Georgia’s final drive of first half sparks offensive outburst in Vanderbilt win

Every circumstance was against Georgia to close the first half. It had used all of its timeouts, was being outgained by Vanderbilt and held a one-score lead on homecoming.

Then, Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm got serious.

The two-minute drill began with a completion to wide receiver Riley Ridley, then there was no slowing down for Fromm. If you were to blink, then a play might’ve been missed.

“It was a rhythm thing and something we’re really used to,” Fromm said. “I felt like we were back out at practice.”

Fromm was methodical in his approach as he made his calls at the line-of-scrimmage and had control of the group. But it was at breakneck speed, and an offsides penalty was the only thing to slow Georgia down.

It started with Ridley, then to tight end Isaac Nauta for 40 yards on consecutive catches , and then Ridley finished it with a near-circus act as he bobbled the reception between two Vanderbilt defenders for the 10-yard touchdown.

Georgia needed to complete the drive in 2:18, but only took 1:10. So much for needing timeouts. Nevertheless, what was suddenly a brief scare had become a runaway 41-13 win over the Commodores.

All thanks to the blazing-fast drive to end the half. It gave Georgia the spark to carry momentum toward its sixth victory, but also led the offense to a 560-yard performance.

“We knew we had to score, and put more pressure on them,” Georgia center Lamont Gaillard said. “If we scored there, then we knew we’d be fine coming out of the half. It was a big momentum swing.”

As Georgia continued to move closer toward the end zone, Fromm wasn’t frantic. He was composed and seemingly enjoyed the pressure while being able to throw downfield to his receivers.

Fromm finished 17-for-23 with 276 yards and three touchdowns. It was the highest total of the season and the second-highest performance of his career -- behind 326 yards against Missouri in 2017. But he was even better when Georgia needed it most with a 5-for-6 passing line and 75 yards.

“When Jake goes fast, really click and do well,” Georgia tight end Isaac Nauta said. “It’s good to have the advantage when we have to go into two-minute.”

Added Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason: “We let Fromm get hot. That, along with the explosive plays, hurt us tonight.”

After the offense struggled on only five first-half possessions, it may seem abnormal for Georgia to execute a no-huddle drive with little flaw. But it’s something the Bulldogs do each day in practice, and probably not when they want to.

It’s at the end of practice when Smart and the coaching staff call for the two-minute drill, when the players are exhausted. It means running without rest, but then Georgia’s reward came against the Commodores.

“We didn’t come out surprised that we went down the field,” Georgia running back D’Andre Swift said.

In the game, though, those drives are selective. Georgia isn’t an avid hurry-up offense team as it likes a time-of-possession advantage and to use its identity in the run game, but the quick change was to the Bulldogs favor for the second time this season.

Fromm recalled the victory over South Carolina in which Georgia was tightly contested for a half, but was then able to pull away after a last-second field goal prior to the intermission. This situation mirrored it as the Bulldogs’ offensive lulls were less-noticeable for the remainder of the game.

When Georgia finds pressure, it knows Fromm is the guy to call upon.

“It made it easier. As an offense, we were able to keep clicking and scoring,” Gaillard said. “We came out there and played the game at our pace.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2018 at 12:30 PM.