and and play, build to a better performance on Saturday,” Lea said.
SMART LIKES HIS SMART QUARTERBACK
Carson Beck has completed 73.47% of his passes, putting him on pace to top Stetson Bennett’s school record of 68.28% set last year. Beck ranks sixth nationally after completing 28 of 35 passes for a career-high 389 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s runaway win over then-No. 20 Kentucky.
Smart says Beck is making smart decisions.
“Great mental processing,” said Smart of Beck. “He’s a great processor. I mean Carson is very intelligent, guys.”
The junior is in his first season as a starter. He said his confidence has grown from his chances to start each week instead of looking for opportunities behind Bennett.
“As far as accuracy goes, I think that’s just a chemistry thing,” Beck said. “As we continue to play and I continue to understand certain guys and the way they run certain routes, I think that goes towards the whole accuracy thing.”
STICKING WITH SEALS
Ken Seals appears set for his third straight start for Vanderbilt with AJ Swann day to day recovering from a bruised elbow on his throwing arm. Seals, who didn’t play last season, threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, including an 85-yarder to receiver Will Sheppard that tied for the fourth-longest completion in
BOWERS ON 100-YARD ROLL
Junior Brock Bowers is making a strong case for a second straight Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. Bowers had seven catches for 132 yards and a touchdown against Kentucky. He is the first Georgia player to post three straight games with at least 100 receiving yards since Terrence Edwards in 2002.
RELOADING AGAIN ON DEFENSE
Georgia has had 19 NFL draft picks on defense in the last three seasons, including eight in the first round. The defense shows no sign of fading. The Bulldogs rank 10th in the nation with their average of 13 points allowed. They finished 2022 ranked fifth with 14.3 points allowed per game.
FACING NO. 1
This will be the 10th time Vanderbilt has played the top-ranked team in the country. The Commodores were shut out 59-0 the last time on Sept. 23, 2017, by then-No. 1 Alabama.
