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Kidsfest @ Faulkner County Courthouse — 04.06
The 2013 Kidsfest Superhero Race in downtown Conway supported the Children’s Advocacy Alliance of North Central Arkansas.
Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur (14) is sacked by Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter (7) in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Georgia's inability to run the ball and its continuing debacles on special teams helped determine Saturday's 17-16 upset loss to Vanderbilt inside Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.
The third and most embarrassing setback of the young Kirby Smart era was not the result of the defense.
Georgia held the Commodores to nine first downs and 171 yards in its most thorough defensive performance of the season. The Bulldogs had similar performances last year against Missouri (allowing 164 yards), Kentucky (180) and Southern University (184).
"It's phenomenal that we held them under 200 yards, but we have to finish," Bulldogs junior outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. "It came down to them making big plays when they had to and us not stopping them. We need to make sure we work on finishing, getting off the field and executing the calls."
Vanderbilt's lone sustained drive of the game occurred in the fourth quarter, when the Commodores marched 75 yards on eight plays and took their 17-16 lead on a 2-yard run by Khari Blasingame. A 27-yard pass from Kyle Shurmur to Kalija Lipscomb got the Commodores going on their winning march.
Carter had two sacks of Shurmur, but the Bulldogs were not able to cause any turnovers.
"There weren't a lot of big plays being made," Carter said. "We tried to get the ball off of them, but I think we only got the ball off of them one time. We need turnovers. We feed off of turnovers, and turnovers give the crowd energy.
"We have to make that happen."
Blankenship's big day
Sophomore kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a career-long, 45-yard field goal to get the Bulldogs within 7-3 at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter. That was the longest field goal for Georgia since Marshall Morgan made a 47-yarder versus Southern last year.
Blankenship also made field goals of 22 and 36 yards and finished with 10 points, the most by a Georgia kicker since Morgan tallied 12 against Southern.
"The kid was great all week," Smart said. "We had complete confidence in him and felt good about the way he was kicking."
Blankenship is 4-for-5 on field-goal tries since since replacing William Ham last month.
Homecoming flashback
Georgia's one-point loss to the Commodores was the first homecoming defeat for the Bulldogs since 2006, when Vanderbilt won 24-22. The Bulldogs are now 75-18-2 in homecoming games since 1922.
Vanderbilt beat Georgia for just the third time in the last 22 meetings, with the Bulldogs owning a 55-20-2 series edge.
"We didn't play a very good team game, and that responsibility falls on me," Smart said. "It's embarrassing, and I'm sick to my stomach. We came out sloppy, and I take full responsibility for it. Those guys played harder than us, and that's the disappointing thing."
Said Shurmur: "It wasn't pretty, but that just isn't our style, I guess. It was just great to get a win for all the guys in the locker room, the coaches and for the whole organization."
Odds and ends
Bulldogs freshman quarterback Jacob Eason completed 27 of 40 passes for a career-best 346 yards and a touchdown. Freshman receiver Riley Ridley had a career-high five catches for 67 yards. Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter was active in his first action since coming off a six-game suspension for a pair of alcohol-related arrests. Ledbetter had three first-half tackles and finished with four. Senior outside linebacker Chuks Amaechi got his first start of the season and the second of his career.