Vanderbilt faces Georgia at 11:20 A.M. CDT today in its annual Homecoming Game. The Commodores (2-4, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) and the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-2) are in bad need of a win in a series where the teams have recently played each other close.
Vanderbilt well remembers the last time it had Georgia for its Homecoming, when it let a 17-7 halftime lead against the then-No. 24 Bulldogs evaporate and lost on a field goal as time expired, 20-17.
It was revenge for a shocker pulled by the Commodores in Athens in 2006, when Bryant Hahnfeldt kicked a 33-yard field goal with two seconds left for a 24-22 victory, their first victory on the road over a foe ranked that highly since 1950.
What a difference: When the two squads last met one year ago on Georgia's Homecoming in Athens, they were both ranked. That was a typical thing for the Bulldogs, who have made bowl appearances in all eight seasons under head coach Mark Richt, but the Commodores hadn't made the top 25 since 1984.
This year, both teams are struggling halfway through the season and coming off embarrassing road losses last weekend.
Georgia was rocked at Tennessee, 45-19, while Vanderbilt lost at Army, 16-13, its first loss to a non-BCS conference team since falling to Middle Tennessee on Oct. 1, 2005.
Long tenures: Today's match-up features the two longest-tenured coaches in the SEC in Richt and Bobby Johnson.
Richt enters his ninth season at the helm of Georgia and has compiled a sensational 85-25 (.772) record, including a 48-20 mark in the SEC.
Johnson is in the midst of his eighth season with the Commodores.
Hey Hawkins: Redshirt senior running back Jared Hawkins battles with his foot problem kept him out of the Army game last weekend, but he practiced this last week and should see action.
Hawkins rushed for a team-high 63 yards on 13 carries, and he also caught three passes for 23 yards in last year's 24-14 loss to the Bulldogs in Athens.
Which will break?: What happens when a very stoppable force meets a pretty moveable object?
Vanderbilt's offense has been non-existent as the Commodores have lost four times in the last five games, while Georgia's defense has killed them this season, bottoming out when the Volunteers moved the ball at will last weekend against them in a rout in Knoxville.
Whichever side of the ball sees more improvement could decide who comes out on top.
