Georgia Football Has Fangs - Kirby Smart's Anacondas Don't Play

Georgia football went into full anaconda mode during their big 24-point win over Vanderbilt

Kirby Smart | Dawg Post

ATHENS - Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs were finally tested over the weekend. The Dawgs took some punches in the first half of their 38-14 win over Vanderbilt, but in the second half, they went full anaconda mode.

The Bulldogs faced some adversity for the first time all season, but as the game went along, they strangled the life out of Vanderbilt. The offense continued to move the ball and put up points while the defense suffocated the Commodore offense, giving up zero points in the second half. The depth took over and the Daws made sure Vanderbilt simply couldn't breath. That's the anaconda effect.

“They out-executed us," Smart said about the first half. "We were chasing ghosts a little bit and thinking they were going to do something they weren’t going to do. They had a good plan. They changed up some of their tendencies and at the end of the day we bent and didn’t break. We gave up a lot of third downs that we shouldn’t have given up. We also have to play better defensively. I also want to give Vandy credit. They executed a good plan, and our guys did a lot better in
the second half.”

"I have talked about this anaconda feel where we squeeze the life out of you," Smart said after the game. "That’s what we did today. We squeezed and squeezed and wore people down. Sometimes we wear ourselves down, but we did a good job.”

This is what we've come to see from most Georgia football teams. They want to win the line of scrimmage, win with physicality, and make their opponent tap out. That's exactly what the Bulldogs did in the second half. They got a real fight in the first two quarters, but in the second half, the anaconda effect took over.

Not only did they swallow up the Vandetbilt offense, but they also established the running game over the final 15 minutes. The Bulldogs had some trouble getting the ground game going through the first three quarters, but when the game mattered most, and with the sun beating down, Georgia's physicality and depth allowed them to strangle the Commodores to death on both sides of the ball.

The Bulldogs gave up 234 total yards to Vanderbilt in the first half. They gave up just 59 in the entire second half. The 'Dores also rushed for just 13 yards in the second half on eight carries. That's how you squeeze the life out of your opponent. Kirby Smart was waiting to see how his team plays in the second half and over the final 15 minutes, and his team thrived in that area on Saturday.

Now, it's onto Alabama. The Crimson Tide are playing at an extremely high level right now, but if the Bulldogs bring the "anaconda effect" with them to Tuscaloosa, they can absolutely leave town with a victory.