University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Show Offensive Versatility Against Vandy
October 04, 2026 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Gunner Stockton and the Georgia offense spread the ball around in the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs' 38-14 win over Vanderbilt at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The fifth-year quarterback completed passes to 10 different players, finishing 25 of 32 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
"I thought we executed pretty well today," Stockton said. "I thought we did a good job with that, played hard."
The execution, particularly in the passing game, started from Georgia's opening drive. On the Bulldogs' first play, Stockton hit tight end Jaden Reddell for 6 yards. After a Vandy penalty and a Stockton 4-yard run, he connected with wide receiver Talyn Taylor for 2 yards, followed by completions of 7 and 11 yards to wideout London Humphreys. Then came a 10-yarder to wideout Thomas Blackshear and a 16-yarder to running back Dwight Phillips, Jr., to the Commodore 14-yard line.
Georgia's drive ended with a 5-yard Stockton run, a 7-yard completion to Blackshear, and then a 7-yard touchdown pass to wideout Landon Roldan. It was a 10-play, 80-yard drive that didn't include a single carry by a running back. And it was a sign of things to come as the Bulldogs relied heavily on their passing attack to pile up 471 yards of offense, including 295 through the air.
"I thought Gunner did an outstanding job with execution, played probably his best game," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said.
Among the receivers, Blackshear finished with three catches for 33 yards, all in the first half before leaving the game with an injury. Humphreys had three catches for 19 yards; Taylor also had three, Roldan two, including a 55-yarder down to the Vandy 1, and Craig Dandridge Jr. had one.
Georgia's tight ends were also busy. Reddell and Elyiss Williams both caught two passes and scored 1-yard touchdowns, though Reddell's TD came on a 1-yard run. Lawson Luckie wasn't the intended receiver on his career-long 43-yard reception, but he took advantage of some luck by hauling in a deflected pass on a third-and-4 play and running the ball all the way to the Vandy 14. That drive ended with Williams' 1-yard touchdown catch to put Georgia up 28-14 midway through the third quarter.
Phillips was productive running and catching. He had five carries for 27 yards and set career highs with five receptions for a team-high 75 yards. It was his first game for Georgia with more than 100 yards of offense, and it included a 12-yard touchdown catch with 6:02 in the game.
The longest play of the game for Phillips was a 30-yard catch down the left sideline in the second quarter that was originally called a 31-yard touchdown. A review showed that he was down a yard short of the goal line. Reddell ran the ball in on the next play for a 21-7 lead.
"Gunner dumped it off to me, and I thought I could outrun them," Phillips said. "But Jaden Reddell got a touchdown, so I'm happy for him because we're all in this as a unit together."
Running back Chauncey Bowens also had three receptions for 18 yards to go along with 10 carries for 31 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 14-7.
Georgia has been battling some injuries to its running backs, with Nate Frazier missing the Oklahoma game and only carrying the ball twice against Vandy. Bowens also has been less than 100%, but the Bulldogs haven't missed a beat offensively. There are talented players all over the field, as they showed against the Commodores.
The Bulldogs were 7 of 10 on third downs, Stockton completed 78% of his passes, and Georgia averaged 7.1 yards per play.
"I talk about it all the time: We're a very efficient offense," Smart said. "We wear you down, just the anaconda effect. We pound you, hit you sideways, shots. You know, a lot of different offensive plays, formations and conversions. We had some big third down conversions, and those drives really did some damage."
Through five games, the Bulldogs are averaging 51.4 points and 478.8 yards per game, with 265.8 through the air and 213.0 on the ground. Up next for Georgia is its biggest test of the season so far, a trip to Tuscaloosa next weekend to face No. 7 Alabama.
Staff Writer
Gunner Stockton and the Georgia offense spread the ball around in the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs' 38-14 win over Vanderbilt at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The fifth-year quarterback completed passes to 10 different players, finishing 25 of 32 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
"I thought we executed pretty well today," Stockton said. "I thought we did a good job with that, played hard."
The execution, particularly in the passing game, started from Georgia's opening drive. On the Bulldogs' first play, Stockton hit tight end Jaden Reddell for 6 yards. After a Vandy penalty and a Stockton 4-yard run, he connected with wide receiver Talyn Taylor for 2 yards, followed by completions of 7 and 11 yards to wideout London Humphreys. Then came a 10-yarder to wideout Thomas Blackshear and a 16-yarder to running back Dwight Phillips, Jr., to the Commodore 14-yard line.
Georgia's drive ended with a 5-yard Stockton run, a 7-yard completion to Blackshear, and then a 7-yard touchdown pass to wideout Landon Roldan. It was a 10-play, 80-yard drive that didn't include a single carry by a running back. And it was a sign of things to come as the Bulldogs relied heavily on their passing attack to pile up 471 yards of offense, including 295 through the air.
"I thought Gunner did an outstanding job with execution, played probably his best game," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said.
Among the receivers, Blackshear finished with three catches for 33 yards, all in the first half before leaving the game with an injury. Humphreys had three catches for 19 yards; Taylor also had three, Roldan two, including a 55-yarder down to the Vandy 1, and Craig Dandridge Jr. had one.
Georgia's tight ends were also busy. Reddell and Elyiss Williams both caught two passes and scored 1-yard touchdowns, though Reddell's TD came on a 1-yard run. Lawson Luckie wasn't the intended receiver on his career-long 43-yard reception, but he took advantage of some luck by hauling in a deflected pass on a third-and-4 play and running the ball all the way to the Vandy 14. That drive ended with Williams' 1-yard touchdown catch to put Georgia up 28-14 midway through the third quarter.
Phillips was productive running and catching. He had five carries for 27 yards and set career highs with five receptions for a team-high 75 yards. It was his first game for Georgia with more than 100 yards of offense, and it included a 12-yard touchdown catch with 6:02 in the game.
The longest play of the game for Phillips was a 30-yard catch down the left sideline in the second quarter that was originally called a 31-yard touchdown. A review showed that he was down a yard short of the goal line. Reddell ran the ball in on the next play for a 21-7 lead.
"Gunner dumped it off to me, and I thought I could outrun them," Phillips said. "But Jaden Reddell got a touchdown, so I'm happy for him because we're all in this as a unit together."
Running back Chauncey Bowens also had three receptions for 18 yards to go along with 10 carries for 31 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 14-7.
Georgia has been battling some injuries to its running backs, with Nate Frazier missing the Oklahoma game and only carrying the ball twice against Vandy. Bowens also has been less than 100%, but the Bulldogs haven't missed a beat offensively. There are talented players all over the field, as they showed against the Commodores.
The Bulldogs were 7 of 10 on third downs, Stockton completed 78% of his passes, and Georgia averaged 7.1 yards per play.
"I talk about it all the time: We're a very efficient offense," Smart said. "We wear you down, just the anaconda effect. We pound you, hit you sideways, shots. You know, a lot of different offensive plays, formations and conversions. We had some big third down conversions, and those drives really did some damage."
Through five games, the Bulldogs are averaging 51.4 points and 478.8 yards per game, with 265.8 through the air and 213.0 on the ground. Up next for Georgia is its biggest test of the season so far, a trip to Tuscaloosa next weekend to face No. 7 Alabama.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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