The Georgia Bulldogs quickly brought the heat to Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a 41-13 wipeout over the Oklahoma Sooners. UGA will play at home once again this week for its fifth game of the season, against the Vanderbilt Commodores at 12:45 p.m.
In Saturday’s win, the Dawgs posted their second straight 28-point margin of victory and entered week five as a 24.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt. The Commodores moved to 3-1 after a 21-15 loss Sept. 26 at Auburn.
UGA head coach Kirby Smart shared his thoughts on the upcoming home match during a press conference Monday afternoon. He also spoke about the Dawgs’ recent match with the Sooners, calling it “high value” for their upcoming practices.
“I think there’s value in the opponents we play, and every day at practice, we get a lot of reps. We get a lot more reps during the week than we get in games,” Smart said. “I’m a big believer in the quality of those who have to be at a high level to make the ones in-game more efficient. The ones in-game matter, too, and the ones against different opponents, you don’t get enough looks at it.”
The Oct. 3 match will mark the first between the teams since 2023, when the Dawgs defeated the Commodores 37-20 in Nashville. The two programs previously competed annually in the SEC East before the league eliminated its divisions in 2024.
Smart credited Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea’s defensive work, noting many of the team’s athletes as “fundamentally sound.” He called Vanderbilt a “great program” that “arguably should’ve made the playoffs,” given their 10-3 season in 2025.
“[Head coach Clark Lea] does a tremendous job there, and they’re really a physical football team made in the same mold with a defensive coach as us,” Smart said. “They’ve got twitchy guys, and they’ve always had really good defensive players, in my opinion. They do a good job and play really hard.”
The Commodores will rely on true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis to run the offense. Curtis, who flipped his commitment from UGA to Vanderbilt in December, leads the Commodores with 746 passing yards, four touchdown passes, and three interceptions so far this season.
Smart described his former recruit as a “tremendous talent” and said he will challenge the Dawgs’ defense with his mobility.
“I don’t know if anybody’s tackled him, or if just one person has tackled him yet. He’s strong, he’s quick, powerful,” Smart said. “He’s got great arm talent. I mean, everything everybody thought has been true.”
Overall, Smart said mobile quarterbacks will remain a challenge for the Dawgs’ offense for the rest of the season. He emphasized that it is also important for his defense to tackle well against the opposing offense consistently.
“I mean, it’s always important that you tackle well. It doesn’t matter if it’s a running back, a receiver, a tight end, or a quarterback. You’ve got to tackle well,” Smart said. “We’re going to play mobile quarterbacks the entire year.
“I mean, who’s not mobile? I mean, tell me somebody that’s not mobile that plays quarterback. I don’t know if there is one. So, they’re all mobile.”
