Bulldogs, Commodores try to pull themselves from depths

With a 2-4 overall record and 0-3 mark in the SEC, Vanderbilt is a sinking ship.

And after slipping to 3-3 and 2-2, Georgia has taken on a lot of water.

Which team will stay afloat in a game that features a pair of SEC East also-rans?

“We have to get back on the winning track against Vanderbilt — that’s our hope,” said UGA boss Mark Richt, who is dealing with three losses at the earliest point of any season that he has served as a head coach. “But it’s a team that I’m sure is just as hungry for a victory as we are.”

A year removed from a bowl bid, Vandy appears to be headed for its traditional spot in the division cellar. The club has been unable to move the ball this season, and good defensive play hasn’t been enough to secure more than two wins.

The Bulldogs have problems on both sides of the ball, and Richt realizes the goal of winning the SEC East is all but gone.

“I told (the players) we don’t control (our own destiny),” Richt said. “I said we aren’t mathematically out of it by any means, but we can’t sit here and say (winning the SEC East) is the goal. The main focus is beating Vanderbilt — that’s it.”

As heartbreaking as a home loss to LSU was two weeks ago, last Saturday’s 45-19 throttling at the hands of Tennessee was embarrassing. The Volunteers took control of the game early and never gave UGA any breathing room.

UT’s point production again raised questions about the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. The team ranks near the bottom of both the SEC and Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense, total defense and points allowed per game.

Richt insists that a few breakdowns — and a lack of positive breaks — have been the main culprits.

“I think when we get people in the third and long situations, the possession down, we need to nail it more often,” he said. “We need to get off the field when we get them there. There are a lot of things we have to improve on all the way across the board with the entire football team. We’ve gotten ourselves in that position on enough occasions where if we could just finish it I think the outcome of a couple of our games would have been different, too.”

Offensively the Bulldogs can’t find consistency through the air or on the ground.

The running game has struggled in six outings and aside from Joe Cox’s five-touchdown performance against Arkansas, the aerial attack has been largely ineffective.

His sub-par play has resulted in some fans calling for backup Logan Gray to get the start at quarterback.

“Joe has been a little bit up-and-down these last couple of games,” Richt said. “I would say that yes he is still our starting quarterback. A lot of things go into the quarterback’s ability to play at his peak level. I think quarterbacks get maybe a little more blame than they deserve and maybe a little more credit than they deserve.”

As rough as things are at Georgia, they’re even worse at Vandy.

The ’Dores are coming off an overtime loss to Army, and are still shaking their heads over an 0-3 start in league play.

“All three of those losses were close enough that we had a chance to win the game, so it is real frustrating,” Vandy boss Bobby Johnson said. “We feel like we are better than that. We have to prove it on the field and do it in games that you are supposed to win. We just aren’t holding up our end of the bargain right now.”

A woeful offense has been the biggest stumbling block.

“Obviously, a top priority for us is to find some sort of offensive production, especially getting the ball into the end zone,” Johnson said. “Our red zone efficiency has been pretty poor and kept us from winning that game on Saturday. That was the biggest thing that we didn’t do and we are going to search to get better.”

With zero momentum in their corners, Job One today is obvious for both the Bulldogs and Commodores — just get a win any way you can.

“We can’t be thinking about what’s happening with everybody else, with the SEC, what bowl we are going to get in or if we are going to get a bowl,” Georgia tight end Aron White said. “Coach Richt said our main focus has to be our next opponent. He’s always big on saying take one game at a time because right now the only thing that should be on our minds is Vanderbilt.”