When Georgia has ball

The Bulldogs moved the ball up and down the field against Tennessee, although the offense sputtered in the red zone. Still, Knowshon Moreno was able to top 100 yards on the day and quarterback Matthew Stafford eclipsed the 300-yard mark for the first time in his career, with receiver Mohamed Massaquoi reeling in 103 yards worth of catches.

This week Georgia will face a tough Vanderbilt defense, but will hit the Commodores with a wide variety of weapons both through the air and on the ground. Moreno is still looking for a breakout game against SEC competition, where he has averaged less than four yards per tote.

Today would be a good time for the Heisman Trophy hopeful to carry the load for his team since the Vandy defense has already snagged 11 picks in 2008.

Edge: Georgia

When Vandy has ball

Despite five wins in six games the ’Dores have struggled offensively, with Mackenzi Adams and Chris Nickson each seeing time at quarterback and combining for nearly half of Vandy’s rushing yards.

The top tailback for the club is Jared Hawkins, who has ground out just over 330 yards in six outings.

Bobby Johnson’s team ranks 117th nationally in passing offense, meaning Georgia defenders can concentrate on loading up the line and stuffing the run.

Edge: Georgia

Special teams

Blair Walsh connected on four field goals against the Volunteers while punter Brian Mimbs got back on track at punter with a solid outing. In addition, Prince Miller has given UGA an added dimension in the return game to complement Asher Allen.

The Commodores are outstanding on special teams as well with placekicker Bryant Hahnfeldt already on record as the school’s career scoring leader. He was also a major reason Vandy was able to upset Georgia two years ago at Sanford Stadium.

Edge: Even.

Bottom line

Vandy was the feel-good story in college football during its first five games, but an upset loss to Mississippi State last weekend took some of the luster off a team that’s still tied for first place in the SEC Eastern Division.

The Bulldogs lost to the Commodores in 2006 and had a near miss in Nashville last year, so there’s little danger of looking past a program that usually brings up the rear in the league standings.

Mark Richt’s club knows it controls its own destiny in both the SEC and on a national scale, providing plenty of motivation for the Dawgs to knock Vanderbilt out of contention and out of the Top 25.

Prediction: Georgia 24, Vanderbilt 7

— Scott Adamson